Representative Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of the National Unity Party (NUP) has warned that evidence of misuse of the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF) could be used as grounds to impeach magistrates of the Supreme Court (SC).
Barzaga, who represents Cavite’s 4th district, questioned the use by the high court of the JDF, of which 20 percent should be spent for court facilities and equipment. The rest, according to the law, should go to allowances and other personnel benefits for the judiciary.
The JDF derives its fund from legal fees collected by the courts.
An earlier report indicated that the SC had used more than the 20 percent of the JDF allocation for the construction of buildings and electrical consultancy services in areas which should not have benefited from the fund.
“It is graft and corruption, one of the grounds for impeachment,” said Barzaga, who sits as vice president of the NUP for external affairs.
Barzaga said if congressmen find evidence of misuse and abuse in their planned scrutiny of the JDF and the Special Allowances for Judges (SAJ) fund, they would not hesitate to initiate impeachment proceedings against any justice involved.
Hr pointed out that Section 1 of Presidential Decree 1949, the law creating the JDF, provides that “not more than 20 percent” of the fund should be used for facilities and equipment in areas where court fees accruing to the fund were collected.
The lawmaker’s warning stemmed from an earlier statement issued by the Supreme Court, which reported that as of June 30, the 20 percent portion of the JDF had an accumulated balance of more than P1.3 billion. Of that amount, the SC has allocated P732.5 million for the Cebu and Cagayan de Oro buildings of the Court of Appeals and consultancy services for the SC’s electrical system.
“That gargantuan amount did not come from court fees collected in those areas and cannot therefore be used for facilities there,” Barzaga noted.
Barzaga said the high court should comply with the provisions of the law creating the JDF, in the same manner that it had required Malacañang to strictly follow the decree establishing the Malampaya Fund by banning its use for non-energy related projects.
“While it is admitted that the SC is the final interpreter of the law, it cannot interpret it in such a manner that it will suit its whim,” he said.
The House committee on justice plans to hold public hearings on the JDF and other special funds of the SC when Congress reconvenes this week after its month-long Christmas recess.