Judge hopes for salary increase

CEBU, Philippines - With the 2011 budget signed, Regional Trial Court executive judge Meinrado Paredes hopes that the Supreme Court will allow the increase of the salaries of judges.

“Now the budget for 2011 has been signed by President Benigno Aquino III, I am hopeful that the Supreme Court will release the increase of the salaries of the judges,’ Paredes said.

Paredes said the increase in their salaries was not granted due to the lack of budget.

He, however, said the executive branch asked the Supreme Court to disclose the money accumulated in bonds. This is the money paid by the accused whose cases have been elevated to the court and requires bail for their temporary liberty.

Paredes said many cases involving drugs are filed in a day, and for possession alone the bail bond can go as high as P100,000.

Paredes said after the bonds are paid to the different court treasurers these are forwarded to the SC. The SC allegedly did not disclose the money they got from the bonds.

He said it was probably the reason for the executive why they slashed the proposed budget of the judiciary.

The judiciary has less than one percent of the P1.645 trillion budget for 2011.

Earlier some judges nationwide wore black as a sign of protest against the plan of the Congress to reduce by almost half the judiciary’s proposed budget for next year from P27.1 billion to P14.3 billion.

However, Paredes said he is not in favor of wearing black as a sign of protest.

“I am not convinced with the request to wear black as a sign of protest. It doesn't mean we don't need money…there is another way to support the judiciary in a formal way," Paredes said.

Paredes said he received a text message from the judges’ organizations about the move to wear black, but he said he would not make it compulsory.

It was the presidents of three judges’ organizations --Judge Antonio Eugenio of the Philippine Judges' association, Judge Jaime Santiago of the Metropolitan and Cities Judges of the Philippines and Judge Josefina Siscar of the Trial Judges' Association of the Philippines Inc. – who asked judges and court employees to wear black in objection to the cuts and to appeal for a salary increase. – THE FREEMAN