Chief Justice Teresita J. Leonardo de Castro has approved the pilot testing of direct payment of legal fees to the Landbank of the Philippines (LBP) in Valenzuela City.
The Chief Justice said the pilot test is in preparation for the launch of an online payment facility for legal fees nationwide.
The pilot test in Valenzuela means that litigants who are filing cases in courts within the city can now pay the fees directly to LBP branches. They would merely attach the deposit slips or receipts in their pleadings for filing with the courts.
At the same time, the Chief Justice, with the approval of the court’s en banc (full court) has allowed the increase in the payment of transcript of stenographic notes (TSNs) from P10 to P20 per page.
Stenographic notes are needed by lawyers and litigants in the preparation of succeeding pleadings in their court cases.
The increase in fees will be for the benefit of court stenographers nationwide. Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez said that of the amount collected from transcript of stenographic notes, one-third goes to the Judiciary Development Fund while the rest goes to the concerned court stenographer.
The online payment of legal fees and the increase in TSN fee were based on Marquez’s recommendation.