PNP monitors pensioners through buddy system with active personnel

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has launched a program to track and monitor police pensioners through a buddy system with the active police personnel, as well as promote camaraderie between them.

“This new program will be implemented in three phases as a buddy system which includes matching and pairing with an Active Personnel Buddy to a Pensioner-Buddy; Initial Wellness Check and Visitation of the Pensioner; Quarterly Wellness Check and Visitation,” PNP Chief, Police General Archie Gamboa said in a statement regarding the new program “Pensioner Ko Sagot Ko” (PKSK) Project.

According to Gamboa, the PNP will be tapping police personnel with the rank of Police Lieutenant Colonel down to Patrolman/Patrolwoman in consolidating and reporting information on the condition of pensioners, to be assessed by the PNP Retirement and Benefits Administration Service (PRBS) and the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management (DPRM), to further enhance the program.

“The core objective of this program is to  foster a sense of camaraderie and fellowship between and among 207,866 PNP personnel in active service and about 90,000 pensioners nationwide,” Gamboa said.

The PRBS back in February launched the "Oplan Bilang" as kick-off development in accounting, updating, and collecting biometrics of pensioners, but was cut short following the declaration due to COVID-19 pandemic.

It resumed in April 2020, with the help of 17 Police Regional Offices (PROs) and its subordinate units down to police stations to locate and account all pensioners.

Gamboa also tapped Regional Directors to take charge in accounting the remaining 17,145 pensioners due on June 7 wherein 13,523 pensioners were accounted.

There are 92,215 pensioners included in the alpha list and funded under PNP Pension Fund allocated in the 2020 General Appropriations Act as of January 2020, but only 50% or 43,991 pensioners updated their records in 2019.

Police officers were sent to monitor the condition and status of some police retirees since last month in its initial implementation.