Senator De Lima criticizes the military and police pensions being inserted in the Bayanihan 3
Senator Leila
M. de Lima has raised concerns about the Bayanihan to Arise As One Act’s
(Bayanihan 3) bill’s erroneous inclusion of the payment of police, military,
and other uniformed personnel’s pensions.
De Lima, a
champion of social justice and human rights, stated that such insertion is
repulsively misplaced in a proposed legislative act aimed at assisting
Filipinos in “paddling through the waves of an ongoing pandemic.”
“It is
reassuring to know that the most-needed wage subsidies, allowance for teachers
and aid for the agri-fishery sector or ayuda is coming their way. Kahit papaano
ay may maaasahang tulong ang ating mga kababayang patuloy na naghihirap dahil
sa mga epekto ng pandemyang ito,” De Lima said.
“Ngunit
nakakagulat na sa? 401 bilyon pondong kalakip ng Bayanihan 3, mukhang may
pabaong naisingit na wala naman sa mga orihinal na bersyong isinumite ng mga
mambabatas sa Kongreso. Bakit may? 54.6-bilyong para sa pensyon ng militar at
pulisya? Anong klaseng pakulo na naman ‘yan?” she added.
The P54.6
billion allotted for military and police pensions is apparently the measure’s
second largest appropriation, surpassing cash earmarked for programs such as
wage subsidies, teacher allowances, and agri-fishery help.
The
bill’s authors also stated that the money would be used to make up for a
substantial budget drop in the pension and gratuity accounts for soldiers and
cops in the 2020 budget.
While
Congress is likely to work on rectifying what De Lima described as a “messy
and reckless policy” of increasing military and police base pay, which
has had a significant impact on the government’s pension system for uniformed
workers, she questioned the timing.
“Why
now? And what good will this even do when the government knows it’s already
cash-strapped enough as it is?” she asked.
“Just
to be clear, in case the minions of Mr. Duterte have forgotten or are too
preoccupied with trying to please a particular political party, we are dealing
with a health crisis. ‘Solusyong medikal, hindi militar’ nga ang paulit-ulit na
sigaw natin. Sakit, gutom at kahirapan ang kalaban. Walang kinalaman ang
pensyon dyan, ‘di ba? Nasaan ba talaga ang prayoridad?” De Lima
added.
“Sa
gitna ng malawakang krisis, lumabas ang tunay na kulay ng administrasyong ito.
Napakaraming mas karapat-dapat na makatanggap ng halagang iyan: mga medical
frontliner, mga manggagawang nawalan ng trabaho, mga gurong patuloy ang
kalbaryo sa distance learning, mga mahihirap na walang makain sa araw-araw, mga
maliliit na negosyong nagsara o nanganganib na magsara,” she
said.