Pres. Duterte Signs Php3,000 Combat Pay Hike for Soldiers and Cops

Officers and enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and uniformed personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) will get an increase in their Combat Duty Pay from Php500 to Php3,000, thanks to Executive Order No. 201, s. 2016 signed by Pres. Rodrigo Duterte.

“Officers and enlisted personnel of the AFP performing combat duties/activities and uniformed personnel of the PNP engaged in actual police operations as defined in regulations to be issued by the Secretary of National Defense and the National Police Commission, respectively, are entitled to receive Combat Duty Pay,” the order stated. The Php3,000 will be a fixed rate for all qualified officers and personnel.

For now, the order only covers members of the AFP and the PNP; thus, other uniformed personnel will not be included in the increase.

The order also offers stipulations for Combat Incentive Pay of Php300 per day which “shall be over and above the Combat Duty Pay of Php3,000.00 for qualified officers and enlisted personnel of the AFP and qualified uniformed personnel of the PNP.”

Not all AFP and PNP officers are qualified for the Combat Incentive Pay, however, but only those “who figure directly in actual combat against members of various insurgent, terrorist and lawless elements.”

According to Section 3 of Executive Order No. 201, s. 2016, Combat Incentive Pay is only given to officers who meet the following conditions:

• the operation must be for a specific combat mission that is duly covered by an OPORD or FRAG-O for the AFP or a Mission Order for the PNP;
• the personnel involved in combat must be in the published task organization of the AFP OPORD/FRAG-O or the PNP Mission Order; and
• the total additional Combat Incentive Pay for each individual shall not exceed Three Thousand Pesos (F3,000.00) per month.

While this might not be the Php5,000 the soldiers and uniformed personnel have been waiting for, the increase in the Combat Duty Pay plus the Combat Incentive Pay is surely a welcome development.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno continues to insist that the Php5,000 pay hike is not possible within the year but he’s positive that such can be implemented starting next year, with the government earmarking Php39.59 billion for salary increase for soldiers, policemen and other uniformed personnel alone!

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