Inspection of the VA Regional Office in Manila, Philippines

In November 2015, we evaluated the Manila VARO to see how well it accomplishes this mission. We sampled claims that we considered at increased risk of processing errors. These claims do not represent the accuracy of all disability claims processing at this VARO. Manila VARO staff correctly processed entitlement to temporary 100 percent disability evaluations. The VARO did not process any traumatic brain injury or special monthly compensation claims within the scope of our review. Staff correctly processed the two temporary 100 percent disability evaluation cases we reviewed. In our 2012 inspection report, the most frequent processing errors associated with temporary 100 percent disability evaluation cases occurred because management did not have an oversight process to ensure staff entered suspense diaries as required. During this inspection, we did not identify similar errors. Therefore, we determined VBA’s response to our previous recommendation was effective. Manila VARO staff followed VBA’s policy for establishing dates of claim in 29 of the 30 claims we reviewed. VARO staff delayed processing 6 of 21 benefits reduction cases because management prioritized other workload higher. Additionally, Manila VARO staff correctly processed all 33 pending and completed Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation (FVEC) claims, and 15 of the 16 FVEC appeals we reviewed. We recommended the Manila VARO Director implement a plan to ensure oversight and prioritization of benefits reduction cases. The VARO Director concurred with our recommendation.