Gov’t working hard to honor Duterte’s promise to double soldiers, cops’ pay —DBM

The government is working hard to fulfill the commitment of President Rodrigo Duterte to double the salaries of the military and uniformed personnel by January 2018, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.

"The commitment is to double [military and uniformed personnel's] salaries by January 2018. We are doing everything to honor that commitment," Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said.

To recall, Diokno last month said the government would need additional funds to cover the cost of the pay increase which was promised by Duterte August last year.

The DBM earlier said it had already submitted its draft resolution for the pay hike to the Office of the President on September 20, and had since been endorsed to Congress.

"We need the approval of both houses of Congress to implement this, because Congress has the power of the purse," Diokno said.

Should the draft resolution be signed by both houses of Congress, it will effectively double the base pay of the following:

- Police Officer (PO) I in the Philippine National Police (PNP)

- Private in the Department of National Defense (DND)

- Equivalent ranks in the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA). — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/MDM, GMA News