CA orders payment of 13.9-B INP retirees’ benefits without delay

The Court of Appeals (CA) has ordered the immediate payment of about 13.9 billion in additional benefits to retired members of the defunct Integrated National Police (INP), now the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“Here, the PNP and DBM (Department of Budget and Management) cannot be permitted to further delay or thwart the execution of judgment against them by continuously rehashing allegations that have

long been rejected,” the CA ruled in a decision written by Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez.

"Considering the INP retirees' advance years, they can hardly afford another protracted proceeding and the courts should frown upon any attempt to deprive them of the fruits of the final and executory verdict," the CA stressed.

It pointed out that the payment of additional benefits to INP retirees equal to the amount given to their PNP counterparts had already been affirmed with finality by the Supreme Court (SC) and that Congress had also appropriated funds through Republic Act No. 10633, the General Appropriations Act for 2014.

In 2007, the SC ruled that INP retirees are entitled to receive the same benefits as those from the PNP.

Since its decision had to be implemented retroactively, the SC said the DBM must pay the retirement differentials to INP retirees from 1991 to 2006.

Entitled to retirement differentials were INP retirees, transferees, and survivors who had rendered service before the enactment of Republic Act No. 6975, the law that created the PNP.

With its ruling, the CA dismissed the petition filed by PNP and DBM which challenged the order of the Manila regional trial court (RTC) on the use of the list of INP retirees and their respective benefits submitted by the PNP.

It rejected the bid of both the PNP and the DBM to await and use the list that would come from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) in the payment of benefits and pension differentials to INP retirees.

It also junked the allegation that the participation of GSIS in the payment of additional retirement benefits was necessary as it (GSIS) is the only agency that can provide the pension history of INP retirees.

It noted GSIS’ position that “the responsibility to evaluate the list of retirees lies with the PNP as their employer."

Citing RA 10633, the CA stressed: “The appropriation law is clear that the release of funds shall be based on the list of eligible INP retirees with the corresponding computation of their respective retirement benefits and pension, duly authenticated by the PNP, which shall be submitted to the DBM for validation of the computed benefits .... Likewise, the PNP and DBM need not await the verification from GSIS before releasing the funds," it stressed.