BTr: Military pension reform to enhance pension security and predictability

National Treasurer Rosalia De Leon underscored the intention of proposed reforms to the military and uniformed personnel (MUP) pension system to enhance pension security and predictability.

“First, we must establish a strong, sustainable, and robust social protection system that all MUP can rely on in old age. The proposed MUP pension reform aims to establish a strong social protection system that can provide a dignified post-retirement income that MUP retirees can rely on in their old age,” Treasurer de Leon said in her statement during a public committee hearing at the Senate of the Philippine on May 15, 2023.

The hearing was convened by the Senate Committees on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation joint with Government Corporations and Public Enterprises; Ways and Means; and Finance, and was presided by Senator Jinggoy Estrada.

Treasurer de Leon delivered a presentation detailing the issues of the current MUP pension system, as well as the economic managers’ recommendations to enhance its financial sustainability.

She stressed the economic team’s desire to work closely with the MUP agencies as reform partners, saying, “In the spirit of cooperation, the economic team has and will continue to engage our military and uniformed personnel and stakeholders in shaping this reform.”

There are currently two bills on MUP pension reform filed in the Senate: Senate Bill Nos. 284 and 1421 proposed by Senators Estrada and Bong Revilla Jr., respectively.

Representatives from various MUP agencies, such as the Department of National Defense (DND), Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) , Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), as well as stakeholders from the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) and Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), shared their views on the reform and proposed recommendations.

The economic team is set to convene a technical working group, composed of representatives from involved agencies and stakeholders, that will jointly discuss and craft the bill.

Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretaries Maria Cielo Magno and Maria Luwalhati Dorotan-Tiuseco also attended the hearing to answer questions.