PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte fulfilled his promise to take care of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the military in raising their salary.
Police Officer 1 used to receive a monthly salary of P14,834, now entry level is a staggering P29,668 excluding allowances and other benefits. If this is a just move, the people might as well receive what they deserve from the force.
This huge salary must motivate the PNP more in doing their job.
We expect no more ill feelings about the meager salary of our uniformed law enforcers. They must focus in providing safe and order.
The president prioritized this increase of salary to make them commit to their job as law enforcers and not as lawbreakers. Justice is giving what is due (to oneself and others) especially when you are given yours.
The salary hike is a sort of justice for the police and military considering the nature of their job but the favor of performing their work is owed to the people they pledge to serve and protect.
The public must now expect a safer community knowing that our police officers feel better. A worker or an employee who have reasons to complain of his/her work does not work in his fullest ability. As a result there is negligence of duty.
Perhaps it’s one of the main reasons why we have policemen and military who got involved with illegal drugs and trafficking before, and some sort of illegal activities.
Let us just hope we will not have any kind of these cases anymore. If you give them what is due, which is called justice, they start to listen to their conscience.
In short they do their job. The public benefits.
This is what we envision to our uniformed personnel. The public sets a higher expectation. The people are more watchful.
A law enforcer lives a dangerous life. They risk their lives in chasing lawbreakers though others sometimes cannot still identify who are who.
They go after criminals not knowing if they go home dead or alive. Their families suffer in their deaths. There goes the saying, “one foot is already in the grave.” There was little protest on this salary hike because somehow they know the danger of being one.
Teachers, nurses, and other employees have the right to be envious but it seems they are giving the police officers a chance to prove they deserve the increase.
Now if justice is given to you and you fail to do what is asked of you, it is also unjust. Justice must beget justice. When your neighbor gives you what is yours, you must also give in return what is his/hers. If the “boss” raises your salary, either you are performing your job well or he/she wants you to perform a better one.
There is nothing more just thing to do with our employees today to make them contented than raising their compensation. It is called justice.
Every turn we make we spend money. Small stores hardly allow credit anymore. Teachers, for instance, waited for the previous administration to fulfill a promise about wage hike. But they proved a tenet once again that promises are made to be broken.
Today with the implementation of the Train law and the third tranche of the Salary Standardization Law, a Teacher 1, receives a gross basic salary of P20, 179. It’s far higher than the monthly salary of Registered Nurse (RN) which is roughly around P13, 000 to P14, 000.
This may be lower in the provinces. This year teachers’ hope of increase may be derailed because according to the news, Secretary Diokno stated that teachers’ salary hike is not a priority. Nurses have been in the sideline for too long so they fly in search for greener pastures.
If the police and military do a better job, perhaps teachers and nurses, who have been asking for a raise, might be forgiving about being ignored. There might be justice after all.
The public is one with the president in giving justice to our police and military forces. The increase of the PNP’s salary should not sadden those who receive far less. They might be willing to wait if this move straightens police scalawags. The return may be a more peaceful community, safer streets to walk to, and sounder sleep in our quiet homes.
We just hope that it motivates them to do their job and makes them forget illegal involvements. We just hope they share the justice that was given to them.