Press Release
August 18, 2014

Soldiers, cops to get more allowance

Filipino soldiers and policemen may soon have a reason be happy. The Senate today approved on final reading a proposed joint resolution with the House of Representatives seeking to increase the military and police subsistence allowance from P90 to 150 per day effective January 1 next year.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, author and chair of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, said proposed Joint Resolution No. 2 also covered the personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Philippine Coast Guard, candidate soldiers, cadets and civilian active auxiliaries of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and cadets of the Philippine National Police Academy.

A counterpart resolution has been filed by Magdalo Party-list Representatives Ashley Acedillo and Gary Alejano at the House of Representatives.

Once the House will approve its version of the joint resolution, a bicameral committee conference will be convened to consolidate the conflicting provisions before sending it to Malacañang. The joint resolution will take effect once it is signed by the President and published in national papers.

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon said that a boost in their daily allowances would help members of the military and the police better provide for their families.

"According to the National Statistics Office (NSO), an average Filipino family needs at least P13, 200 per month to live decently - a far cry from what our troops and police officers currently receive. Those who protect our nation and their families deserved the attention and help of the state, especially as prices of even the most essential goods go up," he said. A former naval officer, Trillanes said the subsistence allowance of P90 per day was too meager to cover the needs of uniformed personnel.

"Despite their vital, indispensible and invaluable contribution to the country, they remain among the lowest paid public servants. They receive measly salaries, inadequate allowances and insufficient benefits," Trillanes said in his sponsorship speech.

"It is the intention of this measure to uplift the morale of our soldiers, the policemen and uniformed personnel of the Department of Interior and Local Governments (DILG) and the cadets of the Philippine National Police Academy by providing a modest increase in their subsistence allowance," he added.

According to Trillanes, the national government would appropriate funds for the increased subsistence allowance annually, and the same would be included in the General Appropriations Act.

Senator Loren Legarda, vice chair of the Senate Committee on Defense and Security, said that increasing the subsistence allowance of the soldiers and policemen would address their "most basic and pressing needs."

"The hard reality is that our uniformed personnel remain among the lowest paid public servants despite the enormity of their tasks. It is high time that we address the long-standing concerns of these public servants who always put their lives on the line," Legarda stressed.

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