A House of Representatives panel has created a technical working group that will consolidate four bills seeking to rationalize and raise the various monetary benefits for members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The House committee on national defense and security, chaired by Rep. Amado Espino of Pangasinan, approved this week the creation of the TWG for House Bills 429, 1490, 5532 and 5592 authored by Reps. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of Pampanga, Harlin Neil Abayon of Aangat Tayo party-list, Michael Romero and Enrico Pineda of 1-PACMAN, and Espino, respectively.
The bill’s authors said the adjustment in the pay and benefits of AFP members would be “a way of giving recognition to soldiers who risk their lives to preserve the internal security and stability of the country and defend the integrity of the national territory.”
Arroyo, the former President, said her HB 429 seeks to adjust the combat pay and the additional combat incentive pay of the members of the AFP.
“It shall allocate a monthly combat pay of P1,000 and an additional P500 per day combat incentive pay for those who are designated to engage in actual battle,” she said.
Meanwhile, Romero and Pineda in HB 5532 sought to increase the longevity pay of all officers and enlisted men of the AFP, and provide additional payment for their substantive duties and responsibilities.
Abayon said his HB 1490 seeks an automatic pay increase for any member of the AFP who is deployed away from his permanent station, or in the case of a member of an AFP reserve component, the member’s home of record, once the deployment period exceeds 180 days of continuous duty.
Espino, a former officer of the AFP and the Philippine National Police, said his HB 5592 seeks to raise the quarter allowance of AFP officers and enlisted personnel.
In presiding the hearing, Espino said any legislative measure that will ensure adequate remuneration and benefits for military personnel is truly welcome.
“Looking for a bigger picture to increase and balance the allowance of our soldiers, this should be changed by law. This is an eye opener for us, so let’s help each other,” he said.
AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel Brigadier General Arnel Duco, in a PowerPoint presentation, provided figures on the AFP’s current quarter allowance, collateral entitlement, and longevity pay.
For quarter allowance alone, Duco said the present rate is not adequate to support decent quarters as the current rate of house rental overwhelms the living conditions of military personnel and their families.
For a clearer presentation, Espino suggested to consolidate all such allowances and ensure that adequate support and incentives will eventually be given to the members of the AFP.
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Assistant Bureau Director Evelyn Peralta said that one of their proposals, per the instruction from the Office of the President (OP), is to recommend to Congress the increase in the base pay of military personnel.
Asked for details, Peralta said it was the DBM Office of Compensation and Classification Bureau that drafted their proposal.
Rep. Romeo Acop of Antipolo City, a lawyer and former head of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said the proposal should be included in the law so it will have a strong legal basis.
“The moment we increase the pay, ang daming classification sa budget because of the existing law,” Acop said.
Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil of Pangasinan, also a retired PNP officer, expressed support for the TWG creation and requested all the resource agencies to submit their position paper to the committee.
Rep. Gary Alejano of Magdalo, a former Marine captain, said he filed a similar measure which provides for a bigger quarter allowance of soldiers. His bill was referred to the House committee on appropriations.
Alejano requested that his bill be instead referred to the committee on national defense and security for further deliberation.