Palace appeals to lawmakers to pass reasonable SSL4

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang appealed to lawmakers yesterday to pass a reasonable Salary Standardization Law 4 so as not to deprive government workers of the increase in their basic pay they had been waiting for.

A deadlock ensued during a bicameral conference committee hearing between the Senate and the House of Representatives as both sides failed to arrive at an agreement on the indexation of pension rate increases for retirees to the salary increases of active military and police men.

Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Undersecretary Manuel Quezon III said the indexation proposal has implications because of the huge amount involved.

“I believe that quietly, behind the scenes, all efforts are being made to ensure that what the government workers are really waiting for will not be delayed. At the present time, it would be best to appeal to both Houses to think not only of the benefits for the government workers but also of the implications (that) may be shouldered by the coming generation,” Quezon said.

Asked if it would be possible for the President to veto the bill if there would be provisions that the government could not afford, Quezon said the root of the impasse must be looked into.

He said President Aquino requested Congress in his last State of the Nation Address to reform the pension system of the military since the Armed Forces and Police Savings and Loan Association Inc. (AFPSLAI) that used to fund this had collapsed.

The AFPSLAI is the military’s in-house version of the Social Security System or the Government Service Insurance System. Quezon said the pension for military retirees had to be included in the national budget when the AFPSLAI ceased to exist.

“But the difference is…the basis of the pension system prevailing in the military and police is the current salaries. In other words, in other pension schemes, your pension is just a percentage of your salary when you are in service.  However, when we peg this or if the basis is the current salaries…it becomes a moving target,” Quezon said. – With Marvin Sy, Jess Diaz

He said this meant the funding would keep on increasing and would be impossible to fund through contributions from members.

“So we’re hoping that members of the Senate and the House are discussing this thoroughly and that they are looking for a win-win solution,” Quezon said. – With Marvin Sy, Jess Diaz