PHILADELPHIA — Nearly a dozen employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs regional office in Philadelphia could face discipline over their errant handling of a backlog of benefit claims after a 10-month internal probe prompted by a whistle-blower.

The VA’s inspector general had found this spring that Philadelphia staff had neglected mail, altered claims dates and reviews and made $2.2 million in duplicate benefit payments as it tried to reduce backlogs.

Investigators found more than 31,000 inquiries were delayed — for an average of 10 months — compared to the five-day agency standard.