Judiciary seeks over P5.3B in additional funds; House panel deliberates

The House Committee on Appropriations on Monday asked the Supreme Court (SC) and other courts to submit a list of items that need additional funding. During its budget hearing, the Judiciary said it is requesting an augmentation of P5.344 billion from its original budget proposal of P86.271 billion. “We ask the SC and other courts, of course the Sandiganbayan, Court of Tax Appeals, and the Court of Appeals to submit what you think should be augmented,” Committee Vice Chairperson Rufus Rodriguez said. Meanwhile, Committee Chairperson Mikaela Suansing asked the courts to submit the requested documents by Wednesday. Construction of Halls of Justice According to Court Administrator Ma. Theresa Gomez-Estosta, the judiciary needs an additional funding of P4.541 billion for the construction of Halls of Justice (HOJ) in Cebu City and P500 million for Cagayan de Oro City. The judiciary also seeks an additional P303 million for the hazard pay of its sheriffs, Gomez-Estosta said. Meanwhile, Vice Chairperson John Cagas and Iloilo City Representative Julienne Baronda called on the SC to construct a Hall of Justice in Davao del Sur and Iloilo City, respectively. “Okay na sa amin P150 million. One storey lang. Ayaw namin ng mataas na building dahil sa lindol. Na-trauma ‘yung mga tao doon. Ayaw na nila ng mataataas—kasi maraming fault line sa amin,” Cagas said. (P150 million is enough for us. Just one storey. We don’t want a tall building because of earthquakes. The people there were traumatized. They no longer want tall buildings — because there are many fault lines in our area.) Gomez-Estosta and SC Associate Justice Raul VIllanueva assured the panel that the SC will realign its funds for the construction. For her part, Baronda said that the HOJ in Iloilo was opened in 1992. “In 2012, nagkaroon ng major retrofitting ang Hall of Justice and in 2025, it was discussed na unsafe for you to stay there. But until now, you are still occupying the Hall of Justice,” she said. (In 2012, there was major retrofitting of the Hall of Justice, and in 2025, it was discussed that it was unsafe for you to stay there. But until now, you are still occupying the Hall of Justice.) Assistant Minority Leader Representative Robert Nazal said he believes that the judiciary has demonstrated that additional resources can be put to use. “On the part of the minority, we support an adequate increase in the judiciary’s budget,” he said. Rodriguez then made the motion to terminate the hearing on the judiciary’s budget. — BAP, GMA News