Press Release
July 4, 2020

STATEMENT OF SENATOR RICHARD J. GORDON CLARIFYING HIS ALLEGED RESERVATIONS ON PRIORITIZING THE SALARY HIKE OF POLICE, SOLDIERS

I was among the 20 senators who voted to approve on third and final reading Senate Joint Resolution No. 11, or the Base Pay Increase of Military and Uniformed Personnel in the Government on December 13, 2017 which became Joint Resolution No. 1 after President Rodrigo Duterte approved it on January 20, 2018. No senator voted against the said measure.

Under the resolution, the modified Base Pay Schedule, which shall apply to all military personner under the Department of National Defense and uniformed personnel under the Department of Interior and Local Government, Philippine Coast Guard and National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, will be implemented in two years, with the first tranche beginning January 1, 2018 and the second beginning January 1, 2019.

Every budget season, I have always been advocating, not only for an increase in the salary of the military and the police, but also of health workers, and teachers. Aside from that, I have long been calling for strengthening our Armed Forces by allocating additional budget to cover for the procurement of equipment and training of forces.

With our country facing internal and external threats, I have always said 'Si vis pacem, para bellum' or 'If you want peace, prepare for war.' I have also been vocal about my belief that to enrich the country, we have to strengthen the military.

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