Palace: No need for P-Noy to talk to justices

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang said yesterday there is no need for President Aquino to have a dialogue with the Supreme Court (SC) justices over his decision to appoint Ma. Lourdes Sereno as chief justice, but it will work with the judiciary on the budget it needs for reforms.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said yesterday that the supposed lack of support by the other justices for Sereno was an “internal matter” and that it would be improper for the President to meddle.

“The Chief Justice is going to be there for a good 18 years and it’s something that they have to work with,” Lacierda said.

He said the primary role of the judiciary is to render decisions and having a new chief justice is an internal matter among the justices.

Lacierda added that they have not yet discussed whether the Judicial Executive Legislative Advisory Council would be convened since the new chief justice was appointed.

He said the SC would have to move forward and it might already be irrelevant to make an issue out of the psychiatric tests of the justices as Sereno apparently made the grade to be included in the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) shortlist.

“Should they release it (result of psychiatric tests)? The Supreme Court made the rules of the JBC. They’re closer to the Supreme Court than the executive branch. So it’s up to them if they want to,” Lacierda said.

As regards the judiciary’s budget, he said Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad had met with the SC to discuss their concerns.

“The message is we can work together insofar as the budget is concerned… and (Wednesday’s meeting) was a positive step towards resolving issues of the budget of the judiciary between the SC and the DBM (Department of Budget and Management),” Lacierda said.

He added that it was important for the SC to understand “how the budget process works” and that the meeting was limited to the budget in deference to the separation of powers of the executive and judicial branches of government.

“Again, let me emphasize we’re talking only of the budget. There’s no encroachment on the independence of the judiciary. We respect the fiscal autonomy of the judiciary,” Lacierda said.

Much ado about budget

He said the budget department had been talking with the SC not only under Sereno as chief justice, particularly on the controversial Judiciary Development Fund (JDF).

Eighty percent of the JDF is supposed to cover the cost of living allowances of employees and the 20 percent is supposed to be used for the improvement of the courts, but there have been allegations that the fund is sometimes being misused.

Lacierda said the executive was willing to discuss things with the judiciary but not necessarily increase its funding right away. He said any decision would be subject to budget constraints and processes.

He also noted that the judiciary had its sources of funds but Abad had to explain to Sereno and the SC why budget cuts had to be made.