CIRCULAR
NO. 5 [1985]
TO: ALL
CLERKS OF COURT OR OFFICERS-IN-CHARGE OF THE INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE
COURT,
SANDIGANBAYAN, COURT OF TAX APPEALS, REGIONAL TRIAL COURTS,
METROPOLITAN
TRIAL COURTS, MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURTS IN CITIES, MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURTS
AND MUNICIPAL CIRCUIT TRIAL COURTS
SUBJECT:
RULES AND REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING P. D. NO. 1949 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
JUDICIARY DEVELOPMENT FUND.
Pursuant to Section
5 of Presidential Decree No. 1949 which, in its Section 1, established
the Judiciary Development Fund, the Supreme Court hereby promulgates
the
following implementing rules and regulations.cralaw:red
1. Establishment
of Fund. - The Judiciary Development Fund, hereinafter referred to
as the Fund, is intended to benefit the members and personnel of the
judiciary
to further ensure and guarantee the independence of the judiciary as
mandated
by the Constitution. The Fund shall be derived from, among others, the
increase in the legal fees prescribed in the amendments to Rule 141 of
the Rules of Court which became effective on October 1, 1984. The Fund
shall be used to augment the allowances of the members and personnel of
the judiciary and to finance the acquisition, maintenance and repair of
office equipment and facilities. At least eighty percent (80%) of the
Fund
shall be used for cost of living allowances, and not more than twenty
percent
(20%) of the said Fund shall be used for office equipment and
facilities
of the Courts located where the legal fees are collected. The aforesaid
allowances of the members and personnel of the judiciary shall be
distributed
in proportion of their basic salaries, with bigger allowances being
granted
to those receiving a basic salary of less than P1,000.00
a month. (Section 1, PD 1949).
2. Administration
of the Fund. - The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall
administer
and allocate the Fund and shall have the sole exclusive power and duty
to approve and authorize disbursement and expenditures of the Fund in
accordance
with Presidential Decree No. 1949 and its implementing rules and
regulations.
(Section 2, PD 1949).
3. Duty of the
Clerks of Court, Officers-in-Charge or Accountable Officers. - The
Clerks of Court, Officers-in-Charge of the Office of the Clerk of
Court,
or their accountable duly authorized representatives designated by them
in writing who must be accountable officers, shall receive the
Judiciary
Development Fund collections, issue the proper receipt therefor,
maintain
a separate cash book properly marked CASH BOX FOR JUDICIARY
DEVELOPMENT
FUND, deposit such collections in the manner herein prescribed, and
render the proper Monthly Report of Collections for said Fund.cralaw:red
4. Depository
Bank for the Fund. - The amounts accruing to the Fund shall be
deposited
for the account of the Judiciary Development Fund, Supreme Court,
Manila
by the Clerks of Court, Officers-in-Charge of the Office of the Clerk
of
Court in an authorized government depository bank or private bank owned
or controlled by the Government to be specified by the Chief Justice.
The
income or interest earned shall likewise form part of the Fund. For
this
purpose, the depository bank for the Fund shall be the Philippine
National
Bank (PNB), or any private bank owned or controlled by the government
upon
authority of the Chief Justice.cralaw:red
5. Systems and
Procedures:
a. In
the Supreme
Court - The Collecting & Disbursing Officer of the Supreme
Court
shall, unless otherwise authorized by the Chief Justice, deposit daily
all collections accruing to the Fund with the PNB - Main Office, "For
the
account of the Judiciary Development Fund, Supreme Court, Manila - SAVINGS
ACCOUNT NO. 068-503174-4.
b. In the
IAC, SC
and CTA. - The respective collecting officers in these Courts
shall
deposit daily their collections accruing to the Fund in the
aforementioned
savings account with the PNB for the account of the JUDICIARY
DEVELOPMENT
FUND, Supreme Court, Manila, furnishing the Chief Accountant of the
Supreme
Court the notice of such deposits made.
c. In the
RTC, MeTC,
MTCC, MTC, and MCTC. - The daily collections for the Fund in these
Courts shall be deposited everyday with the local or nearest PNB branch
"For the account of the Judiciary Development Fund, Supreme Court,
Manila
- SAVINGS ACCOUNT NO. 068-503174-4;" or if depositing daily is not
possible,
deposits for the Fund shall be every second and third Fridays and at
the
end of every month: Provided, however, That whenever
collections
for the Fund reach P500.00, the same shall be
deposited
immediately even before the days above-indicated.
