Senator Raffy Tulfo has questioned the consistent cut by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on the recommended budget of the Judiciary.
During the Senate committee on finance budget briefing yesterday, Tulfo said it’s about time to increase the budget of the Judiciary by restoring some of the amount cut from its proposed 2023 budget to help with its modernization and digitization.
The cut, according to Tulfo, worsens the already slow justice system in the country.
“Allow me to quote Former President Ramon Magsaysay Jr. when he said ‘He who has less in life, should have more in law,’ Tulfo said.
He lamented the sorry state of the Judiciary, particularly in the courts where two to three judges use the same court, causing a slow down in the judicial processes.
Tulfo said he observed that most courts look like warehouses that are littered with piles of papers, folders and documents.
Notably, the 2023 P52.72 billion allocation for the Judiciary, as approved by the DBM, is 29 percent lower than its recommended budget of P74.18 billion. DBM also slashed the requested budget by the Judiciary to 22 percent and 33 percent in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
In a separate statement he issued shortly after the committee hearing, Tulfo stressed that aside from the shortage in the number of courts, there is also a shortage of judges in the country, which contributes to the slow Philippine justice system.
Data shows that the average annual workload per judge in the country’s Lower Courts reaches to as much as 644 cases, which is largely higher when compared to courts in the USA, like Washington, DC wherein judges handle only 171 cases annually. As a result, the disposition rate of cases in the Philippines is only at 39 percent, as of 2021.
Adding insult to the injury, Tulfo pointed out the slow turnover of cases handled by a retiring judge in the country because it would normally take two to three years to find him/her a replacement.
In an earlier report, a Judicial and Bar Council official confirmed that there are more than 2,000 vacancies for trial courts nationwide as of 2019.
Due to lack of funds, Tulfo said it is also challenging for current judges to request for extra manpower to help hasten court proceedings, including stenographer, process server and sheriff, as it normally takes months before getting approved.
Given all these challenges, Tulfo challenged DBM to personally visit the courts in the country to witness firsthand its sorry state before deciding on approving or disapproving the requested budget of the Judiciary.
As part of his effort to strengthen the Judiciary, Tulfo filed Senate Bill (SB) No. 214 this 19th Congress seeking to modernize the judiciary.