Co-Sponsorship Speech
"Combat Duty Pay of the Officers and Enlisted Personnel of the AFP"
Committee Report No. 8

Article II, Section 3 of the Philippine Constitution states that, "The Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and the State. Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the national territory."

Tasked to be where the threats and dangers are, we cannot overemphasize the value of the arduous mission our soldiers have to undertake in order to protect the people and the State from lawless violence, invasion, rebellion, terrorist acts and other activities that might affect public safety and bring harm to the independence of our nation.

To give due recognition to their gallantry and sacrifices, soldiers who have died are given full military honors and sometimes even posthumous promotions, especially for those who have met their demise while in combat. It is very unfortunate, however, that the recognition which our soldiers greatly deserve is given only when they are no longer aware of it.

Article 16, Section 5 of our Constitution further states that, "Professionalism in the armed forces and adequate remuneration and benefits of its members shall be a prime concern of the State."

A 240-peso monthly combat pay for a military personnel, who will be engaging in an armed conflict where his life is in an immediate state of danger, is certainly not the kind of prime concern that the highest law of the land dictates we must accord to our soldiers.

To give us a point of comparison, a member of the United States Military who is on official duty in a designated imminent danger area is entitled to an 'imminent danger pay', as they officially call it, at the rate of $225 per month.[1] This means that a soldier in the US gets a combat pay of 42 to 47 times more than his counterpart here in the Philippines.[2]

It is for these aforementioned reasons that this representation wishes to co-sponsor this measure that would increase the combat duty pay of all officers and enlisted personnel of the AFP to an amount equivalent to at least 5% up to 25% of their base pay, depending on the degree of their exposure to danger.

Given this increase, a soldier whose base pay is about P12,000 would receive a monthly combat pay of at least P600 if he is assigned to less dangerous areas, or at most P3,000 when he is assigned to the most hazardous areas.

Mr. President, while our soldiers perform their noble duty to protect our nation and ensure that our people are safe, we have failed to fulfill our part to protect their life and their future by neglecting their most basic and pressing needs.

And so it is high time that we address the long-standing concerns of these public servants, who always put their lives on the line, through the immediate passage of this measure.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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[1] Special pay - duty subject to hostile fire or imminent danger. US Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation Volume 7A, Chapter 10. May 2009

[2] Computation based on the lowest and highest PHL Peso to US Dollar exchange rate between 5/24/10 and 11/20/10