Dela Rosa sa PNP : Antayin nyong maging Presidente ako, gagawin kong quadruple ang sweldo nyo pic.twitter.com/WYC7oE80lb

— Henry V. Atuelan (@dzmmPatrol44) October 30, 2017

MANILA - (2ND UPDATE) The head of the Philippine National Police vowed Monday to raise the salaries of police retirees after some of them complained about being left out of a planned pay hike next year.

Director General Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, who is set to retire in January 2018, said police officers 1 were given priority in the salary increase as they earn less than senior cops.

"Kung ako ang masunod, triple iyang mga retiree na iyan. Sabihan niyo mga retirees, 'Iti-triple raw ni sir,'" Dela Rosa said during PNP's weekly flag raising ceremony.

"Hintayin niyo maging presidente si Bato. Gawin kong quadruple ang suweldo ninyo," he added.

(If the decision was up to me, I'll triple the salaries of retirees. if these retirees. Tell them, 'Sir is gonna triple your pay.' Wait until Bato becomes president, I'll quadruple your salary.)

However, Senator Panfilo Lacson, a former police chief, said Dela Rosa's promise is a "good sound byte," but the "hardest part is doing the math."

"It may be good to inform the retirees though that we've requested the AFP and PNP to submit to the Senate actual numbers to validate DBM's claim that at least Php5T seed money is needed to fund the program," he said in a tweet.

"Yes, T as in trillion as initial seed money. Other agencies say 6T or 9T even. That's why we need to hear from the finance centers of the uniformed services and the Land Bank of the Philippines to get official records of actual payouts," he added.

The Duterte administration in September came up with a draft Congress Joint Resolution authorizing compensation adjustment for military and uniformed personnel.

If signed by both houses of Congress, a Police Officer 1 will enjoy a 100 percent increase in monthly base pay from the current P14,834 to P29,668.

It will also double the pay of a Private in the Department of National Defense and equivalent ranks in the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Public Safety College, Philippine Coast Guard, and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority.

Overall, the adjustments will result to a 58.7 percent average increase in base pay for all military and uniformed personnel ranks effective January 1, 2018.

Dela Rosa said they are still crafting a proposal to include the pensions of retired policemen in the adjustment.

"Magreretire ako next year, kaya hindi pwedeng pababayaan ko ang welfare ng retirees. Pinag-aaralan pa what is the best option na lahat tayo makikinabang sa intention na tumaas ang sweldo," Dela Rosa said.

(I'll be retiring next year so I cannot set aside the welfare of retirees. We are still looking for the best option where we could all benefit from the salary increase.)

"At the same time, kinoconsider ang DBM dahil hirap sila na i-accommodate ang lahat. Wala pa tayong sinubmit na position paper. Nagiging priority muna ang active policemen dahil sila pa ang in service," he added.

(At the same time, the Department of Budget and Management is finding it difficult to accommodate everyone. We have not yet submitted a position paper. We only prioritized active policemen because they are the ones who are still in active service.)

With Henry Atuelan and Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News

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