Metro Manila cops donate combat pay to Taal victims

Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2020 10:14:40 +0000

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) announced on Friday that some policemen expressed intent to donate their combat pay to help the victims of Taal Volcano eruption.

Brigadier General Debold Sinas, NCRPO director, said the projected donations of Metro Manila cops may reach R3.5 million.
“We encourage our people to give if it’s okay with them. If not, then it’s also okay. We are not forcing them,” he said.

According to Sinas, some cops will donate a portion of their R3,000 monthly combat pay; while several senior officials with the rank Police Colonel and up, including Sinas himself, will donate their entire combat pay.

A combat pay is a tax-exempted monthly stipend paid to all members of the armed services who are assigned to designated hazardous zones. It is paid in addition to the person’s basic pay.

The voluntary donation of the Metro Manila cops is aside from the R10-monetary assistance for every cop that was raised by Lieutenant General Archie Gamboa, Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge.

Sinas said there are 514 NCRPO personnel who have been affected by the Taal eruption.

Of the number, 492 are policemen and 22 are non-uniformed personnel (NUP).

Some 97 cops were described as “severely affected.”

Sinas said they will provide the necessary assistance to the affected NCRPO personnel.

Meanwhile, the PNP sent more than 1,000 policemen to Taal Volcano eruption-affected areas in Batangas and Cavite to assist in evacuation and other disaster response activities amid continuous threat of hazardous eruption.

Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, the Chief Directorial Staff of the PNP, said the 1,017 policemen off for deployment will serve as replacement for hundreds of cops who have been assigned in Batangas and other affected areas since the eruption occurred on Sunday.

Eleazar said 324 of the policemen will be deployed in Cavite while 693 will be sent to Batangas.

“In places where people would not dare to go, we rise to take the challenge of going there because this is what we do, this is what we are as members of the police force,” said Eleazar in a speech during the send-off ceremony at Camp Crame.

The policemen are members of the Reactionary Standby Support Force (RSSF) which was mobilized by Gamboa. The RSSF is under Brig. Gen. Jonnel Estomo.

Eleazar said that Gamboa approved the deployment as the latter deemed it necessary for the policemen earlier deployed in Cavite and Batangas to take a rest after a toxic work in the past days.

Eleazar
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