Palace: MUP pay hike not linked to destabilization plot

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December 6, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang defended on Friday the base pay adjustment for military and uniformed personnel (MUP) and President Marcos’ visits and meetings with the military, saying these were meant to check the troops’ welfare and not related to supposed destabilization plots.

At a Palace press briefing, Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said Marcos’ decision to enhance the benefits of the military is rooted in respect for the men and women who risk their lives daily to uphold peace and security across the country.

“If they deserve better support and help, we must also provide it because their sacrifice for the nation, their lives are at stake,” Castro said, stressing that the President’s decision was guided by policy considerations rather than political pressure.

Castro noted that the President’s visits to military camps and regular engagements with troops demonstrate his commitment to ensuring the welfare, morale and readiness of the Armed Forces.

“As long as the President has time, this should not be questioned. Visiting our soldiers, uniformed personnel is only appropriate as commander-in-chief. So, it has nothing to do with whether there is an issue now, it is the President’s obligation to visit them,” the Palace official said.

Marcos on Wednesday issued Executive Order 107, updating the base pay schedule and increasing the daily subsistence allowance of all MUP.

The base pay adjustment will be implemented in three tranches, with the first tranche beginning on Jan. 1, 2026, the next on Jan. 1, 2027 and the third on Jan. 1, 2028. The daily subsistence allowance shall be at the rate of P350 effective Jan. 1, 2026.

It also covers police, coast guard, fire protection, jail and corrections personnel. MUP retirees’ pensions are pegged to current pay rates and automatically increase with the pay hike.

Benjamin Diokno, when he was finance secretary, had warned that the government faced “fiscal collapse” as the MUP pension was unsustainable. He was later replaced as finance chief and moved to the Monetary Board.

Not a bribe

The Department of National Defense (DND) also dismissed insinuations yesterday that President Marcos’ directive to increase the salaries of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel was a bribe.

DND spokesman Arsenio Andolong said soldiers, considering the increasingly hazardous job they perform, deserves the base pay hike.

“Why are they thinking that this is a bribe? This is for the soldiers; their work is hard. I don’t understand those who make implications like this,” he told reporters. “They must think about what they are saying. Where is their concern for those who are defending our countrymen and sovereignty?”

He said the salary increase for AFP personnel is long overdue.

“If you think about it, the last time there was an increase was during the last administration but that time, was there anybody who questioned it? That is my question to the critics,” Andolong said.

For its part, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) yesterday expressed support for the wage hike, saying the “Marcos administration acknowledges the vital role soldiers and uniformed personnel play in national security, law enforcement and disaster response.”

“We thank the President for recognizing the work and sacrifice of the men and women who protect our communities and uphold peace and order,” the DILG said.

Teachers’ appeal

The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) on Friday has renewed its call for a P15,000 increase in the salaries of teachers after President Marcos approved a 15 percent hike in the base pay of the MUP.

TDC chairman Benjo Basas said the TDC is “happy, not envious” on the benefits granted to the security sector but underscored that teachers and civilian government workers have long been left behind in terms of compensation.

Basas noted that the current adjustments under EO 64, amounting to only P6,500 for entry-level teachers over four years, are far from sufficient.

“The increase for teachers is small and even smaller for lower positions in government, the largest number of employees. If they can give a 15 percent increase to our brothers in the military and uniformed service, they can also give a substantial salary increase to teachers and other staff,” Basas said.

He said the P15,000 across-the-board salary increase for all public school teachers and DepEd employees is an urgent corrective measure to address deep and persistent inequities in government pay. — Michael Punongbayan, Bella Cariaso, Emmanuel Tupas