"This is not a promise but a commitment," Mendoza told a cheering crowd during the commemoration of the 101st anniversary of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) at its headquarters in Port Area, Manila. Mendoza, who was a former PNP chief, said he personally witnessed the hard work of the undermanned and under-equipped PCG personnel when he assumed the post of DOTC secretary, adding the Coast Guardsmen should receive salaries at par with their police counterparts.
Mendoza also informed the Coast Guardsmen that a P500 million additional budget had been allocated for the PCG next year to cover the partial salary standardization of its personnel.
The officers and enlisted personnel of the PCG had appealed to Malacañang and Congress for the prompt standardization of their salaries in the same manner as salary increases are being implemented in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the PNP.
Soldiers and policemen will receive a 35 percent salary increase this year, and another 35 and 30 percent, respectively, in the two semesters of 2003. – Nestor Etolle