House backs pay hike for soldiers, police
“Our men and women in uniform proved in the battle of Marawi that they deserve this salary hike. They managed to contain the threat posed by Maute terrorists within the city, neutralize its key leaders, and retake the city,” said House appropriations committee chair and Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles. File
MANILA, Philippines — The chair of the House committee on appropriations supports Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno’s promise to double the pay of soldiers and policemen, pursuant to the campaign promise of President Duterte.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has also pushed for the immediate passage of Senate Bill 1463 that seeks to grant educational assistance and benefits to the dependents of the uniformed personnel and law enforcers killed or permanently incapacitated in the line of duty.
“Our men and women in uniform proved in the battle of Marawi that they deserve this salary hike. They managed to contain the threat posed by Maute terrorists within the city, neutralize its key leaders, and retake the city,” said House appropriations committee chair and Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles.
Nograles said the salary hike is slated for implementation starting January 2018.
Earlier, Diokno said Malacañang endorsed to both the Senate and the House of Representatives a draft resolution that would make official the 100 percent salary increase for police and military personnel.
Nograles said this is the proper procedure since Congress, particularly the House, possesses the power to allocate funds for government expenditure.
He has guaranteed the approval of the draft resolution once Congress resumes session on Nov. 13. Lawmakers are currently on a month-long Halloween break.
Nograles also gave assurance on the availability of funds during plenary debates on the proposed P3.767-trillion budget for 2018.
He said P24.9 billion from the P84.4-billion Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund for 2018 would be tapped for this purpose.
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