Members to get contribution refund–RSBS

THE RETIREMENT and Separation Benefits System (RSBS) on Tuesday assured it has adequate funds to refund its members’ contributions following the abolition of the military pension fund.

RSBS president Norman Legaspi said the RSBS was confident it would be able to raise the needed P15 billion to be returned to Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel once its assets have been fully liquidated within three to five years.

In a press conference in Camp Aguinaldo on Tuesday, Legaspi said the book value of the RSBS’ assets stood at P17 billion, or more than the amount needed to refund its members.

“Naturally the market value is higher than the book value, and if we liquidate these assets, it will sum up to more than the amount that should be refunded,” Legaspi said on Thursday.

The RSBS has stopped collecting members’ contributions and the accrual of interest as of March 31. Affected were 125,000 AFP personnel serving in the Philippine Army, Navy and Air Force.

The RSBS was formally deactivated on April 8 by virtue of Memorandum Order No. 90 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.

The abolition of RSBS came 10 years after then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order Nos. 590 and 90A.

The RSBS was ordered abolished in 2006 because it was “fundamentally flawed” and unable to discharge its mandate of providing a self-reliant funding scheme for the pension of AFP personnel, but this was not fully implemented.