DBM proposes police, military pay hike of 20%

MANILA, Philippines — The police and soldiers could be up for a New Year's gift after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) proposed an across-the-board base pay hike that would see their annual earnings rise by a fifth.

 

In a statement on Tuesday, the DBM said it already submitted the proposal containing the pay increases to Malacañang for approval. It also needs to be okayed by Congress afterward.

 

Aside from base pay, hazard pay and provisional allowances will also increase, following the hike in combat pay last year through President Rodrigo Duterte's Executive Order 3 issued last September. 

 

This will also come on top of the second tranche of the salary standardization for the bureaucracy approved in 2015. 

 

Once approved, a private soldier and police officer I will see his or her annual regular pay rise 20.04 percent to P327,834, according to official estimates.

 

"(This is) in line with the Duterte administration's pledge to provide better compensation and benefits to the country's uniformed personnel," the DBM said.

 

"In effect, the upsurge in compensation for military and uniformed personnel will arise from a combination of hikes in allowances and increases in base pay," it added.

 

A total of P27.5 billion will be spent for the increase to be charged under the national outlay's Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund.

 

The 2017 budget worth P3.35 trillion took effect Tuesday, the first working day of the year.

 

Pay increases for uniformed personnel was one of Duterte's campaign promises. They came amid criticisms of alleged human rights violations committed y the police in the president's drug war.

 

The police had consistently denied such allegations and also pertained to vigilantes for the killings that already reached around 5,000 in the six-month drive.