Gov’t workers earn 45 percent more, says World Bank

Public sector employees in the Philippines earn an average wage premium of 45 percent over their private-sector counterparts, the highest among countries in East Asia and the Pacific, according to the World Bank.

“Public sector employees in the Philippines have the highest wage premium (45 percent) compared to their private sector counterparts,” the World Bank said in its Worldwide Bureaucracy Indicators regional outlook for East Asia and the Pacific.

The regional comparison showed wide differences in public-sector pay. Public employees in Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia and Timor-Leste faced wage penalties relative to their private-sector counterparts, ranging from 3 percent to 25 percent.

The World Bank said the size of the wage premium is influenced by workers’ education and occupation.

In East Asia and the Pacific, public workers without formal education had a 16 percent wage premium, while those with tertiary education faced a 16 percent wage penalty, based on the report’s comparison with formal wage workers.

Differences also emerged across occupations. Elementary occupations in the region had a 4 percent wage premium, while senior officials had a 16 percent wage penalty relative to formal wage workers. Professionals, technicians and clerks likewise recorded wage penalties.

The Philippines also stood out in the education sector. Public-sector education workers in the country received a 52 percent wage premium compared with private-sector workers, among the highest industry-level premiums in the region.

The wage advantage comes despite the Philippines having one of the smaller public sectors in East Asia and the Pacific. The World Bank said Myanmar and the Philippines had the smallest public sectors in the region as a share of paid employment.

More than 70 percent of public-sector employees in the Philippines have tertiary education, according to the report.

Meanwhile, government compensation data show that the highest-paid public officials are not necessarily those covered by the standard Salary Grade system.

The President is often cited as the Philippine government official with the highest monthly salary, with a Salary Grade of 33 worth about P450,000 a month.

However, Commission on Audit data showed that Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) officials dominated the list of the highest-paid government employees in 2025, securing 15 of the top 20 spots. BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. topped the list with annual compensation of P52,756,463.72.

Unlike ordinary government agencies that follow the Salary Grade system, the BSP has greater administrative and financial autonomy under its charter, allowing it to set compensation based on job responsibilities, market benchmarks and wage surveys.

The arrangement is intended to help the central bank attract and retain specialized professionals who could otherwise command higher salaries in the private financial sector.

The BSP governor’s reported compensation also includes allowances, bonuses, incentives and other benefits in addition to basic salary, contributing to the large gap between total compensation and the standard salaries of officials such as the President, Cabinet secretaries and members of Congress.