Currently, the Philippine government spends for 100% of the pensions of retired military and uniformed personnel. Spending on pensions, as of 2022, has already outpaced maintenance, operating expenses, and capital outlays.

Another controversial point is automatic indexation, which means retired personnels’ pension is automatically adjusted to that of their equivalent ranks in active service. This means that if the salaries of those actively in service increases, so do the pensions.

Finance Secretary Ben Diokno earlier warned of a “fiscal collapse” should the system remain unchanged.