POLICE DIRECTOR General Ronald “Bato” M. dela Rosa’s promise to “quadruple the salaries” of active cops and his retired colleagues is “ambitious” and a “near impossibility,” according to Magdalo Representative Gary C. Alejano.

“The problem is, if you increase the base pay of the active uniformed personnel, you also have to increase the base pay of the retirees due to the indexation provision in the Presidential Decree (PD) 1638,” Mr. Alejano said in a phone interview on Monday, Oct. 30.

Section 17 of PD No. 1638, also known as “Establishing a New System of Retirement and Separation for Military Personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and for Other Purposes,” states that the “retirement pay shall be subject to adjustment on the prevailing scale of base pay of military personnel in the active service.”

Mr. Alejano, a former marine officer and a member of the Senate committee on national defense and security, has previously filed a proposal — House Bill No. 1137 or the Unified Uniformed Personnel Retirement Benefits and Pension Reform Act of 2016 — which calls for an amendment of PD No. 1638, including the separation of the pay increase of active uniformed personnel from those of retirees.

The bill seeks to overhaul the entire retirement benefits and pension system for new recruits in the uniformed service. It also aims to provide a new and sustainable fund-sourcing scheme for the uniformed retirees’ pension by assigning the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to manage their funds.

Under the existing system, said Mr. Alejano, an increase covering both active and retired officers would cost the government up to P5 trillion, citing a number mentioned by Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, a former police general.

“The point here is, if Bato says he will quadruple [the salaries], he is trying to fool us. We can’t even address our present problems here, i-quadruple mo pa. Where do you get your basis?” Mr. Alejano said.

He also pointed out that “retirees don’t contribute, and that means the government will solely shoulder all the increases whether it’s double, triple, or quadruple.”

Mr. Alejano said retirees are lobbying against his proposal.

However, he clarified that the bill has a provision for increases in the pension rates.

“There will be a regular assessment of the pension, considering many factors including the inflation. Ibig sahihin pwede ka ring mag (This means we can) increase,” he said.

Section 5 of HB 1137 states that “[t]he retirement benefits and pension of uniformed personnel shall be periodically reviewed by the Department of National Defense (DND), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Department of Finance (DoF), and the GSIS for the purpose of recommending to the President, for his approval, appropriate adjustments thereto….”

Asked why he thinks Mr. Dela Rosa made such remarks, Mr. Alejano said: “Maybe to appease the retirees because the DBM, from what I have read, asked for comments from the Armed Forces and the PNP (Philippine National Police). Bato’s recommendation was to suspend the indexation. The retirees complained and questioned him for that, so he said ‘Don’t worry pag nag-presidente ako quadruple ko yan!.’ But it’s impossible. He cannot do that.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

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