How much does a person from the Philippines earn?
by Dave from The Longest Way Home ~ July 29th, 2010. Published in: Travel blog » Discover World Culture » How to live overseas » Philippines.
Money to some simply means, "I will eat tonight"
How much money does a person from the Philippines earn or make a day?
From the least paid all the way to the president, I took to the streets to try to find out. The results, while holding no scientific nor Wall Street Journal like quality, are interesting nonetheless.
I say per day, as when I ask people on a lower-income, this is what they quote me, exactly:
“I make ___ , sir.”
A middle-income person is more reluctant, but will quote by the month using the term “around“.
Upper income people usually just smile. But will happily tell you what everyone else makes.
(Updated for 2012)
Cost of living in The Philippines (average, local)
Here’s a rough idea of what local things cost so you can see what a wage quote lower down must be spent on:
- Jeepney ride – 10 pesos (medium distance transport)
- Cost of fuel per liter – p58 +
- Tricycad – city transport - p6 +
- Small bottle of water – p15-20
- Average local meal with meat – p69
Is it a pregnant lady? Or a case of wealthy male Pinoy belly: It's actually scary to see so many rich Filipinos who are grossly overweight
60 pesos (p60) = USD$1.38 approx
The reality of wealth distribution in the Philippines:
A village girl or boy brought to a town to work as a house keeper can be paid as little as 0 to 50 pesos per day. They are given accommodation and meals (basic, as in rice and the floor).
Official minimum wage in The Philippines is based on regions, and noted later on.
Low income earnings:
The average security person man or woman earns p200+ per day
The average guest house / hotel cleaner earns 200+ pesos per day
The Jollibee starting salary is 200+ pesos per day
A receptionist (starter) earns: p200 – 300 per day
(it should be noted that government regulation states benefits should be given to every permanent employee. So most employers only hire people for 5 months then release them. Supermarket chains and fast food restaurants in particular)
Middle income earnings
Filipino's are obsessed with big cars, all the wealthy own one; shame they haven't been reading the rest of the worlds industry reports - or maybe they have been ...
A call center employees earns p10,000 – 18,000 per month
An office administrator earns p10,000 – 20,000 per month
A basic teacher earns p15,000 – 18,000 per month
Note: there are hidden extras in many middle-income salaries. Many will also be given a free sack of rice every month, a health care plan and transport. Depending on the job and circumstances.
Upper income
A doctor earns between p18,000 – 35,000 pesos per month
An airline pilot earns 80- 100,000 pesos per month
How much does a Government official in The Philippines make?
Now this was hard to find answers on, I wonder why?
The president earns 40,000 -60,000 pesos per month (everyone laughs when this is mentioned)
A governor earns … ???
The president’s “official” salary was easy to find out. As for a Governor, Mayor or other government officials no one seems to know.
If you happen to know, then please leave a comment (references would be great).
–Update –
One of the great things about having a such a good community of readers here has just revealed itself thanks to the comments of Marnie.
We now know the official salary of a Governor in the Philippines is 28,875 – 34,323 pesos a month. Here are some other scales.
Salaries of Government officials in the Philippines:
President of the Philippines salary is: 57,750
Vice President’s salary is: 46,200 – 54,917
Senator’s salary is: 40,425 -48,052
Congressman’s salary is: 40,425 -48,052
Governor’s salary is: 28,875 – 34,323
Mayor’s salary is: 23,422 – 27,842
(source)
Again many thanks to Marnie for finding this list.
—
Note: I can’t help but add in here about the massive fringe benefits politicians get in The Philippines. Not forgetting the wealth of political dynasties, shady business partnerships and corruption the countries politicians have been known for. They are amongst the richest here, one way or another. See further below for an example of a $20,000 steakhouse dinner
Official Minimum Wage in The Philippines 2012
The official minimum wage in the Philippines set by the government is broken into regions (based on non-agriculture salaries, upper limits).
- NCR - P426
- CAR – P272
- Region I Ilocos – P248
- Region II, Cagayan Valley – P245
- Region III Central Luzon – P330
- Region IV A Calabarzon – P337
- Region IV B Mimaropa – P264
- Region V Bicol - P247
- Region VI Eastern Visayas – P277
- Region VII Central Visayas – P305
- Region VIII Western Visayas - P253
- Region IX, Zamboanga Peninsula – P267
- Region X, Northern Mindanao – P286
- Region XI, Davao Region – P291
- Region XII Central Mindanao – P260
- Region XIII Caraga – P258
- Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao - P232
For further information and breakdowns on the official minimum wage in The Philippines please see The Philippines National Wages & Productivity Commission page
Expats & overseas workers:
Diplomats earn the same as their civil service salaries back home, plus hardship bonuses (differs depending on origin country). Least to say, they are far from suffering judging by the luxury apartments/ buildings, most live in.
