Davao del Norte 1st district Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez (Facebook)

Davao del Norte 1st district Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez is calling on the government to do away with what he described as "parasitic entities" in the bureaucracy as a way to save precious public funds.

Alvarez, a former House Speaker, presented this as a course of action amid the challenge to maintain the sustainability of the existing pension system for military and uniformed personnel (MUPs).

The Department of Finance (DOF) had earlier bared plans to terminate the indexation of MUPs in the face of rising pension costs.

According to the Mindanaoan, parasitic entities in the government who do not contribute to the nation's development ought to be eliminated in order to cut costs.

“Alam mo na, yung mga sobrang laki ng suweldo pero walang ambag na malinaw sa bayan. Rumaraket lang. Maraming ganyan. Malaki matitipid kung tanggalin natin sila (You know what they are, those that have huge salaries but don't have clear contributions to the nation. They're just in it for the racket. There are a lot of those. We will save a lot of money if we remove them),” he said.

Alvarez didn't specify which entities or personalities he was talking about.

At any rate, he emphasized that the DOF should find a way to solve the pension debacle without breaching the government's sacred contract with its soldiers.

"The government should not turn its back on our soldiers who committed the best of their years providing the freedom we breathe and protecting the institutions without which government cannot exist. We owe this to them as our debt of gratitude."

Alvarez has also said that the government could use the expected revenues from the proposed decriminalization of marijuana.

The ex-House leader is the author of House Bill (HB) No.6783, which aims to amend Republic Act (RA) No.9165 or to Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. The ammendment will de-list cannabis, cannabis resin and extracts, and tinctures of cannabis as an illegal substance.