A MAGISTRATE of the Supreme Court said he
and his colleagues recognize the unhappiness of congressmen over their
decisions on two controversial issues, but threats of impeachment or
investigation into judicial funds will not stop them from performing
their duties.
“They are just getting back at us,” a justice of the Supreme Court told the Manila Standard on condition of anonymity.
He said members of the Court are aware that some congressmen are making issues of the disqualification of Marinduque Rep. Regina Reyes-Ongkiko and the decision to declare pork barrel unconstitutional.
“Perhaps, it’s really hard to accept for some of them that the billions in discretionary funds that they enjoyed for a long time will be gone just like that,” the justice said, a day after Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno defended the Judiciary Development Fund.
Sereno explained on Monday that the JDF was a special purpose fund established in 1984, under Presidential Decree No. 1949, precisely to help ensure and guarantee judicial independence.
Court spokesman Theodore Te, maintained that the Supreme Court had no intention to disrespect Congress as a coequal branch of government, as claimed by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, a House prosecutor during the impeachment of former Chief Justice Renato Corona.
“The Constitution gives the Supreme Court the power to strike down acts of Congress which violate the Constitution,” Te said, reiterating that the Court was the agency tasked by the Constitution to review the constitutionality of any legislation.
“Its members cannot be impeached for doing their duty even if members of Congress disagree with the outcome,” Te added.
Te echoed Sereno’s explanation that, unlike congressional pork barrel, the JDF is not discretionary as the law defines how it will be used: 80 percent for cost of living allowances while not more than 20 percent for office equipment and facilities of the courts.
“While the chief justice is given the power to administer and allocate the fund and shall have the sole exclusive power and duty to approve the authorize disbursement and expenditures of the fund, she is not given any discretion on how the funds will be used,” Sereno said in a statement Monday.
Sereno also denied reports that the JDF amounted to some P5 billion, noting that 80 percent of it is released monthly to employees as cost-of-living allowances.
The 20-percent component, on the other hand, had an accumulated balance of P1.435 billion as of last Nov. 30, according to a report by the Supreme Court’s office of fiscal management and budget office.
Of this amount, P732.5 million has been earmarked for the construction of Court of Appeals buildings in Cebu and Cagayan De Oro and consultancy services for the electrical system of the high court in Manila.
Another P620.7 million has been certified as available for various capital outlays, including the procurement of computers, and construction and repair of court houses, she added.
The Court said the 20-percent component, which amounts to P200 million a year, is “barely enough for the court to source its budget for renovations, repairs and construction of halls of justice and for the various equipment needed for court operations.”
The Court said it had already submitted a report on how the JDF was used to the House committee on appropriations during budget deliberations in September.
“The JDF reports are also included in the annual report submitted by the chief justice in August 2013 to the Office Of The President, the Senate president, and the speaker of the House of Representatives. The annual report is also posted in the judiciary’s website and is accessible to everyone,” the Court said.
Since the last quarter of 2011, the Court said, it has been submitting financial reports on the JDF to the Department of Budget and Management.
Sereno issued the statement after Iloilo City Rep. Niel Tupas, chairman of the House committee on justice, said the move to scrutinize the JDF was aimed at reestablishing the chamber’s power after the Court declared pork barrel funds as unconstitutional.
Tupas vowed to give priority to the investigation when Congress resumes session next year amid the demand of congressmen who believe the Court encroached on their power over the purse.
source: Manila Standard
“They are just getting back at us,” a justice of the Supreme Court told the Manila Standard on condition of anonymity.
He said members of the Court are aware that some congressmen are making issues of the disqualification of Marinduque Rep. Regina Reyes-Ongkiko and the decision to declare pork barrel unconstitutional.
“Perhaps, it’s really hard to accept for some of them that the billions in discretionary funds that they enjoyed for a long time will be gone just like that,” the justice said, a day after Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno defended the Judiciary Development Fund.
Sereno explained on Monday that the JDF was a special purpose fund established in 1984, under Presidential Decree No. 1949, precisely to help ensure and guarantee judicial independence.
Court spokesman Theodore Te, maintained that the Supreme Court had no intention to disrespect Congress as a coequal branch of government, as claimed by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, a House prosecutor during the impeachment of former Chief Justice Renato Corona.
“The Constitution gives the Supreme Court the power to strike down acts of Congress which violate the Constitution,” Te said, reiterating that the Court was the agency tasked by the Constitution to review the constitutionality of any legislation.
“Its members cannot be impeached for doing their duty even if members of Congress disagree with the outcome,” Te added.
Te echoed Sereno’s explanation that, unlike congressional pork barrel, the JDF is not discretionary as the law defines how it will be used: 80 percent for cost of living allowances while not more than 20 percent for office equipment and facilities of the courts.
“While the chief justice is given the power to administer and allocate the fund and shall have the sole exclusive power and duty to approve the authorize disbursement and expenditures of the fund, she is not given any discretion on how the funds will be used,” Sereno said in a statement Monday.
Sereno also denied reports that the JDF amounted to some P5 billion, noting that 80 percent of it is released monthly to employees as cost-of-living allowances.
The 20-percent component, on the other hand, had an accumulated balance of P1.435 billion as of last Nov. 30, according to a report by the Supreme Court’s office of fiscal management and budget office.
Of this amount, P732.5 million has been earmarked for the construction of Court of Appeals buildings in Cebu and Cagayan De Oro and consultancy services for the electrical system of the high court in Manila.
Another P620.7 million has been certified as available for various capital outlays, including the procurement of computers, and construction and repair of court houses, she added.
The Court said the 20-percent component, which amounts to P200 million a year, is “barely enough for the court to source its budget for renovations, repairs and construction of halls of justice and for the various equipment needed for court operations.”
The Court said it had already submitted a report on how the JDF was used to the House committee on appropriations during budget deliberations in September.
“The JDF reports are also included in the annual report submitted by the chief justice in August 2013 to the Office Of The President, the Senate president, and the speaker of the House of Representatives. The annual report is also posted in the judiciary’s website and is accessible to everyone,” the Court said.
Since the last quarter of 2011, the Court said, it has been submitting financial reports on the JDF to the Department of Budget and Management.
Sereno issued the statement after Iloilo City Rep. Niel Tupas, chairman of the House committee on justice, said the move to scrutinize the JDF was aimed at reestablishing the chamber’s power after the Court declared pork barrel funds as unconstitutional.
Tupas vowed to give priority to the investigation when Congress resumes session next year amid the demand of congressmen who believe the Court encroached on their power over the purse.
source: Manila Standard
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