2nd Front Page BusinessMirror
A12 Wednesday, November 29, 2017
House panel okays measure increasing base pay of MUP
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BY JOVEE MARIE N. DELA CRUZ
@joveemarie
HE House Committee on Appropriations on Tuesday approved a measure authorizing the increase in base pay of military and uniformed personnel (MUP). Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez, Majorit y Leader Rodolfo C. Fariñas Sr. of Ilocos Norte and House Committee on Appropriations Chair man K arlo Alexei B. Nograles of Davao City said there is a need to adjust the compensation package of MUP 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. Nograles said the resolution will be submitted to the plenary for another round of deliberations. “ T he lo we r c h a m b e r w i l l approve t he resolut ion ne x t week and it will be immediately
transmitted to the Senate for its approval,” Nograles said. The measure is expected to be approved before Congress goes on recess on December 13. If approved by both houses of Congress, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the resolution will double the base pay of a police officer (PO) 1 in the Philippine National Police, a private in the Department of National Defense a nd equ iva lent ra n k s in t he Bu re au of Ja i l M a n a ge me nt and Penolog y, Bureau of Fire P rot e c t ion , Ph i l ip pi ne P u b lic Safet y College, Philippine Coast Guard and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority.
₧14,834 The current monthly base pay of lowest-ranked uniformed personnel
The DBM said a PO1 will enjoy a 100-percent increase in monthly base pay from the current P14,834 to P29,668. According to DBM estimates, the increase in the base pay of soldiers, police, firefighters and jail guards will entail an additional cost of P63.4 billion for the government. Under the resolution, the modified base-pay schedule for MUP shall be implemented in two tranches starting 2018 and 2019. “Pending review of the current MUP pension system by the leg islative and executive branches of government, which is aimed toward ensuring a sustainable and equitable pension system, the indexation of the pension of retired MUP with base pay of those in the active service shall be suspended with respect
to the base-pay increase authorized in the joint resolution,” the measure said. It added the indexation of such pension shall remain to be based on the rates of the base-pay schedule provided under the law. Also, the resolution said the hazard pay of all military and uniformed personnel shall be fixed at P540 per month. It said the amounts necessary to implement the increase in base pay in fiscal year 2018 shall be sourced from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund and other available funds, while the funding requirements for the succeeding years shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act. Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Rey Guerrero said the passage of the resolution “is an indication of how the people appreciate the efforts of the AFP in terms of being able to fulfill its mandate.” “[It] will definitely go a long way in boosting, not only the morale of our troops, but also in making sure that they have decent living,” he added.
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Upgrade may dethrone Manila’s ‘King of the Road’ CONTINUED FROM A
Drivers have protested, but they got a warning from President Duterte after staging a two-day strike last month. “By January 1, if I see any jeep of yours that has not been registered, I’ll drag them away in front of you,” the tough-talking President said. “It is given that every time there is change, there is resistance,” said Aileen Lizada of the government’s Land Transportation and Franchise Regulatory Board. The government, she said, will convince drivers and owners that the program will actually benefit them, the public and the environment. Ed Sarao, whose family’s Sarao Motors Inc. is among the most popular jeepney manufacturers in the Philippines, said the company is awaiting the enforcement of the modernization program amid resistance. “Right now people are still clamoring for the traditional jeepney,” Sarao said, although he added that many prospective buyers have been asking when the modern jeepneys will roll on the road. “I tell them that the government still has no go signal yet, so it is still a waitand-see situation for the manufacturers,” Sarao said. Promoters have been hard at work. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was invited to take a short ride on an “e-jeep,” which runs on electricity, this month on the sidelines of an annual diplomatic summit in Manila. “He’s very happy because he can see our aspirations in changing the Filipinos’ lives,” said Philippine Transportation
Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, who accompanied Trudeau to the ceremony. “He said that transportation here is really difficult , so there needs to be a lot of patience and understanding and creativity to address the problem.” Manufacturers of the “modern jeepney” recently unveiled their models, some of which featured security and dashboard cameras, speed limiters, airconditioning to fight the tropical heat and an automatic fare-collection system. Some were as big as buses for more passenger load and others have completely discarded the look of traditional jeepneys. The impending change has divided drivers. Roberto Martin, president of another group of jeepney drivers and owners, called Pasang Masda, said that with some jeepneys running on 30- to 40-year-old engines, drivers should yield to change for the sake of the planet and public health. “Let’s drive the old jeepneys over to the museum,” Martin said. “If people look for the jeepneys, let’s bring them to the museum.” Victorino Samson, who has raised his family and children as a driver of traditional jeepneys for more than three decades, disagreed. The modernization program, he said, should be opposed because it would push the old jeepneys into extinction and deprive him and thousands of other drivers of work that has provided about P500 ($10) in daily income. Some of 62-year-old Samson’s sons have become drivers themselves. “Where will our jeeps go? How about the drivers?” Samson asked with a worried look. AP