Executive judge: Protest vs. budget cut here voluntary

CEBU, Philippines – Judges and court employees who want to protest the proposed budget cut in the judiciary may do so themselves, but no official directive was issued to this effect in courts here in Cebu, Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Meinrado Paredes said yesterday.

"It depends with the decisions of judges if they will wear black as a sign of protest in line with the budget cuts in the judiciary," Paredes said.

Paredes confirmed receiving a text message from the judges associations about the move to wear black, but he said he would not make it compulsory. He said RTC Judge Gabriel Ingles is also not amenable to the protest.

The judiciary had proposed a budget of about P27 billion, for 2011 but the Department of Budget and Management reduced the amount to about P14 billion.

The presidents of three organizations of judges - Judge Antonio Eugenio of the Philippine Judges' association (PJA), Judge Jaime Santiago of the Metropolitan and Cities Judges of the Philippines (METCJP) and Judge Josefina Siscar of the Trial Judges' Association of the Philippines Inc. (TJAPI) - had asked judges and court employees to wear black as a way to object to the cuts and to appeal for salary increases.

In a meeting yesterday, some Cebu judges said they will put up a black Christmas tree at the Palace of Justice to protest the cuts, but Paredes said court employees can still show their support to the judiciary in a more formal way.

I am not convinced with the request to wear black as a sign of protest. It doesn't mean we don't need money…there is another way to support the judiciary in a formal way," Paredes explained.

He said one of projects that would be affected by the budget cut is the supposed repair of the Marcelo Fernan Memorial Hall of Justice. The renovation might have to be delayed, Paredes said. (FREEMAN)