Trillanes seeks amendment of laws on retirement benefits, pension of uniformed personnel

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 20): Trillanes seeks amendment of laws on retirement benefits, pension of uniformed personnel

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has pushed for the passage of a bill amending the "pertinent laws" on the retirement benefits and pension of the uniformed personnel of the country’s uniformed services.

In his sponsorship speech, Trillanes said Senate Bill No. 3088 or the “Unified Uniformed Personnel Retirement Benefits and Pension Reform Act of 2015" will allow the government to fulfill its duties to the retirees by implementing reforms in the country’s pension system.

”It is therefore our responsibility to ensure that these retirees continue to receive benefits commensurate to the service they have rendered and that said benefits allow them to live comfortably during retirement,” Trillanes, chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, said.

The bill seeks to establish a “seed fund” to be known as the Uniformed Personnel Retirement Fund that will be managed by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

Trillanes said the absence of seed fund under the existing retirement laws “eventually led to the ballooning of pension costs, which may no longer be sustained by our meager government resources in the coming years.”

The bill, he said, also intends to terminate the automatic adjustment of retirees’ pension based on the prevailing scale of based pay of the active uniformed personnel.

Under the bill, Trillanes proposes to standardize the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) monthly retirement pay equivalent to two-and-a-half percent for each year of active service rendered, but not exceeding 90 percent of the monthly base and longevity pay of the grade next higher than the permanent grade last held.

Trillanes clarified that only the new entrants or new army members will be covered upon the passage of the bill, adding the active members and current retirees will still be under the current retirement laws.

“Passing this measure is the least we can do to honor the sacrifices of our heroes and to recognize their unwavering fidelity and their life of service to the country, while we take into the consideration the government resources’ capacity to support their needs,” Trillanes said.

Aside from the AFP, the country’s uniformed services include Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Corrections and National Mapping and Resource Information Authority.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=848535