The military supports the proposal of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. for the Armed Forces of the Philippines to dispose
of its real properties as well as assets left from its Retirement and Separation Benefits System worth about P44 billion and use the proceeds as seed capital for a new and separate pension fund for our soldiers.
When asked by Villafuerte, CA majority leader, on whether Brawner shares Teodoro’s position on the substitute Military and Uniformed Personnel pension reform bill passed last month by a House ad hoc committee, Brawner said he supports the defense secretary’s position on the sale of AFP assets and the establishment “of a pension system for our soldiers separate from those of other uniformed personnel.
Brawner told Villafuerte that based on the military leadership’s consultations with stakeholders, our soldiers are willing to contribute their share to the new fund to keep the proposed AFP pension system a sustainable one, but they agree with Teodoro that their personal contribution should be at an amount that would—in the defense secretary’s words—affect those in active service in “the least possible way.