Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila
EN BANC
A.M. No. 99-8-01-SC September 14, 1999
RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR OTHER SOURCES OF THE JUDICIARY DEVELOPMENT FUND
WHEREAS, Presidential Decree No. 1949, promulgated on 18, July 1984, established the Judiciary Development Fund "for the benefit of the members and personnel of the Judiciary to help ensure and guarantee the independence of the Judiciary as mandated by the Constitution and public policy and required by the impartial administration of justice;" and to "safeguard the integrity of its members;"
WHEREAS, Section 1 of the Decree provides that the "Fund shall be derived from, among others, the increase in the legal fees prescribed in the amendments to Rule 141 of the Rules of Court to be promulgated by the Supreme Court;"
WHEREAS, the phrase "among others" in Section 1 of the Decree logically refers to such sources as may be prescribed or defined by the Supreme Court, having in view the purpose for which the Judiciary Development Fund is established, i.e., "to help ensure and guarantee the independence of the Judiciary" and of the constitutional mandate that the "Judiciary shall enjoy fiscal autonomy" (Sec. 3, Art. VIII, Constitution);
WHEREAS, the Court's authority to determine, fix and prescribe such other sources of the Judiciary Development Fund is affirmed in the third WHEREAS clause of the Presidential Decree No. 1949 that "the Judiciary, in the discharge of its functions and duties, can generate its own funds and resources to help augment its budgetary requirements and ensure the uplift of its members and personnel." (Italics supplied for emphasis);
WHEREAS, considering the greatly increased cost of living, the devaluation of the peso and inflation, on the one hand, and the urgent need to attract more qualified lawyers and individuals to the Judiciary, on the other hand, it is necessary to augment the Judiciary Development Fund by (a) increasing the docket and other fees prescribed in Rule 141 of the Rules of Court, with due regard to the constitutional guarantee that free access to the courts shall not be denied to any person by reason of poverty (Sec. 11, Article III, Constitution), and (b) determining, fixing and prescribing other sources of the Judiciary Development Fund;
NOW, THEREFORE, in order to augment the Judiciary Development Fund created by P.D. No. 1949, the Supreme Court hereby RESOLVES:
1. To (a) increase the docket and other fees presently prescribed in Rule 141 of the Rules of Court, and (b) prescribe and impose docket fees on estafa cases where the offended party fails to manifest within fifteen (15) days following the filing of the information that the civil liability arising from the crime has been, or would be, separately prosecuted; motions for postponement after completion of the pre-trial stage; applications for notarial commissions; bonds by sureties in criminal and civil cases; applications for and entries of certificates of sale and final deeds of sale in extrajudicial foreclosures of mortgages; and applications for and certificates of sale in notarial foreclosures. For this purpose, the Office of the Court Administrator shall submit for the approval of the Court the appropriate recommendation thereon not later than 15 October 1999;
2. To DECLARE as part of the Judiciary Development Fund the following:
a) Incomes derived by the Judiciary from:
(1) Sales of
(aa) reports (of Decisions of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan) books, periodicals, pamphlets or the like, printed by the Supreme Court printing press or any other printing firm at the instance of or for the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, or Sandiganbayan or as the case may be;
(bb) unserviceable equipment and pieces of furniture (such as vehicles, computers, typewriters, chairs, tables, etc.);
(cc) disposable records or papers; and
(2) The pursuit or operation of transportation facilities for members and personnel of the Judiciary offered by the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, the Sandiganbayan, or the lower courts;
(3) The grant of concessions to operate canteens or to provide other services; and
(4) Rentals of facilities.
b) Fees collected from Bar candidates, or participants of seminars/workshops or conferences offered or conducted by the Court.
c) Fees now authorized to be paid or collected by sheriffs, such as sheriff's commissions.
d) Interests on deposits of its income.
e) Interests on deposits of money paid to or deposited with clerks of courts or other accountable officials of courts for any purpose, such as for interpleader, consignation, etc., which have been, or to be treated as trust fund or special fund.
f) Confiscated cash bonds, satisfaction of judgements against bonds, and proceeds from the public sale of confiscated property bonds, in both civil and criminal cases where such bonds were posted.
This Resolution shall not bar the future determination of other sources of the Judiciary Development Fund.
This Resolution shall take effect on 1 November 1999 and shall be published in two newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.
Let copies of this Resolution be furnished the Office of the President, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Secretaries of the Department of Budget and Management, Department of Finance and the Department of Justice.
Promulgated this 14th day of September 1999.
Davide, Jr., C.J., Bellosillo, Melo, Puno, Vitug, Kapunan, Mendoza, Panganiban, Quisumbing, Purisima, Pardo, Buena, Gonzaga-Reyes and Ynares-Santiago, JJ.
The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation
