P-Noy lobbies for higher judiciary budget

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino appears to be extending an olive branch to the Supreme Court after lobbying yesterday for swift Congress action on budgetary requirements cited by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno for fighting corruption and carrying out judicial reforms.

“Before we forget… I hope you took note of budgetary requirements of the judiciary that should be attended to posthaste,” Aquino said during the 2nd State Conference on the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, specifically addressing Budget Secretary Florencio Abad.

“And since the approving authority is present also, perhaps we can lobby them for the speedy inclusion of what is necessary to help the judiciary in our common fight against corruption amongst others, making sure we are compliant with all the directives,” Aquino said, referring to Senate and House leaders in attendance.

Aside from Sereno, those present during the conference held at Malacañang were Senate President Franklin Drilon, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales.

The executive branch’s proposed budget for the judiciary was some P12 billion less than what the SC is seeking for the country’s courts in the 2015 national budget.

In her speech, Sereno said the judiciary would continuously  push for the modernization of the courts because “we strongly believe that technology can be an effective anti-corruption tool as it minimizes the areas of human intervention.”

She cited as an example the e-subpoena, which has improved attendance of police witnesses in Quezon City.

“Of course, such initiatives require funding and this is the reason why we continually appeal for additional budgetary support,” she said.

“But more than processes, programs and projects, the fight against corruption starts with people. I have supported the efforts of legal educators to strengthen ethical values in the law school curriculum,” she said. “The qualifying exam for lawyers, the Bar examinations, now include questions of ethical dimensions in every Bar subject, emphasizing the fact that without ethical standards we are not a profession worthy of its name,” Sereno pointed out.

The Chief Justice said the Philippine Judicial Academy, the training school for judges and court personnel, continues to conduct regular training in the Code of Judicial Conduct and the new code for judicial personnel.

She said they also institute measures for greater transparency and public participation in the Judicial and Bar Council, which is in charge of the selection of nominees to the bench to make sure that those with questionable integrity are weeded out right away.

“Maybe this can be taken as indicator of the vigor in the judiciary now, but I can assure you that in the JBC, we are facing a very welcome problem and that is for a single slot, for example NCJR (National Capital Judicial Region), we have more than 130 applicants. So we seem to be an attractive destination,” Sereno said.

The judiciary, she said, views its role in fighting corruption as part of an integrated system of ensuring people’s trust in the courts.

“The court itself, through its public information office, has become more open to the public, for instance, for the first time in history and under my watch,” Sereno said, noting that “oral arguments are now accessible in real time through audio live streaming on YouTube.”

Documents on the court’s finances may now be downloadable by the public, she said.

‘Multi-headed monster’

 Sereno likened corruption to a monster with many heads that cannot be stopped with a single blow.

One of the ways the judiciary can tackle such problem is to make sure that only incorruptible judges are appointed. She emphasized that the judiciary is in the thick of “painful but necessary” housecleaning.

She cited the case of Sandiganbayan associate justice Gregory Ong, who was dismissed for corruption, specifically his supposed links to alleged pork barrel fund scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles. – With Edu Punay