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[ A.M. No. 99-10-413. January 18, 2000]
RE: POSITION PAPER SUBMITTED BY THE RTC CLERKS OF COURT ASSN, CAMARINES CHAP.
EN BANC
Gentlemen:
Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of this Court dated JAN 18 2000.
On September 27, 1999, the RTC Clerks of Court Association, Camarines Sur Chapter presented to Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr. a position paper based on their September 25, 1999 dialogue in Naga City. The position paper contains requests for:
(1) an across-the-board salary upgrading or, in the alternative, the upgrading of the positions of (a) Cash Clerk at the Office of the Clerk of Court, Regional Trial Court (RTC) from salary grade 8 to 10, which is the salary grade of what is claimed is the equivalent item of cashier in the Office of the Clerk of Court, Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) and (b) Clerk III in RTC Branches which has the same salary grade as Clerk III in the libraries although the former has a heavier workload;
(2) the revision of the Manual for Clerks of Court;
(3) revision of the rules on legal fees regarding the bases for computing the docket fees in the Regional Trial Courts (RTCs) in view of the increase in the jurisdictional amount for RTCs;
(4) computers for all branches;
(5) the construction of Halls of Justice for the RTC, Pili, Camarines Sur;
(6) strict observance by the prosecutors of the Department of Justice, whose office in Iriga City, Camarines Sur is housed in the same building as the RTCs of Administrative Circular No. 9-99, dated July 27, 1999, banning smoking and peddlers in court premises and the policy of requiring proper attire; and
(7) the inclusion of the tax on Additional Compensation Allowance (ACA) in the taxes withheld from their salaries.
The memorandum, dated October 18, 1999, of the Court Administrator states:
a. Proposal: Across-the-board salary upgrading
This can only be effected through legislative action. The provisions of the Salary Standardization Law should be considered since any across-the-board salary upgrading would have to benefit all the positions in the government bureaucracy - the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary.
b. Proposal: Upgrading the position of Cash Clerk in the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Regional Trial Court - The Cash Clerk position [is] salary grade 8 and the "counterpart at the Office of the Clerk of Court, Municipal Trial Court in Cities, has a position description of cashier with salary grade 10." The Association states that both positions have the same functions.
The proposal refers to the Cash Clerk III position (salary grade 8) in the Office of the Clerk of Court (OCC) of the Regional Trial Courts. A review of the respective staffing pattern of the Regional Trial Courts and the Municipal Trial Courts in Cities indicates that the Cash Clerk III position is not the counterpart position of the Cashier I item (salary grade 10) in the OCC of the MTCC (with 2 to 10 salas). The counterpart position in the RTC OCC is the Cashier II position (salary grade 14).
The Cash Clerk III position cannot be upgraded to the Cashier I item, considering the differences in the education and eligibility requirements of the qualification standards for the positions involved, to wit:
Position���������������������������������� Education������������������������������� Eligibility
Cash Clerk III����������������������� Completion of two (2)������������ Career service (Sub-
(Salary grade 8)�������������������� years studies in college�������� professional) First
����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� level eligibility
Cashier I (Salary������������������� Bachelor's degree����������������� Career service
Grade 10)������������������������������������������������������������������������������ (Professional)
����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Second level
����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� eligibility
c. Proposal: Upgrading the position of Clerk III in the Regional Trial Court branches - The Association claims that there are also Clerk III positions in the libraries of the Regional Trial Courts. However, the holders of the Clerk III positions in the libraries have "lighter workload."
The same position classification of the Clerk III item in both the RTC branches and the RTC libraries results from the implementation of the Salary Standardization Law. The Clerk III position in the RTC cannot be upgraded to Clerk IV, considering that the OCCs of the RTCs already have Clerk IV items. Any upgrading of the Clerk III positions to Clerk IV would eliminate the one salary grade difference between the two positions and would consequently disturb the hierarchu of positions and the pyramidal structure of the staffing pattern for the RTCs. In addition, the proposed upgrading would completely abolish the Clerk III items in the RTC staffing pattern and there would no longer be any immediately ranking position to which holders of the Clerk II positions can aspire.
d. Proposal: Updating and simplifying the Manual for Clerks of Court
Administrative Order No. 32-90 dated 16 March 1990 of then Chief Justice Marcelo B. Fernan constituted the Committee on the Manual for the Clerks of Court composed of five (5) members, with five (5) resource persons, a Secretary, an Assistant Secretary and a Recorder. Then, Associate Justice Ameurfina A. Melencio-Herrera cahired the committee. The committee was tasked with the formulation and preparation of a manual for the Clerks of Court of the trial courts.
