PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday ordered the Departments of National Defense (DND), Budget and Management (DBM) and Finance (DOF) to look into the separation benefits of disabled soldiers and determine if they are getting the appropriate recognition for their sacrifices and services.
Speaking during the celebration of the 82nd Anniversary of the Araw ng Kagitingan at the Mount Samat Shrine in Pilar, Bataan, Marcos highlighted the sacrifices of Filipino heroes, including the unnamed veterans who fought during World War II, which he said should strengthen the country’s national consciousness and patriotic spirit.
Marcos also acknowledged the contributions of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) which he said continues the noble duty of safeguarding the nation’s security and sovereignty.
“And in recognition of their bravery and sacrifices, I am directing the Defense, Budget, and Finance Departments to study the existing separation benefits of soldiers who incurred total permanent disability in the line of duty to see if these are commensurate to the sacrifices they have made and submit their recommendation while taking stock of the national government’s position,” he said.
The President also directed the DND and the AFP to assess and submit a report on the responsiveness of the current inventory of military supplies and equipment as the government doubles its efforts to strengthen the operational capability of the Armed Forces as well as ensure their safety through the procurement of the right equipment.
“These measures aim to show our unwavering support to our soldiers as they face new and growing challenges,” he added.
To support efforts to strengthen and modernize the AFP as well as the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Edo Kazuye, during the event, reaffirmed his country’s commitment to providing coastal surveillance radars and ships.
After the event, Marcos visited the Renal Dialysis Center of the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) and donated P150 million, sourced from the President’s Social Fund, for the procurement of a 1.5-Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine.
VMMC’s sole MRI machine, which was acquired in 2011, became unserviceable last year. The MRI machine is necessary to accurately diagnose critical cases.
The hospital’s dialysis center caters to more than 200 patients composed of World War II veterans and retired military personnel and their dependents and provides them with free service and medicines.
It is currently manned by nine doctors and 27 nurses.
VMMC is eyeing an expansion to accommodate more hemodialysis patients and is planning to put up a kidney transplantation center in the next three to five years to provide a better quality of life to its patients.
Last year, VMMC served 8,977 inpatients and 234,699 outpatients. It is a tertiary-level government hospital with a 766-bed capacity and 1,562 personnel and provides quality hospitalization, medical care, and treatment to Filipino war veterans and retired AFP personnel.
