Correcting injustices in the benefits and pension system

From the Business Mirror (Nov 6): Correcting injustices in the benefits and pension system

IN reaction to my column, “Reforming seven uniformed services retirement benefits” on October 26, the Confederation of Uniformed Services Associations (Conusa) has strongly suggested to Congress to replace Executive Order (EO) 201 with a joint congressional measure to correct injustices in the allocation of benefits and pension system in the country’s uniformed services.

Speaking for Conusa, retired Vice Admiral Ariston V. de los Reyes explained that during the Arroyo administration, it was Congress’s Joint Resolution 4 S-2009 which, among other things, authorized President Duterte to implement salary adjustment in four equal yearly tranches, commencing on July 1, 2009.

“In order to execute the same annually, the President had to issue an executive order each year. Thus, for the third tranche, President Benigno Aquino III issued EO 40 S 2011,” de los Reyes said.

According to him, on the final semester of the Aquino administration in 2016, Congress failed to pass the bill for salary standardization in government due to disagreement on the indexing of pension of retired military and uniformed services personnel (MUP) to new rates.

“The Senate supported said indexing; the House of Representatives did not. Thus, President Aquino took it upon himself to usurp legislative power by issuing EO 201 in lieu of a bill or a joint resolution passed by Congress. Congress has yet to conduct an inquiry on the matter in aid of legislation,” de los Reyes explained.

To correct iniquities, the Conusa wrote Duterte three times since July 2016 recommending to amend EO 201 so as to provide for adjustment of base pay of MUP in the active service, and allow pension indexing of the retired, pending enactment of a salary standardization law in lieu of EO 201. However, the Conusa has yet to receive a reply from the Office of the President on the matter.

The federation found EO 201 unconstitutional, unlawful, unduly oppressive and discriminatory against the active and retired MUP, who have served faithfully and honorably, and oftentimes at the risk of their lives in order to secure our people and defend our land.

EO 201 merely grants provisional allowance and officer’s allowance in lieu of increase in base pay of MUP. Without a permanent law, MUP’s base pay, longevity pay, flying pay, sea duty pay, instructor duty pay and combat duty pay in the active service cannot be increased. Likewise, the pension of retired MUP cannot be adjusted in accordance with existing laws, which allow automatic indexing of their pension to current base pay.

“On the other hand,” the Conusa said, “indexing of pension of the retired justices and members of the constitutional commissions under EO 201 is allowed which is very discriminatory to the retired MUP. It will surely have continuing deleterious effect to their morale and welfare, now and in the future.”

“As an illustrative example, the pension of a retired chief of staff (CS) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and that of a deputy ombudsman falls under the same salary grade (SG) 30. EO 201 increased the base pay of SG 30 by 122 percent from P78,946 to P178,043 (step 2). By 2019 when the fourth and final tranche of base pay adjustment shall have been completed, the monthly pension of a retired CS shall remain at P86,062.50, while that of a deputy ombudsman shall increase to more than P180,000 (allowances not yet factored in). Similarly, an undersecretary, also with SG 30 who will retire at age 65 in 2019 would be entitled to receive monthly pension of more than P160,000 by 2024,” the Conusa lamented.

The Conusa also said: “Such disparity is also apparent in varying degrees at the lower ranks in the MUP, which is tantamount to continuing relative diminution of their pension due to inflation, while the pension of their civilian counterparts continue to increase as years go by. Indeed, suspension of pension in the MUP by EO 201 is a grave oversight and is not in consonance with sound national policy formulation. It will likely cause low morale and dissension among the ranks of the MUP in the near future.”

Meanwhile, there is a pending proposed joint resolution from the Office of the President covering only adjustment for MUP (partly from the provisional allowance and officer’s allowance provided by EO 201, plus increases by rank in accordance with the President’s public pronouncements), and more significantly suspending pension indexing.

EO 201 will continue to be the basis of base pay and pension adjustment of civilian government officials and employees until 2019, which already allows the indexing of pension of the retired justices and members of the constitutional commissions. Thus, EO 201 will be institutionalized and become a precedent to similar issuance by a President.

To correct the injustices, the Conusa proposed a joint resolution that must embody the pertinent contents of EO 201, with allowances for MUP being replaced with base pay and without provision for suspension of indexing of pension as in the case of the retired justices and members of the constitutional commissions.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/correcting-injustices-in-the-benefits-and-pension-system/