Congress can overhaul JDF, says House panel

MANILA, Philippines - Congress has the power to amend and even repeal the Marcos decree creating the controversial Judiciary Development Fund (JDF), lawmakers said yesterday.

They said they could overhaul the fund they labeled as the pork barrel of the Supreme Court (SC), limit the fees that go to it and set new parameters for the use of the money.

The late President Ferdinand Marcos created the JDF through Presidential Decree 1949.

Disputing the SC’s stand that Congress cannot touch the JDF, Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., who chairs the House of Representatives committee on justice, said yesterday, “Yes, we can amend that decree.”

“The mandate of Congress is to pass, amend and repeal laws. The SC cannot encroach on the jurisdiction of Congress. Judicial independence and fiscal autonomy cannot be used to disregard or trivialize the powers of Congress,” he said.

Tupas insisted that the judiciary “cannot hide behind the vague concepts of independence and fiscal autonomy to avoid accountability.”

The Tupas panel will proceed with its investigation into the JDF next month in preparation for endorsing a bill that would overhaul the fund.

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno has informed Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. that the SC would not participate in the inquiry until motions for reconsideration involving the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) and Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) cases are resolved.

A Senate leader who declined to be named shared Tupas’ assertion on the power of Congress over the SC fund, which is a source of allowances for justices, judges and judiciary personnel, and for equipment and facilities.

“Yes, the JDF was created by law, a presidential decree, which Congress can amend. Fiscal autonomy, as interpreted by SC itself, means that funds allocated to the judiciary must be automatically released. And judicial independence prevents Congress from reducing the current year’s appropriation in next year’s budget,” the Senate official said in a text message.

He said he did want to be quoted by name “as this issue is pending in the House.”

Justice committee member Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Dasmariñas City in Cavite said the House is looking into the SC fund “in the spirit of transparency and accountability.”

“The public, most especially party litigants who are paying court fees, have a right to know how these funds are used by the Supreme Court,” he said.

He said Congress could limit the fees going into the JDF without violating judicial independence and fiscal autonomy.

“The Commission on Audit effectively does this when it issues a notice of suspension or disallowance on certain JDF disbursements,” he added.

“Instead of hiding behind the cloak of judicial independence and fiscal autonomy, the SC should open its books and show to the public how they are using the billions of pesos in JDF. Their refusal to cooperate might give rise to suspicion that they are hiding something,” he stressed.

For his part, senior justice committee vice chairman Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas of Ilocos Norte said “there is no law that cannot be amended or repealed by Congress.”

He said “even the Constitution may be revised or amended. What more a law, which is a legislative act.”

Former justice secretary and Rep. Silvestre Bello III of party-list group 1-BAP said the justices apparently have a wrong perception of judicial independence and fiscal autonomy.

He said he asked two incumbent justices during a House hearing last week how much in retirement benefits they would receive.

To his surprise, he said the two refused to answer his question.

Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III assured justices that the House “will not abolish your JDF and your allowances, which amount to millions a year.”

“We will just review it and make it more transparent, and its disbursers more accountable to the people,” he said.

The STAR also sought the comment of two other senators, Juan Edgardo Angara and Francis Escudero.

Angara said he was not familiar with JDF issues and would study them first. Escudero did not respond to a text message.

Tupas and Fariñas have filed bills that would repeal or amend PD 1949, transfer the fund to the national treasury and prescribe new parameters for its use.