Standardize pay for gov’t uniformed personnel pushed

Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker on Tuesday proposed a bill which would standardize the pay, allowances and benefits for the government’s uniformed personnel.

Muntinlupa City Representative Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the House committee on national defense and security, has filed House Bill 6536 entitled “An Act Standardizing The Base Pay, Allowances And Other Benefits Of All Law Enforcement Uniformed Personnel Rendering Government Service,” saying that it was time to resolve the general perception that government work “entails a financial sacrifice brought about by low salaries and allowances.”

Under the proposed measure, the term uniformed personnel pertains to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), Bureau of Customs (BoC), Bureau of Immigration (BI), and the Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey (BCGS) who are “regular members of the civil service who are armed and wear uniforms and primarily involved in the enforcement of laws.”

The lawmaker lambasted the “oftentimes not commensurate” salaries and allowances for uniformed personnel, saying “such a situation causes demoralization in the ranks which adversely affects the professionalism expected from them.”

Despite the government’s efforts to standardize compensation for its workers, Biazon said that unlike with the AFP and the PNP where personnel receive similar salaries and allowances, employees of agencies like the BI, BoC and BuCor are still receiving less.

Once enacted as a law, HB 6536 will effect standardization of uniformed personnel’s pay, allowances and benefits, “taking into account the similarity in the nature of the responsibilities pertaining to, and the qualifications of their positions.”