Veterans laud Duterte’s efforts on retirees’ pension

From the Philippine Information Agency (Apr 10): Veterans laud Duterte’s efforts on retirees’ pension

The veterans present during the 75th Commemoration of the Araw ng Kagitingan beamed with gratitude for President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement regarding the early release of the Armed Forces of the Philippines retirees’ pension credentials.

After citing his speech, Duterte announced his directive towards the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of National Defense to expedite the early release of the pension credentials of retirees for fiscal years 2008 to 2013 amounting to over Php6 billion.

“We are very happy that the President announced the good news. We have been waiting so long for this. This administration has indeed been very generous and helpful to us veterans,” Veterans Federation of the Philippines President Bonifacio De Gracia said.

De Gracia, a retired Colonel of the Philippine Army, shared that immediately after President Duterte assumed the position [as President], he ensured that all veterans will receive their rightful benefits.

“The difference now is prioritizing all the veterans, and when I say ‘all veterans’, we have the World War II veterans, and the post-war veterans, who are all composed of retirees from the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he said.

Furthermore, the 79-year-old post-war veteran lauded the Commander-in-Chief’s actions for including the surviving spouses of the retirees among the recipients of the said benefits.

http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/3221491809880/veterans-laud-duterte-s-efforts-on-retirees-pension