AFP spokesman: No thwarting of facts on soldiers’ pay hike

From GMA News (Jan 21): AFP spokesman: No thwarting of facts on soldiers’ pay hike

A top official of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) clarified on Saturday that the military also recognizes the executive order signed during the last months of the Aquino administration for the wage increase reflected in their pay slips this month.

Col. Edgard Arevalo, the chief of AFP's Public Affairs Office, argued in a statement that "there is no thwarting of facts by the AFP" when he issued a press release last week, wherein he expressed gratitude to President Rodrigo Duterte for the military personnel's wage increase.

Arevalo's clarification came after Senator Antonio Trillanes IV reminded the AFP and the Philippine National Police that their pay hike is the second tranche of former President Benigno Aquino III's Executive Order 201.

"Sen. Trillanes sought to set the records straight that the second tranche increase in soldiers' take home pay was attributable to Pres. Aquino and not Pres. Duterte," the AFP official said.

"Hence the gratitude of the AFP should be to the former and not to the latter," he added.

Arevalo noted that in his press release on January 14, he recognized Aquino's EO 201, which covers salary increases for government workers. "...an increased take home pay starting January 2017... 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," he said, quoting his earlier statement.

"Having said that, the AFP therefore recognizes that EO 201 was issued by the former President Aquino," he noted. "And for that the AFP is thankful. We have expressed that as soon as the increase took effect in year 2016," he added.

Arevalo, however, admitted that in his earlier statement the AFP just expressed its gratitude to Duterte for adopting, budgeting, and continuing with the scheme that brought the increase.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/596601/news/nation/afp-spokesman-no-thwarting-of-facts-on-soldiers-pay-hike