A ranking member of the judiciary yesterday said it would be better if the Supreme Court (SC) and not the local government units (LGUs) provide allowances to the judges assigned in localities.
“If the allowances will come from the SC, there will be no perception of inappropriate connection between the LGU and the judge,” Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Gabriel Ingles said.
Ingles, who declined to receive allowances from LGUs, said judges and justices may be perceived as biased by the public if they continue to accept allowances from LGUs.
If public trust is lost, the judiciary is useless, Ingles said.
“The perception of independence, propriety, and integrity of judges and justices is equally important as actual independence, propriety, and integrity,” he said.
“The judge can only be effective in its decision if there is public confidence and trust. The judge can only be effective if its credible. And its credibility is there if people still trust the courts,” the CA justice added.
Under the Local Government Code of 1991, local governments can “provide for additional allowances and other benefits to judges, prosecutors, public elementary and high school teachers and other national government officials stationed in or assigned to the city.”But Ingles cited Sec. 5, Canon 1 of the New Code of Conduct of the Philippine Judiciary which states that “Judges shall not only be free from inappropriate connection with, and influence by the executive and legislative branches of government and must also appear to be free therefrom to a reasonable observer.”
Policy review
Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno revealed plans to review the policy allowing judges and justices to receive allowances from LGUs.
The High Court is considering whether the court can afford to give additional allowances to judges to replace the stipends given by LGUs.
Each Municipal Trial Court in Cities judge receives a monthly stipend of P30,000 from the Cebu City government while each Regional Trial Court judge in Cebu City receives P35,000 from the city government and P12,000 from the province. The issue of judges’ allowances from LGUs became controversial in 2008 when former Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, reportedly withheld the monthly allowance of RTC Judge Bienvenido Saniel after he ruled against the province in a civil case. The issue prompted RTC Judge Meinrado Paredes and then RTC Judge Ingles to waive their allowances from the Capitol.