No PVAO pension hike

GOOD day Madam. I am Josephine Alcantara of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan. My father is a veteran and he would like to ask Aksyon Line if there is an increase in the pension of PVAO. According to him, it’s been a long time since his pension from PVAO had an increase. Any information about this will be much appreciated.
Thanks and
God bless.
Josephine

Dear Ms. Alcantara,

At present, the pension rates of veterans and their legal beneficiaries from the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) remain the same – P5,000 for Old Age Pension for Veterans; P5,000 for Pension of the Surviving Spouse; P1,000 for Death Indemnity / Survivorship Pension (for spouses and minor children of veterans who were killed in action / died in line of duty or died from service-connected disability or injury) and P1,000 – P1,700 for Disability Pension depending on the rating of the veteran’s service-connected disability.

Since veterans’ benefits and services are legislated by Congress, it is only Congress also that can either amend, revise or even repeal similar laws.

We couldn’t agree more with your father for indeed, it’s quite a long time since pensions for veterans were last upgraded, two years to be exact since it was in 1994 when RA 7696 was enacted.

This is why PVAO works hand-in-hand with the Committee on Veterans Affairs and Welfare in the House of Representatives and the Committee on defense and National Security in the Senate for the crafting of bills that seek to increase the pension and upgrade the other benefits of veterans and their dependents.

In the 16th Congress, here are some of the pending bills that seek to increase the pensions of veterans and their dependents:
HB No 2367 – An Act Increasing the Monthly Pension of WWII Veterans Thereby Amending RA 6948, As Amended (In Substitution to House Bill Nos. 542, 964 & 2367 )
HB Nos. 694/943/1419/2697 – An Act Increasing the Burial Assistance for Veterans from Ten Thousand (P10,000) to Twenty Thousand (P20,000), Amending for the Purpose of RA 6948 as Amended
HB No. 2511 – An Act Providing Assistance to the Immediate Family of a Soldier Killed While Performing Duties and For Other Purposes
HB No. 1872 – An Act Granting Thirteenth Month Pension Benefit to Philippine War Veterans and their Surviving Spouses
HB No. 954 – An Act Providing for the Payment of Arrears in the Veteran’s Pensions and Benefits Mandated Pursuant to RA 7696, As Amended, Otherwise Known as An Act Standardizing and Upgrading the Benefits for Military Veterans and Their Dependents and Appropriating Funds Therefor

Aside from the foregoing bills on pension increase, there are also bills that seek to improve the coverage and the quality of healthcare and hospitalization benefits for veterans and their dependents, such as HB No 2225 or the Act Establishing Veterans Memorial Medical Centers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

We believe that our veterans and their families can effectively help us lobby for the enactment of these bills by creating a unified Filipino Veterans Community and letting our legislators know that we are one in clamoring for the approval of these bills.
Respectfully,
Maria Juanita
S. Fajardo-Rivera
Public Information Officer
Philippine Veterans Affairs Office
(02) 9124728 / [email protected]

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