MOA for judges' incentives signed today

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and a top-ranking Supreme Court official are expected to sign today a memorandum of agreement for the establishment of a Local Government Unit-Judiciary Equalization Fund to be used for the granting of incentives to court judges.

The official signing of the three-page MOA is scheduled to take place at the mayor’s office.

Osmeña said that the city government will contribute P1 million to ensure that the members of the bench, whose allowances have been or are unreasonably withheld by the LGUs within their respective territorial jurisdictions, will continue to receive their allowances.

The mayor assured that the city, under his administration, is willing to contribute P1 million for the fund every year.

The Supreme Court has been tasked to promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the orderly administration, management, and equitable distribution of the funds.

Osmeña had decided to establish the fund after Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia reportedly ordered a stop to the granting of monthly cash incentive to some of the judges for the reason that said judges had issued unfavorable rulings in cases involving the Province.

One of these Regional Trial Court judges whose monthly incentive from the Capitol was cut off after he issued unfavorable ruling against the governor is Judge Bienvenido Saniel of RTC 20.

Saniel was the judge who dismissed the petition filed by the province questioning the authority of Osmeña to appoint directors of the Metro Cebu Water District.

Each of the RTC judges at the Palace of Justice is granted P6,000 monthly incentive.

Osmeña yesterday challenged Garcia to stop giving incentives to the RTC judges because the Supreme Court has already a fund for it.

But the governor’s spokesperson, Rory John Sepulveda, said that Capitol will continue to give incentives to the judges, saying “Capitol sees nothing wrong with its long standing policy granting incentive allowance to the members of the judiciary.” — Rene U. Borromeo with reports from Garry B. Lao/MEEV   (THE FREEMAN)