Where there is
no PNB
branch at the station of the Judge concerned, the collections shall be
sent by postal money order payable to the Chief Accountant of the
Supreme
Court, at the latest before 3:00 P.M. of that particular week.
A separate set
of official
receipts shall be used for the collections for the Fund. For payment of
the legal fees under the old rate which would pertain to the General
Fund
by party-litigants in the MeTC, MTCC, MTC and MCTC, the Clerks of
Court,
Officers-in-Charge of the Clerk of Court or their duly authorized
representatives
shall issue "Acceptance Order of Payment" to the City Municipal
Treasurer
concerned. Such party-litigants shall be instructed to present to the
Clerk
of Court, Officer-in-Charge of the Office of the Clerk of Court or
their
duly authorized representative, the official receipt thereby issued by
the Treasurer together with a copy of the Acceptance Order for Payment,
for notation and for the collecting officer to determine the
corresponding
amount to be collected for the Judiciary Development Fund. The official
receipt issued for the Fund shall invariably indicate the prefix
initial
of the name of the Fund, "JDF," followed immediately by the description
of the kind and nature of the collection.
Official
receipts for
the Fund shall be provided by the Supreme Court. Should official
receipts
be not immediately available, the official receipts which were
previously
requisitioned and issued may be used provided that they are properly
marked
"JUDICIARY DEVELOPMENT FUND."
Until
official cash
books are available, the ordinary Record Book, (7" x 12") may be used
for
the purpose, provided that the same shall be marked "CASH BOOK FOR
JUDICIARY
DEVELOPMENT FUND."
d. Rendition
of Monthly Report.- Separate "Monthly Report of Collections" shall
be regularly prepared for the Judiciary Development Fund, which shall
be
submitted to the Chief Accountant of the Supreme Court within ten (10)
days after the end of every month, together with the duplicate of the
official
receipts issued during such month covered and validated by the copy of
the Deposit Slips.
The aggregate
total
of the Deposit Slips for any particular month should always equal to,
and
tally with, the total collections for that month as reflected in the
Monthly
Report for Collections.cralaw:red
If no
collection is
made during any month, notice to that effect should be submitted to the
Chief Accountant of the Supreme Court by way of a formal letter within
ten (10) days after the end of every month.
e. Reimbursement
of Expenses. - All ordinary and reasonable expenses incurred for
the
remittance of collections and transmittal of reports for the Judiciary
Development Fund shall be reimbursed by the Supreme Court upon
submission
of the duly accomplished voucher together with the necessary receipts
and
other supporting papers required in audit, direct to the Chief of the
Fiscal
Management and Budget Office of the Supreme Court.
In no case
shall
expenses incurred for the Judiciary Development Fund be deducted from
the
collections which should be remitted in full.
All reports
and correspondence
relative to collections and deposits of Judiciary Development Fund
shall
be addressed to:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
THE CHIEF
ACCOUNTANT
SUPREME COURT
OF
THE PHILIPPINES
M A N I L A
f. Account
examination
for internal control. - To safeguard and control the Fund,
examination
of the records of the Clerks of Court, Officers-in-Charge, or
accountable
officers shall be conducted by the staff and personnel of the Supreme
Court
whenever circumstances warrant.6.
Dispositions of the
Fund shall be only upon prior authority of the Chief Justice.
7. Strict observance
of these rules and regulations is hereby enjoined. The Clerks of Court,
Officers-in-Charge shall exercise close supervision over their
respective
duly authorized representatives to ensure strict compliance herewith
and
shall be held administratively accountable for failure to do so.
Failure
to comply with any of these rules and regulations shall mean the
withholding
of the salaries and allowances of those concerned until compliance
thereof
is duly effected, pursuant to Section 122 of P. D. No. 1445 dated June
11, 1978, without prejudice to such further disciplinary action the
Court
may take against them.cralaw:red
Issued this 21st
day of February, nineteen hundred and eighty five.
[Sgd.]
ENRIQUE
M. FERNANDOChief
Justice
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