By Chito A. Chavez
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) were asked to resolve the appeal of retired police officers to end the automatic pension loan collection scheme in the savings and loans association incorporated (SLAIs) which has left them in dire financial straits.
In a meeting in Quezon City recently, the group issued the same appeal to President Duterte saying that the scheme had left them in the verge of poverty.
Their spirits were raised after some members said the president asked Christopher “Bong” Go, special assistant to the President, to look into their predicament.
PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde added he will personally study their request as he requested the retirees to formally air their grievance in the loan collection system involving SLAIs.
“We will check that kasi wala silang complaint sila sa amin (there are no complaints filed with us). I think they have to write or inform us,” Albayalde said.
Just like multi-purpose cooperatives (MPCs) which also provide loans to both retired and active policemen in service, the PNP automatically deducts excessive monthly payments based on the computation of these SLAIs.
Among the reported abuses of these SLAIs include the alleged charging excessive interest rates. Some of the SLAIs reportedly increased the monthly amortization and number of remaining installments (NRIs) without the knowledge and consent of the borrowers with some having listed as having 870 NRIs on their loans.
Revoke PNP memo
The retirees want the PNP to revoke PNP Memorandum Circular No. 2016-038 and the PNP Standard Operating Procedure 002-16 by the Committee on Accreditation of Automatic Deduction, and to move for the suspension and eventual abolition of the Automatic Pension and Deduction Scheme (APDS).
These MCs and policies serve as basis for the implementation of the APDS.
They said the PNP should honor a Department of Justice opinion dated June 6, 2017 “which set aside DOJ Opinion No. 10 and determined that Section 7 of RA 8367 (Revised Non-Stock Savings and Loan Association Act of 1997) only covers loans contracted by members of SLAIs during their employment.”
Through the intervention of the PNP, the MPCs have agreed to limit the number of NRIs to 60 months for salary loans, and 72 months for car loans.