Bato warns of 'mass exodus' if MUP pension reform covers active personnel

Former National Police chief and now Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa warned of a possible mass exodus of military and uniformed personnel if the proposed reforms in their pension and benefits system would cover those who are in the active service.

“Mayroong nagbabanta na kapag mangyari yan ay magkakaroon ng exodus, maraming mag-eexit from the military and uniformed service kapag mangyari yon," Dela Rosa said in an interview on ANC.

(Some are threatening to leave the military and the uniformed service if that happens.)

"So, we cannot afford to have a weak defense posture, defense establishment kapag ganong magretire ang ating mga kapulisan dahil nga sa batas na yan.” he added 

(We cannot have a weak defensive posture or defense establishment if our policemen retire because of that law.)

The lawmaker, a retiree himself, said the government must hold extensive consultations if it is the only way to prevent a "fiscal collapse."

Earlier, Dela Rosa said there would be a “very revolting” reaction from retired soldiers and policemen if the Marcos administration will include them in the proposed reforms to the MUP system.

Last week, Department of National Defense (DND) officer-in-charge Carlito Galvez Jr. asked lawmakers to look into a possible "middle ground" in connection with the proposed new MUP pension system.

Galvez had disclosed that 70 to 80% of the enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) want to avail of early retirement to express “apprehension” to the proposals, which include  the removal of automatic indexation in pension and the imposition of mandatory contributions on military personnel.

In March, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is “okay” with the proposal to reform the pension system for the MUP as he warned that failure to address the ballooning cost of pensions for retirees could lead to a “fiscal collapse.”

But last week, Galvez said no less than President "Bongbong" Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is "very much concerned" about the impact of the proposed new pension system on the morale of soldiers and policemen. —VAL, GMA Integrated News