Amid the numerous inquiries regarding the release of funds for the 2018 pension differentials for retired military and uniformed personnel (MUP), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) wishes to clarify that no release has been made to cover the payment for the purpose.

It may be recalled that on January 1, 2018, Congress Joint Resolution (JR) No. 1 was adopted, modifying the base pay of all MUPs from 2018 to 2019.As such, P36.6 billion has been released to cover the pension differential requirements for FY 2019.

Upon submission of the National Expenditure Program to Congress, P172.90-billion was proposed under the Pension and Gratuity Fund (PGF) to partially fund the payment of the 2018 pension differences for MUP. However, the PGF was significantly reduced to P152.90-billion or a difference of P20.0-billion when the General Appropriations Act was passed, which largely affected the payment of the 2018 pension differentials.

In view of the significant reduction in the PGF, the DBM shall prioritize the release of the current/regular pension requirements to ensure that all retired MUPs will be receiving their regular pension for the current year. Hence, P25.99 billion has been immediately released to cover the pension requirements for the first quarter of FY 2021.

On the other hand, the Department wishes to assure all retired MUPs that all special budget requests for the release of the 2018 pension differentials will be processed after satisfying the requirements for the current regular pension and pension arrears as validated by the Commission on Audit, subject to the availability of funds.

The DBM continues to deliver its mandate of promoting the sound, efficient, and effective management and utilization of the national budget to support its budget priorities, including the pension requirements of all military and uniformed personnel.

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