Negros Occ. fiscal who died with no retirement benefits finally gets his due

More than a month after his death, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental prosecutor Marcelo del Pilar will finally be getting his retirement pay. The Department of Budget and Management will release P246,795,219 to cover the retirement gratuity differential for 85 retired public prosecutors, Del Pilar among them. According to the Deparment of Justice, Del Pilar's family will receive P4,135,167.68, covering his unpaid retirement benefits. Del Pilar, who was in government service for almost four decades, died of a heart attack on April 4 after a two-year-long battle to secure his pension. Del Pilar suffered heart attacks in 2007 and 2010, and was advised by his doctor to undergo a heart bypass. Without money for the operation, Del Pilar wrote to Vice President Jejomar Binay, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, and President Benigno Aquino III for his lump sum pension, but all to no avail. Last month, the DOJ said it was not to blame in the matter. 'A welcome development' The DBM fund release was contained in a memorandum dated April 17 and would be sourced from the Pension and Gratuity Fund under the General Appropriations Act of 2013. The beneficiaries are retirees from 2010 to 2012. De Lima, who was informed of the fund release by Justice Assistant Secretary Zabedin Azis and Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, took delight over the news. "This is a welcome development for the development of the Department, specifically the NPS [National Prosecution Service], and especially for the prosecutors who worked so hard and had relentlessly dedicated the best time of their lives to uphold the rule of law," she said. Justice Undersecretary and Retirement Committee Technical Working Group chairperson Leah Armamento, who had earlier claimed that the department had not been remiss in atttending to Del Pilar's application, had also appealed to the DBM and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to sign a joint circular that addresses the benefits of retired prosecutors. The joint DBM-GSIS circular was crafted pursuant to Republic Act 10071 of an Act Strengthening and Rationalizing the National Prosecution Service. Enacted on April 8, 2010, RA 10071 provides updated schemes in terms of retirement benefits for prosecutors, as provided under Section 21 of the law. — BM, GMA News