SC asked anew to exempt poor litigants from paying sheriff fees

The Supreme Court building in Manila. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) asked the Supreme Court anew to overturn its ruling denying PAO’s motion to exempt poor litigants from paying sheriff fees worth P1,000.

“Once again, we are begging for this Honorable Court’s compassion towards the poor.  In our jurisdiction as well as in the rest of the world, equal access to justice has been a fundamental human right,” PAO, through its chief, Persida Rueda-Acosta, said in a 25-page motion for reconsideration.

Acosta appealed for the high court’s “liberality and sympathy”, adding  that the exemption from payment of sheriff’s expenses is in line with government’s objective to promote social justice.

“This is the very foundation of the PAO and is at the heart of the Judiciary – it is our bounden duty to ensure that justice is served to the poor in the very same manner as it is served to the rich,” she said.

“Justice does not end in a favorable judgment; execution is the ultimate relief that may be afforded to any litigant.  The poor is equally entitled to such a right,” Acosta said.

“The payment of sheriff’s expenses (trust fund) is no different from the rest of the legal fees being imposed upon litigants, which unduly burden the indigent members of our society to the extent of denying them their right of access to justice,” Acosta said.

She argued that the November 22, 2011 ruling of the high court violates the 1987 Constitution, particularly Section 11 Article 3 which provides the people’s right to “free access to the courts and quasi-judicial bodies and adequate legal assistance shall not be denied to any person by reason of poverty.”

Acosta said the ruling contradicts Section 6 [16-D] of Republic Act 9406—the law that created PAO—which exempts indigent clients from the payment of fees required in filing lawsuits in courts and quasi-judicial bodies.

The PAO chief noted that sheriff’s expenses fall within the concept of “legal fees” under Section 19 of Rule 141 of the Rules of Court.

The provision provides that indigent litigants whose gross income and that of their immediate family do not exceed an amount double the monthly minimum wage of an employee and who do not own real property with a fair market value as stated in the current tax declaration of more than P300,000 shall be exempt from the payment of legal fees.