Transfer of courthouses outside LGU-owned facility pushed

Detained Sen. Leila de Lima filed SBN. 1346 seeking to make the three co-equal branches of the government equally be capable of exercising their respective mandates without sacrificing their independence. (Photo: Leila de Lima/Facebook.com)

MANILA—To prevent conflict and insulate court officials from partisan politics, a Senator on Friday filed a measure seeking to transfer the courthouses from facilities owned by local government units (LGUs)

Detained Sen. Leila de Lima filed SBN. 1346 seeking to make the three co-equal branches of the government equally be capable of exercising their respective mandates without sacrificing their independence.

Under SB 1346, to be known as “Judicial System Independence Protection Act,” the Supreme Court (SC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are mandated to prepare a comprehensive plan to transfer their offices out of any building or facility owned by LGUs.

“…We need to affirm our commitment to provide for a strong and independent judicial system,” De Lima said.

“Ours is a rule of law and we enforce it by strengthening our judicial institutions,” she added.

Her measure also seeks to remove the LGUs’ authority to provide for discretionary allowance and other benefits to judges and public prosecutors, amending Sections 447, 458 and 468 of Republic Act No. 7160, also known as the 1991 Local Government Code.

“The discretionary allowance to national government officials stationed in LGUs has been, in many situations, used by local governments to exercise political patronage over such officials,” she added.

Also under De Lima’s proposed bill, one of the unintended effect of the discretionary allowance to judges and public prosecutors is that qualified candidates tend to prioritize more affluent LGUs who provide more allowances.

During her term as Justice Secretary, De Lima began the practice of prohibiting public prosecutors from receiving allowances and other benefits from LGUs as means to strengthen the integrity of the prosecution services.

The neophyte senator also said the existing set-up for allowances of local courts and public prosecutors compromised the integrity of justice sector workers.

To offset the lost income, she proposed that judges and public prosecutors stationed in LGUs would be entitled to an allowance equivalent to 10 percent of their basic monthly salary under her proposed Justice System Independence Allowance.

De Lima is currently detained in the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center for drug trafficking charges. However, she is allowed to continue to file bills in the Senate.