The Ghost Pensioners of the AFP: A Scandal of Fraud and Incompetence

By Louis ‘Barok’ C Biraogo — February 5, 2025

FOR nearly a decade, the government funneled P615.64 million into the bank accounts of dead AFP pensioners. Meanwhile, struggling veterans, underfunded hospitals, and underpaid soldiers were left fighting for scraps. When the Commission on Audit (COA) exposed the scandal, the reaction was deafeningly quiet—no front-page outrage, no congressional uproar. If stealing from the living is corruption, what do we call enriching the dead?

But this is more than just a clerical error. It is a damning indictment of the systemic inefficiencies, governance failures, and moral decay that continue to plague the country.

A Government Failing Its Own Soldiers

At its core, this scandal exposes an institution that failed its own pensioners, both living and deceased. The AFP Pension and Gratuity Management Center (AFPPGMC) is responsible for maintaining accurate records, yet it allowed millions to be siphoned off by bureaucratic inertia—or worse, by deliberate fraud.

The legal framework is clear. The 1987 Constitution mandates accountability in public service, while the Government Procurement Reform Act emphasizes transparency in managing public resources. And yet, here we are. Millions of pesos were lost, while countless legitimate pensioners likely suffered delays, uncertainty, or financial hardship.

Who benefits from this incompetence? The relatives who intentionally delayed reporting deaths? The officials who turned a blind eye? The system is so porous that neither accountability nor justice is guaranteed.

A Political Landscape That Rewards Inaction

With elections always around the corner, one might think that exposing corruption would be political gold. Instead, governance failures like this often become just another campaign slogan, recycled but never addressed.

Politicians, especially those overseeing defense and finance portfolios, should be scrambling to fix this. Instead, they dodge responsibility, preferring to exploit the scandal when it suits their agenda. The opposition will decry it as a failure of the incumbents, while the incumbents will promise reforms that never come.

The result? Voter disillusionment grows, trust in government erodes, and public anger dissipates into resignation.

A Culture That Enables Fraud

But this is not just about bureaucratic incompetence—it’s also about cultural realities that enable fraud. In Filipino society, pensions are not just for retirees but often lifelines for entire families. The temptation to delay reporting a relative’s death—especially in times of economic hardship—is strong.

For some, it may be an act of desperation rather than malice. Others, however, may have deliberately exploited gaps in record-keeping to continue receiving benefits that should have stopped years ago.

Either way, the end result is the same: fraud drains resources from those who need them most, and the system remains too weak to enforce accountability.

A Lesson in Global Competence

Other countries have found ways to prevent such fraud.

India’s Aadhaar system ties biometric data to pension and welfare disbursements, reducing ghost beneficiaries.
The United States’ Social Security Administration cross-checks pension records with a national death registry in real-time.

The Philippines, despite its push for digital governance, still lacks a centralized, automated verification system for pensions. If it had one, millions could have been saved—and trust in public institutions restored.

The Path Forward: Transparency, Technology, and Tougher Laws

To prevent future scandals, the government must act now:

Invest in digital infrastructure to automatically update pension databases when a death is recorded.
Strengthen penalties for fraudulent claims while offering amnesty for unintentional errors.
Launch public education campaigns to inform pensioners and their families about their responsibilities and the consequences of misreporting.

This is not just about fixing a broken system; it’s about rebuilding public trust. If the government cannot even ensure that pensions reach the right people, what hope is there for real reform in larger, more complex systems?

The Cost of Inaction

P615.64 million may be a small fraction of the national budget, but its impact is far greater. It symbolizes a government unable—or unwilling—to fix fundamental flaws in its bureaucracy.

If left unaddressed, this scandal will not be the last. More funds will be lost. More trust will be eroded. More Filipinos will suffer.

The question is not just who is responsible, but who will finally have the courage to fix it.