‘Friendly’ CJ doesn’t mean higher budget for SC – Palace

MANILA, Philippines – The Palace said on Thursday, September 6, that having a ‘”friendly” chief justice does not guarantee a budget increase for the Supreme Court (SC). 

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the budget of the SC will still have to go through the wringer, even if Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is an appointee and a perceived ally of President Benigno Aquino III. 

“Hindi naman porke kaibigan or friendly si Chief Justice Sereno or porke appointee ni Presidente bibigay kaagad (The budget will not be given right away just because Chief Justice Sereno is “friendly” to the administration or is an appointee of the President),” he said. 

The SC is seeking a P17.7-billion budget for 2013, a P2-billion increase from the High Court’s budget in 2012. The SC and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) have yet to reach a compromise though on the department’s proposal to have millions in the Court’s allowances returned to the national treasury.  

The DBM said that since the special allowances have been integrated with the salary increases of the judges since June 1, the balances in the SAJ fund should now be part of the national fund. But the SC said part of its fiscal autonomy allows it to decide how to use the SAJ fund.

Rare meeting

Lacierda said the meeting between the DBM Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad and Sereno on September 5 is a welcome development.

Abad and Sereno met for the first time, a move seen as an attempt to thaw the tension between the DBM and SC. The agency and the Court have been in conflict over the latter’s use of funds under the term of then Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2010. 

“Secretary Abad visited the Supreme Court, and so it’s better for the two parties to be discussing this issue on the budget. Again, let me emphasize we’re talking only of the budget. There’s no encroachment on the independence of the judiciary. We respect the fiscal autonomy of the judiciary,” he said.

The executive has been accused of encroaching on the fiscal independence of the SC after the DBM tried to transfer P2 billion of the judiciary’s funds in 2011 to the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefit Fund. The money could only be released once vacant positions are filled. The DBM introduced this initiative to discourage the conversion of funds, which has been a source of corruption in the military. The SC cried foul however, and the DBM eventually gave in to the judiciary. – Rappler.com

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