Retired Marine colonel wins P9.5-M pension claim after mutiny case

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Audit (COA) has ruled in favor of a retired military colonel, who faced allegations over a mutiny, in a claim for unpaid pension dating back to May 17, 2010. He stands to collect more than P9.521 million.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissed the case against Achilles Segumalian in 2018, eight years after he retired from the military with the rank of Marine colonel.

Segumalian served in the Armed Forces  for more than three decades before his retirement. He was accused of links to a 2006 rebellion by Marines against the Arroyo administration, spent four years in detention and faced a rebellion charge. He was eventually cleared of the allegations.

Segumalian pursued his retirement benefits while working civilian jobs in the absence of a pension. He filed his application for official retirement with the Naval Adjutant on July 20, 2022, and received a Compulsory Retirement Order on December 28, 2022.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines Pension and Gratuity Management Center issued a certification on February 15, 2024, showing that Segumalian was owed monthly pension payments from July 20, 2012, to December 31, 2022, amounting to over P8.480 million.

Segumalian, however, challenged the computation before the COA, pointing to a July 9, 2023, disbursement voucher for P9.52 million covering his pension from May 17, 2010, to December 31, 2022.

The COA en banc ruled in his favor on July 20, finding that he was entitled to pension payments from his retirement date and that the 10-year prescription period did not apply because of the circumstances surrounding his case.

The commission said Segumalian had shown that the delay in processing his claim was justified. It noted that his compulsory retirement was not formally established until the issuance of General Orders No. 1894 on December 28, 2022, making his late filing legally acceptable.

The COA also cited favorable recommendations from the AFP pension center and the auditors who reviewed the claim. – Rappler.com