Entitlement to Additional Severance Pay

A Philippine citizen appealed the disallowance of his claim for severance pay believed due incident to his separation from civilian employment with the Department of the Army, and then the Department of the Navy. The former employee contended that, under a 1947 agreement between the United States and the Republic of the Philippines he was entitled to severance pay as the result of his separation from the Army. In support of his claim he submitted a copy of the agreed minutes to a 1968 agreement between the United States and the Republic of the Philippines regarding employment of Philippine citizens which provides for such payment. The claimant received severance pay under this agreement for the later period of 2 years and 28 days of employment by the Navy but he noted that in commputing that employment he was not credited with prior employment with the Army. The record showed that the claimant was a civilian employee of the Army at the time he was apparently separted due to a reduction in force action. The Philippine citizen filed a claim with the Claims Division in 1965 for severance pay as a result of his 1964 separation. That claim was disallowed because there was no authority for payment. GAO held that the 1968 agreement did not authorize or require severance pay payments to Philippine citizens whose employment was terminated prior to that date. The 1947 agreement does provide for Philippine citizen employment by the Army, it contains nothing which authorizes the payment of severance pay to Philippine citizens upon termination of employment under that agreement. Concerning his separation from the Navy, apparently because he had a several-years break in his service between his separation in 1964 and his employment with the Navy, his prior service with the Army was not considered continuous service and was not credited in computing his severance pay by the Navy in 1970. In any event, any claim the Philippine citizen has for additional severance pay is barred since his claim for that pay was first received in the Office more than 6 years after the last date it could have accured upon his separation in 1970. Accordingly, the Philippine citizen was not entitled to any additional severance pay, and the disallowance of his claim was sustained.