Here’s a practical, everything-you-need guide to how child support can be taken from a police officer’s salary in the Philippines—what the law says, how courts actually compute it, and how it’s enforced on payroll.

The short answer

There is no fixed statutory percentage (like “20%” or “30%”) for child support in the Philippines. The Family Code says support must be proportionate to the child’s needs and the parent’s means. In the case of a police officer, a court can (and often does) direct the PNP payroll unit to deduct a fixed monthly amount from the officer’s pay to satisfy support. Two practical guardrails usually apply:

Proportionality & fairness — the court won’t set support so high that the officer is left destitute, and
Payroll limits — government payroll follows rules on allowable deductions and a minimum net take-home pay floor under the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA). That minimum figure changes over time; the deduction order is implemented without pushing take-home pay below the current floor.

The legal backbone (plain-English)

Who must support whom? Parents must support their children—legitimate or illegitimate—and that duty doesn’t disappear because the parents separate or because either parent starts a new family. (Family Code, Support provisions.)
What counts as “support”? Everything indispensable for the child’s food, housing, clothing, medical care, education, and reasonable transportation, considering the family’s station and the paying parent’s capacity.
How is the amount set? Case-by-case. The court looks at the child’s reasonable needs and the officer’s actual means (salary + regular allowances), and fixes a peso amount per month. It can be increased or reduced later if circumstances change (e.g., promotion, new dependents, higher school fees).
From when is it due? Support is legally demandable once needed, but it is ordinarily paid only from the date of demand (judicial or written extrajudicial). Arrears from that point can be collected.
Can wages be garnished? Yes for support. The Civil Code protects wages from execution except for debts like support (because support covers necessities). So courts routinely garnish salaries to satisfy child support.

“Police officer salary” specifics

What income is considered? Courts typically consider the whole compensation picture: base pay plus regular allowances (e.g., hazard, longevity, PERA, etc.). Reimbursement-type or one-off allowances are less likely to be treated as steady income, but the judge still looks at the overall ability to pay.
Multiple dependents? If the officer has several children (even from different relationships), the law requires sharing resources among them in proportion to need and capacity. A new family does not erase earlier support duties; it only factors into the paying parent’s overall means.
Net take-home pay (NTHP) floor. Government payroll (including PNP) observes a minimum NTHP under the GAA. Support orders are implemented with that in mind. (The exact peso floor changes by budget year; check the current GAA figure when applying an order.)

How courts actually compute support

Judges rarely use a percentage. They build a budget-style picture:

Child’s monthly needs Tuition & school incidentals, food, housing share, utilities share, transport, internet for schooling, medical/dental/therapy, uniforms, modest extracurriculars.
Parent’s means Officer’s gross monthly compensation (base + regular allowances), minus mandatory deductions (withholding tax, GSIS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG) and existing court-ordered support for other dependents.
Set a monthly amount consistent with both #1 and #2. Courts also often allocate “extraordinary” expenses (e.g., major medical, big school fees) 50–50 between parents, on top of the base monthly support, unless circumstances justify a different split.

Tip: Judges prefer clear, receipted budgets. If you’re asking, itemize. If you’re paying, submit a realistic counter-budget and proof of income and existing obligations.

Getting money taken from payroll (enforcement)

There are two paths, often used together:

A) Voluntary allotment/authorization. The officer signs a written authorization for the PNP payroll/finance service to remit a fixed amount each month to the custodial parent’s account. This is the fastest when relations are cooperative.

B) Court-ordered deduction (the usual).

File a Petition for Support (or ask for support pendente lite if a main case—e.g., nullity, legal separation, RA 9262—already exists).
The court issues an Order fixing a monthly amount and directing the PNP Finance/Payroll to deduct and remit.
Serve the order on the PNP Finance Service (payroll unit) and the officer.
Payroll deducts every pay period and remits to the payee named in the order.
Non-payment triggers a writ of execution/garnishment and possible contempt. For police officers, administrative liability may also arise (neglect of family obligations is a recognized ground for discipline).

RA 9262 angle (economic abuse). Where applicable (e.g., the mother of the child seeks relief against a current or former intimate partner), the court may issue a Temporary/Permanent Protection Order that includes support and payroll deduction directives. This is often faster for immediate relief but still requires the court to size support based on needs and means.

