A bill to extend the terms of former presidents’ stipends from eight (8) to sixteen (16) years was introduced in the Senate by Senators Kuartei and Isechal.
Current law provides for former presidents of the Republic of Palau to receive stipends which are half of their annual salary when they were in office, for a period of 8 years. The bill seeks to extend that term to 16 years, allowing living presidents to continue to receive their stipend up to 16 years after they retire from office.
The bill states that the stipend would stop if the former president dies, runs for office, or is impeached by ⅔ of congress for a cause.
Bill’s findings state that former presidents continue to play important roles in the Palau community after leaving office and are restricted from acquiring other careers because they implicitly represent the country.
“At the same time, former Presidents have their career opportunities restricted by their continued commitment to public service. Because they implicitly represent the Republic, even after leaving office, they are unable to take any position or opportunity that would reflect poorly on that representation,” states the bill proposal.
There are two living ex-presidents, Johnson Toribiong and Tommy E. Remengesau.