Re: General Appropriations Act For Fiscal Year

February 12, 2013

EN BANC

A.M. No. 07-5-10-SC

A.M. No. 07-8-3-SC

NOTICE

Sirs/Mesdames :

Please take notice that the Court en banc issued a Resolution dated February 12, 2013,which reads as follows:

"RE:GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS ACTA.M. No. 07-5-10-SCREPUBLIC ACT NO. 9401)

RE:QUERY ON THE EFFECT OF THEA.M. No. 07-8-3-SCEXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 611 ON

RESOLUTION

In her Report dated February 6, 2013, Deputy Clerk of Court (DCC) and Chief of Office, Fiscal Management and Budget Office (FMBO), Corazon G. Ferrer-Flores seeks clarification as to the effect of Special Provision No. 1, A. Supreme Court of the Philippines and the Lower Courts (SCPLC), XXIX. The Judiciary, of the General Appropriations Act (GAA), FY 2013, which provides: cIEHAC

1. Special Allowance. Considering that the special allowance granted to Justices, Judges and all other positions in the Judiciary with the equivalent rank of Justices of the Court of Appeals and Judges of the Regional Trial Court under R.A. 9227 have already been fully integrated into their salary increases as of June 1, 2012, the amount of Five Hundred Twenty-Seven Million One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P527,100,000) corresponding to Special Allowance of the Judiciary (SAJ) component of their salaries shall now be deposited to the National Treasury as income of the General Fund pursuant to Section 44, Chapter 5, Book VI of E.O. No. 292. Henceforth, the salary being received by the Members of the Judiciary will now be sourced and funded from the General Fund." (Emphasis supplied.)

In the said Report, FMBO Chief Ferrer-Flores recommended that the remittance of the sum of P527,100,000.00 to the National Treasury should be made in the amount of P43,925,000.00 a month until the amount is fully remitted to the Treasury. She reasoned that considering the balance of the Special Allowance for the Judiciary (SAJ) Fund, as of December 31, 2012, will be utilized for the payment of the monthly SAJ of incumbent Justices, Judges and judiciary officials with the equivalent rank of Court of Appeals (CA) Justice or Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge for the month of January 2013 and the additional allowance to court officials and employees who are not direct beneficiaries under R.A. No. 9227, 1 the remaining balance will fall short of the required P527,100,000.00. She adds that the deficiency should be sourced from the Court's collection for the entire year. Hence, the need to remit the said amount on a monthly basis.

FMBO Chief Ferrer-Flores also noted that the remittance of the said amount to the National Treasury would be more convenient and practical for the Department of Budget and Management (DBM),as the need to break down the Basic Monthly Salary (BMS) to its components, i.e.,the BMS as of June 30, 2007, the SAJ component corresponding to the salary increases, the amount of salary increases in excess of the SAJ, and the corresponding longevity pay and step increment, would be dispensed with since the entire BMS will already be funded by the DBM. It would also simplify the keeping of records and the processing of transactions against the SAJ Fund by the Court, considering that the BMS of incumbent Justices, Judges, and judiciary officials with the equivalent rank of CA Justices or RTC Judges would now be sourced from only one fund under the Modified Disbursement Scheme (MDS) Account.

Verily, the amount of P527,100,000.00 should be remitted to the National Treasury as income of the Government's General Fund. ESacHC

However, as aptly observed by FMBO Chief Ferrer-Flores, the SAJ Fund deposited in the LBP Mother Account, as of December 31, 2012, will be utilized for the payment of the monthly SAJ of incumbent Justices, Judges and judiciary officials with the equivalent rank of CA Justice or RTC Judge for the month of January 2013 and the additional allowance from the surplus of the SAJ Fund, as of year-end 2012, to court officials and employees who are not direct beneficiaries under R.A. No. 9227. Thus, after deducting these lawful court expenditures, the remaining balance will fall short of the required P527,100,000.00.

Therefore, as suitably recommended 2 by FMBO Chief Ferrer-Flores, the amount needed for the remittance should be sourced from the Court's collection for the entire year and the remittance of the amount to the National Treasury should be made on a monthly basis in the amount of P43,925,000.00 a month.

WHEREFORE, Deputy Clerk of Court and Chief of the Fiscal Management and Budget Office Atty. Corazon G. Ferrer-Flores is hereby instructed to remit to the National Treasury the amount of P527,100,000.00 of the SAJ Fund at the rate of P43,925,000.00 a month until the entire amount is fully remitted." (adv38a)

Very truly yours,

(SGD.) ENRIQUETA E. VIDALClerk of Court

Footnotes

1.AN ACT GRANTING ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION IN THE FORM OF SPECIAL ALLOWANCES FOR JUSTICES, JUDGES AND ALL OTHER POSITIONS IN THE JUDICIARY WITH THE EQUIVALENT RANK OF JUSTICES OF THE COURT OF APPEALS AND JUDGES OF THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSE.

2.Report dated February 6, 2013.