Aquino gov’t restores soldiers’ P150-per-day combat incentive

MANILA, Philippines—On top of the monthly P500 combat duty pay now being received by military officers and soldiers, the government has “revived” the P150-per-day combat incentive pay for them.

Malacañang has issued Executive Order no. 38, which consolidated all presidential issuances relating to combat duty pay and combat incentive pay of officers and enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The consolidation of these presidential issuances was “to ensure that the total combat pay, including allowances and incentives, are adequate and commensurate to the services rendered by the members of the AFP, in pursuance of the intent of the Aquino administration to improve their conditions,” according to the executive order, released by the Palace, on Tuesday.

In keeping with the earlier announcement made by President Aquino, the combat duty pay in the AFP has been set at P500 per month, and thus rendering ineffective the previous rate specified in EO no. 1017 issued in 1985.

In EO no. 1017, the combat duty pay of soldiers then were from P120 to P240 per month.

Those entitled to combat duty pay are officers and enlisted personnel performing combat duties/activities as defined in regulations to be issued by the secretary of the Department of National Defense.

The order also said that the provisions of an EO that was issued in 2007, specifically providing a P150 per day additional combat incentive pay, were “revived” under this new order.

This combat incentive pay was removed when President Aquino issued EO 15 on December 2010, which provided for an additional combat allowance of P260 per month to increase it to P500 per month.

According to EO no. 38, the granting of the combat incentive pay was on condition that: the operation must be for a specific combat mission that is duly covered by an operations order or a fragmentary order; the personnel involved in combat must be in the published task organization of the operations order and the total additional combat incentive pay for each individual shall not exceed P1,500 per operational order or fragmentary order.

Funding for these combat allowances will come from the savings of the AFP’s personal services for 2010 and this year and subsequently, funding will be included in the General Appropriations Act.