‘Non-monetary benefits’ for soldiers, families continue

From the Mindanao Examiner (Jun 20, 22023): ‘Non-monetary benefits’ for soldiers, families continue

MANILA – Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said the non-monetary benefits that the government provides soldiers and their families would entice them to stay longer and wait for their mandatory retirement from the military service.

He noted that these non-monetary benefits such as healthcare service and skills upgrading initiatives in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) would serve as prime consideration for enlisted personnel not to retire early.

“I mean, it’s a matter of getting an amount now, without the continuing non-monetary benefits that you will enjoy in your career path, in your career pattern. Kung magi-invest nga tayo sa skills upgrading, sa healthcare, hindi lamang ng ating kasundaluhan, kung hindi pamilya, and other non-monetary opportunities, palagay ko, maiiwan sila,” Teodoro said.

He made the statement following reports of possible exodus of enlisted personnel from the military organization because of the looming reforms in the military and uniformed personnel (MUP) pension system.

“At lalo na kung makikita nila na ang sakripisyo nating lahat ay magiging (para) sa kabutihan ng lahat. Kasi, okay, huwag nating sulbahin ang problema, alright. Anong mangyayari? Magkakaroon tayo ng mas malaking deficit, magkakaroon ng inflation, bababa ang balor ng ating pera, tataas ang bilihin,” Gilberto pointed out.

“So, I think it’s a matter of explaining the necessity of introducing. Sa aking palagay, dahil galing din naman ako sa financial sector, hindi naman biglaang mangyayari ito, mababawasan lamang ang dapat na pagdurugo. ‘Ika nga ng ating gobyerno hanggang sa ma-self sustain na itong sistema na ito,” he added.

Last March, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the MUP pension reform aimed at fixing the pension system and addressing future fiscal uncertainty.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno Jr. said the pension being received by a military pensioner is nine times higher than the average pension of a pensioner under the Social Security System and three times higher than the average pension under the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

“So we want to reform them. And right now, the situation is so bleak, for example, that if you compare the current operating expenditures with maintenance and operating expenditures or maintenance and operating expenditures of the whole AFP and the capital outlays so the money they buy for airplanes, etc., it is actually much less than the amount of pension that we are allocating for the retirees. So there will come a time when the current budget will only be about a third, one-third, or one-fourth of the money that we’re paying for the pensioners. So we have to really address that issue. It’s not sustainable,” he said.

Diokno said the proposals for the pension reform include application of the reform to all active personnel and new entrants, removal of automatic indexation of pension to the salary of active personnel of single ranks, and mandatory contributions to be required for active personnel and new entrants similar to the GSIS pensioners. (Mindanao Examiner)

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