Cut pay, stick to austerity program or be fired: Philippine leader

0 Comments | AFP, September, 2004

MANILA, (AFP) — Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has warned heads of government corporations will be fired if they do not reduce their pay and implement her strict austerity program.

The presidential palace said in a statement this was part of the government's effort to avoid a fiscal crisis caused by a growing deficit and ballooning government debts.

As part of this effort, the Arroyo government would have a "compliance scorecard on pay cuts and austerity measures among government-owned or controlled corporations," the statement said.

"This will be a tool for deciding who among the presidential appointees would stay or leave," it warned.

Arroyo last month imposed such austerity measures on government agencies as banning non-essential foreign...