How much can be deducted? (What the judge and payroll will look at)

No fixed cap in the Family Code. The judge picks a monthly peso amount tied to needs and means.
Payroll practicality. The deduction will not drive the officer’s net take-home pay below the current GAA floor and must respect rules on authorized deductions (court-ordered support is an authorized/legal deduction).
Priority over voluntary deductions. Court-ordered support generally outranks voluntary payroll deductions (e.g., new personal loans). Some voluntary deductions may be reduced or suspended to make room for support while respecting the NTHP floor.

Worked examples (hypothetical)

These are illustrations only; courts decide based on evidence.

Example 1 — One child, mid-rank officer

Gross comp (base + regular allowances): ₱60,000
Mandatory deductions (tax, GSIS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG): ₱11,000
Disposable: ₱49,000
Documented child needs: ₱14,500/month
Order: ₱14,500 monthly + 50% of extraordinary medical/school expenses, payable via payroll deduction. NTHP remains above the GAA floor → deduction is implemented in full.

Example 2 — Two children (different households)

Disposable after mandatory deductions: ₱52,000
Child A needs: ₱16,000; Child B needs: ₱12,000
Court looks at total ₱28,000 vs ₱52,000 ability, considers other obligations, and might order ₱15,000 for A and ₱10,000 for B, with equal sharing of extraordinary expenses, implemented as two payroll remittances.

Example 3 — Promotion + school escalation

Officer promoted; disposable rises from ₱45,000 → ₱58,000
Child shifts to higher-cost school; needs rise from ₱12,000 → ₱18,000
Either parent can move to modify the order; court may increase monthly support accordingly.

Special situations

Temporary no-pay (suspension, leave without pay). If there’s no salary for a period, payroll can’t deduct; arrears accumulate unless the court temporarily reduces/suspends the amount upon motion.
Lump sums (bonuses, backpay). If the order says “₱X per month,” payroll will deduct that monthly amount; a separate writ is typically used to reach arrears from lump sums.
New family. Obligations to older children continue; the court may re-apportion based on the officer’s changed means but won’t zero-out earlier support duties.
Illegitimate vs legitimate children. Equal right to support. Only surnames and some inheritance rules differ; support does not.

Step-by-step for the parent seeking support

Gather proof:
- Child’s birth certificate, proof of parentage, school bills, medical records, monthly budget, proof of the officer’s employment (PNP ID, rank info if available).
Demand in writing (email/letter) to start the demand date for arrears.
File in the Family Court where the child resides (or where the officer resides). Ask for support pendente lite for quick, temporary relief.
Once you have an Order, serve it on the PNP Finance/Payroll and keep proof of service.
Monitor remittances; if there’s non-compliance, move for execution/garnishment and, if warranted, contempt. Consider RA 9262 protection orders when applicable.

Step-by-step for the officer paying support

Disclose your full compensation (base + allowances) and mandatory deductions, and submit a realistic budget.
Propose a voluntary allotment that already meets the child’s needs while keeping your net pay above the NTHP floor—courts appreciate good-faith solutions.
If your situation materially changes (promotion, illness, new dependents), move to modify the order—don’t just stop paying.
Keep receipts and proof of remittances; pay directly per the order (bank transfer details, reference numbers).

FAQs

Is there a legal “percent” for police salaries? No. The Philippines uses a needs-and-means test, not a fixed percentage.

Can the court take allowances too? Courts usually consider regular allowances part of the officer’s means and will size support accordingly; the payroll deduction then comes from whatever compensation is being processed, subject to GAA/NTHP rules.

What if the officer already supports other children? The court allocates proportionally. Earlier children are not displaced by later obligations, but the total pot is divided fairly.

Can failure to give support lead to discipline in the PNP? Yes. Administrative cases for neglect of family duties are possible, on top of court enforcement. Where RA 9262 applies, non-support may also be pursued as economic abuse through protection orders.

Bottom line: A Philippine court can—and often will—direct the PNP payroll to deduct a fixed monthly child-support amount from an officer’s salary. There’s no fixed percentage in law; the figure is anchored on the child’s actual needs and the officer’s real capacity, with payroll implementation respecting the GAA net take-home pay floor. If you want, tell me your (a) child’s monthly budget and (b) the officer’s pay breakdown, and I can draft a sample computation and a ready-to-file support pendente lite motion tailored to those numbers.