Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 25) – Senator Richard Gordon has filed a bill seeking to grant a lump sum of up to 10 years’ worth of gratuity benefits to the families of National Prosecution Service (NPS) members who are killed, his office said in a statement Tuesday.
Senate Bill No. 2487, filed on Monday, aims to amend the newly signed Republic Act No. 11643, which provides retirement benefits to the surviving legitimate spouse and dependent children of deceased prosecutors.
“The bill aims to expand the grant of survivorship benefits in case of death of a member of the NPS while in actual service, regardless of his or her age and length of service,” Gordon said. “This is to ensure that the families of our prosecutors will be taken care of when unfortunate incidents befall them.”
The proposed legislation would provide five to 10 years’ worth of gratuity to the family, with the amount depending on the number of years the prosecutor was in service. It will be computed based on the employee’s highest monthly salary, on top of allowances awarded, said Gordon, chairman of the Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee.
The bill also has a retroactivity clause and, if signed into law, will be applied to NPS members who died within one year prior to the effectivity of the act.
The senator pushed for the expanded benefits following the murder of Assistant City Prosecutor Edilberto Mendoza in Trece Martires, Cavite last Dec. 31.
“Itong mga pagpatay na ito ay [These killings are] spitting on the face of justice. Every attack on the lawyers in the performance of their duties is an attack on the rule of law and our justice system,” Gordon said in a privilege speech earlier this month.
