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

By: Jodee A. Agoncillo - 9 years ago

IGNACIO True public servant LYN RILLON

It’s “Araw ng Kagitingan” (Day of Valor) practically daily for this employee of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO).

The clock strikes 5 in the afternoon. While other regular employees are homebound, PVAO fingerprint specialist Ronaldo Ignacio is not.

Waiting at his office in Camp Aguinaldo is Aling Nena, not her real name, who volunteered to accompany Ignacio to the house of Elpidio Bayani (not his real name), a former World War II guerrilla who can neither walk nor see and suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. Both ride a jeepney to Marikina.

Ignacio’s designation posted on his desk: Public servant. His mission: Take Bayani’s fingerprint samples and verify his identity so he can again receive his pension.

The last time the 86-year-old Bayani visited the PVAO, his wallet was stolen, along with his identification cards and some money, while walking at the MRT Santolan station. Now, he cannot walk, like his hearing-impaired 90-year-old spouse, Nanay Maria (not her real name), and would need Ignacio’s free service. The P5,000 monthly retirement pension is their sole source of food and medication.

After an hourlong jeepney ride and walking, Ignacio starts taking samples of Bayani’s fingerprints. Meticulously dealing with the pensioner who is often sensitive and irritable, Ignacio makes sure the fingerprints are readable enough to validate his identity. If fingerprints do not match with the PVAO’s old records, retirement pension and benefits are forfeited.

Until house visits were incorporated to Ignacio’s regular duty, years ago, it was out of Ignacio’s sympathy for the veterans and respect for their heroism that inspired him to walk and visit the houses to get fingerprint samples—with or without compensation.

“Some veterans are rich; most are poor. Some would give me money for fare; some wouldn’t. Others would not even bother to give water. But it doesn’t matter. One should be prepared for anything,” he said.

Ignacio recalled entering a foul-smelling house since some of the pensioners were even peeing on their bed out of old age. Some would not even want to be touched, would hit him, shout at him. But others would get fond of him and would not let him go.

“This is my way of giving back to our heroes. They sacrificed their lives and freedom for us. Most of them are in dire and pitiful conditions now. They are very sickly and alone,” he added.

Relying on home visits

Bayani is just one of the 186,860 active pensioners depending on PVAO’s monthly pension and benefits. Most of the veterans are sickly and can no longer walk and rely on Ignacio’s home visits.

READ: Memories, life lessons: Stories from World War II veterans

As of February 2015, there are 142,358 old-aged veterans who served during the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War. Eighty-one percent of these pensioners are already surviving spouses. Meanwhile, there are 76,026 postwar veterans (67.4 percent are surviving spouses) who served in the Armed Forces of the Philippines for a minimum of six years. Also given pension are former soldiers of the defunct Philippine Constabulary and those of the Coast Guard and Philippine Army.

These veterans are entitled to retirement pension, educational and P1,200 daily hospitalization benefits at Veterans Memorial Medical Center and P20,000 burial assistance.

According to the PVAO public relations head, Jet Rivera, the spouse and minor children of a veteran killed in action have an additional P1,000 monthly allowance.

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.

In a month, Ignacio would get 12 requests from a veteran’s relatives or neighbors.

Seeing the big wound on the leg of Nanay Maria during his visit in Marikina shocked him. “If only I can cure her,” he said.

“Somebody once asked me why I am doing all these. I told them I have the gift of a healthy body and I want to share my gratitude,” he said. “These veterans have nobody to help them. Walking or riding a jeepney is nothing compared to their deeds. This is my simple part,” he added.

His wife and two children support him all the way, even if it means staying up late.

Thanks to Ignacio, Bayani’s pension was processed. The couple could not walk to their gate, and would often rely on neighbors for food. It’s hard to ask help from other people, Nanay Maria said.

Bayani’s 100 tablets of medicine, for instance, are reduced to three a week for lack of money.

Not enough

Rivera said they were waiting for the DBM to approve the increase in retirement pension. It’s been P5,000 since 2004.

“But even if it’s [P5,000], it’s not alms or dole. The veterans have earned it. It’s their privilege,” she added.

Carolina deemed the P1,700 monthly disability pension a joke. Several veterans get blinded, have impaired hearing or sight, get amputated and can no longer work. “It’s like giving a crying baby a piece of candy.” Carolina is pushing for the P20,000 proposed increased pension.

The PVAO’s goal, Carolina said, is no veteran should be poor, no one should live in squatters’ areas, or be paying for their own medicine. “Is this the way the government protects our defenders? Are we giving the youth the right signal?” Carolina asked.

“When you see a veteran, he represents the ideals of selfless sacrifice. That’s why we emphasize, lest we forget, let’s take care of our veterans, in preparation for our future defenders,” he added.