SC exec quells fears of mass leave in judiciary

Despite the government's recommendation to slash the judiciary's proposed budget in half, Supreme Court administrator and spokesman Jose Midas Marquez on Monday quelled fears of a mass leave among lower court judges and their personnel. Marquez said he spoke with Philippine Judges Association president Antonio Eugenio to block the group's plan to protest budget cuts in the judiciary. Marquez said the judiciary proposed a budget of about P27 billion for 2011 but the Department of Budget and Management reduced it to about P14 billion. The budget deliberations are ongoing at the House of Representatives. "I've received a number of messages from our judges, but I told them to stay put and concentrate on their cases. We (Office of the Court Administrator) are still negotiating, we are still talking and we hope were listened to," said Marquez at a news briefing. "Walang mass leave na mangyayari. (No mass leave is going to happen). I have spoken with our judges, and we have a very strong case. We have a meritorious case. I'm quite confident our pleas would not land on deaf ears," he added. Over the weekend, Marquez issued a "strongly-worded" statement that warned of a possible judicial revolt because the government supposedly continues to ignore the sordid state of the country's court system. Marquez said that since 2007, judges and justices have not received their full allowances as mandated by Republic Act No. 9227 or the Special Allowance for the Judiciary Act. He added that the government has not made an allocation for the repair of dilapidated court houses. Magistrates use their own resources to declog their dockets. "In 2007, the judiciary got only 0.76 percent of the national budget; in 2008, 0.88 percent; in 2009, 0.94 percent; and in 2010, 0.87 percent. For 2011, the judiciary will stand to receive a measly 0.78 percent of the national budget," he said. "Many of our judges and justices will continue to use their own personal computers and printers, repair their own courtrooms, and work during weekends to clear their dockets. They will continue to perform their sworn duty to decide cases expeditiously and dispense justice fairly," Marquez said. "But until when can they last? Are we waiting for our justices and judges to march to the streets, for the judiciary to revolt, for justice to ground to a halt? Are we courting chaos?" he then asked. Drastic figures In Monday's news briefing, the court adminsitrator disclosed the following figures to present a better picture of the problems in the judiciary:

• There are 2,300 justices and judges nationwide, with over 25,500 court personnel.
• There are about 600,000 pending cases nationwide, 6,000 of which are before the Supreme Court
• The court system has about 23 percent vacant posts

The court's independence and efficiency at stake Marquez likewise admitted that due to the dismal state of the courts, the judiciary's independence and efficiency may be at stake because local judges may resort to seeking help from local government units for budget allocation. "How can you expecgt our justices and judges to act independently when they will have to plead to our executive department for their additional wages? How can you expect them to decide with integrity when they are not receiving the right pay as legislated by Congress? How can you exepct them to be efficient when there are vacancies?" he said. Despite this, Marquez said judges and justices continue to make the most of what they have to deliver justice. He said that of the 850 administrative complaints filed before the Office of Court Administrator last year, only 10 percent were found meritorious. "Ninety percent has been dismissed outright. Our judges have been coping fairly and heroically, considering the conditions they are in,' he said. –VVP, GMANews.TV