MANILA, Philippines – The Judiciary, Executive and Legislative Advisory and Consultative Council (JELACC) held its first meeting yesterday immediately after the memorandum of agreement for its creation was signed by the highest officials of the country.
President Arroyo led the signatories representing the executive branch and was joined by Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. and Speaker Prospero Nograles for the legislative branch and Chief Justice Reynato Puno for the judiciary.
The JELACC, the first-ever consultative body that includes all three branches of government, immediately tackled the concerns of the judiciary, particularly on its budget.
Prior to the establishment of JELACC, it was only the executive and legislative branches that had regular consultative meetings through the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council.
With the involvement of the judiciary in the new JELACC, it was clear during the first meeting that this branch of government would be given the attention that it deserves.
Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan, who proposed the creation of the JELACC last year, said that they are looking at increasing the budget of the judiciary by at least 20 percent in order to improve efficiency in prosecution as well as the litigation of cases by government lawyers.
At present, Pangilinan lamented that the budget of the judiciary represents a mere 0.80 percent of the national budget in spite of it being a co-equal branch of government as the executive and legislative branches.
“So in principle we have agreed to work on an increase of 20 percent so that at least one percent of the entire national budget will go to the judiciary,” Pangilinan said.
He noted that the prosecution service has a vacancy of close to 50 percent and this has contributed to the slow disposition of cases.
Puno said he had some reservations about the JELACC initially because at the time this was proposed, the structure, purpose and parameters were not yet defined.
According to Puno, the Supreme Court, after inserting some provisions in the mandate of the Council, agreed to be a member of the JELACC.
Specifically, the MOA states that part of the mandate of the Council would be to formulate solutions to the budget of the judiciary, its infrastructure requirements, filling of new positions and vacancies, compensation and security of judicial officials, and security of tenure of judicial personnel.
“We look at the structure of the JELACC, we look at its ends and purposes and it’s quite clear it shall operate within the context and constraints of the Constitution, meaning the doctrine of separation of powers and the doctrine of checks and balances,” Puno said.
President Arroyo said the JELACC is envisioned to be “the venue where representatives of the three branches can identify issues pertaining to the primacy of the rule of law and formulate and undertake solutions to strengthen due process and the institutions of justice and implement our laws better for the sake of every Filipino.”
The President noted that the cooperation between the three branches is crucial in the priority thrusts of the government, such as fiscal reforms and the efforts to ensure food sufficiency.
The President said that while there is a separation of powers between the three branches of government, it does not mean that they should be isolated from one another.
“There should be consultation and cooperation to advance shared priorities in the national interest and welfare of all Filipinos,” the President said.
Villar emphasized that the participation of the Senate in the JELACC does not mean that it would lose its independence from the executive.
He said that the investigations of the Senate on controversies and other anomalies involving the executive branch would continue as part of its responsibilities.
Villar argued that even while the Senate is conducting its investigations, it has not neglected its responsibility of passing important legislation, as the Senate managed to pass eight of the nine bills identified as priority legislation during the previous LEDAC meeting.
Villar said that another JELACC meeting would be held before Congress adjourns this June. – Marvin Sy