RSBS assets down to P9 B — AFP chief

Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. assured soldiers that the bankrupt military pension fund Retirement and Separation Benefits System (RSBS) has remaining actual assets worth P9 billion, enough to refund the contribution of members.

Esperon said the actual value of the remaining assets of the troubled pension fund is about P9 billion and it is enough to pay the soldiers their contributions plus a six percent interest estimated to be worth P7 billion, until a new pension system is established for soldiers.

"Based on the current revaluation, it could be lower than that, which is P9 billion, but it is still sufficient to pay the contributions, plus interest, of about P7 billion," Esperon told reporters.

The Armed Forces Public Information Office reported that RSBS lost over P4 billion in the past seven years, while its net income declined by 94 percent from 2004 to 2005 due to alleged mismanagement and questionable financial transactions and bad investments in nonprofitable real estate projects.

Records of RSBS showed that its unaudited net profit in 2005 was P14.16 million down from P223.98 million in 2004.

Total assets of RSBS declined by P4 billion in the past 8 years from P15.89 billion in 1997 to P11.62 billion in 2005. — James Mananghaya