It is time to increase the subsistence allowance of all officers and enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and of all commissioned and non-commissioned personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from P150 to P250 per day.

                                            Senator Raffy Tulfo (Senate PRIB Photo)

This was stressed on Wednesday, June 28, by Senator Raffy Tulfo after filing Joint Resolution No. 2.

During the Senate budget hearing for the Department of National Defense (DND) in September 2022, Tulfo lamented the soldiers' meager subsistence allowance of P150 per day, which they stretch for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

Such amount is not enough to buy a decent hamburger, he pointed out.

According to Tulfo, the P150 per day (P4,500 a month) can hardly support the subsistence of the family of soldiers and police personnel, citing the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data stating that the monthly cost of living should be at P44,000 per month for a decent living.

“It is high time that we recognize and honor the very vital roles played by our soldiers and policemen by looking after their welfare and providing them with decent and adequate compensation as well as reasonable and substantial benefits,” the joint resolution read.

Tulfo said the DND, in coordination with the AFP and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and in coordination with the PNP, shall promulgate and immediately issue the rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of the jt. resolution.

Likewise, the national government shall appropriate annually and include in the General Appropriation Act (GAA or national budget)  the amount corresponding to the total annual cost of the increase in subsistence allowance.