MUP pension system is a ticking time bomb

I dread to see how this ticking fiscal time bomb will explode and possibly leave all of us affected by the blast.

- IRIS GONZALES

This is the so-called pension system of the military and other uniformed personnel (MUP), which continues to require a hefty amount of the government's budget, shouldered entirely by taxpayers.

Long overdue reforms through pending bills are far from moving and are just gathering dust in Congress.

I am not against providing pension to our MUP. Not at all. I am well aware that many of them risk their lives in the service of our country and like every worker—public or private—they should be accorded benefits, including pension.

But the system needs to be reformed so that it would be sustainable. This is also to enable succeeding generations of MUP to receive their pension.

To put it simply, if the system, at its current state, leads to a fiscal collapse, there may come a time that there will be no pension anymore for our uniformed personnel. And that for sure would be a bigger disservice to our servicemen.

The STAR last week reported that the government will have to increase the sector's budget by 50 percent to a whopping P217 billion next year from just P144.72 billion this year.

This is based on the emerging 2026 National Expenditure Program, as reported by The STAR's public finance reporter Maureen Simeon in an exclusive report.

To be exact, the proposed allocation for the Pension and Gratuity Fund is at P216.54 billion.