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
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.