Trillanes sought release of government employee retirement for 30 days

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, May 14, 2011-Senator Antonio “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV, Chairs the Senate committee on civil service and government reorganization chairs, and the committee on government corporations and public enterprises sought for the urgent release of government employees retirement benefits within 30 days after the actual date of retirement of government employee in his proposed legislation in the Senate, citing that the government is the largest employer in the country, with about 1.31 million employees as of second quarter of 2010.

In his sponsorship on the Senate bill No. 2748, he said that the public officers and employees who have spent the best years of their lives in serving the government and the public should not be made to unreasonably wait and suffer unexplainable delay in their receipt of benefits which are due them under the law, saying that there is a need to impose penalties against officials who would cause undue delay in ensuring their timely and expeditious release of retirement pay, pensions, gratuities and other benefits to state employees.

“These erring officials, after hearings and due proceedings, shall be subject to administrative disciplinary action and be penalized with suspension from service without pay from six months to one year, at the discretion of the disciplining authority, except in cases of force majeure and other insuperable cases,” Trillanes said, stressing the Section 49 of Republic Act 8291, or the Government Service Insurance Systems Act of 1997 which provides for the release of retirement benefits to the employee on his last day of service in the government as long as all requirements are submitted to the state pension agency within the reasonable period prior to the effective date of retirement.

Trillanes revealed that retirement benefits could be made available in 15 days if all the requirements have been submitted by the retiring employee.

“However, some agencies do not feel compelled to act in accordance with the law “due to lack of penal provision punishing the agency for its non-compliance,” Trillanes said, saying that his committee had “accounted for numerous instances of delayed release of the employees’ retirement benefits where this delay has become a serious and pervasive problem in the bureaucracy.

“I humbly submit this proposed measure for the consideration of our colleagues, with that basic aim of recognizing the heroism and sacrifices of our government employees, who I think are the unsung heroes of this nation,” Trillanes ended. (Jason de Asis)