BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
ILOILO City – His bill seeking the abolition of the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF) is not an act of vengeance against the Supreme Court, Rep. Niel “Jun-jun” Tupas Jr. (5th District, Iloilo) clarified yesterday on the talk show “Reklamo Publiko” on DyOK Aksyon Radyo-Iloilo.
There is only a need to change the system of releasing funds, according to the congressman, “so that the public will know where the billions of pesos go.”
Tupas called it “coincidence” that he filed the bill after the Supreme Court had ruled that the Disbursement Acceleration Fund is unconstitutional.
He alleged that he had planned to file the bill much earlier but it was only after the impeachment trial of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona that he was able to secure evidence showing that the allocation of JDF rested solely in the hands of the Chief Justice.
“We will abolish the fund and will create a new one subject to audit,” Tupas said. “Once the bill is approved, all judicial collection will go to the national treasury and a portion of it to the judiciary. It will be released to the judiciary only after submission of itemized budget.”
Tupas stressed that, assuming the bill passes into law, the judges and court employees would still receive fair allowances and benefits.
“Gusto ko man magbulig sa empleyado ta sa korte. I’m not against them, in fact. Buligan ta sila. Indi madula ang ila benefits. Basi magtaas pa gani ang mga manubu. Kinanglan lang transparent kag accountable,” Tupas said.
The fund must be safeguarded and not abused, he stressed./PN
