Corona not seeking P50-M retirement pay

MANILA, Philippines - Former chief justice Renato Corona yesterday denied asking the Supreme Court (SC) for a P50-million retirement pay.

While Corona has a pending petition in the high court seeking to collect retirement benefits for his 10-year service in the judiciary and two years in the executive department, he said the amount sought would scarcely be P50 million.

“The report is absolutely not true. I don’t know of anybody in the government who ever received that kind of retirement pay,” he said in a text message to reporters.

“The signatories of the press release, who are supposed to be experienced senior government executives, should know that retirement pay is determined by law and is never dependent on what the retiree wants. The press statement of FSGO (Former Senior Government Officials) is obviously a demolition job and a malicious lie,” he lamented.

Corona, who was ousted from the top judicial post in May last year after an impeachment trial, was responding to a reported statement of the FSGO calling for the SC to reinforce its own credibility in resolving the case.

In a statement last Sunday, the FSGO questioned the bid of Corona to collect retirement benefits from the SC.

“Is Justice Corona really claiming P50 million as his retirement pay? How is the amount computed, and where is the source of funding? Does not the Salary Standardization Law (SSL) prescribe a uniform system for determining the compensation and benefits awarded to public officials?” the group asked.

“He did not retire; he was thrown out of office. He has not been accepted into the Association of Retired Justices,” they argued.

The FSGO noted an earlier high court decision denying a Davao clerk of court of her retirement benefits for failing to disclose ownership of a stall in the public market.

“A case that will test its commitment to transparency and integrity now awaits its judgment. Impeached and convicted Chief Justice Renato Corona is reportedly claiming his retirement pay. Because the case raises many questions of public concern, the people need to know how individual justices vote on this issue,” the group added. 

It was learned that Corona’s petition has already been submitted for resolution of the SC.

A draft resolution is already circulating for deliberations of the justices who decided to vote on the case next month.