Home visits of veterans’ hero save gov’t billions of pesos

Fraud buster

Personal visitation of veterans is one way of strengthening the PVAO’s antifraud mechanisms, along with its current biometric system and automated teller machine cards, according to PVAO Director Ernesto Carolina. Before, pensioners get their money either personally or via snail mail. Ghost claimants, mostly relatives of deceased war veterans, fake their identity to collect pension, he added.

The four-man team Dactyloscopy unit headed by Ignacio, 60, ensures that the rightful veteran gets the benefits. “The stringent verification system is a big role in busting frauds.” Carolina said.

As of March 2015, there are a total of 104 cases handled by the PVAO Anti-Fixer Group (PATG) and Anti-Fraud section—53 were filed in court and 42 are under preliminary investigations. There were two convictions and eight dismissed cases, so far. Of these, 92 cases are fraud-related while 10 are related to fixing.

Due to the PVAO’s intensified efforts to bust fraud claimants, the agency was able to save P4.1 billion from 2008 to 2010, according to Rivera.

The agency also had been able to save P60,000 yearly for every discovered ghost or fake claimant. “We have to protect taxpayer money,” Carolina said.

Rivera said there were also veterans who would register late and claim pensions retroactively. This results in large arrearages amounting to around P1.5 million. “We are at the mercy of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for funds. A fake claimant can rob the government of this sum if left undetected,” she said.

“Paying a fraudulent claimant is a great dishonor to the real people who served the nation,” she said.

Not expecting

Ignacio, son of 2nd Lt. Exequiel Manalo Ignacio Sr., started working in the PVAO in 2004.

From 2006-2008, he was the agency’s sole fingerprint specialist and would visit veterans needing his services.

A criminology graduate, he admits traveling as far as Rizal, Tagaytay, Bulacan, sometimes even paying for his own fare, to ensure that veterans are able to get their benefits.

He first worked in 1978 as a fingerprint expert at the US Base in Olongapo. He also worked at the National Bureau of Investigation and at the US Navy Crime Laboratory. This was where he became an expert in fingerprint analysis, which he says is a precise and cheap way of verifying identity compared to DNA testing.

A 2005 visit to an old, makeshift house in Tanay, Rizal, to get a lone female veteran’s fingerprint sample inspired him to continue doing the home visits despite lack of overtime pay and compensation.

“It’s tiring but I forget my tiredness after seeing that I am able to help the old people. They have given a lot to the country. Most of them are deaf, blind, stricken by illnesses. It’s the only way I can pay back,” he said.