CAMARINES Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte on Wednesday said the military supports the proposal of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to dispose of its real property as well as assets left from its Retirement and Separation Benefits System (RSBS) worth about P44 billion, and use the proceeds as seed capital for a new and separate pension fund for our soldiers.
Villafuerte said newly confirmed AFP chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. during the Commission on Appointments (CA) hearing on the latter’s recent confirmation.
When asked by Villafuerte on whether Brawner shares Teodoro’s position on the substitute Military and Uniformed Personnel (MUP) pension reform bill passed last month by a House ad hoc committee, Brawner said he supports the defense secretary’s position on the sale of AFP assets and the establishment of a pension system for our soldiers separate from those of other uniformed personnel.
“I share the same sentiment, especially on the separation of the military from the other uniformed services when it comes to the pension system, Brawner said in reply to Villafuerte’s query.
Brawner told Villafuerte that based on the military leadership’s consultations with stakeholders, the soldiers were willing to contribute their share to the new fund to keep the proposed AFP pension system a sustainable one, but they agree with Teodoro that their personal contribution should be at an amount that would—in the defense secretary’s words—affect those in active service in “the least possible way.”
The House ad hoc committee on the MUP chaired by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, head of the House Committee on Ways and Means, passed last month a substitute bill on pension reform that was acceptable to all stakeholders, including Teodoro who had opposed the measure’s original version.
Villafuerte said at the CA hearing that the financial pickle in the current system is that the retirement pensions and benefits of the MUP
are “fully funded by the national government through the annual appropriations despite having no contributions from the retirees.”