Sunday, February 15, 2015

Solon wants minimum monthly base pay of uniformed personnel raised to PhP24,887

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 15): Solon wants minimum monthly base pay of uniformed personnel raised to PhP24,887

A House of Representatives member is seeking to increase the minimum base pay of the personnel in the armed forces, police, fire protection, coast guard and jail management agencies to Salary Grade 15, which is equivalent to P24,887 monthly, to boost their morale in performing their tasks and discourage them from resorting to illegal activities to meet their needs.

Rep. Scott Davies S. Lanete (3rd District, Masbate) said despite the risks in their jobs, military personnel under the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Department of National Defense (DND), and uniformed personnel under the Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) under the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) are among the lowest paid government employees based on studies.

“In fact, the monthly base pay of the lowest ranking personnel in any of these government agencies concerned do not even meet the monthly cost of living for a family of five as set by the National Statistics Office (NSO) at PhP13,200,” said Lanete.

Lanete, a medical doctor, said it is high time the State recognizes the invaluable risk that these personnel from the AFP, DND, PNP, BFP, BJMP and PCG perform daily with the goal of maintaining peace and order while at the same time reduce their exposure to temptations brought about by their meager salaries.

“Without these brave souls, the citizenry would not be able to sleep soundly at night for fear of falling prey to lawless elements and disastrous calamities. These are the same people who risk their lives to ensure the people enjoy their rights to life, liberty and property,” said Lanete.

Despite their heroic roles, Lanete said these personnel are oftentimes involved in incidents that deprive the people of the enjoyment of their rights.

“News articles abound reporting these personnel succumbing to temptations and abandoning the duty they swore to the people. One of the causes for the unfortunate events is the lack of adequate compensation received by these personnel,” said Lanete, a vice chairman of the House Committees on Poverty Alleviation, and on Public Order and Safety.

In House Bill 5410, Lanete proposed that the minimum base pay of personnel under the AFP, DND, PNP, BFP, BJMP and PCG shall not be lower than the amount equivalent to Salary Grade 15 prescribed under Republic Act 6758, otherwise known as the Compensation and Classification Act of 1989. Under the third phase of the Salary Standardization Law, Salary Grade 15 is equivalent to a monthly basic salary level of PhP24,887.

In addition to the base pay, personnel under the AFP, DND, PNP, BFP, BJMP and PCG shall receive at least PhP2,000 every month as allowance, the bill provides.

The bill provides it is the declared policy of the State to continuously promote and improve the social and economic well-being of government employees involved in the maintenance of peace and order within the country.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=735848

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