Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Sunday, June 11 urged the Marcos administration not to rush the passage of the bill seeking to reform the pension system of military and uniformed personnel (MUP), saying the measure requires more wider consultations than just hearing the side of state economic managers.
Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa (Senate PRIB Photo)
Senate Bill No. 284, which seeks to provide a unified system for separation, retirement, and pension of the military and uniformed personnel (MUP) services and which was filed in July last year, is now being studied by a technical working group (TWG) following committee deliberations by the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security.
“Pag-aralan natin ng husto yan. Yung ating mga (Let us study this very carefully. To all our) economic advisers, don’t be in a rush to have this passed. Kailangan natin ng consultation ng maige para magkaintindihan tayo (We need more consultations so everyone can understand what will happen),” dela Rosa said in an interview on Radio DZBB.
Dela Rosa, a former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, warned that the government stands to lose trillions worth of public money should the pension reform policy be made applicable to active and retired members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), as well as other uniformed personnel.
“Lalo tayong magkakaroon ng fiscal collapse dahil mag-exodus itong karamihan ng kasundaluhan at kapulisan. May pambayad ba ang gobyerno para sa separation na matatanggap nila (We will have more of a fiscal collapse because there will likely be an exodus of military and police personnel. Does the government have the money to pay for their retirement pay?)” he pointed out.
Dela Rosa said Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and other state financial heads to make an effort to at least “meet halfway” and heed the concerns of the MUPs whose benefits would be affected once it becomes a law.
“We (senators) are very consistent…na dapat (that that should be) limited yan (only) to the new entrants. They should contribute for their retirement, but the economic advisers gusto nila na instant na maramdaman agad ang reform (want to feel the result of the reform instantly),” dela Rosa said, noting that the government want retiring and those still in active service to also contribute to their pension fund.
Dela Rosa further noted that even former administrations—as far back as during the administration of former president Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.—were able to find ways to resolve funding for the MUPs’ pension without having to sacrifice their welfare and benefits.
“It takes patience on the part of Malacañang…if the former administrations, not just the Duterte administration—go back to Marcos, the senior—if the former administrations, but were able to survive this kind of fiscal depression, then why can’t this administration?” the senator pointed out.
“Hanap tayo ng paraan, ang lalaki ng mga kampo natin dyan… pwedeng pa rentahan natin to (Let’s find ways, we have so many huge camps which we can rent out and use the money to) contribute to their pension and to help with their wealth and retirement funds,” the lawmaker stressed.
Dela Rosa also warned the government would lose the ability to motivate future MUPs to join the force.
“Malaking concern talaga sa security. Hindi lang sabihin mo na yung mga seasoned or well-trained nating mga kasundaluhan ay aalis sa serbisyo na papalitan ng bago na walang alam. Ang problem ay kung talagang may mae-enganyo pa ba tayo na bagong papasok knowing na yung mga nasa labas pa lang baka sabihin nila, ‘o nag-alisan na nga sila tayo papasok pa tayo diyan (It is a great security concern. It’s not only about worrying that we will lose seasoned or well-trained soldiers from the service and will be immediately replaced by inexperienced ones. The problem would be the ability to encourage new entrants knowing they might back out since those inside have already left),” he pointed out.
“Baka it will become a discouragement on their part na di pumasok (and decide not to enter). So what will happen to our defense? What will happen to our law enforcement?” the senator lamented.