A call for justice for our fallen and disabled soldiers

There are moments in a nation’s life when existing policies must change to give way to what is moral and correct. President Marcos Jr.’s directive in December 2025 to review policies governing Complete Disability Discharge (CDD) of soldiers in the Armed Forces is one such moment. This is not merely an administrative review. This is a test of national character.

Every Filipino soldier who wears the uniform carries more than a rifle – he carries the weight of the Republic. Our soldiers are often young, far from home and deployed way before their lives have begun. Some return bearing wounds. Some do not return at all. Yet under the current policy, too many of these sacrifices are met not with honor but with bureaucratic red tape and unjust benefits. Families are left to quietly endure not only the physical losses but also pensions so little, they are unable to survive.

The President rightly said that soldiers who sacrifice in the line of duty should not be treated as disposable. Those words matter. They echo in barracks, in remote detachments and in the homes of families waiting for sons and daughters who may never return. But words, however sincere, must be matched by policies.

Today, soldiers killed in action (KIA) or rendered permanently disabled are often treated as if their service simply ended early – as if death or disability were a voluntary resignation. They are separated administratively, not honored as having completed their duty through sacrifice. This distinction may be legal, but it is unjust on many levels.

Most of these soldiers are young. They are privates, corporals, junior noncommissioned officers – men and women who volunteered for the most dangerous assignments long before 20 years of service could provide them with retirement eligibility. They faced landmines, ambushes and relentless psychological strain. Some lost limbs. Others lost sleep, memory or worse, peace of mind. Many never even come close to the age when full retirement benefits kick-in and life begins to feel secure.

When a private earning P33,000 a month is killed in action, his family receives only half of that – about P16,500 – under existing rules. This is the monthly price the State currently places on a life given for the Republic. It is not enough to feed children, send them to school or secure a future. It is certainly not enough to honor their sacrifice.

Contrast this with compulsory retirement, where pensions reach up to 85 percent of base pay. The difference is stark and the message is unmistakable: survive long enough, and you are valued. Fall early and your family must make do with the pittance given.

This inequity is lived daily by widows counting coins, by parents raising children alone and by disabled veterans whose pensions vanish upon death because they are non-transferable. Disability pensions under Philippine Veterans Affairs office (PVAO) end when the soldier dies, leaving families abruptly unsupported.

The good thing is that enacting reforms will not cost the State an enormous amount. It is manageable. Historical data show that the total AFP combat fatalities across decades of internal security operations remain below 5,000 soldiers. There are only about 50 CDD cases per year. These are not runaway numbers. They represent a defined, limited group of Filipinos who bore the heaviest burden of national defense.

To align the pensions for KIA and CDD personnel to the compulsory retirement rate of 85 percent would raise a family’s monthly support from P16,500 to P28,050. This is not extravagance. It is adequacy in its cheapest form. It is the difference between survival and dignity.

More importantly, it sends a message to every soldier fighting in the field that the nation will not abandon your family if you fall and that disability is not a bureaucratic dead end but an honored conclusion of service.

Death and total disability in the line of duty must be treated as honorable completion of AFP service regardless of years rendered. Failure to reach 20 years is not a lack of dedication – and should not be penalized. To do so is to misunderstand the nature of soldiering itself.

Moreover, reform must be inclusive. It must cover those already retired under CDD, those soon to be discharged and those killed in action, without exception. To exclude KIA personnel or those below the 20-year mark would hollow out the very spirit of the President’s directive.

For wounded soldiers still capable of service, the AFP must provide alternative duties so they can continue to serve. For those who cannot continue in uniform, pathways to civilian employment, government placement or livelihood assistance must be guaranteed. Disability must never mean abandonment.

This moment calls for clear and decisive action on the part of the President and the legislative branch. To summarize, what is asked are: first, the President certify as urgent the bill granting CDD and KIA personnel pensions equivalent to the compulsory retirement at 85 percent of base pay because soldiers who are permanently disabled or killed in action must be recognized as having honorably completed their service; second, issue an interim executive directive extending these benefits to soldiers already retired under CDD status, soldiers soon to be placed under CDD and soldiers killed in action, regardless of years of service and third, to mandate the automatic transferability of disability and survivorship pensions to legal dependents.

Governments are not judged solely by how they reward victory in combat, but more so by how they care for those who paid its cost. To honor the fallen and the disabled is not charity. It is not generosity. It is the Republic keeping faith with its defenders.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aj_masigan