Senate assures help in increasing budget of the judiciary

The Senate finance committee on Monday September 27 assured the Judiciary that it would extend institutional support in its plea for increased budget for 2022.

Senator Juan Edgardo J. Angara, chairman of the Senate finance committee, said his committee would increase the budget of the Judicial branch in compliance with the Constitution while Senator Francis Tolentino gave his ‘’strongest’’ consideration to the Judiciary.

The two senators gave this institutional support to the Judiciary after Court Administrator Midas Marquez complained that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) gave it a 2022 P44.98 billion budget which is lesser than current P45.31 billion budget.

This violates Section 3 of Article 8 of the 1987 Constitution which states that the budget of the Judicial branch should not be lower than that of the previous year, Marquez said.

In today’s budget hearing, Marquez told Angara that the Judicial branch proposed a P67.28 billion for 2022 but was given only P44.98 billion as stated in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

The Supreme Court and Lower Courts asked for a reconsideration of P4.38 billion; Presidential Electoral Tribunal – P16.56 million; Court of Appeals – P2.01 billion; Sandiganbayan – P834.46 million and Court of Tax Appeals – P231.15 million.

Marquez then asked the Senate to at least help in adding P7.47 billion for the Judiciary over and above the NEP-approved P44.98 budget for 2022 so that there would not be a constitutional violation.

Despite lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Marquez said the courts, from May 4, 2020 to September 17, 2021, were able to conduct 516,000 video conferencing hearings, or a success rate of 87 percent.

Other courts sought budget hikes because of increased building rentals and the need to buy equipment and vehicles, among others.

This injustices needs to be corrected, they added.

Following the hybrid public hearing, Angara said the proposed budget for the Judicial branch is deemed approved in the committee level and would be submitted to the Senate for floor debate.

Approval of an increased budget would empower the Judiciary which is a co-equal branch in government, he added.

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