As a concerned Filipino trial lawyer, my personal concept of an effective justice system is that it is made up of simple-living, humble, courageous and independent-minded judges and prosecutors who consciously insulate themselves from the enticing financial temptations being offered by officials of rich local government units in the euphemistic form of “special monthly allowances”.
My vision of independent-minded judges or prosecutors is that they are public officials of such mental and spiritual purity as to possess the courage and decency to reject outright such temptations without necessarily insulting the well-meaning local officials making such offers.
The Local Government Code of the Philippines and existing Philippine jurisprudence decided by the Philippine Supreme Court these past decades expressly allow the appropriation by local government units of such special monthly allowances in favor of judges and prosecutors.
The Philippine Supreme Court feels that there is nothing morally wrong if judges receive monthly allowances from local government units where their branches are stationed. I humbly disagree.
Rich prime cities in the Philippines (such as Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, and other cities in wealthy Philippines regions) are the main targets of new applicants to the Philippine judiciary and the Philippine prosecution service and of incumbent Filipino judges and prosecutors who seek transfers to greener stations as a means to improve their personal financial condition.
I am reproducing verbatim hereinbelow a recent self-explanatory news report on the abovementioned issue that appeared in a local newspaper in Metro Cebu and which was posted on the website of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, wherein it was reported that the officials of Cebu City, which is second only to Manila and Makati in annual gross income, would allocate huge special monthly allowances to local judges assigned within its territorial jurisdiction in a morally distasteful amount equivalent to 100% of their basic salaries.
With due respect to the judges and prosecutors who are now benefitting from allowances from local government units, my humble opinion is that it is morally outrageous on their part to accept such considerations because they would ultimately diminish their independence as dispensers of justice and substantially erode the institutional image of nobility of the justice system especially when controversial cases are filed by citizens and people’s organizations against their abusive and corrupt benefactors.
City gov’t gives higher allowances to judges;
none for city prosecutors
By Ador Vincent Mayol, Fe Marie D. Dumaboc
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 07:43:00 02/20/2010
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña will give additional cash allowances to judges of the Cebu City Regional Trial Court (RTC), Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC), and Court of Appeals (CA) but not to the city prosecutors.
“This is our way of helping the national government. And this is really a way of helping the poor,in my simple mind. So, this will relieve the judges of financial pressure, temptation, whatever,” he said.
But city prosecutors will not get additional allowances after they inhibited from handling the libel case filed by the mayor against a rival politician, citing the allowances they get from the city government.
“We will give them big allowances? The more they will abstain themselves from ruling or prosecuting, so I said let's just leave that alone,” the mayor said.
But their existing allowances will not be removed, he assured.
Cebu City Prosecutor Nicolas Sellon refused to comment on the allowances.
Osmeña said the judges’ monthly allowances would be equivalent to the basic salary of judges. The mayor said he would announce the increase during Charter Day on Feb. 24.
The mayor said the allocated budget for these allowances would come from the city’s Supplemental Budget 3 (SB3).
Cebu City administrator Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez said P20 million was allocated for the allowances.
“We are now passing the supplemental budget and we are trying to figure out among many things if we are going to be giving allowances to all the judges. Including court of appeals judges, municipal judges and RTC judges. The allowances will be equivalent to their salaries.,” Fernandez said.
If a judge receives a basic pay of P60,000 a month, his allowance will be P60,000.
He said the higher allowances were aimed at strengthening the institution, reduce the financial pressure of the judges to let them think clearly and dispense justice efficiently and to minimize corruption.
RTC Executive Judge Meinrado Paredes welcomed the mayor's decision.
“The city government had not intervened with the judiciary's role. There were times that they lost in some of their cases but they never threatened us nor influenced our decisions,” Paredes said.
He said he once ruled against the Cebu City government in a civil case but the mayor never withheld his monthly allowance.
He said he would continue accepting his cash allowance from the city since he is not assigned to cases which will involved the local government unit.
There are 21 RTC judges, seven MTCC judges and seven justices at the Court of Appeals in Cebu City.
Each RTC and MTCC judge gets a monthly allowance of P5,000 from the Cebu City government. RTC judges also receive a monthly stipend of P6,000 from the Cebu provincial government.
RTC judges receives a monthly salary ranging from P25,000 to P40,000 depending on the period of service in the judiciary. They also receive about P40,000 in monthly allowances from the Supreme Court.
MTCC judges also receive the same benefits but are slightly lower than those received by RTC judges.
Of all 21 RTC judges in Cebu City, Judge Gabriel Ingles of branch 58 does not accept his allowance both from the Cebu City government and Capitol, saying he wanted to maintain his judicial independence.
Ingles waived both his monthly in support of Judge Bienvinido Saniel of branch 20 whose allowance was cut off by the Capitol after ruling against the province.
Saniel dismissed the petition filed by the province questioning the authority of Osmeña to appoint directors of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District.
Paredes and another RTC judge who requested anonymity also waived their allowances from the provincial government.
Judges are under the supervision of the Supreme Court and receive their salary and benefits from the high court.
Allowances from local government units depend on the generosity and resources of the host city or province and are allowed by the Constitution. But every judge has the discretion to receive or decline the allowances.
See:
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/news/view/20100220-254285/City-govt-gives-higher-allowances-to-judges-none-for-city-prosecutors
