Briefer prepared by
Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office
[December 8, 2010]

Was the 2011 Budget of the Judiciary slashed?

There is no budget cut.

President Aquino’s 2011 Reform Budget proposes a higher budget (P13.621 billion) of new appropriations for the Judiciary than the Judiciary’s 2010 budget as stated in both the 2010 General Appropriations Act (P12.663) and the 2010 National Expenditure Program (P12.984). (See Figure 1)

Figure 1

Why are members of the Judiciary claiming that their budget was cut?

All the agencies that submitted their budgets to the DBM did not get the desired amounts that they wanted, given the country’s fiscal situation. The Judicial branch asked for a budget of P26.375 billion, which simply could not be granted—this has always been the case. (See Figure 2)

Figure 2

If the government were to grant all agencies the full amount that they proposed, it would amount to P2.242 trillion, which will bloat the budget deficit to almost P900 billion. The proposed budget right now stands at P1.645 billion.
Nevertheless, the Judiciary was granted a larger budget than what they had been previously getting. It stands as the tenth highest-funded branch of government. By comparison, the Department of Justice, with its affiliated agencies, sought P15.2 billion, but was allowed P7.7 billion (Still, P889 million higher than the 2010 budget).

Furthermore, the proposed P13.621 billion 2011 budget for the Judicial Branch may be supplemented by funds from other sources as mandated and/or allowed by law: the Judicial Development Fund, the Special Allowance for the Judiciary, and the Retirement and Life Insurance Premiums.