EDITORIAL - Severance pay

It's good the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas wasted no time in stepping into the controversy involving the granting of severance pay to former Department of Tourism regional director Patria Aurora Roa by the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority board.

After all, it’s the people’s money that is involved. The public has the right to know as to the legality of such grant.

As we all know, the MCIAA board, during its executive session last April 15, passed a resolution granting P500,000 severance pay to Roa, who retired after 15 years of sitting in the board, in recognition of her valuable service and contribution to the MCIAA. 

MCIA general manager Danilo Francia hailed Roa, saying the former tourism regional director has shown exemplary service in promoting tourism development not only in Cebu but in Central Visayas in general. 

But there’s the rub. Several airport personnel cried foul over the grant. They criticized it as “anomalous and has no legal basis.” They added that Roa is not entitled to such benefits since she was not officially connected with the MCIAA.

However, Francia, in a letter to The FREEMAN last Friday, said Roa's severance pay from the MCIAA was legal based on Republic Act 6958, the law that created the MCIAA charter.

The airport manager claimed that the MCIAA has corporate powers under the Corporation Code. He said the Corporation Code of the Philippines allows any corporation to establish pension and retirement benefits for its board of directors, trustees, officers and employees.

But the MCIAA board cannot escape the fact that Roa's severance pay has been approved amid calls for austerity measures in this time of economic crisis.

The Ombudsman promised to look into Roa’s severance pay considering that she was not the first to receive such “questionable” benefits.

It was reported that a few years ago, a former transportation and communication undersecretary also received a “severance pay” from the MCIAA. But the Commission on Audit disallowed such benefits and ordered a refund from the MCIAA board.

If the granting of severance pay to Roa is legal as what Francia had claimed, then why did COA disallow the same benefits given to former transportation and communication undersecretary?