The House Committee on Justice passed on Wednesday, Feb. 8, a consolidated bill that seeks to provide compensation to the relatives of slain court judges.
The consolidation of House Bill (HB) Nos 1643 and 1694 by Pangasinan 6th district Rep. Marlyn Primicias-Agabas and Anakalusugan Party-list Rep. Ray Florence Reyes, respectively, were approved during the committee hearing, which was headed by Negros Occidental 4th district Rep. Juliet Marie de Leon Ferrer.
Reyes said he “earnestly sought” the “immediate passage” of the bill given the number of judges that have been killed in their line of duty.
Judge Jaime Santiago, a resource speaker at the hearing, cited a report by Amnesty International about how “Philippine judges are among those at risk of assassination because of the very nature of our job.”
He shared a report that said 36 judges, including eight Metropolitan Trial Court (MTC) judges, have been killed since 1991. Only two of these cases were resolved, Santiago noted.
Santiago also noted how even retired or dismissed judges were “not spared” from the killings.
“So, yun (the) everyday life of judges, talaga (really) we encounter mga (many) threats, so we really pray itong (this) house bill for hazard pay of judges will be approved,” he stressed.
READ: Court judges’ hazard pay bill gets House panel nod
Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville Luistro moved for the approval of the consolidated bill that would include the kin or compulsory heirs and beneficiaries of first- and second-level courts in the bill.
Reyes’ bill proposed that heirs of court judges “shall receive a lump sum of five (5) years’ gratuity computed on the basis of the highest monthly salary, plus the monthly aggregate of transportation, representation and other allowances such as personal economic relief allowance (PERA) and additional compensation allowance received by him/her as such Justice or Judge”.
Qualified judges are those that have worked in the government or any other branch of the judiciary for 15 years.
When judges or justices are killed because of their work, their heirs would receive a lump sum of 10 years of gratuity provided that they have served in government for five years.
However, when judges or justices are killed while “in service”, the heirs shall receive “during the residue of their natural lives” the salary plus the highest monthly aggregate of allowances received by an associate justice of the Supreme Court (SC).
Agabas’ HB No.1643 emphasized that protecting the surviving spouse and children of slain judges will also show future legal practitioners that the government cares for their welfare.
“While no amount of money can replace the lives of judiciary officials who are killed in the line of duty, or while in service, it is but just right to provide a benefit mechanism to secure the surviving spouse or children of slain judges and justices. This will largely compensate the long years of sacrifices of judges and justices in the judiciary”, the bill’s explanatory note said.
“In the same vein, it will encourage the entry of legal practitioners in the judiciary knowing full well that they are adequately protected by the government they serve," it added.