AFP grateful with compensation hike

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 14): AFP grateful with compensation hike

All officers and enlisted personnel of the 125,000-strong Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have expressed their appreciation for the increase in their compensation made by President Rodrigo Duterte.

This was stressed by AFP public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo in a statement Saturday.

“Our soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines, including civilian personnel were happily surprised when they received their respective increases reflected in their first pay slip for the year 2017. For this we thank the Commander-in-Chief for his manifest regard to the morale and welfare of his men in the AFP,” he added.

Military and Uniformed Personnel (MUP) including all civil servants are receiving an increased take home pay starting January 2017.

This is a result of the second tranche implementation of Executive Order 201.

The four-tranche salary adjustment scheme was adopted, budgeted, and continued by the Duterte Administration.

With this approach, the compensation of AFP personnel approximates the pay of their counterparts in private corporations to at least 70 percent of the median of salaries received by employees working in companies outside the military.

A monthly provisional allowance to be implemented in four tranches subject to tax deduction was given to MUP.

For instance, a soldier with the rank of Sergeant will receive a monthly provisional allowance of PHP1,718 for the year 2017.

By 2018 he stands to receive PHP2,650. And by 2019, he would be receiving PHP3,633.

“Soldiers also received a higher hazard pay in 2017 starting this month of January. From the 2016 rate of PHP390, they stand to receive PHP540 per month for this year. They will be receiving PHP690 in 2018 and PHP840 in 2019 for the last trance," Arevalo said.

“The increase in our soldiers’ wage is a big help to our soldiers who are mostly breadwinners and are often the only provider in their families," he added.

The AFP official said the increase will certainly uplift the morale of uniformed and non-uniformed personnel who, although not seeking for an increase, were bequeathed with such benefit.

"We may not have received the ‘doubled salary’ yet as promised, still, we are thankful for this increase in allowance and hazard pay," he added.

“Our gratitude will always show in the fidelity with which we will perform our mandated duty—with or without an increase. The people and the President may expect from every soldier, airman, sailor, marine, and civilian employee a dedicated and exemplary performance of our tasks deserving of people’s trust,” Arevalo said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=955217