Acorda: 60 percent of cops against 5 percent contribution to pension

MANILA, Philippines — More than half of the country’s police force have rejected the proposed five percent contribution for their pension being pushed by the government’s economic managers, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.

PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda said this was the result of the survey they conducted to get the sentiments of the 228,000-strong police force on proposals to reform the military and uniformed personnel (MUP) pension.

“Based on the survey, more than 60 percent plus expressed resistance or not agreeable,” Acorda said in an interview with “The Chiefs” on One News on Thursday evening.

It means that around 136,800 police officers are against the proposed five to nine percent contribution.

Acorda said the deductions for the pension contribution would have a significant impact on the salaries of PNP members even without existing loans, especially on lower ranking police officers.

Under PNP regulations, the salary of a patrolman is P29,668 a month while those with the rank of corporal have a monthly base pay of P30,867.

“We saw that on the part of the police, it is still painful, the five percent (contribution),” Acorda said, adding that the contribution would be more burdensome for police officers paying educational, housing and medical loans.

The Marcos administration’s economic managers want reforms in the MUP pension system to avoid a fiscal collapse.

Acorda said they are studying a counter-proposal of a contribution of one percent in the first three years, which will increase to three percent and finally five percent.

Another contentious issue is whether the contributions, in the event lawmakers approve it, would apply to those in the active service or only for new entries in the police force.

Caution

The Department of Finance (DOF) cautioned military and uniformed personnel amid the surge in the number of those opting for early retirement as the government pushes for their pension reform.

The DOF recently met with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) as part of consultations to discuss MUP pension reform being pushed by economic managers.

Heads of MUP raised a concern on the number of personnel filing for optional retirement because of the fear of pension reform.

For BFP alone, 342 personnel have already filed for optional retirement, a 250 percent surge from last year.

Even the Philippine National Police said some 1,793 police officers have filed for optional retirement as of mid-July. This is 73 percent of the total 2,449 police officers that availed themselves of optional retirement in 2022.

Finance Undersecretary Cielo Magno cautioned MUP against early retirement without evaluating the real options of uniformed personnel.

She emphasized that the proposed reform has various early retirement options, which is not significantly different from what they currently have. The pension program is also designed to incentivize MUP to stay in the system.

“The longer you stay in service, the bigger your pension will be in the future. Even in the current regime, if you avail of early retirement, you will only get 50 percent of your base and longevity pay,” Magno said. “This is opposed to the possibility of getting as much as 90 percent if you compulsory retire under the proposed reform.”

Magno maintained that the real choice for those who want to avail themselves of early retirement is whether there is an alternative job waiting for them outside the service.

During the meeting, National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon reiterated that the reform will ensure the availability of funds for MUP pensions in the future. She added that the pension reform will not have a negative impact on MUP benefits as these will remain intact and unaffected.

The government’s thrust in reforming the MUP pension system is to address its sustainability and ensure provision of fair retirement benefits to MUP while easing the pressure on the government budget over time.

The current MUP pension system is non-contributory and, as such, retirement pensions and benefits are fully funded by the government through annual appropriations. — Louise Maureen Simeon