Ghost’ payroll raps filed against 5 cops

[4Wheeler]

Ghost’ payroll raps filed against 5 cops
Published : Wednesday, June 20, 2012 00:00
Written by : People's Journal
article

FIVE policemen have been charged criminally and administratively for defrauding the government of millions of pesos through the “ghost pension” scam in the Philippine National Police, officials announced yesterday.

PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Generoso R. Cerbo Jr. identified those charged with malversation of public funds or property and violation of the anti-graft and corrupt practices act as Supt. Maximo C. Layugan of Doña Soledad Subdivision, General Santos City; Chief Inspector Rosela P. Montealto of Quezon Street, Miag-ao, Iloilo; Senior Police Officer 4 Romeo T. Arela of Tawiran Extension, Santolan, Pasig City; SPO4 Marilyn B. Villaflor of Francisco Homes, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan; and PO2 Marlon L. Reyes of Masbate City.

Cerbo said that the charges were filed against the suspects before the Ombudsman last April 25 by the Task Force Fake Pensioner of the PNP.

The Police Retirement Benefits Service headed by Senior Supt. Virgil F. Bombita also requested the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management to conduct a pre-charge evaluation to determine probable cause against SPO3 Arela and PO3 Victor Leon T. Viola as well as PNP non-uniformed personnel Zenaida Occiano and Jurida Perasol.

“All these personnel were alleged to have been involved in the fake pensioners scam and if warranted by evidence, they will be administatively charged,” said Cerbo.

PNP chief Director General Nicanor A. Bartolome said they are also continuously updating the current master list of 60,621 PNP and PC/INP pensioners to maintain the integrity of the police pension payroll.

In a report to Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr., Gen. Bartolome said the master list of 60,621 pensioners has been cleansed and purged of unwanted entries based on the template required by the Department of Budget and Management.

The updated master list contains current pension accounts of PNP and PC/INP pensioners and beneficiaries and surviving spouses of deceased personnel and minor surviving children.

Bartolome also told Ochoa that a Memorandum of Agreement has been forged with the Land Bank of the Philippines for the full automation of the pension payroll system through Automated Teller Machine of LBP.

Simultaneous processing is underway to enroll all pensioners in the ATM payroll through LBP regional branches nationwide, he added. The PNP chief also said effective June 1, 2012, PNP and PC/INP pensioners have started receiving adjusted pensions equivalent to the salary rate of active PNP uniformed personnel.

The DBM released P1.125-million to support the pension adjustment of PNP and PC/INP pensioners based on the 2nd Tranche of the Salary Standardization Law III.

At the same time, DBM recommended procedural reforms to facilitate cleansing of the roster of pensioners as a requirement for further release of funds for succeeding pension adjustments.

[4Wheeler]

Ghost police pensioners draw P250M yearly; DBM wants switch to ATM
17-Jun-12, 6:27 PM | Chichi Conde, InterAksyon.com

MANILA, Philippines – Saying ghost retirees in the National Police drain state coffers of P250 million yearly, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad has called on the PNP to switch to electronic banking for its retirement payments. This, he said, will rid the current police database of all ghost pensioners.

"This [loss of P250 million] is unacceptable and must be stopped immediately," he said.

Abad said the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Veterans Office have already made the complete transition to electronic banking for their pension payments.

"We urge the PNP to follow suit and make ATM payments mandatory for all their pensioners. Apart from speeding up the claims process for the beneficiaries, this will also help the PNP purge their database of ghost retirees," the budget chief said.

“As it stands, the check payment system is already a very time-consuming process for the pensioners. They have to go to their banks twice a month and stand in line just to encash their checks," he added.

The Retired PNP Officers Association earlier protested the government's move to switch to an ATM-based payment system.

The group has threatened to hold a rally on Monday (June 18) across all DBM regional offices.

The protesters hit the DBM for the delayed release of funds to support their pension increases scheduled this month.

Abad, however, said the funds released earlier this year to the PNP can suffice to cover the required pension adjustment.

He said the PNP will still need to update its list of confirmed pensioners before the release can be made.

The PNP earlier reported that at least 66 percent or 40,233 retirees in its database have been confirmed as genuine, while some 20,694 names have yet to be verified.

[jpd74]

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