Senate approves resolution increasing military, police base pay

Senator Gringo Honasan, chair of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security and sponsor of Senate resolution 11, said that the resolution seeks to increase the base salary of all military and police personnel. (Photo: Gregorio Honasan/Facebook)

MANILA — The Senate on Wednesday approved on third and final reading a resolution seeking to increase the base salary of military and uniformed personnel (MUP) starting January next year.

Senator Gringo Honasan, chair of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security and sponsor of Senate resolution 11, said that the resolution seeks to increase the base salary of all military and police personnel.

This includes jail guards, firemen, coast guards and those under the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority and the Philippine Public Safety College would double.

“The President has repeatedly made promises of higher salaries to the military and the police personnel. In support of this commitment, this joint resolution, if enacted into law, would double the MUPs base pay,” Honasan said in his sponsorship speech.

He said that the increase in salary for MUPs would motivate those in active service to perform better and be more committed to the service.

Moreover, the, increase in compensation would encourage civilians to join the service and improve the recruitment process.

Citing a Department of Budget and Management report, Honasan said that the compensation package would result in an average increase of 58.7 percent for all MUPs.

Honasan pointed out that the base pay schedule of military and uniformed personnel or the MUP was last increased eight years ago.

Meanwhile, the Senate also adopted Resolution No.575, which calls for a review of the salary scheme of civilian personnel.

It was authored by Senate Minority Leader Drilon and Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III.

It is meant to bring the salary of civilian personnel closer to their military and uniformed personnel counterparts, whose base pay will be increased starting 2018.

Drilon explained that the salary of entry-level personnel in the military would surpass the salaries currently received by some professionals in the bureaucracy including lawyers, nurses, teachers, and doctors.

The resolution tasked the Department of Budget and Management to recompute and readjust the base pay of civilian personnel below and above salary grade 11 to bring the salary of civilian personnel closer to their military and uniformed personnel counterparts and eliminate overlaps in between salary grade allocations of government personnel to recognize differences in duties and responsibilities of the positions.

The new base pay rates for the civilian personnel shall take effect six months after the increase in the base pay of MUP takes effect, Drilon noted.