THE Development Bank of the Philippines’ (DBP) payment of early retirement benefits to its officials and employees totaling P358.42 million has been cleared by the Commission on Audit of any irregularity.
In a seven-page en banc decision, the COA lifted Notices of Disallowance (NDs) issued in 2013 against the Early Retirement Incentive Program (ERIP) IV of the state-owned bank for the years 2010 (P120.91 million), 2011 (P96.54 million) and 2012 (P140.96 million).
The early retirement option was made available to DBP personnel age 50 and above with at least 15 years of service as of the date of application.
The incentive was computed based on the highest basic salary as of effectivity date multiplied by the length of government service.
Auditors previously issued NDs against the ERIP on the ground that it amounted to a supplementary retirement plan hence prohibited under the Teves Retirement Law or RA 4968.
In addition, the audit team noted that the DBP Budget Officer did not certify the availability of funds for the disbursement vouchers to answer for the payment of incentives under ERIP.
The DBP challenged the COA ruling all the way to the Supreme Court which granted the bank’s Petition for Certiorari in a ruling dated March 5, 2019 declaring that, contrary to the Commission’s finding, the ERIP cannot be considered a supplementary retirement plan hence, valid.
With the primary basis for the issuance of the disallowance having been ruled out by the Supreme Court, the only ground left was the lack of certification from the Budget Officer.
“The remaining issue in this case is more of a procedural lapse rather than on the substance. The SC has already ruled that the DBP retirees-employees are entitled to receive the benefits/incentives under ERIP IV,” the Commission pointed out.
Accordingly, the NDs issued against the payments of retirement benefits to DBP officials and employees under the DBP Early Retirement Incentive Program IV for calendar years 2010, 2011 and 2012 was ordered lifted.
COA Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba and Commissioners Roland Café Pondoc and Mario Lipana signed the ruling.
