Dela Rosa warns retired soldiers, cops may ‘rage’ if pension program overhauled
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ronald dela Rosa cautioned Tuesday that retired soldiers and police officers may “rage” if the pension program for military and uniformed personnel is overhauled, as pushed by the Marcos Jr. administration.
“They will rage. They will be very angry,” Dela Rosa said in Filipino during a media interview at the Senate. “Leftists march on the streets, why can’t the old retirees march also?”
But Dela Rosa, a former top cop before becoming a senator, said retired soldiers and cops will not be violent.
“They won’t wage a war. They’re peace-loving people. They have seen enough violence in their lifetime,” he said. “But of course, if they lose money for maintenance medicines for high blood, diabetes and other diseases in old age, then they would really rage.”
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno has said the current pension program for soldiers and police officers is “not sustainable” and must be reformed to avert “a major fiscal collapse.”
Under the Marcos Jr. administration’s proposal, which Diokno said has been approved by the defense and interior departments, all active and new recruits will be required to contribute towards their pension fund.
Automatic indexation of pensions to the salary of active personnel will be discontinued and pensions will be handed out starting at 57 years old.
But for Dela Rosa, these reforms should only apply to new entrants and that retirees like him who have long been receiving pensions under the current system should be spared.
“I don’t think that’s fair. If that’s what they want, then they should’ve asked us to contribute before,” he said. “They were not part of the government that gave importance to retirees. They weren’t part of that. And now they have the gall to blame retirees for not paying contributions.”
“You can’t change that because it’s like you gave out candy and then took it back. The child will really rage if you take away their candy,” Dela Rosa said.
The proposals of the Marcos Jr. administration come at a time when the country’s fiscal health is in dire straits, considering the massive debt load taken on by the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte for its pandemic response.
“So there will come a time that the current budget will only be a third or a quarter of the money that we’re paying to pensioners,” Diokno said in March.
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