MANILA – Armed Forces of the Philippines officers and personnel deserve a higher combat incentive pay, according to Sen. Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV.
In Senate Bill 1882, Trillanes sought to raise the combat duty pay of AFP officers and enlisted personnel by 25 percent of their base pay.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed in September 2016 Executive Order No. 3, raising the AFP personnel’s monthly combat duty pay to P3,000 from P300.
But this was not enough for how much they risk, said Trillanes, a former Philippine Navy officer.
“Members of the Armed Forces bear the greatest degree of risk among civil servants, particularly when they go about fulfilling their duties of protecting the State and the people from external aggression and internal security threats, and performing disaster response, search, rescue, relief, and rehabilitation work,” he said.
According to Trillanes, the measure will address the “imbalance” in the military forces and boost the morale of government troops.
“AFP ground troops like the Army and the Marines have long been placed at a disadvantage since their qualified Air Force and Navy counterparts get a corresponding flying pay or sea duty pay equivalent to 50 percent and 25 percent (of their base pay), respectively,” he said.
“Aside from recognizing the relevant role of our soldiers in protecting the country from external aggression and internal security threats, we seek to professionalize the AFP as an organization by giving its personnel benefits that are commensurate to their rank and the kind of function they perform,” said Trillanes./PN
