Recto bats for higher financial aid to gov’t forces wounded in combat

Senator Ralph Recto INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Senator Ralph Recto on Saturday called for additional budget being given to soldiers and policemen who were wounded in the process of dispensing their official duty to the country.

Recto made this proposal to reward more than one thousand wounded soldiers and policemen who valiantly fought the heavily armed terrorists in the battleground of Marawi City.

Recto had proposed to increase the current P250,000 financial assistance to P1 million for a soldier or policeman permanently disabled during combat duty or other risky operation.

“If the injuries sustained by the wounded are so severe that they would require lifetime care and assisted living, then it is time to review if existing policies are enough to provide those,” Recto said in a statement.

“I think for grave injuries, like multiple amputations, loss of sight, dapat dagdagan pa natin, gawing P1 million (we must increase it to P1 million). At igarantiya ang habambuhay na alaga at hospitalization (and guarantee lifetime care and hospitalization),” he said.

Under the Comprehensive Social Benefits Program (CBSP) that lists the aid to be extended to killed and wounded uniformed personnel, permanently disabled servicemen will get a financial assistance of P250,000 while those suffering minor and major injuries will get P100,000.

Permanently disabled servicemen are entitled to four types of assistance: financial; shelter, or a P450,000 unit within a military or police housing site; education, with annual stipends to two dependents; and medical, which covers hospitalization and maintenance medicine.

The senator said the existing CBSP budget would need augmentation as it was based on an estimate of 681 personnel killed or wounded during the entire year.

“The war in Marawi was not factored in. If guns need to be reloaded with ammo, the same is true for the funds of programs to help the wounded and the killed,” Recto said.

He said the number of injured servicemen in Marawi has surpassed the 1,000-mark by now—as of July 22, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reported that the number of wounded government troops had reached 845.

“That was the reported figure as of July 17. At that time, the report was 823 AFP personnel wounded plus 22 from the police. That was the figure 47 days ago,” Recto said.

The budget of the AFP Medical Center, pegged at P1.613 billion for 2018, should also be increased to accommodate the needs of wounded servicemen, the senator said.

“Lampas dalawang batalyon na ang mga sugatan natin, sa Marawi pa lang (We have more than two battalions of soldiers wounded in Marawi alone),” he said. JPV

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