Non owning manager of a corporate overseas business: $USD 80,000 + per year depending on business. (plus other benefits)
Unqualified expat looking for a job – same as a local, unless you get lucky.
A note on small expat businesses in the Philippines: in order to run a registered business in the Philippines you need to be a national. Foreigners generally (that I am aware of) have two options.
- Marry a local: in which case the local will own the majority share of the company
- Form a company whereby the BOD has at least 5 Pinoy members
I’ve seen and heard of many a bad story due to the above.
Street girl eating someones leftovers on a plate - is her only hope to escape overseas by any means? Or could she really run for office & eat a little better ...
Equality & fairness in the Philippine salary:
The above is not an official list of salaries by some government body. These are quotes from people either in that job, related to it, from the street or from a news agency and treated as a given average.
What struck me was the salary scale of a call center employee vs a teacher or even a doctor. Call centers are booming in The Philippines, and many graduates would rather work in a call center, rather than in their chosen profession.
Apart that is from those looking to leave the country, via their profession.
Filipinos working overseas:
In my time here I’ve met a staggering amount of Filipinos looking to work overseas. This is actually an industry itself. And no, I am not talking about the return of wealth from overseas workers.
I am talking about the amount of businesses within the Philippines dedicated to getting people jobs overseas. And, to a lesser scale, simply taking the money with idle promises.
Unemployment vs overseas working
Today’s figures state there about 12 million overseas Filipino workers. The population is around 95 million. That’s roughly about 10% of the population that work overseas.
The unemployment rate is around 8% give or take. How this is actually calculated is beyond me as there’s very to back this up. Living off the land out of necessity and eating nothing but plain rice is considered employed.
Fringe benefits & justice
Rather than the usual developing country heartache of focusing on people eating nothing but plain rice, children falling asleep due to hunger, or no medical care. I’d like this to highlight the flip side of things.
Whereby some people live very well
Last year as the Philippines was struggling to cope with the world food crises former President Arroyo spent $15,000 and then another $20,000 on two meals for 60 colleagues whilst visiting the U.S.A. One of which was at a steakhouse where the bill was allegedly footed by a nephew of former president Marcos. The story was reported in many places. Here’s a brief ABS-CBN report.
The follow ups to this were met with non-statements, allegations, rebuttals and the usual “the head of state desires good treatment because …”
Conclusion on earning and salaries in The Philippines:
This should give readers a rough insight into how mixed, cumbersome, irrational, fraudulent and bizarre salaries are in The Philippines.From hand to mouth non earners, to teachers earning less than call center staff to Presidents and their entourages eating $20,000 dinners.
It’s a bizarre scale, and I somehow I don’t think The Philippines is alone in the world in this regard.
And, it would be interesting to see if anyone else can add to this, or disagree with my findings, either in the Philippines, or globally.
I am sure wealth distribution anomalies happen elsewhere too.
Coming Soon:
Documenting my life 101
Plus, a special on bribery within the travel photography community … aka travel photography ethics
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I can live with my girlfriend, in the Philippines, with P22.000/month ?
Not in Manila, which is too expensive, but in some other places, such to Cebu. This is possible?
Please, answer me.
Thanks so much.
I have no idea what your living expenses are, so couldn’t answer that. Certainly Cebu is cheaper than Manila to live. See the minimum wage section here for a rough indication on the cheapest areas to live in The Philippines are. Keeping in mind, it’s based on Filipino living standards.
I just want to know if with PHP22,000 or so, we will also cover expenses for food, transportation, clothing and any other charges.
We don’t ask so much, we not be interested in dining at restaurants or go shopping spree…
Living a simple life in a rented apartment for two persons + a baby.
With PHP 22,000 may live decently, then?
( sorry for my english, i’m italian )
Thanks.
Again, it depends on you. If you can eat basic rice meals 3 times a day, live with no air conditioning, in a rural area then yes. If you want a car, air-con, buy/ cook European style food, and have to pay for things like tourist visa’s and get health insurance for yourself, partner or baby then the answer is “you will struggle”.
If you can manage to find an apartment for 10,000 pesos a month. Then you will do okay on the basics, short term. But long term you will find it hard. e.g. never going out, etc.
If you are planning a permanent move to the Philippines, then please be aware of the whole “support a family” issue over there. And the fact that you as an Italian will be looked at as being rich. And people will wonder why you are not paying for better things. This can be difficult socially!
Send me an email if you want to discuss more.
