THE Philippine National Police Retirement and Benefits Administration Service (PRBS) has cited the importance of the Quarterly PNP Pensioner Accounting Process which it said has effectively prevented pension fraud and saved the government hundreds of millions of pesos since its implementation in 2020.

“We cannot do away with the accounting as it has helped us arrest previous pension anomalies like already dead pensioners or their widows who have already remarried still receiving their monthly pension,” said PRBS director, Colonel Leon Victor Z. Rosete.

The official said they have crafted a revised and updated provision through a memorandum circular outlining guidelines for the continuing implementation of the pensioners’ accounting system.

At the same time, they are conducting an online survey with all PNP pensioners as participants to gauge the impact of the current PNP accounting process, the result of which will serve as a basis for enhancing the mechanism.

“We want to find out the preferred mode of accounting of our pensioners, whether it is thru mere phone or video calls or thru personal visits by so-called active pensioners’ buddies. However, we cannot do away with the accounting which admit it or not led in the discovery of previous pension fund anomalies,” the member of PNP Academy ‘Patnubay’ Class of 1995 said.

Col. Rosete also made it clear that in case an active pensioner buddy sees the pensioner in person, there is no more need for him to ask the latter to present a variety of documents and other requirements.

“If you see a pensioner in person, that’s it. There’s no more identity theft there. Kapag nagpatunay na siya nga ang pensioner at nakitang buhay pa, dapat ok na,” he said.

The official said that looking back, less than 50 percent of the pensioners or 43,991 in their alpha list in 2019 updated their records through Annual Accounting of Pensioners. Prior to that, the PNP required the accounting of their pensioners on their birth month.

On January 1, 2020, the PRBS reported that there are 92,215 pensioners in the alpha list. Relative to this, billions in the 2020 General Appropriations Act were allocated for the PNP Pension Fund.

“The very nature of this fund makes it imperative for the PNP to follow the stringent auditing rules of the Commission on Audit by ensuring the integrity and accuracy of the alpha list of pensioners,” said Col. Rosete.

The PRBS director stressed that it is critical for the PNP in general and the PRBS in particular to account and update the records of these pensioners, majority of whom are residing in different cities and municipalities across the country while others are already living abroad.

The PNP leadership then ordered an immediate policy review and inventory and accounting of pensioners after being informed of the very low turnout.

This also led in the issuance of a memorandum to enhance the policies, guidelines and procedures in the conduct of regular accounting and monitoring of pensioners and periodic auditing of the pensioners’ alpha list under the administrative jurisdiction of the PRBS.

On February 26, 2020, the PRBS then under Brigadier Gen. Arthur V. Bisnar launched its Oplan Bilang which banked on the support of all 17 Police Regional Office directors in terms of information dissemination and logistical and other support.

The accounting, updating and the collection of biometrics of pensioners were accomplished as a result of PRBS caravans nationwide.

However, the program was cut short with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic which triggered the declaration of a state of national health emergency by the previous administration.

On April 13, 2020, the PNP leadership against called for all 17 police regional offices and their subordinate units down to the police stations to locate and account for pensioners in their areas.

On May 7 of the same year, the PNP leadership directed all 17 Regional Directors to take the lead role in physically accounting for the remaining 17,245 pensioners on or before June 7, 2020.

The PNP also ordered the implementation of the Modified Nationwide Accounting of Pensioners which was an Inter-Agency Task Force EID-compliant as Pensioner Track-Care Teams of the PROs visited the pensioners in their last known address following the minimum health protocols.

Documentary requirements were also reduced as the PNP Directorate for Personnel and Records Management provided the absorption and retirement orders and the service record of each pensioner.

Police Commissioned Officers also administered the affidavit of the undertaking, thereby saving the pensioners the extra expenses of notarization and travel. By June 7, 2020, a total of 13,523 pensioners were accounted .

The PRBS’ Pensioner Ko, Sagot Ko or PKSK project commenced on June 8, 2020.

With the transition of the annual accounting process to the PKSK from the Modified Nationwide Accounting of Pensioner, a significant number of pensioners were disqualified form receiving their monthly pension due to various reasons such as deceased, remarriage (Transferees/Survivors), change of citizenship (Transferees/Survivors), children reaching the age of majority etc.

Consequently, an overpayment totaling P1,198,941,809.44 was discovered. The sum represented the erroneous pension payments made to disqualified pensioners before the implementation of the PKSK project.

Col. Rosete said that the PNP Pensioner Online Accounting System (PPOAS) also ensured the prevention of overpayment to disqualified pensioners.

From 2021 to 2023, he said that the government in general and the PNP in particular managed to save P728,157,652.53 in overpayment.

This prompted the Commission on Audit to commend the PNP for its exemplary efforts in protecting the Pension Fund. The COA also recognized the PKSK project, supplemented by the PPOAS as a ‘Best Practice’ highlighting the national police force’s dedication to safeguarding pension funds and positioning them above other government agencies.

The PPOAS supplemented the PKSK Project to provide more convenient service to all pensioners who are being subjected to quarterly accounting with pensioners now either being visited or accounted through video calls conducted by their Active Personnel Buddies or APBs.

“With this system in place, pensioners no longer need to travel from their homes to the PRBU offices typically located in Police Regional Offices. Instead, they can simply log in to their online profiles and their APBs will either visit them or conduct video calls. Additionally, by accessing the PPOAS platform, pensioners can monitor the status of their pension including whether they have been deemed qualified or disqualified from receiving benefits,” the official said.

Col. Rosete said that quarterly photos of pensioners really serve as ‘proof of life.’ However, he said the PNP does not mandate a ‘mugshot style’ for capturing these images. Instead, pensioners are encouraged to make their most convenient pose while their pictures are being taken.

“For those who are bedridden and require extensive assistance during accounting, relatives may contact their APBs to arrange visits and facilitate the process,” he said.

Col. Rosete said a number of so-called ‘ghost pensioners have been identified and charged in court as a result of the program. One of the accused was convicted by the court and was issued a warrant of arrest while the case against two others for estafa thru falsification of public documents are still being heard.