by Miriam G. Desacada
Tacloban City–House Minority Leader Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan announced that the 2025 General Appropriations Bill, or the 2025 national budget, passed by Congress, includes an allocation of P17 billion to cover the P10,500 monthly subsistence allowance for soldiers.
“Both the House and the Senate, largely through the efforts of Speaker Martin Romualdez, have agreed to provide a 133 percent increase in the daily subsistence allowance for our soldiers – from P150 to P350 – to further improve their welfare,” said the congressman from Eastern Samar, representing 4Ps partylist.
“The allowance is now equal to P10,500 monthly,” Libanan declared in a statement release ahead of the 89th founding anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on December 21.
“We are aggressively investing in the well-being of our soldiers, who are at the core of our national defense, even as we spend an average of P30 billion every year to upgrade the military’s hardware and systems under the revised AFP modernization program,” Libanan added.
Libanan is a member of the bicameral conference committee that is reconciling the House and Senate versions of the national budget bill for eventual enactment by the President.
In addition to the subsistence allowance, which is primarily intended for food/meal expenses, military personnel also receive common allowances for economic relief, clothing/uniforms, laundry, quarters, and other stipends as part of their remuneration.
The military’s “common-to-all” compensation package also includes longevity pay, mid-year bonuses, year-end bonuses, cash gifts, productivity enhancement incentives, and performance-based bonuses.
Certain groups of soldiers receive additional compensation, such as hazardous/hazard duty pay, hardship allowances, and combat duty pay, among other rewards.
According to the staffing summary in the 2025 National Expenditure Program, the AFP has a total of 165,423 military personnel, broken as follows: 114,576 in the Philippine Army; 27,930 in the Philippine Navy (including the Philippine Marines); and 22,917 in the Philippine Air Force. —-Miriam G. Desacada