MANILA -- Efforts are now underway to ensure that all soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) know how to properly manage their finances.
This was disclosed by AFP spokesperson Col. Edgard Arevalo in an interview Sunday.
This annoncement came in wake of reports that some soldiers are getting debt-ridden and are having difficulties in settling their financial obligations.
Also, Arevalo said that AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Carlito Galvez, Jr., has issued an official directive on the minimum monthly take home pay soldiers must have.
"Meron nang official (directive) si Chief-of-Staff advising our soldiers to have at PHP15,000 minimum na take home pay, kasi nakikita ni Chief-of-Staff na kailangan yun for them to be able to live decently as a soldier (The Chief-of-Staff has issued an official directive advising that our soldiers must have a minimum monthly take home pay of PHP15,000, because he saw that this is needed for them to be able to live decently as a soldier)," he added.
Aside from this, the AFP spokesperson said that the military is now instituting measures to ensure that troops are financially literate and able to manage their finances well.
"Ang approach ng ating (The approach of our) Chief-of-Staff is holistic, tinuturuan din natin yung mga sundalo (we teach the troops) about financial literacy, about financial management, may mga efforts na rin tayong ganyan para siguruhin natin na mas naiintindihan nila yung kanilang dapat gawin kung paano nila ima-manage nang mabuti yung kanilang (we have efforts to ensure that they fully understand what they should do and how should they manage their) finances," he added.
These measures are needed considering that all military personnel have gotten a significant pay increase early this year. (With reports from Jahziel Manalo, OJT/PNA)
