The House leadership assured the military and uniformed personnel (MUP) that the PHP120 billion needed for the pension fund of soldiers, policemen, and other uniformed personnel will be resolved this year.

In a press release Sunday, Speaker Martin Romualdez said he had directed the members of the Committees on Appropriations and the Ways and Means to find ways to raise the needed funds.

The government needs PHP120 billion annually or PHP3.6 trillion for the next 30 years to resolve MUP problems like backlog and the growing number of retirees every year.

Romualdez vowed to resolve the issues without touching the savings of the government.

He said they are looking at the possibility of making MUP a self-generating agency to avoid depleting the funds of the retirees, letting it earn and grow beyond 30 years.

“We have to take care of our troops and our uniformed personnel for they keep our nation and people safe every day,” Romualdez said.

Earlier, Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co, chair of the Committee on Appropriations, said the government should raise P120 billion each year for the next 30 years to address the problem of the MUP pension.

Co said the pension fund could be put up by using the savings of the government and reducing spending by scrapping less important projects.

The Department of Finance earlier proposed to deduct a portion of the salaries of MUPs to set up the pension fund, which was immediately rejected by members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.

The DOF had advised past Presidents since 2006 to find a solution to the pension of soldiers and policemen after the shutdown of the Retirement Savings and Benefits System, which was plagued by corruption.  (PNA)