DND asks LGUs to help cleanse war vets list

MANILA, Philippines – Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. appealed to local government units (LGUs) yesterday to assist the department in cleansing the list of World War II veterans to prevent criminal syndicates from collecting pensions for non-existent veterans.

Teodoro, who was a guest at the 63rd anniversary of the Battle for Manila held at the Freedom Triangle at the Manila City Hall, said the local governments, through their Office of the Senior Citizen’s Affairs (OSCA), could assist defense officials in taking out suspicious veterans from the official list of war pensioners.

He said the OSCA regularly deals with the elderly residents of towns and cities and they can verify the identities of war veterans.

“We cannot do it alone. We would really like to seek the assistance of the LGUs as much as possible not merely to give services but to identify them properly, to really verify the number of dependents that they have and to verify if they are existing or not,” he said.

Teodoro said the defense department would raise the matter before the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim approved Teodoro’s proposal and vowed  to work out a system to accommodate the request of the defense secretary.

“We can have a coordinated effort with them to flush out the people who are not veterans. We can sit down with the DND,” Mayor Lim added.

Many veterans are said to be complaining of delays in the release of their pensions and other benefits because there are reportedly syndicates who try to manipulate the release of pension funds.

There are reports of misappropriation of veterans’ funds or irregularities in the processing of documents.

Some dead veterans continue to receive pension but the funds, instead of going to the real relatives, are collected by syndicate members.

Lim led local officials and foreign dignitaries in commemorating the Battle for Manila.