DOJ chief: Filing fee stalling estafa cases vs pre-need firm

MANILA, Philippines - Filing fees possibly amounting to millions of pesos threaten to stall the estafa (swindling) cases lodged by victims of troubled pre-need firm Legacy in court. Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the filing fee is a Supreme Court requirement, where complainants may have to pay P1,000 for every P100,000 they seek in damages. "For P100,000 value ng reklamo magbabayad ka ng P1,000. E, milyon yan. Nalugi na nga ang tao, niloko sila, ngayon mag-aabono na naman ng filing fee, “Gonzalez said in an interview on dzXL radio. [For every P100,000 in damages they seek, they may have to pay P1,000. Imagine if they are seeking millions of pesos in damages. They have been swindled, and for that they have to shell out some more in filing fees.] He said he has informed Sen. Manuel Roxas II, who had helped many of the complainants lodge estafa cases against Legacy, about the problem. He said he called up Roxas Wednesday, telling the senator that even if the cases are filed in court, the court won’t accept them without the filing fee. When asked what Roxas' response was, Gonzalez said Roxas will look into it. "Sabi niya tingnan niya. Sabi ko that is a lot of money [Roxas said he will look into it. I told him that is a lot of money]," he said. Under Section 20 of the Rules of Court, regional trial courts are to collect the following fees, based on the amount the offended parties are seeking: * If seeking less than P100,000, P500 * P100,000 to P150,000, P800 * P150,000 to P200,000, P1,000 * P200,000 to P250,000, P1,500 * P250,000 to P300,000, P1,750 * P300,000 to P350,000, P2,000 * P350,000 to P400,000, P2,250 * For each P1,000 in excess of P400,000, P10 "Graduated ang filing fee diyan [The filing fees are graduated, depending on how much one is seeking in damages]," Gonzalez said. - GMANews.TV