Escudero: Gov’t must not forget unpaid military pension

FILE PHOTO: Sorsogon Gov. Francis “Chiz” Escudero. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — The government should not forget about the unpaid pension for retired military and uniformed officers, senatorial aspirant Francis Escudero said Monday.

Escudero said it is the obligation of the government to give the retirees what is due to them as stipulated in the law in recognition of their services to the country.

“Obligasyon ng pamahalaan ang pagbibigay ng buwanang pension kasama na ang karagdagang halaga dahil ipinangako natin iyan sa ating mga kasundaluhan at sa ating uniformed personnel,” Escudero said in a statement.

(It is the obligation of the government to give the monthly pension together with the additional benefits because we promised that to our military and uniformed personnel.)

“Bagamat napakalaking burden iyan dahil sa mahabang panahon ay iyan ay nanggagaling sa taunang budget, marapat pa rin na makahanap tayo ng paraan upang tupdin ang ipinangako,” he added.

(While it is a huge burden because, in the long run, it will come from the annual budget, we have to find a way to fulfill our promise.)

Escudero recalled that in 2020, the Department of National Defense (DND) appealed to retired military and uniformed personnel for patience and understanding due to the delay in the release of their 2018 pension differentials as government resources were focused on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Citing the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Escudero said the military and uniformed personnel (MUP) pension system currently has a P9.6-trillion unfunded reserve deficit, and it needs annually a total of P848.39 billion to sustain it for the next 20 years based on the existing scheme.

“Matagal na naming sinusubukan na isaayos iyan pero bago namin naisaayos iyan, pinataasan pa ni Pangulong Duterte muli ang suweldo ng ating mga kasundaluhan at uniformed personnel na kung saan ay naka-base diyan iyong pensyon ng mga retirado,” Escudero said.

(We have been trying to fix that but even before we fixed that, President Rodrigo Duterte is requesting another increase in the salary of military and uniformed personnel where the pension is based on.)

In November 2021, the bill proposing reforms in the pension system for military and uniformed officers and personnel was put on hold temporarily in the House of Representatives.

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