Review aid to judges too–Pimentel

Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III. INQUIRER.net file photo

MANILA, Philippines—After voiding the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), the Supreme Court justices should take a look at the possible cross-border assistance by local officials to judges, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III said.

Pimentel has proposed that the justices review a provision of the Local Government Code that authorizes local governments to augment the allowances and benefits of judges in their localities.

This could be cross-border assistance, he said.

Section 458 of the code provides that a city, when its finances allow, may provide additional allowances and other benefits to judges, prosecutors, public elementary and high school teachers, and other national government officials in the city.

“May we know from the Supreme Court if they are calling for a review of such a provision allowing [local government] assistance to the judiciary? Is it better to have this wall—after all they are executives—so that there will be no cross-border assistance?” Pimentel asked in last Thursday’s plenary deliberations on the judiciary’s 2015 budget.

Sen. Loren Legarda, who defended the judiciary’s budget, said the Supreme Court was open to conducting such a review.

Pimentel acknowledged that the 1991 code, which allowed the practice called local government extended assistance, was authored by his father, former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. But he noted that the Supreme Court handed down its DAP ruling this year.

“[It’s] for the Supreme Court to review [the] setup because they issued the DAP decision,” he said, when asked by Legarda if he was initiating a review as justice committee chair. TJ Burgonio