President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday assured the troops and other law enforcement agencies that their salaries will be increased within this year.
The Chief Executive made this assurance as he addressed the soldiers and policemen at the gymnasium of Camp Navarro that houses the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) headquarters in this city.
Mr. Duterte likewise said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) will also receive a salary increase.
Earlier, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) announced that the funding allocation to increase the policemen and soldiers’ salaries was not included in the proposed 2017 budget.
Mr. Duterte thus explained that the salary increase will be given gradually since there is no sufficient fund, citing he assumed the presidency at the middle of the fiscal year.
The President, accompanied by top military officials to include Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana, arrived here around 1 p.m. from Manila.
His group flew to the headquarters of the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade in Isabela City, Basilan to get first-hand information on the ongoing offensive against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in that province.
The President met with the military officials based in Basilan upon arrival at Camp Luis Biel III which houses the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade headquarters.
From Basilan, the President and his party flew to Camp Navarro were a command conference was held with top military officials from Westmincom in attendance.
The President, after addressing the soldiers and policemen dubbed as “talk-to-men,” visited the soldiers who were wounded in the fight against the ASG and admitted at Camp Navarro General Hospital in this city.
The offensive by the Westmincom troops continues against the ASG brigands headed by Isnilon Hapilon and Furuji Indama.
Intelligence report showed that nine bandits have been killed while 13 were wounded when the troops pounded them with artillery. (PNA)
