The House of Representatives on Monday, Jan. 31 ratified the bicameral conference committee report consolidating Lower House and Senate versions of the proposed establishment of Philippine Judiciary Marshals Service.
Approved by the Lower House on June 21, 2021, the chamber’s version of the measure, House Bill 9086, provides that the PJMS will be an independent, professional and organized security force under the control and supervision of the Supreme Court.
HB 9086 consolidated seven separate Lower House bills authored, among others, by: Deputy Speakers Henry Oaminal (2nd district, Misamis Occidental); Ferdinand Hernandez (2nd District, South Cotabato); and Juan Pablo Garcia (3rd District, Cebu); together with Reps. Rufus Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro City); and Vicente “Ching” Veloso (3rd District, Leyte), chairman of the House Committee on Justice.
It’s principal objective is to protect members of the judiciary and its personnel from violence, threats and undue influence.
The PJMS which will be headed by a Chief Marshall who will receive the same rank, privileges and compensation of an associate justice of the Court of Appeals, will also be tasked to protect court assets and secure courthouses and buildings from any security threat.
The House version also designates three deputy marshals who shall be assigned to Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and will enjoy the same rank, privileges and compensation of a judge of the Regional Trial Court.
The creation of the PJMS was strongly sought by retired Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin who was himself a victim of threats after he left the High Court.
The former SC chief justice appealed to Congress to pass the measure a few days after the assassination in Tagudin, of Ilocos Sur Regional Trial Court Judge Mario Anacleto Bañez.
A few months before Bañez’s murder in San Fernando, La Union; unidentified gunmen killed Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte Judge Reymar Lacaya, making the two the 31st and 32nd judiciary member to be slain while in active service.
Bersamin’s brother, Abra Rep. Luis Bersamin was killed in 2006 while attending the wedding of the chief justice’s daughter in Quezon City. Former Abra Governor Vicente Valera and two of his co-accused were convicted for the assassination.