Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman. —INQUIRER.net/Ryan Leagogo
Military retirees can rest assured that they will receive their monthly pension up to March as the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved the release of P14 billion for this purpose.
The DBM made the amount available through a Special Allotment Release Order dated Jan. 12 which, along with a corresponding notice of cash allocation, covers the pension needs of retired members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Citing the AFP payroll records as of Dec. 31, 2022, the DBM said there were 137,649 retirees who shall receive their pension from January to March of this year.
Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the timely release of funds for the pension of military retirees was one of the government’s initiatives “to recognize their critical role in the security and stability of the country, which she said remained a priority of the Marcos administration.”
Timely release
Such a timely release is made possible with the relatively early passage of the 2023 national budget law, which President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed on Dec. 16.
“It is our responsibility to make sure that our retirees, as well as their families, always get the benefits entitled to them,” Pangandaman said, noting the many years of service that the pensioners rendered. Pangandaman said the fund was chargeable against the Pension and Gratuity Fund under the 2023 General Appropriations Act.