Duterte moves to fast-track military pension scheme

PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte wants to fast-track the establishment of a new pension scheme for military personnel. The president hopes to establish this scheme within his term.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said that the economic managers, together with officials of the Defense, Interior and Local Government, and Transportation departments met with Mr. Duterte last week to present the blueprint for the new pension fund for the military.
“So we laid out to them the problem… but we have to sit down together to work out the mechanism for solving this problem — which will involve turning over some of the real estate assets of the organizations to be able to set up a fund for the retirement which we are recommending be managed by the GSIS (Government Service Insurance System), separately from the current,” Mr. Dominguez told reporters.
“The President asked us to move forward quickly and we have to make another presentation to him on the progress by the end of August,” he said.
“It’s not sustainable over the long run. It’s already taking a toll because you cannot get it out of your budget. It’s not sustainable talaga. So far it’s affordable, but pretty soon it won’t be affordable. So we are just anticipating a large problem,” he said.
“Hopefully we don’t leave the next administration with this problem because the last administration left us with this problem with no plan. At least we have a plan,” he added.
Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said earlier that this “elephant in the room” entered during the Ramos administration, but no one since then has moved to address it. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan