The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has reaffirmed its commitment to the timely, lawful, and transparent administration of pension benefits.
AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla told Manila Standard that they currently have about 141,000 pensioners nationwide as of December this year.
This consists of around 88,000 principal pensioners, composed of retired officers and enlisted personnel, as well as approximately 54,000 beneficiary pensioners, including qualified spouses, children, parents, and siblings.
The military also disclosed that around 6,000 names were removed from the active pension payroll between January and December following a routine and legally mandated validation process.
According to the AFP, the removals were largely due to natural and administrative reasons such as the death of pensioners, beneficiaries reaching the age of majority, remarriage, failure to update living status, or other disqualifications identified through verification and investigation.
In a limited number of cases, removals were the result of convictions by a court of law.
“It is important to emphasize that the majority of those removed from the payroll were deceased pensioners or beneficiaries who were unable to update their status on time,” Padilla said.
“For cases involving non-updating of living status, pensions may be restored once the pensioner or beneficiary complies with the validation requirements and is confirmed to remain qualified, in accordance with existing rules,” she added.
The military also assured the public that all qualified AFP pensioners will receive their regular and legally mandated pension benefits before the year ends, noting that pension releases continue to be processed on time and in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
