THE more than 6,000 Filipino World War II, Korean and Vietnamese war veterans will receive a total of P20,000 monthly old-age pension once the proposed measure the 300 percent increase in the monthly old-age pension of Filipino senior war veterans becomes a law.
The measure for an increase of P15,000 in their previous P5,000 annuity has been transmitted to Malacañang last Nov. 26 and is now just awaiting President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature.
Senator Gregorio Honasan, principal author and sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1766, known as An Act Increasing the Monthly Old-Age Pension of Senior Veterans, said the government would spend P887.94 million in granting the additional P15,000 increase to the current P5,000 monthly old-age pension as provided for under the existing RA 7696.
Both Houses of Congress decided to do away with the bicameral conference after the House of Representatives moved to adopt the Senate version and concur with its amended provisions last Nov. 13.
“The House [of Representatives], even if they first started this [piece of legislation], decided to adopt the amendments of the Senate, practically adopting the Senate version. It will lapse into law after 30 days (from Nov. 26) if the President fails to act on it,” the chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security said.
“Recognizing the urgency of the said measure, we believe that the President will sign it into law. …I’ll be riding off into the sunset next year,” Honasan, whose term of office is set to expire in June 2019, said.
The measure will entitle each eligible living senior veteran of World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War and those who have not been receiving pension from the Armed Forces of the Philippines to the P20,000 monthly old-age pension.
It will not, however, be transferable to any member of their family or dependents.
In the event of death of the senior veteran, the pension of the surviving spouse shall still remain at P5,000 a month.
“The challenge is to institutionalize this to the point that it’s almost engraved in the stone, that whoever is the president, whoever sits in Congress, will make sure that our veterans will live forever in the memory of this nation,” Honasan said.
