The Department of Justice (DOJ) has ruled that Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel who die while still in active service after completing at least 20 years of satisfactory service may be deemed retired, making their surviving beneficiaries eligible for retirement benefits.

In a legal opinion signed by Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida on 8 June, the DOJ said the absence of an explicit provision on survivorship benefits under Republic Act No. 9993 may be supplemented by Presidential Decree No. 1638.

The opinion was issued in response to a request from PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, who sought clarification on the application of retirement and survivorship benefits following the death of Vice Admiral Allan Victor T. Dela Vega.

Dela Vega served in the PCG for 35 years before dying of a heart attack on 16 August 2024, more than a year before his mandatory retirement date of 10 January 2026.

The DOJ said Section 6 of Presidential Decree No. 1638 creates a legal fiction that qualified uniformed personnel who die in the line of duty are considered retired, even if death occurs before their actual retirement.

Once retired status is recognized, the corresponding retirement benefits should be determined under Section 18 of Republic Act No. 9993, which governs PCG retirement benefits, the DOJ said.

"Indeed, where the law itself deems a qualified uniformed personnel who dies in line of duty as retired, such statutory declaration should be given full effect," the opinion stated.

The DOJ added that any doubt regarding retirement benefits should be interpreted in favor of advancing the humanitarian purpose of retirement laws rather than limiting the benefits due to qualified personnel and their families.