BENEFITS DELAYED ARE benefits denied. Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno has ordered the Fiscal Management and Budget Office (FMBO) of the Supreme Court to come up with guidelines that would better facilitate the payment of retirement and terminal leave benefits pertaining to the Special Allowance for the Judiciary (SAJ) of retired justices and judges.
     In a dialogue with FMBO Chief Atty. Corazon F. Flores and other FMBO officials, Chief Justice Puno proposed that the FMBO draw up a feasible time frame in paying these retirement benefits. “We must have a strategy. We must ensure that these guidelines are fair and objective so that the Court will not be accused of favoring one retired justice or judge over another,” said Chief Justice Puno. Chief Justice Puno said he empathizes with the retired justices and judges who, now old and sickly, cannot readily claim their benefits due to lack of funds. He stressed that the FMBO should learn to prioritize. “These people had served the Judiciary and they need their retirement money now more than ever especially those who are requiring medicines and therapy,” Chief Justice Puno stressed.
     Justices and judges mandatorily retire upon reaching the age of 70. Apart from the regular retirement benefits (i.e., accrued leave credits, etc.), those who retired from November 2003 onwards are also given retirement gratuity and terminal leave benefits pursuant to RA 9227, An Act Granting Additional Compensation In The Form Of Special Allowances For Justices, Judges And All Other Positions In The Judiciary With The Equivalent Rank Of Justices Of The Court Of Appeals And Judges Of The Regional Trial Court, And For Other Purpose. RA 9227 was approved in November 2003.
     Atty. Lilian Barribal-Co, Chief of the Fiscal Management Office, Office of the Court Administrator, said the regular retirement benefits are given promptly to retired judges upon clearance from all concerned offices. “As long as they have already been cleared of any accountability, the regular retirement benefits are readily given to them,” she said.
     Under the current set-up, the retirement gratuity and terminal leave benefits pertaining to SAJ is chargeable against the Judiciary’s General Fund of every Budgetary Year. During the dialogue, Atty. Flores proposed, among others, to charge the SAJ component of said benefits against the SAJ Fund.
     The SAJ Fund answers for the special allowance equivalent to the basic monthly salary granted to justices, judges, and all other positions in the Judiciary with the equivalent rank of justices of the Court of Appeals and judges of the RTC. It is sourced from legal fees originally prescribed, imposed, and collected under Rule 141 of the Rules of Court prior to the promulgation of the amendments under PD 1949 (Judiciary Development Fund Decree) and increases in current fees and new fees which may be imposed by the SC after the effectivity of RA 9227.