House appropriations committee chair and Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles said that he would push for a 100 percent salary increase for soldiers and policemen after the five-month battle in Marawi.
“Our men and women in uniform proved in the Battle of Marawi that they deserve this salary hike,” Nograles said in a statement on Sunday.
“They managed to contain the threat posed by Maute terrorists within the city, neutralize its key leaders and retake the city,” Nograles said.
The House leader said that the retaking of the city guaranteed the approval of the draft resolution once Congress resumed sessions on Nov. 13 after a month-long break.
“Malacañang has endorsed to both Houses of Congress a draft resolution that would make official the 100 percent salary increase for police and military personnel,” the statement added.
Nograles said that the funds for the pay hike could be sourced from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) which was already in the proposed P3.767-trillion budget for 2018.
“Specifically, P24.9 billion from the P84.4 billion MPBF for 2018 will be tapped for this purpose,” he said.
“The amount is separate from the P61.4 billion that has been allocated for the third tranche of pay hikes for government workers under the Salary Standardization Law.”
But opposition lawmaker, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano disputed Nograles’ claim and claimed President Duterte and his congressional allies only “want to make it appear that they doubled the salary” of soldiers and policemen.
In reality, Alejano said, Nograles was talking about a “salary increase” that was only added to the third tranche of salary increases ordered by former President Benigno Aquino III.
Alejano said that Executive Order No. 201, signed by Aquino in February 2016, provided a modified salary increase schedule for government personnel and granting additional benefits for both civilian, and military and uniformed personnel.
“An average of 58.7% will be the increase. To be precise: 28.85% is from MPBF [the administration’s own initiative] and 71.15% from the [General Appropriations Act covering the third tranche of EO 201],” Alejano said.
“Funding EO 201 is still a credit to them because they really have no option [but to provide funding to it],” he added.