INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Finance (DOF) on Wednesday said that it held consultations with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Philippine Army (PA) to improve the proposed Military and Uniformed Personnel (MUP) Pension Reform Bill.
The MUP is a Senate bill that is currently at the technical working group stage, where adjustments are being made to the bill by representatives of the government’s economic team.
“When we started the roadshow, ibang-iba po ang proposals namin. Pero dahil nakikinig kami, nag-iba na po ang mga proposals. Yung mga makikita nyo po ngayon, this has been the product of various consultations with stakeholders,” said DOF Undersecretary Maria Luwalhati Dorotan Tiuseco.
(When we started the roadshow, our proposals were very different. But because we are listening, the proposals have changed. The presentation you will see today has been the product of various consultations with stakeholders.)
According to the DOF, a total of nine consultations were held with different MUP units. The PA had a crowd of 20,000 participants online and onsite at the Philippine Army Officers Clubhouse, Taguig City.
The DOF had also consulted with the Philippine Air Force, Presidential Security Group, Philippine Navy, Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines Health Service Command, and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
DOF Chief Benjamin Diokno had previously called the current MUP pension system unsustainable.
“If we do not address the huge and rising unfunded liabilities of the current MUP pension system now, securing sufficient resources to provide for the benefits of future pensioners and their dependents will be extremely challenging,” said Diokno.