Among the legislation wishlist of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., enumerated during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), three are related to the development of the country’s armed forces. They are now moving in Congress.
The revamping of the current pension system for military and uniformed personnel (MUP) is first on the agenda. Economic authorities have warned of fiscal collapse as the current system is fully funded by the government, without any contribution from retirees.
Bills filed mandating contributions from new and active personnel have been met with warnings from former Defense officer-in-charge Carlito Galvez Jr. that about 70% to 80% of enlisted personnel may opt for early retirement to enjoy the benefits of the current system. For now, it’s back to the drawing board for lawmakers as they craft a measure that would satisfy all stakeholders.
Meanwhile, the administration is also fast-tracking measures that seek to make the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and National Service Training Program (NSTP) mandatory for tertiary education. Several youth groups have protested the move and claim it may worsen the culture of violence in universities and colleges.
Find out the status of Marcos’ SONA promises related to the armed forces:
Find out how Marcos Jr. fared in other sectors
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Sources
Presidential Communications Office, 20 legislative measures approved for December 2023 passage in 2nd LEDAC meeting, July 5, 2023
Senate of the Philippines, Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation (May 15, 2023), May 15, 2023
On the Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension for MUPs
- Department of Finance, DOF pushes for MUP pension reforms, warns of fiscal collapse, March 28, 2023
- Inquirer.net, Palace starts studying options to reform MUP pension system, June 6, 2023
- House of Representatives, HB 4238: Military and Uniformed Personnel Service Separation, Retirement and Pension Act, Aug. 30, 2022
- Kapihan sa Manila Bay with Marichu Villanueva, Funds for P5.768T Budget for 2024 with Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, June 28, 2023
- Senate of the Philippines, SB 284: Military and Uniformed Personnel Services Separation, Retirement, and Pension Act of 2022, July 11, 2022
- Senate of the Philippines, SB 1421: Military and Uniformed Personnel Insurance Fund Act of 2022, Oct. 27, 2022
- Senate of the Philippines, Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation (May 15, 2023), May 15, 2023
On the Mandatory ROTC and NSTP
- Bulatlat, Youth groups: Address education crisis, ditch mandatory ROTC, Feb. 8, 2023
- BusinessWorld Online, Groups slam Senate for lack of youth reps in mandatory ROTC hearing, Jan. 25, 2023
- ABS-CBN News, Bato sees approval of mandatory ROTC bill by yearend, April 10, 2023
- Manila Bulletin, Dela Rosa optimistic of mandatory ROTC bill’s enactment before end of 2023, April 11, 2023
- Manila Bulletin, Stop ‘sugarcoating’ mandatory ROTC, youth tells bill’s proponents, May 10, 2023
- Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council, LEDAC Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) for the 19th Congress, March 2023
- One PH, ROTC, kasama and mga banyagang estudyante, April 12, 2023
- Presidential Communications Office, 20 legislative measures approved for December 2023 passage in 2nd LEDAC meeting, July 5, 2023
- Senate of the Philippines, SB 2034: Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) Act, March 21, 2023
On the amendment of the National Defense Act of 1935
- Senate of the Philippines, SB 980: The National Defense Act, Aug. 1, 2022
- Senate of the Philippines, SB 1946: The National Defense Act of 2023, March 1, 2023
- House of Representatives, HB 869: The National Defense Act of 2022, July 1, 2022
- House of Representatives, HB 2976: National Defense Act of 2022, Aug. 2, 2022
- House of Representatives, HB 4096: National Defense Act of 2022, Aug. 25, 2022
- House of Representatives, HB 7701: The National Defense Act of 2023, March 20, 2023
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