PNP stops checks to 2,150 'ghost pensioners' — spokesman

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has stopped releasing pension checks to 2,150 alleged surviving spouses of deceased police retirees while a purge of the roster of retired police officers is underway at the PNP headquarters, according to a ranking police official. PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said, in a statement, PNP Director General Raul Bacalzo tasked the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and Intelligence Group (IG) to conduct manhunt operations against a former policeman Marlon Reyes, the suspected syndicate boss behind the pension scam. “The syndicate's activities were uncovered by the PNP Retirement and Benefits Administration Service (PRBS) when it rounded-up 30 members of the syndicate who were attempting to claim police retiree's pension checks last July 20, 2011," Cruz recalled. Charges of syndicated estafa using fictitious name and falsification of public documents have been filed before the Quezon City Prosecutor. — ELR, GMA News