MANILA: Filipino troops have gone beyond the call of duty and agreed to give up a portion of their pay to help the country’s efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced the gesture on Wednesday, a day after President Rodrigo Duterte approved an extension to a total lockdown on Luzon — the country’s main island housing the capital Manila — until April 30.
“In commiserating with our countrymen who were unfortunate to contract the disease (COVID-19), and as a manifestation of full support to government, each regular member of the AFP — from the highest-ranking general to the lowest-ranking personnel — will donate an amount based from a certain percentage deduction from their respective base pays for May,” said AFP chief, Gen. Felimon Santos Jr.
The amount to be deducted from salaries will be equitable according to rank. Santos will make the most significant contribution of 10,484 Philippine pesos ($207), while the lowest-ranking soldier, a private, along with airmen and apprentice seamen will donate 100 pesos.
AFP spokesperson, Marine Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, said that the AFP leadership had “heard the commander-in-chief’s candid admission in a televised address to the nation (on Monday night) that the government will not have sufficient funds to deal completely with the massive impacts of COVID-19.”
Since the soldiers’ salaries for April are already out for payment, the donation — deductible from their base pay for May — will be available by the third week of April.
The amount expected to be raised is around 16,953,490 pesos, with the AFP chief expected to hand over the donations to the Office of Civil Defense to procure medical supplies and other equipment.
“With this amount drawn from our individual base pays for a month, we hope to help augment scarce government resources. Through this humble gesture of the AFP’s solidarity and unwavering support to the government it is sworn to protect and defend, we aim to share the burden in the nation’s fight against this contagion,” Santos said.
HIGHLIGHT
Gesture aimed at ‘sharing nation’s burden’ in tackling pandemic: Armed forces chief.
He added that AFP personnel, similar to their counterparts around the world, were also on the frontline in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our heart goes out to our people. Seeing and feeling their hardships daily from the checkpoints, quarantine centers, and relief distribution sites we man, we commit to them our resolute efforts to win over this pandemic. We are one with them in keeping the faith that together we will hurdle this test of the Filipino’s indomitable spirit.”
Meanwhile, Filipino Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana paid tribute to medical and healthcare personnel and other frontline workers for their sacrifices in helping contain the spread of the virus.
“While the situation we are facing today is truly challenging, the pandemic also brought to the forefront the power of our bayanihan spirit, which is greatly contributing to the developments in our fight against this virus,” said Lorenzana, adding that “every effort, great or small, to help those who need it the most during this crisis is a testament to the resilience and generosity of Filipinos.
“As we ponder on the true meaning of the Lenten season, we honor our medical and healthcare professionals, the members of the academe, our researchers and scientists, our service industry workers, hard-working public servants, security forces, private enterprises and civil society organizations, and every Filipino who heeded the call to unite as we work to heal as one,” the defense chief added.
Urging people to do their bit by staying at home, Lorenzana assured the public that the government was treating the pandemic with the utmost priority and urgency.
“For its part, the Department of National Defense shall continue to support the efforts of the national government to address the ongoing health emergency effectively. Working together as one nation, this is a fight that we will surely win. I do not doubt that we will overcome this pandemic,” he said.
As of Wednesday, the Philippines had recorded 106 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 3,870, with 96 recoveries, and 182 deaths.
