MANILA, Philippines ? The Social Security System (SSS) has been urged by a senator to recover the millions of pesos that its former commissioners have allegedly pocketed from various private corporations.

From Philex Mining and Unionbank alone, ex-SSS commissioners Romulo Neri, Sergio Apostol, and outgoing chairman Thelmo Cunanan, and Sergio Luis Ortiz, currently sitting in the agency's board, allegedly received combined bonuses and benefits of about P208 million pesos in three years as members of the board of directors of these two firms.

Documents furnished to reporters by the office of Senator Franklin Drilon, chairman of the Senate finance committee, showed that Cunanan earned a total compensation package of P132.6 million pesos from 2007 to 2010; Neri, P44.1 million from 2008 to 2010; Apostol, P25.1 million from 2008-2010; and Ortiz-Luiz, P6.3 million from 2009 to present.

?I urge the new leadership of the SSS to recover this amount from Mr. Neri together with the amounts which Mr. Thelmo Cunanan received which runs to again millions of pesos,? Drilon told a press briefing on Wednesday.

?I urge Mr Juan Santos and Emil de Quiros ...to institute measure to recover these payments given to their previous SSS commissioners,? he added.

Santos and de Quiros are chairman and president of SSS, respectively.