Marquez: CJ did not act on letter to expedite release of retirement, survivorship benefits
Supreme Court (SC) Administrator Jose Midas Marquez testified before the House impeachment panel yesterday that no survivorship pension applications were acted upon in a span of two years since the creation of the Special Committee on Retirement and Civil Service Benefits and two
technical working groups (TWGs) in 2015 and 2016.
While the creation of the special committee was signed by Sereno and Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, and Presbitero Jose Velasco Jr., the setting up of the TWGs was solely directed by Sereno. The first TWG, which seeks “to screen the applications” was created on Dec. 22, 2015, while the second TWG was created in 2016.
“After the committee was created, it took two years before the application was acted upon,” Marquez told the House Committee on Justice during its fifth hearing on the determination of probable cause whether or not to impeach Sereno.
“From October, 2015 to November 6, 2017, no application was acted upon, more or less mga two years, one month and five days po yun,” he said.
He said since he received snowballing requests to expedite the release of the pension benefits of judges and justices, he sent a letter to Sereno on January 12, 2017 to “treat the matter immediately.”
“Considering that it has been more than a year since the court’s last action for survivorship pension and majority of the surviving spouses are beyond 80 years, there is compelling need to expedite action on the 29 applications,” Marquez said reading his letter to Sereno during the hearing.
He said Sereno’s office received the letter on the same day, but was not acted upon.
“Wala pong nangyari, walang sagot,” he said when asked by Pampanga Rep. Juan Pablo Bondoc if Sereno acted on his letter.
Prioritize In his opening statement, Marquez said “I am not here to testify for or against anyone, but to perform a sacred and noble obligation to tell the truth based on my personal knowledge and perception in circumstances that happened.”
Prior to the creation of the special committee and the TWGs, the court administrator said the resolution on the retirement benefits came out “in two to three weeks.”
“It is my firm belief that the resolution of retirement benefits should be prioritized and should not suffer any delay at all as many of the applicants have earned these over a period of long years. They are very old and they need all the help we can extend,” Marquez said.
When asked by Quezon City Rep. Vincent Crisologo if the delay in the release of the pension benefits should be blamed to the court en banc and not to Sereno, Marquez said, “puwede natin alamin kung saan natutulog.”
Marquez said since his Jan. 12, 2017 letter was not acted by Sereno, he did his research and took note that complainant lawyer Larry Gadon held a press conference on July 29, 2017 on the SC’s delayed release of the retirement and the survivorship benefits.
“I don’t know if it is just a coincidence because one week after that press conference, the matter was included in the agenda of the court en banc on August 8, 2017, and further deliberated on August 22 and 29 and in just a month, an en ban decision came out,” he said.
Republic Act 9946 entitles retirement benefits to the surviving spouses of the judges and justices. It took effect on Feb. 11, 2010. The decision was promulgated on Sept. 19, 2017.
Marquez noted that out of the 29 pending applications, 12 were already approved.
In his impeachment complaint, Gadon claimed that Sereno delayed the release of the survivorship benefits to Dolores Colayco, the widow of the late CA Justice Jose Colayco.
He even noted that Sereno appointed her lawyer Jocelyn Fabian to head the TWG that handled the pension and survivorship benefits.
The Umali panel issued a subpoena compelling Fabian to attend today’s hearing. Policy issues Sereno’s camp said there is nothing “illegal” and “anomalous” with the creation of the two TWGs.
“Hindi po si Chief Justice Sereno lang ang gumawa nun. Hindi po illegal yun,” Sereno’s spokesperson lawyer Jojo Lacanilao told reporters.
He explained that it is within the power of the Special Committee on Retirement and Civil Service Benefits to create the two TWGs.
“Yun po ay nasa kapangyarihan ng komite na yun at si Chief Justice po ang pumirma at wala pong anomalya dun,” Lacanilao said.
Lawyer Josalee Deinla, spokesperson of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said there was no intention to delay the release of the retirement and pension benefits of the judges and justices.
She attributed the delayed release of such benefits to the various policy decisions that should be resolved first by the en banc and pending administrative cases filed against the retired justices and judges.