President Aquino orders speedy release of soldiers’ benefits

Manila (13 July) — In pursuit of his commitment of professionalizing the Armed Forces of the Phililippines (AFP), President Benigno Aquino III has put forward soldiers’ welfare and benefits as among his early concerns for the military.

During the first AFP command conference, President Quino conveyed to AFP leaders his concerns over the pace of delivery of soldiers’ benefits especially those personnel killed in action.

He said as far as he knew, there were arrears in benefit payments from Malacañang, which has set aside portions of the President’s Social Fund as assistance to AFP members killed in line of duty.

“Merong utang ang Office of the President through the President;s Social Fund for those killed in action. This was promised in 2000 and is now a sizeable amount. I will be consulting with the DBM this afternoon and the PMS who manages the fund to ensure na iyung utang ng OP ay nababayaran sa lalong madaling panahon,” the President said.

On same conference, President Aquino also tackled the issue of the AFP modernization, assuring the military that he is now looking into the problems that are besetting the program particularly those that hinder its funding.

“We are studying the pertinent laws that will enable us or are posing a hindrance to achieving these outlays without massive app[ropriations in the GAA (General Appropriations Act),” he said.

According to the President, modernizing the AFP which he has laid out as one of his priority program, will involve recruiting more soldiers and upgrading their equipment so they will be able to do their jobs well.

He stressed, however, that the government would not be able to do this alone, so he suggested soliciting the possible assistance of the private sector.

“Panag-usapan iyung proposal on how to fund the AFP modernization?and what was proposed today can really help achieve the aims of our modernization program the soonest possible time by actively soliciting private help to assist the government in this,” President Aquino said.

Before the command conference, the President, as Commander-in-Chief, was briefed on the military’s counter-insurgency operations as well as the country’s security situation and the AFP’s organizational structure. (OPS/PIA)