The four women–Paz Merano, widow of SPO4 Eduardo Merano of the Western Police District; the widow of SPO4 Alberto Alicias of Cotabato-PNP and sister of former WPD director Romeo Odi; Mehilende Yasay, widow of a policeman from Negros Occidental; and Arzeny Laguerta, widow of SPO1 Alberto Laguerta– have sought the assistance of Manila’s Finest Retirees Association Inc. (MFRAI) after they failed to collect their dead husband’s benefits after several months.
The widows have also signified their intention to be included as additional complainants in the suit filed by MFRAI against POSLAI president retired Col. Vicente Palmon and the bank’s board of directors for syndicated estafa.
The recent complainants showed MFRAI president retired Col. Felicisimo Lazaro samples of flyers allegedly circulated by POSLAI stating that all POSLAI members are entitled to P146,000 maximum annual hospitalization benefit or P400 per day hospital confinement allowance and P100,000 life insurance benefit or P200,000 accident insurance benefit.
The widows have been trying to collect in vain the benefits due their dead husbands, some traveling all the way from the South.
Mrs. Yasay also claimed that when she was trying to collect her dead husband’s P3,183.91 savings deposit, she was told by POSLAI personnel that the check for the amount had already been encashed by an unidentified person on July 26, 2001.
Meanwhile, Lazaro said several policemen from Luzon and the Visayas have also sought his group’s assistance after failing to withdraw their deposits and terminate their membership with POSLAI.
The policemen are requesting the Finance and Computer Services of PNP in Camp Crame to stop the deductions from their salaries as deposits to POSLAI while the row over the quasi-bank is not yet settled, Lazaro said.
The MFRAI president also wrote letters to PNP chief Director General Leandro Mendoza and the resident Ombudsman for the military bringing to their attention the injustices inflicted on the hapless retired and active policemen of the country.
The STAR tried but failed to get the side of Palmon on the issue. – Nestor Etolle