De Lima relents, but still against allowances to fiscals

FORMER Justice secretary Leila de Lima softened her stance against prosecutors accepting allowances from local government units (LGUs) after they registered their vocal opposition to her policy.

But it doesn’t mean de Lima, who’s running for the Senate under the administration Liberal Party (LP) camp, changed her stance on the issue.

“Since in the meantime, it’s not yet possible for the national government (to fill the void that would be left in case prosecutors stop receiving allowances from LGUs), the scheme is optional,” she said in an interview at the Cebu Daily News newsroom last Thursday.

Last March, De Lima announced during a lawyers’ convention in Cebu City that she would prohibit prosecutors and their staff from receiving allowances and other emoluments from LGUs to make sure they do not get entangled with politicians in resolving cases.

Her directive at that time was for “strict compliance” of all prosecutors nationwide.

But prosecutors opposed de Lima’s directive and instead asked for reconsideration.

They said the grant of allowances from LGUs is “legal” and allowed under the Local Government Code of the Philippines, City Ordinances, and Republic Act 10071 or the Prosecution Service Act of 2010.

They cited Article 3, Section 458(1) of the Local Government Code which states that the local council may provide, “when the finances of the (LGU) will allow, for additional allowances and other benefits to judges, prosecutors, public elementary and high school teachers, and other national government officials stationed in or assigned in the city.”

Republic Act 10071 or the Prosecution Service Act of 2010 also said prosecutors shall receive allowances from their respective government units in amounts not exceeding 50 percent of their basic salaries.

After she was widely criticized by prosecutors, de Lima took a step back.

In a letter, Prosecutor General Claro Arellano said he had a discussion with de Lima to echo the prosecutors’ plea to let them continue receiving monthly stipends from LGUs.

Arellano said de Lima agreed and has committed that she will not be issuing any directive prohibiting the grant of financial assistance to prosecution offices by local government units.

But ideally, De Lima said prosecutors should shun allowances from LGUs.

“The ideal policy is that there shouldn’t be a support from the LGUs to avoid possible conflict of interest situations especially that there are cases being filed against local executives,” she said.

De Lima is hoping that one day, prosecutors and even judges, would stop receiving allowances from LGUs.

Prosecutors in Cebu City receive an allowance of P10,000 each from the Cebu City government every month.

In past years, they had been getting P18,000, but the amount was reduced due to budget constraints. Each of the provincial prosecutors receives P10,000 from the Capitol.

Only Executive Justice Gabriel Ingles of the CA Cebu Station has declined to receive any stipend, saying he wants to maintain independence “in reality and public perception.”