Judiciary asks senators to add P2.8B to budget
THE Senate Committee on Finance chaired by Senator Edgardo “Sonny” Angara on Monday scrutinized the P52.72billion proposed budget of the judiciary for fiscal year 2023.
Under the proposed measure, P43.06 billion is allotted for the Supreme Court and lower courts, P6.60 billion for the Court of Appeals (CA), P2.10 billion for the Sandiganbayan, P795.22 million for the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) and P167.31 million for the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET).
The 2023 proposed budget for the judiciary is P5.74 billion higher than its approved budget in 2022 of P46.98 billion, but is P21.46 billion lower than the judiciary’s original budget proposal submitted to the Department of Budget and Management, or P74.18 billion.
In his presentation, Court Administrator Raul Villanueva asked the Finance committee to reconsider adding P2.8 billion to the P52.72-billion proposed budget of the judiciary.
Of the P2.8 billion additional budget being sought, P1.97 billion will go to the SC and lower courts, P567.62 million for the CA, P239 million to the Sandiganbayan, P124.85 million to the CTA and none for the PET.
Villanueva also asked the committee for amendments of the special provisions to the proposed budget pursuant to the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
He cited in particular Special Provisions No. 2 regarding the special allowances of justices and judges and Special Provision No. 7 with respect to the maintenance and operations of lower courts.
“Again we are asking as we have been asking previously, that these special provisions be amended,” Villanueva said.
Villanueva noted that since 2013 up to the 2022 General Appropriations
Act (Republic Act No.11639) the judiciary has been consistently seeking Congress’s consideration of Special Provision 2 which has always been granted.
Special Provision 2 (Special allowance of justices and judges) of the NEP states: “The special allowance of justices, judges and all other positions in the judiciary with equivalent rank, which have already been fully integrated into their salaries shall cease to be granted.”
It further states that the amount of P697.92 million corresponding to the special allowance for the judiciary component of their salaries shall be deposited with the National Treasury as income of the General Fund.
Villanueva proposed the rewording of the said provision to state: “Considering that the special allowance of justices, judges, and all other positions in the judiciary with equivalent rake of justices of the Court of Appeals and judges of the Regional Trial Court under R A 9227, has already been fully integrated into their salaries as of June 1, 2012, the amount of P697,927,476 corresponding to the Special Allowance for the judiciary component of their salaries shall be deposited with the National Treasury as income of the General Fund…”
“Records would show the executive department has for many years been giving this particular allowance for the members of the judiciary,” Villanueva told the committee.
As for the maintenance and other operating expenses of lower courts under Special Provision No. 7 of the NEP, Villanueva said the judiciary has been asking that the said special provision be amended so as not to include, among others, the specific amount to be distributed to different courts nationwide.
Meanwhile, Villanueva noted that the judiciary’s budget utilization as of December 31, 2021 was almost 100 percent and almost 50 percent for its 2022 budget.