Corona lambasts Palace, Congress

‘Never before has judiciary been subjected to lack of respect’

THE Chief Justice has had it.

Saying enough is enough, Chief Justice Renato Corona on Thursday slammed Malacañang and some legislators for disrespecting and undermining the independence of the judiciary by attempting to slash its budget and threatening to impeach justices.

Corona was in a fighting mood when he faced 600 judges from all over the country during the national convention and election of officers and directors of the Philippine Judges Association (PJA).

“Never before has the entire judiciary, not even during martial law, been subjected to lack of respect. I say to them here and now: enough is enough!” Corona said.

“I mince no words and I speak of nothing else but the insidious attempts to undermine, destroying even the independence of the judiciary, for us to beg for funds guaranteed by the Constitution,” he added.

It was by far the strongest statement the Chief Justice issued after attempts by Malacañang, through Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, to reduce the judiciary’s P20 billion budget for 2012 and impound P2 billion of its proposed budget for the hiring of personnel under the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF).

The DBM wants the P20 billion budget reduced to P15 billion.

“The Judiciary has [neither] power of the sword nor power of the purse, but it will not hesitate to use the power of the pen to strike down what is illegal, unconstitutional and patently immoral. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. In the Supreme Court, under my watch, right will always find a sanctuary and wrong will never find refuge,” Corona said.

“Let not those who pervert democracy and the Constitution for their selfish political ends mistake our judicial decorum, wisdom of silence and sense of dignity as signs of weakness, for nothing can be farther from the truth. As long as I am the head of the Judiciary, the third and co-equal branch of government, I will perform the duty that the Almighty and the Constitution have entrusted to me, without fear and without vacillation,” he added.

The Chief Justice maintained that the judiciary’s fiscal autonomy should be respected.

Threats of impeachment against justices of the Supreme Court are also being renewed by its critics due to the controversial recall of a resolution that supposedly ruled with finality in favor of some 1,423 flight attendants of flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) who were retrenched in 1998.

It was Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas of Ilocos Norte province who threatened impeachment against the justices and took the side of Malacañang.

Rank-and-file employees had conducted a series of protests against plans to cut their budget.

Earlier, High Court spokesman and administrator Jose Midas Marquez reiterated that Section 3, Article VIII of the Constitution left no room for interpretation.

“The Judiciary shall enjoy fiscal autonomy. Appropriations for the Judiciary may not be reduced by the legislature below the amount appropriated for the previous year and, after approval, shall be automatically and regularly released,” the provision says.

The judiciary fears that a reduced budget will affect some of its vital projects, including the Enhanced Justice on Wheels (EJOW) program, which helps unclog court dockets through mobile courts that adjudicate and resolves cases swiftly. –JOMAR CANLAS REPORTER, Daily Tribune