Duterte asks Congress to pass uniformed personnel pension reform

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 26) — In his last State of the Nation Address, President Rodrigo Duterte pushed for Congress to pass changes in the pension system of uniformed personnel to allow government "fiscal flexibility" in providing benefits to state forces.

"I am asking Congress to pass a unified system of separation, retirement, and pension of military and uniformed personnel to maintain government fiscal flexibility and provide adequate benefits and renumeration to our men and women in uniform," said Duterte during his speech on Monday at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.

The President said his proposal only covers new entrants to the military. Duterte has been pushing for military pension reform since 2017 as the cost of paying the pension of retired soldiers had been poised to exceed the cost of compensation for those in active service.

Senate National Defense Committee Chair Panfilo Lacson earlier said ₱9.6 trillion would be needed to finance the pension system of uniformed forces in the next 20 years - according to a study by the Government Service Insurance System - stirring apprehension that the fund will not be sustainable in the long-run.

Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda filed a related bill in February, identifying other flaws in the pension system such as: the pension being indexed to the salary of active personnel, personnel are entitled to pension starting 20 years of service before reaching retirement age and the pension being non-contributory in nature. His proposal addressed all these concerns.

Senator Chrisopher Bong Go also filed a similar measure in March last year.