Soldiers, cops slain or hurt in action to get compensation

MANILA, Philippines - Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz has assured policemen and soldiers that they would get compensation in case of injuries and deaths when they respond to a crime situation outside of their assigned posts.

Baldoz said that soldiers and policemen are protected, citing Board Resolution No. 14-02-12 issued by the Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) last February 9 amid numerous queries from soldiers and police officers about such benefits.

She said the department acknowledges that soldiers and policemen “confront not only vigorous but also dangerous duties in keeping the peace, protecting the people and property and enforcing the law.”

“We recognize the risk of the nature of work of our men in uniform, hence, it is but proper to compensate them in case of death or injury when they are responding to a crime situation albeit they are not in their assigned post,” claimed Baldoz who is also the ECC chair.

In Board Resolution No. 3908 dated July 5, 1988, “the moment an AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) member suffers a contingency, the presumption is that it is because of the very nature of his work.

But according to ECC Executive Secretary Stella Zipagan-Banawis, these uniformed personnel are not only tasked to keep the peace and order, they are also required to render assistance in times of calamities.

Banawis cited that the Supreme Court (SC), in one of the cases related to ECC, held that soldiers and policemen are technically on duty 24 hours a day by the nature of their functions.

Aside from this, they might be asked by their superior officers or by any distressed citizen to assist in maintaining the peace and security of the community.

An SC ruling also stated that “policemen should be treated in the same manner as soldiers owing to similarity of functions to keep peace and order and the risk assumed.”

“They are true public servants that deserve to be compensated in case of injuries or death while performing their duty even though they are on leave or off duty,” Banawis added.