Aquino: No more war veteran ‘ghost pensioners’

MT. SAMAT, Bataan, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III on Saturday declared the anomaly of “ghost pensioners” among the country’s war veterans was now a thing of the past.

In his speech on the observance of Araw ng Kagitingan on Mt. Samat, Mr. Aquino said the systems put in place by the Philippine Veterans’ Affairs Office since 2008 has caused savings of P4 billion.

“Our latest news from the (Department of National Defense) is that ghost pensioners are already part of history,” the President said.

“The funds have been returned and saved. These were used to pay for the back pensions over seven years that reached more than P4 billion,” he added.

US Ambassador Harry Thomas and Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura also attended the rites at the World War II mountaintop shrine.