Miriam: 'Pork' for pay hike

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago is batting for the use of the "pork barrel" allocations of senators to increase the salaries of policemen and soldiers as well as scholarship program for their children.

Santiago aired her proposal Monday as she vowed an all-out support to policemen and soldiers.

In a press conference after Monday’s flag-raising ceremony at Camp Crame, Santiago said she will file a resolution seeking to prioritize the scholarship program for the children of policemen and soldiers.

“Every senator has a certain quota of scholarship that they can give away so I will file a resolution today (Monday) or tomorrow (Tuesday) that priority should be given to the children of the police and military personnel,” Santiago told reporters.

Santiago said those in the law enforcement sector should be in the forefront of government care, noting the daily risks that they face in the performance of their sworn duty of maintaining peace and order for the general public.

“These policemen and soldiers are breadwinners, and sometimes they die in line of duty so we must prioritize it (scholarship for their children) and if there are no more application coming from them, then that’s the time the scholarship programs should be opened to the general public,” said Santiago.

Aside from scholarship program, Santiago is also interested in increasing the salaries not only of soldiers and policemen but also public school teachers.

But for Santiago, it should not be an ordinary increase but a periodic one which would depend on the cost of living in the country every year.

The lowest ranking policeman, Police Officer 1, has a salary of more or less P12,100 per month while the highest ranking police official, the Chief PNP, earns more or less P45,000 a month.

“The increase will depend on the cost of living, from year to year. So there must be a provision that we should re-examine, like every two or three years,” said Santiago.

Director General Raul Bacalzo, PNP chief, welcomed the proposals of Santiago, saying it would certainly boost the morale of the 132,000-strong PNP.

Bacalzo said Santiago’s proposals go with their reform programs of strengthening the support system for every policeman through salaries, decent housing, good equipment and even scholarship programs for their dependents.

“By providing all of these, I don’t think a policeman will still be tempted to commit wrongdoings,” said Bacalzo.

The PNP has been instituting reform programs following the involvement of some policemen in various criminal activities, such as rape, kidnapping and murder.

“While we are hard and provide immediate action on the discipline on the infraction of our policemen, we should also consider the reward system or the support system,” said Bacalzo.
source: mb.com.ph/