Rift with Palace far from settled — SC spokesman

Contrary to Malacañang’s claim, the issue on the judiciary’s fiscal autonomy “is far from settled," Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez said on Monday. In a strongly worded statement, Marquez also accused presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda and deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte of not knowing inter-branch courtesy. “The issue of fiscal autonomy is far from settled, contrary to what Lacierda and Valte say. Maybe settled among themselves, yes. But certainly not with the Judiciary and the Constitutional Commissions whose respective budgets they continue to play with," Marquez said. The rift started when Malacañang proposed to put a portion of the judiciary’s P15-billion allocation for 2012 in the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefit Fund (MPBF). The executive wants the amount, which is for unfilled positions in the judiciary, to be accessible only when the positions are filled.

The judiciary, on the other hand, vehemently opposes this, prompting Congress to leave the amount untouched provided that there would be quarterly report on how the money is used — a condition that did not sit well with the judiciary. “They have supposedly settled the issue by subjecting the Judiciary and the constitutional commissions to certain conditions on the use of the questioned funds, among them, ‘exclusively used to fill up the unfilled items,’ and ‘if not used, the funds revert to the Bureau of Treasury,’" Marquez said. Marquez, who is also the spokesman for the Supreme Court, said such imposition of conditions on the judiciary’s budget is tantamount to a violation of the constitutional provision on the court’s fiscal autonomy. He warned that Malacañang’s “devious plans to distort the Constitution are not unnoticed and will be addressed at the appropriate time." — KBK, GMA News