“Like leeches, the hugh fascist machinery of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) sucks dry the people’s funds...to cover the pension of its butcher elements after their `service´”, says the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in its 21 May 2023 issue of the Ang Bayan, its official news organ.

According to the CPP, all members of the military establishment, combatants and non-combatants alike, do not contribute a single centavo to their pension funds which come direct from the national treasury. This pension fund is in addition to the maintenance costs of active elements which constitute the biggest share in the budget of the Department of National Defense. In contrast, salaries of public and private employees are deducted for their contribution to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Social Security System (SSS), respectively. Furthermore, the soldiers, whose retirement age is nine years earlier than other government employees, do not pay taxes for their pensions.

The CPP says that the needed pension ballooned several times as an aftermath of the former Duterte regime’s doubling of the base pay of the military and police. Now, the lowest official (2nd Lieutenant) receives a net salary of 43,829 Philippine pesos a month, much more than the 30,742 pesos net entry salary of nurses and  23,465 pesos for teachers.

A new soldier recruit, trained for six months, gets 29,668 pesos. In contrast, a worker’s regular wage stands at 8,902 pesos.

The CPP avers that officials of the reactionary state admit that the increasing pension funds of the AFP is unsustainable. 9.6 trillion pesos is needed in the next 20 years for the uniformed personnel’s pension. According to the Department of Finance, the state will need to borrow an additional 3.43 trillion pesos up tp 2030, 25% higher than the current level. The agency suggests deducting 5-9% from the personnel’s salary for their pension fund. The agency also wants to remove the automatic promotion to a rank higher of retirees and add a year to its retirement age.

The CPP concludes, “Members of the AFP threatened to vehemently oppose the proposed reforms to the military’s pension funds. Retired generals, who are not covered by the proposal, were first to oppose this. Instead of contributing, they want an increase to their pension from 85% to 90% of their base pay. This does not yet include the bribe given to retired generals after their stint its ´pasalubong´ system and the anomalous military contracts which their private companies and controlled criminal syndicates monopolize.”