Aglipay asks cops to donate one day’s pay

In an effort to help the government avert the fiscal crisis, newly designated Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Deputy Director General Edgar Aglipay volunteered yesterday to give up a day’s pay and urged policemen to follow his example.

Aglipay pledged a one-time donation of P25 million, half the amount the PNP shells out for one day’s pay for the entire 115,000-strong police force.

"The problem besetting our country now is fiscal crisis... we are going to donate one day of our salaries, and turn it over to the National Treasury through the Department of Budget and Management," he said.

Aglipay, who receives P42,000 base pay monthly, encouraged PNP personnel to sacrifice the salary they earn for one day on a "voluntary basis." He initially doled out P1,400, representing his one-day salary.

Personnel with the rank of Police Officer 1 receive about P392 daily base pay.

Upon Aglipay’s orders, PNP Directorate for Comptrollership director Chief Superintendent Oscar Calderon said he is coordinating with regional directors and heads of national support units to make the necessary adjustments for the one-time donation.

"This is not the first time that the PNP contributed for the government. Sometime in the 1980s, the PNP was able to generate around P25 million when a calamity struck the country," Aglipay said.

Calderon said regional directors will ask volunteer donors to sign authorization letters allowing the PNP to deduct the amount from their paychecks.

"This is not mandatory. We are not going to force them. We know that some policemen are also hard-up and feeling the financial crisis so this will be voluntary," Aglipay said.

He said he will encourage members of the PNP Command Group and Directorial Staff to follow his example. He added that he will increase his donation if the proceeds from the fund-raising campaign do not reach the P25-million mark.

Aglipay’s move received mixed reactions from the PNP’s senior and junior officers.

"That’s a wrong move. It’s already a sacrifice to be a policeman. It’s too much to give up our salaries that should go to our families," one policeman said.

Other police officers sought an audit of the 1.5-percent service fee the PNP gets for collecting payment for lending institutions within the PNP such as the Police Safety Benefits and Mutual Funds Inc. The PNP collects payment from policemen through salary deduction.

Aglipay assured PNP personnel that he will give them enough benefits, equipment and services to lift their morale and boost their confidence.