DOJ makes filing cases cheaper

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima

Crime victims may now find it  easier to seek justice from the government.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Monday ordered a stop to the collection of legal and docket fees from individuals filing criminal complaints in the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“We feel that filing a case, especially if you’re really a victim of injustice, should not be subjected to any premium,” De Lima told reporters.

“The victims of crimes should not  have to pay anything to file cases. We only (block) the poor and other marginalized sectors’ access to justice if we continue to impose fees,” she said.

In a separate statement, De Lima said her order would “address the recurring issue of denial of access to justice by parties and litigants in imposing an exaction on the redress of wrongs when filing criminal complaints.”

In issuing Department Circular 25, the justice secretary revoked four previous DOJ orders which set the amounts of docket fees for various criminal cases.

Before De Lima’s order, individuals filing cases in the DOJ had to pay as much as P5,000 in legal fees, which was then used to fund the special allowances of state prosecutors as stipulated in Republic Act No. 9279.

But the implementation of the Salary Standardization Law has since allowed members of the National Prosecution Service (NPS) to receive a 100-percent increase in their basic salaries, according to the justice secretary.

“(Since) 100 percent of the basic salary of prosecutors… has already been reached… the fees authorized to be collected… shall no longer be collected,” De Lima said in her order.