During a dialogue at the Police Regional Office-6 (PRO-6) last week with around 100 retired police officers and soldiers, the demand for monthly pensions to be raised from P5,000 to P20,000 was voiced as a priority.

According to Pangasinan second district Rep. Leopoldo N. Bataoil, a former police director and host of the event, budget issues have hampered previous efforts to raise pensions.

He noted, pension hikes for the estimated 8,000 living veterans would cost the national government P1.6 billion.

Active members of the military and uniformed law enforcement were recently provided pay raises by President Rodrigo Duterte. The wage increases, expected to be implemented between this year and next year, will reportedly cost the government over P63 billion./PLL, WDJ