MALACAÑANG assured retired personnel from the Philippine National Police on Thursday that their pension benefits would be released soon.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda gave the assurance in a press briefing at Malacanang after Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said that funds for the pension benefits of some 62,000 PNP retirees were already available.
Lacierda, however, said the release of said funds would depend upon the submission by PNP top brass of its “cleansed pension roster,” a PNP-led program to determine qualified and eligible retirees who will receive their benefits.
He added that these retirees should also comply with the PNP requirement of securing and submitting ATM (automated teller machine) accounts to which their pension benefits will be sent directly.
“Nakatanggap po kami ng text kay Secretary (Florencio) Butch Abad. Ito ang sinabi niya —makakasiguro sila na tiyak na mari-release ang funds. Available na po ang funds but the release is subject to PNP’s submission of its cleansed pension roster,” Lacierda said.
“So we are aware that, at this point, the process of cleaning the pensioners’ list is 80 percent complete. This means that of the 62,000 pensioners about 50,000 pensioners have been vetted at meron na silang registered ATM accounts,” he added.
He pointed out the need for PNP retirees to secure ATM accounts in order to verify their legitimacy as pensioners and to cleanse the pension roster of those who have already passed away.
“The delay in the past was the refusal of some pensioners to secure their ATM which is an effective way of cleaning up their roster. Kaya required po sila ngayon na magbukas ng ATM account para, unang-una, i-verify po na sila po ay legitimate, at pangalawa po, para masigurado na sila ay buhay pa rin,” Lacierda said, underscoring that one effective way of cleansing the roster is through the ATM,” he added. (PND)
