Military and uniformed personnel may now receive higher base pay following the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) issuance of rules and regulations for the second year of implementation of the modified base pay schedule for MUP for 2019.

The issuance of the circular came after the President signed the 2019 national budget last April after months of delay in the passage of the money measure.

The circular, which shall take effect immediately, shall apply to all military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines under the Department of National Defense, and uniformed personnel of the Philippine National Police, Philippine Public Safety College, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology under the Department of the Interior and Local Government; Bureau of Corrections under the Department of Justice; Philippine Coast Guard under the Department of Transportation; and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Under the National Budget Circular 576 issued by the DBM dated May 14, the actual monthly base pay of the incumbent MUP who are occupying the ranks from first chief master  sergeant, senior police officer IV and their equivalent to the ranks of general and director general as of December 31, 2018, shall be adjusted effective January 1, 2019.

In January 2018, President Duterte approved Joint Resolution 1 authorizing the increase in base pay of MUPs.

The first  chief  m aster sergeant, senior police officer IV and their equivalent whose monthly base pay is P35,456 on the first year of the implementation of the measure will now see their monthly base pay increase to P38,366, according to the modified base pay schedule for MUP for 2019.

At the same time, the general and director general will now receive a monthly base pay of P149,785, from P121,143 the previous year.

Meanwhile, the hazard pay of the MUP shall be fixed at P540 per month.

The DBM also said in its circular that the amount required to implement the increase in the base pay and related Personnel Services (PS) expenditures for MUP shall be charged against their respective agency budgets for PS authorized under the 2019 General Appropriations Act.

In case of deficiency, the agency may submit a request for additional funds to the DBM, which shall be charged against the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund.