THE Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday insisted that the proposed diversion by the Executive department of around P2 billion in funds intended for the judiciary is unconstitutional.

Court Administrator and Spokesman Jose Midas Marquez told reporters Section 3, Article VIII of the Constitution mandates fiscal autonomy for the judiciary.

The provision, according to Marquez, states: “The judiciary shall enjoy fiscal autonomy. Appropriations for the judiciary may not be reduced by the legislature below the amount appropriated for the previous year, and, after approval, shall be automatically and regularly released.”

Marquez made the statement in response to the Executive branch’s proposal to divert P1.98 billion in its proposed budget to a new item in the national budget called the miscellaneous personnel benefits fund.

“There’s always the Constitution. We have to go back to fundamental law and try to find out what the Constitution says. The Constitution is as clear as day when it comes to fiscal autonomy and nonreduction of the budget of the judiciary,” Marquez said.

The Constitution also mandates that the judiciary’s budget shall not be lower than the previous budget. The judiciary’s budget for this year is P14.3 billion, he said.

Marquez said the judiciary was hoping that the Department of Budget and Management would fulfill its promise that the diverted fund would still form part of the judiciary’s overall budget.

“We’d like to believe the budget of the judiciary remains at P15 billion. However, of course, that remains to be seen once the GAA [General Appropriations Act] is approved and signed into law come 2012. We will find out if that really forms part of the budget of the judiciary,” Marquez said.

Earlier this year,  groups of judges expressed dismay over the reduction in the judiciary’s proposed budget for 2011, to P14.65 billion from the proposed P27.1 billion.