Senator Tulfo wants to increase combat pay for AFP, PNP and PCG uniformed personnel
Senator Tulfo wants to increase combat pay for AFP, PNP and PCG uniformed personnel
Senator
Raffy Tulfo seeks to increase combat pay for uniformed members of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), and
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Tulfo
has filed Senate Bill No.
1816, or the Combat Incentives Act, proposing to increase
combat duty pay to ₱5,000 and ₱1,000 per day for combat incentive
pay to AFP, PNP, and PCG personnel.
“Our
soldiers and police personnel receive meager salaries, inadequate allowances,
and insufficient benefits compared to the circumstantial stressors and
challenges they face. “Some of these are societal isolation, the sleep
deprivation that comes with long shifts, and continued exposure to harmful
human elements,” Tulfo said.
Defending
the Philippines from external threats is the responsibility of the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP). As the nation’s first line of defense against
terrorist attacks and other threats, both civilian and military, the AFP plays
a key role in maintaining stability and security.
There
are three AFP primary branches: the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy
(including the Marine Corps).
The Philippine National Police (PNP), on the
other hand, is the country’s armed national police force. The National Police
Commission administers and controls the agency, which is part of the Department
of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
This is proven by the combat duty pay that our
soldiers earn. Combat Duty Pay (CDP) is a combat pay in addition to base pay
for AFP personnel engaged in combat activities and PNP uniformed officers
participating in actual police operations.
Under Executive Order No. 3, s. 2016, former
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte mandated that all entitled uniformed personnel
receive a fixed rate of ₱3,000 (CDP).
A Combat Incentive Pay (CIP) of ₱300 per day is
also given to uniformed personnel who participate directly or indirectly in
actual combat/police operations against various insurgent, terrorist, and
lawless elements.
Tulfo added that the said incentives can hardly
address the increasing economic burden of soldiers, who are subjected to
numerous risks and perils when they put their lives on the line to protect our
people, our institutions, and our democratic way of life.
Parallel to the services of the AFP and PNP,
the PCG also should be recognized and receive such incentives as their primary
mission is to preserve life and property at sea, marine resources, and the
environment, and aid in the enforcement of maritime laws within Philippine
jurisdiction.
In order to compensate our uniformed people for
the risks they face while defending the public, this measure proposes
increasing the CDP to a fixed value of ₱5,000.00, and the CIP to a fixed amount
of ₱1,000, to a maximum of fifty percent (50%) of their salary.
“It has been a long time since they were
compensated well. It is just right and statutory because relative pay plays an integral
part in career decision-making and boosting the morale of those engaged in combating
threats or risky duties,” he added.
Since
inflation has been fairly progressive, the CDP and CIP raises would also help
improve the living standards of uniformed members and their respective
families.
Under the said bill, the combat pay increase
shall be charged to the savings of the respective departments of the concerned
units of uniformed personnel. After that, the National Government will allocate
and include in the General Appropriations Act the total yearly cost of CDP and
CIP increases.