House continues inquiry into judiciary fund

Despite a snub by members of the judiciary, the House justice committee continued its probe into the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF) on Tuesday, August 5. The committee invited Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and several members of the Court to the Lower House to answer questions on the use of the special fund intended to augment the judicial branch’s budget. But Chief Justice Sereno called the hearings “inappropriate” and declined to send any representative to the congressional probe. There are at least two bills filed in the Lower House seeking to abolish the JDF and to give Congress more oversight into how the judiciary spends its funds. The bills were filed in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision declaring as unconstitutional both the pork barrel and parts of the Disbursement Acceleration Program.

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