Pension system eyed for cops, soldiers

AMID soldiers’ clamor for  payment of their monthly pension, the National Defense department has ordered the Armed Forces to study the feasibility of creating a new retirement and benefit System for the military and police personnel.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin has instructed military chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo David Jr.

to form a committee to find out if it would be feasible to have a pension and retirement benefit system common to military and police.

“The possibility of an integrated retirement benefit system which will support the pension and other retirement benefits of all uniformed service personnel will also be studied,” Gazmin said in a press statement.

Some 45,316 pensioners had been trying to collect  their benefits from 2000-2009 that had accumulated to P15.31 billion.

Retired 2Lt. Alberto Dalioan Jr., president of the AFP/INP RWP Veterans Center, his group had sent at least three letters in June, July and August to President Aquino asking him to look into the clamor of the retirees.

More than a week after the hostage crisis in Manila, a retired  soldier Charmie Palecia threatened to do what  dismissed Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza did if the government would not pay what is due him.

The Senate Blue Ribbon’s Oversight Office informed the National Defense department that Palencia has been calling their office to demand that the Philippine Army include in the calculation of his benefits his broken service from Feb. 24, 1988 to Aug. 14, 1994.

The complaint was first relayed to the DND on Jan. 21, 2010. It was then endorsed to the Office of the Secretary on Feb. 26.

Aquino advised Palencia to go through the legal process in claiming his benefits.

The AFP-RSBS was established by virtue of Presidential Decree 361 (Providing for an Armed Forces Retirement and Separation Benefits System)signed on Dec. 30, 1973, with an initial fund of P200 million from the national treasury.

In July 2006, a Defense-military committee conducted a study on a comprehensive and viable retirement and separation system that would ensure the payment and benefits to all military personnel.

The committee was headed by defense undersecretary Cecilio Lorenzo.

In his report in October that same year, Lorenzo said that based on financial studies on RSBS the committee concluded that with the current status of AFP-RSBSits objective of sustained self sufficiency is not achievable and that theannual pension of retired military personnel will have to be continually fundedby government appropriations.

“The committee said that the objective of self-sufficiency will not  be achieved due to inherent flaws in the retirement law itself and in its benefits features.

“The AFP retirement and separation benefits system can never keep pace with the increasing benefit cost and can never achieve sustained self sufficiency,” Lorenzo said.

“There is an urgent need to act now to ensure that member contributions will be returned and the assets preserved.Lastly, there is a need to create an entirely new retirement benefit system.”  –Florante Solmerin, Manila Standard Today