AFP thanks lawmakers for P54.6-B military pension fund in Bayanihan 3 bill

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday expressed its gratitude to lawmakers for appropriating a P54.6-billion pension and gratuity fund (PGF) for retired military and uniformed personnel in the proposed Bayanihan 3 Law.

“While this could have been given long ago, it will still be able to cushion the impact of the pandemic,” the AFP said in a statement.

“The fund… will help alleviate the condition of many uniformed personnel retirees who have served the country in their prime years but now need the support of government for their health and medical requirements,” it added.

The PGF fund received the second highest allocation in the Bayanihan 3.

The bill seeks to provide P401-billion worth of interventions to help Filipinos amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The House of Representatives has approved the bill on second reading.

At present, the Philippines has reported 1,200,430 COVID-19 cases, including 1,131,942 who have recovered and who 20,379 have died. — Joahna Lei Casilao/BM, GMA News