Duterte’s nod for police and military pay hike

President Rodrigo Duterte has signed Joint Resolution 01 increasing the base pay of the military and uniformed personnel in government.The joint resolution, signed by the president on January 1, provides that the modified base pay shall apply to all military personnel under the Department of National Defence, and uniformed personnel under the Department of Interior and Local Government, Philippine Coast Guard, and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority.“There is a need to adjust the compensation package of MUP in order to make it more commensurate with their critical role in maintaining national security and peace and order, taking into consideration their exposure to high-risk environments in the performance of their duties,” the resolution read.Under the resolution, a Police Officer 1 and those with equivalent rank will enjoy a 100% increase in their monthly base pay — from P14,834 to P29,668.The Department of Budget estimates that the government will need an additional P63.4bn to cover the pay increase. The salary adjustment will be implemented in two tranches — in 2018 and 2019.The amount needed for this year shall be sourced from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund and other available funds, while the funding requirements for the succeeding years shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.“Pending review of the current MUP pension system by the legislative and executive branches of government, which is aimed toward ensuring a sustainable and equitable pension system, the indexation of the pension of retired MUP with base pay of those in the active service shall be suspended with respect to the base-pay increase authorised in the joint resolution,” the resolution said.The pension indexation shall be based on the rates of the base-pay schedule provided under the law. Also, the resolution fixed the hazard pay of all military and uniformed personnel at P540 a month.Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno earlier said the increase in the base pay would “result in increases in other allowances and bonuses that are computed as a percentage of Base Pay such as Longevity Pay (or Foggy Pay), Mid-Year Bonus, Year-End Bonus, and will effectively discontinue the grant of provisional and officers’ allowances, an interim measure pending the modification of the base pay schedule.”