AFP discovers 16K questionable pensioners

MANILA, Philippines - The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is fast-tracking the cleansing of its pension data after finding close to 16,000 military pensioners that might have incomplete or doubtful data.

Military data showed that out of the 122,472 pensioners in the June 2013 payroll, 15,775 may not meet the requirements set by the Budget department.

The AFP Pension and Gratuity Management Center said the data on these pensioners might be insufficient or unreliable.

The government shoulders the pension benefits of retired military personnel which means that the funds being distributed came from taxpayers’ money. The cleansing of records is being done to ensure the integrity of the pension payroll and avoid ghost pensioners.

AFP public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said the center has validated 12,203 pensioners out of the 15,775 with incomplete or doubtful data.

He said 5,988 of these retirees have been restored or in the process of being restored in the pension payroll as of July 19.

Zagala said pensioners whose monthly benefits are still withheld should present a proof life and submit a filled up update form.

The military is now coordinating with the Office of the Adjutant General, the Non-Current Records section and the Retirement and Separation Benefits System to gather data about the pensioners.

“A system has already been established to verify the authenticity of documents being submitted by retiring AFP personnel and their legal beneficiaries,” Zagala said.

There are about 112,000 military pensioners.