Pension of veterans in SSL pushed

From The Standard (Dec 26): Pension of veterans in SSL pushed

Military and police officers-turned-lawmakers have urged Congress to include the pension of veterans and retired military and uniformed personnel in the coverage of the proposed Salary Standardization Law of 2015 as a sign of appreciation and respect to them for risking their lives to protect the country.

In House Resolution No. 2547, Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano, along with fellow Magdalo lawmaker Francisco Ashley Acedillo, Pangasinan Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil, ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Samuel Pagdilao and Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop as co-authors.

While House Bill 6268, or the proposed SSL 2015 will benefit 1.53-million civilian, military and uniformed personnel of the national government, the measure does not cover the pension of military and uniformed personnel.

Section 11 of HB 6268 even provided for the suspension of the indexation of pension benefits of retired military and uniformed personnel with the base pay of those in the active service pending the passage of a pension reform law.

“It is unfair that the suspension of the indexation of pension benefits for retired military and uniformed personnel be based on the passage of a pension reform law, which has not yet been filed for the consideration of Congress,” said Alejano, vice chair of the House committee on national defense and security.

“The omission of the retired military and uniformed personnel from the coverage of the SSL 2015 discredits the sacrifices made by our veterans and retirees who have spent almost half of their lives as guardians of peace and protectors of democracy,” he added.

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