Duterte OK’s higher base pay for military; pay hike for teachers next

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has signed a joint congressional resolution authorizing the increase in base pay of military and uniformed personnel in the government and vowed that teachers’ salary hike will also happen soon.

A copy of the resolution, which Mr. Duterte signed on Jan. 1, was released to the media on Tuesday, Jan. 9.

The resolution states that “there is a need to adjust the compensation package of Military and Uniformed Personnel (MUP) in order to make it more commensurate with their critical role in maintaining national security and peace and order, taking into consideration their exposure to high-risk environments in the performance of their duties.”

It covers the modified base pay schedule which is applied to all military personal under the Department of National Defense (DND) and uniformed personnel under the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA).

The modified base pay schedule for MUP will be implemented in two years. Beginning Jan. 1, the monthly base pay of candidate soldiers under DND and candidate coastguardsmen under PCG shall be P18,587.

As for generals under DND and director generals under PNP and PPSC, their salary in 2018 will now be P121,143, and this will increase to P149,785 beginning Jan. 1, 2019.

The hazard pay of all MUP is fixed at P540 per month, the resolution said.

All the amounts necessary to implement the increase in MUP’s base pay in 2018 will be sourced from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund and other available funds.

Presidential Spokesperson Herminio Harry L. Roque, Jr. also announced on the same day that the President wants the teachers’ salary increase to be included in the second package of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN).

“The President…stated that with the second tax reform package, he has instructed DBM (Department of Budget and Management ) and all other agencies to find means to increase the salary of teachers after the initial doubling of salaries of the AFP and the police. So the teachers will be next,” Mr. Roque said in a press briefing.

The President, however, has not yet revealed any amounts, according to Mr. Roque. “He did not say how much, but he said that they will have to be tangible results of any implementation of the second tax reform package and he said that that should be the increase in teachers’ salary.”

“But judging by what he wanted for the PNP and the AFP, it could be that he is also aiming to double the entry salary for teachers,” Mr. Roque further said. —