Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has sponsored Senate Bill No. 1463 that grants educational assistance and benefits to dependents of uniformed and law enforcement personnel who are killed or permanently incapacitated in the line of duty.
“It is, thus, only fair for the government to give preference and priority to their welfare and of their families, especially when something untoward happens in the performance of their duty,” said Trillanes, chairman of the Senate committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation.
Trillanes said in the past years, Congress has enacted various measures that seek to provide additional benefits to dependents of uniformed personnel, but these may have unintentionally overlooked members of other law enforcement agencies who also face the same or similar risks.
He said existing laws providing benefits to dependents of uniformed personnel is limited, in the case of educational assistance, to only one dependent, which is far from being fair and ideal.
Under his proposed measure, the surviving children of the deceased or permanently incapacitated members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Corrections will be given full scholarship from kindergarten to tertiary level to include allowance for books, school supplies, and food and transportation.
The surviving spouse may also avail of the scholarship grant. In case the deceased or disabled personnel is single, his or her qualified dependent siblings may also avail of the said educational assistance and benefits.
The measure also seeks to create a Uniformed and Law Enforcement Personnel Scholarship Board which shall serve as the policymaking body vested with the authority to come up with the mechanics, scope and limitations, and requirements for the scholarships, assistance and benefits.
“Passing this measure is the least we can do as a token of our eternal gratitude for our uniformed and law enforcement personnel’s unwavering commitment and their life of service to the country,” Trillanes added.