President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law the joint resolution authorizing the increase in base pay of military and uniformed personnel (MUP) in the government.

Joint resolution 1, which has the effect of a law, was signed on January 1 and has become effective on the same day.

Under the joint resolution, indexation of the pension of retired MUP with the base pay of those in the active service shall also be suspended.

"The indexation of such pension shall thus remain to be based on the rates of the Base Pay Schedule provided under JR No. 4, notwithstanding the provisions of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1638 (s. 1979), as amended, and Republic Act (RA) No. 8551, RA No. 5976, RA No. 9993, and RA No. 9263," the new law said.

The suspension shall be automatically lifted on Jan. 1, 2019 or upon the effectivity of a pension reform law, whichever comes earlier, it added.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno has blamed former President Fidel Ramos for the indexation of pension of retired MUP to base pay.

Under this scheme, when the salary of active personnel increases, the pension of the retired MUP also increases.

The modified base pay schedule shall apply to all military personnel under the Department of National Defense and uniformed personnel under the Department of Interior and Local Government, Philippine Coast Guard, and National Mapping and Resource Information Authority.

Under the modified base pay schedule, the lowest ranking personnel, such as the candidate soldier and candidate coast guardsman will now receive P18,587 every month, while the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines with a rank of a general and the Director General of the Philippine National Police will receive P121,143 monthly this year.

The higher ranking MUP from First Chief Master Sergeant, Senior Fire/Jail Offier IV, Senior Police Officer 4, First Master Chief Petty Officer, and First Master Chief Petty Officer up to General and Director General will receive another increase starting Jan. 1, 2019.

The AFP four-star general and the PNP director general will receive P149,785 monthly starting next year.

Diokno has said the government needs around P60 billion to implement the salary hike of MUP. Celerina Monte/DMS