Lorenzana appeals for patience amid lag in military pension differentials

MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Wednesday appealed for patience among retired uniformed personnel who are concerned with the delays of their 2018 pension differentials due to cuts in pension funds.

Around P20 billion was removed from the 2021 national budget’s Pension and Gratuity Fund for retired and uniformed personnel.

“Kung pwede lang po sana ay maghintay lang tayo ng konting panahon dahil ‘yung pera kinain ng COVID at marami tayong pagkakagastusan dito. Bibili pa tayo ng maraming vaccines so baka hindi kayanin,” Lorenzana said on the sidelines of his courtesy call to Speaker Lord Allan Velasco in the House of Representatives.

“Huwag nating pilitin ang gobyerno na mangutang para ibayad sa inyo. Anyway, dinoble naman ang pension ninyo since 2018, except ‘yung four months—January to April—so palagay ko hindi kayo mahihirapan,” he said.

Lorenzana said the government was “not backing away” from its obligations. “Tulong lang natin sa gobyerno na huwag muna natin silang pilitin na hindi kaya,” he added.

Congressmen were pointing fingers at each other on how it ended up that way.

But House appropriations committee chair Rep. Eric Yap said that the P172.9 billion pension fund was reduced by P20 billion in the 2021 national budget without Velasco’s knowledge.

Yap also said he was preparing a P50-billion supplemental budget proposal that would include funding for pension and gratuity for soldiers and policemen.

KGA