B-161148, APR. 18, 1967

B-161148, APR. 18, 1967

TO MR. DOMINADOR LANUZO:

FURTHER REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR LETTER DATED FEBRUARY 13, 1967, TO THE FINANCE CENTER, U.S. ARMY, INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, AND FORWARDED TO OUR OFFICE, RELATIVE TO YOUR CLAIM FOR ADDITIONAL MUSTERING-OUT PAY BELIEVED DUE YOU AT DATE OF DISCHARGE AS A PHILIPPINE SCOUT, FEBRUARY 12, 1949. PRIOR CLAIM FOR MUSTERING-OUT PAY WAS RETURNED TO YOU BY OUR CLAIMS DIVISION BECAUSE WE WERE BARRED FROM CONSIDERING IT BY THE ACT OF OCTOBER 9, 1940, 54 STAT. 1061.

YOUR CLAIM FOR ADDITIONAL MUSTERING-OUT PAY DATED SEPTEMBER 19, 1962, WAS FIRST RECEIVED IN OUR OFFICE FROM THE FINANCE CENTER, U.S. ARMY, ON OCTOBER 17, 1962. IT WAS RETURNED TO YOU BY OUR CLAIMS DIVISION ON OCTOBER 25, 1962, TOGETHER WITH A COPY OF THE ACT OF OCTOBER 9, 1940, 54 STAT. 1061. THAT ACT PROVIDES THAT CLAIMS SUCH AS YOURS ARE BARRED FROM CONSIDERATION IF NOT RECEIVED IN THIS OFFICE WITHIN 10 FULL YEARS AFTER THE CLAIM FIRST ACCRUED.

ON JULY 18, 1966, YOU WROTE TO OUR CLAIMS DIVISION, STATING THAT YOU HAD BEEN ASSIGNED FOR DUTY IN OKINAWA DURING YOUR SERVICE OF MORE THAN 60 DAYS AS PHILIPPINE SCOUT AND WERE ELIGIBLE FOR MUSTERING-OUT PAY IN THE SUM OF $3,600. YOU THEREFORE CLAIMED MUSTERING-OUT PAY IN ADDITION TO THAT GIVEN YOU UPON YOUR DISCHARGE FROM THE ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES. BY LETTER DATED SEPTEMBER 16, 1966, THE CLAIMS DIVISION ADVISED YOU THAT SINCE YOUR CLAIM WAS NOT RECEIVED IN OUR OFFICE WITHIN TEN FULL YEARS FROM THE DATE OF YOUR DISCHARGE FROM MILITARY SERVICE, UNDER THE PLAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT OF OCTOBER 9, 1940, THE CLAIM WAS BARRED AND MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED.

IN A SUBSEQUENT LETTER DATED DECEMBER 7, 1966, YOU STATED THAT SOMETIME IN 1956 YOU HAD BEEN PAID AN ADDITIONAL SUM OF ONE HUNDRED PESOS AND THIRTEEN CENTAVOS (P 100.13), INSTEAD OF THE MAXIMUM BENEFIT THAT MAY BE DUE YOU AND WERE NOW CLAIMING THE BALANCE. YOU WERE ADVISED AGAIN BY LETTER DATED DECEMBER 22, 1966, THAT YOUR CLAIM WAS BARRED AND INFORMED THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE HAD BEEN GRANTED NO POWER OF DISPENSATION UNDER THE ACT OF OCTOBER 9, 1940, AND THEREFORE WE MAY MAKE NO EXCEPTIONS TO ITS PROVISIONS.

IN YOUR PRESENT LETTER, YOU AGAIN URGE THAT YOU ARE DUE ADDITIONAL MUSTERING-OUT PAY FOR YOUR SERVICE OUTSIDE THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AND THAT YOUR CLAIM SHOULD BE ALLOWED.

AS YOU HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY ADVISED, THE ACT OF OCTOBER 9, 1940, WITH CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS NOT HERE MATERIAL, BARS CLAIMS COGNIZABLE BY THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE IF NOT RECEIVED IN THAT OFFICE WITHIN 10 FULL YEARS AFTER THE DATE THE CLAIM FIRST ACCRUED. THE FILING OF A CLAIM WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY OR RECEIPT OF A PAYMENT FROM THAT OFFICE AT ANY TIME, DOES NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE STATUTE. SEE 32 COMP. GEN. 267, COPY ENCLOSED.

REGARDING THIS MATTER, IT MAY BE NOTED THAT EVEN IF YOUR CLAIM FOR ADDITIONAL MUSTERING-OUT PAY WERE NOT BARRED, YOU APPARENTLY WOULD NOT BE ENTITLED TO ANY ADDITIONAL AMOUNT. WE FIND NO STATUTORY PROVISION FOR THE PAYMENT OF $3,600 AS MUSTERING-OUT PAY TO MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY SERVICE, INCLUDING PHILIPPINE SCOUTS. THE MUSTERING-OUT PAYMENT ACT OF 1944, 58 STAT. 8, AS AMENDED, WHICH WAS MADE APPLICABLE TO PHILIPPINE SCOUTS UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE II OF THE ACT OF MAY 27, 1946, 60 STAT. 223-224, AUTHORIZED $100 MUSTERING-OUT PAYMENT TO MEMBERS WHO PERFORMED ACTIVE SERVICE FOR LESS THAN 60 DAYS; $200 FOR MEMBERS WHO SERVED MORE THAN 60 DAYS WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, AND $300 FOR PERSONS WHO SERVED MORE THAN 60 DAYS, AND WHO SERVED OUTSIDE THE CONTINENTAL LIMITS OF THE UNITED STATES OR IN ALASKA.

TITLE II OF THE ACT OF MAY 27, 1946, REFERRED TO ABOVE, PROVIDED IN PERTINENT PART (1) THAT FOR THE PURPOSE OF COMPUTING MUSTERING-OUT PAYMENTS FOR SERVICE IN THE PHILIPPINE SCOUTS UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 14 OF THE ACT OF OCTOBER 6, 1945, 59 STAT. 538, 543, SERVICE WHOLLY PERFORMED IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS SHALL BE COMPENSATED FOR ON THE SAME BASIS AS SERVICE WHOLLY PERFORMED WITHIN THE UNITED STATES AND (2) THAT MUSTERING-OUT PAYMENTS MADE ON ACCOUNT OF SERVICE IN THE PHILIPPINE SCOUTS SHOULD BE PAID AT THE RATE OF ONE PHILIPPINE PESO FOR EACH DOLLAR AUTHORIZED BY THE 1944 ACT.

UNDER THE ABOVE PROVISIONS, A PHILIPPINE SCOUT WHO SERVED MORE THAN 60 DAYS AND WHO PERFORMED SERVICE OUTSIDE THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS WAS ENTITLED TO MUSTERING-OUT PAY OF $150 (THE EQUIVALENT OF 300 PHILIPPINE PESOS). SINCE IT APPEARS FROM YOUR STATEMENTS THAT YOU WERE PAID MUSTERING-OUT PAY IN DOLLARS AT DISCHARGE, THE ADDITIONAL 100 PESOS (P 100.13) PAID TO YOU BY THE ARMY APPARENTLY REPRESENTS THE FULL AMOUNT DUE YOU ON THE BASIS OF THE OFFICIAL ARMY RECORDS OF YOUR SERVICE.

HOWEVER THAT MAY BE, WE ARE PRECLUDED BY THE PROVISIONS OF THE ACT OF OCTOBER 9, 1940, FROM TAKING ANY ACTION ON YOUR CLAIM.