You have a PM. Thanks.
thats ok to live with that amount if u guys already have ur house and appliances, cuz that amount will just covered for ur food, bills and some extra of course esp if u have a kid….things in the philippines now r not cheap anymore. not to mentioned u have to atleast give or help the family of the girl…but then again its all depends on the way u spend ur money or on the way the girl handle the money.
Hi Maria,
Thank you for your answer.
but this thing to help his family, I do not really like. I’m not rich, and I’m not their benefactor … if she really loves me, she should understand. I will help his family if I can.
But apart from these speculations …. you can give me some useful web address for me? Prices, apartments and everything I need ?
Thanks so much.
I’m sorry for my bad english. I’m just learning..
Clark,
I’m sorry to say that even though you are not rich, the culture in the Philippines is VERY close when it comes to family. The family may not expect you to be a benefactor, but very often families will share what little they have with eachother. Taking care of parents is just about second nature because they went through so much to raise the child it is seen as a debt that cannot be repaid but an attempt must be made. I am not saying you HAVE to pay them but do not be surprised if pressured to give some money here and there. Secondly, Cebu is a tourist area, it is second in expensiveness only to Manila. My best advice to be to find a less well known city/area to live because costs can double or even triple the closer to cities you live. The best place to start when looking at prices for items would be local malls in the area you plan on staying. If you can afford the prices in the malls you can pretty much afford buying from smaller stores for the same item. Hope this helped and enjoy.
Thanks for your comment and explanations, Mary.
In which sense should I look for an apartment in the malls? even in the same Manila? I do not think you understand …. I may have mistranslated with my Italian.
uff ….. I WANT LEARN ENGLISH! : (
Can you be as clear as possible? thanks a lot!
hahah no thats not wut i meant, wut i mean is if u can afford things in the big malls then u can afford small things around it….get it? but anyway we lived in negros occidental and we have our own house already and appliances, so 22000pesos is much enough to pay our bills and some extra..but i dont think u can do that in cebu esp if ur in the city…. my advise is just be clever with ur money, things in philippines is not cheap as it was. if u know u cant afford it then just dont get it….goodluck and im sure ur partner knows where to find a suitable place for u and ur family esp if she living in cebu.
well, now you have been much clearer, thank you very much!
chiederò alla mia ragazza… troverà lei un posto carino..
just a curiosity, that has nothing to do … but the Filipina girls, get drunk?
Are you Filipina, you were there, or live there now?
yes im filipina and married to an american. but we r not in philippines anymore. anyway if ur partner is filipina then u should know if filipina gets drunk or not but of course all people in the world drink…u should explore philippines to know more or do some research….try to know ur partner culture and background first before u live with them so that u wont regret at the end. goodluck and hopefully youll enjoy living in philippines…
Sorry to say but 22,000Peso isnt going to be enough for your monthly expenses unless you will have a home paid for or rent free.
Hi Maria
)
)
I LOVE so much the filipino girls, are so beautiful and sweets!
my girl is the most beautiful thing happened to me! i’m not kidding! and i hope really to realize my dreams to living with her, after we know each other better..i love her so very much!
a question again: it’s very difficult marry her?
Thanks a lot for your answer.
what do u mean “difficult to marry her”? u mean the law in philippines or papers?? me and my husband married in philippines but it was easy bcuz it wasnt a church wedding and we didnt deal with alot of papers cuz we have it all ready and we didnt wait for dates for simenars and stuffs bcuz we paid people to make it quick…so all in all it wasnt that hard or difficult cuz it was all simple and just family…but i dont know bout u, i dont know how u going to handle all the papers and i dont know where u going to get married….but of course ur gf should know all that, she should help u to get all the papers done. she need to ask wut and how in her local place how to get married a forienger. u need to do some research too cuz thats wut we did before we get married….
can you leave me your email ? i would write you in private, if ok for you.. thanks.
how bout leave me ur email then ill write u asap…thanks
Yeah, write me here:
kalelclark75*NOSPAM*@gmail.com
Thanks!
Great article about salary in PI!! And to the Italian asking about living expenses, Philippines is getting very expensive. I think to live up to US/Europe standards it would cost probably around 42k pesos per month, not including getting a car or scooter. That’s just for apartment with AC and hot water, food, clothes, healthcare, going out once in awhile and buying a few things here and there. 42k per month you cannot live like a king in Philippines as you once could. I’m looking to retire there someday so hopefully I will have enough monthly income to do so. Luckily the healthcare is very affordable still.
Nice article you’ve got here. I can really see that you’ve spend time collecting these information. These things are very true and evident here in the Philippines. The government is claiming that they are doing their best to address the problem but we cant seem to see any progress that’s is why we resort to our own solutions which includes working overseas and even being underemployed (like working as a call center agent even if she’s a nursing graduate) as long as the pay is high even and will help them get by..It so sad but true..