Manila, March 21 -- Soldiers in Bicol thanked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for increasing their daily subsistence allowance from PHP150 to PHP350, which they said would boost the morale of some 9,000 soldiers in the region.

Maj. Frank Roldan, 9th Infantry Division public affairs office chief, conveyed the division's appreciation.

"We are grateful for the attention given by the President to our soldiers, especially regarding the increase in our subsistence allowance. It has now more than doubled," Roldan said Friday.

"The increase is necessary due to the effects of inflation. If you consider it, the previous allowance, divided into three meals a day, amounted to just PHP50 per meal. Soldiers had to stretch their budgets to make it ...