We agree that there is a need to update and simplify the provisions in the present Manual for the Clerks of Court. We propose that the Committee be reconstituted or reorganized and that the same be tasked with the review and revision of the Manual for the Clerks of Court and be authorized to invite resource persons who shall assist the said Committee evaluate, reassess and revise the provisions of the present Manual.
The following are proposed for the Committee on the Review and Revision of the Manual for the Clerks of Court:
(1) Chairman - Associate Justice Bernardo P. Pardo or Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares Santiago who were both judges of the Regional Trial Court.
(2) Vice-Chairman - Associate Justice Delilah V. Magtolis (representing the Court of Appeals)
(3) Members -
(a) DCA Bernardo T. Ponferrada (representing the Office of the Court Administrator)
(b) Judge Perlita Tria Tirona (representing the Regional Trial Court [Quezon City])
(c) Judge Erlinda Pinera Uy (representing the Metropolitan Trial Court [Manila])
(d) Judge Rommel O. Baybay (representing the Municipal Trial Court [Calamba, Laguna]
(4) Secretary - Atty. Maria Carina M. Cunanan (of the Office of DCA Reynaldo L. Suarez)
(5) Assistant Secretary - Ms. Regina J. Sardea (of the Planning Division, Court Management Office, OCA).
e. Proposal: Revision of the Rules on Legal Fees, considering the increase in the jurisdictional amounts of the Regional Trial Courts and the first level courts effected by Section 5 of Republic Act No. 7691.
Rule 141 of the Rules of Court prescribes the rates of legal fees charged and collected by the courts. The changes in the docket and other fees which the lower courts should collect on account of the increase in jurisdictional amounts under Section 5 of RA No. 7691 shall be addressed through the implementation of the Resolution dated 14 September 1999 of the Supreme Court in Administrative Matter No. 99-8-01-SC. This Resolution prescribes the other sources of the Judiciary Development Fund and directs the increase of the docket and other fees prescribes by Rule 141.
f. Proposal: Construction of the Hall of Justice for the Regional Trial Court at Pili, Camarines Sur, which has three (3) branches and one Office of the Clerk of Court.
This matter was referred to the Committee on the Halls of Justice. The said Committee has agreed to refer this proposal to the Secretary of the Department of Justice, the lead agency in the implementation of the Justice System Infrastructure Program (JUSIP).
g. Concern: Implementation of Administrative Circular No. 9-99 dated 27 July 1999 banning smoking and the selling of goods within court houses and offices and the policy on proper attire within the court house in the Hall of Justice at Iriga City. The Association alleges that the prosecutors in the said Hall of Justice oppose the implementation of Administrative Circular No. 9-99 and the policy on proper attire.
Since the concern relates to the use of the premises of the Hall of Justice at Iriga City, the same was referred to the Committee on the Halls of Justice. The said Committee has agreed to send a copy of Administrative Circular No. 9-99 to the Secretary of the Department of Justice, considering that he has supervision over the prosecutors.
i. Concern: Inclusion of the Additional Compensation Allowances (ACA) in the computation of income taxes so that the employees "would not be burdened" when such allowances are taxed later on.
Presidential Administrative Order No. 53 dated 17 May 1993 prescribes that the additional compensation shall not be "subject to GSIS, HMDF Fund premiums and income tax deductions pending its formal integration into the basic pay of the subject government personnel." In a letter dated 3 February 1998 of BIR Deputy Commissioner Sixto S. Esquivias IV addressed to the Chief of the BIR Accounting Division, he states that the additional compensation "shall be subject to income tax and consequently to the withholding tax prescribed under the then Section 72 of the Tax Code, as amended. However, the withholding of the tax thereon shall be made only as of the time of its formal integration into the basic pay of the government personnel with salary grade up to grade 25 (BIR Ruling No. 06-95 dated January 16, 1995).
The Court finds the foregoing recommendation to be well taken with the exception of the composition of the proposed Committee on the Review and Revision of the Manual for Clerks of Court which is hereby taken under advisement.
WHEREFORE, the Court RESOLVED to ADOPT the foregoing recommendations of the Office of the Court Administrator regarding the position paper of the RTC Clerks of Court Association, Camarines Sur Chapter with the exception of the recommendation of the membership with respect to Committee on the Review and Revisions of the Manual for Clerks of Courts which the Court hereby takes under advisement.
Very truly yours,
LUZVIMINDA PUNO
Clerk of Court
(Sgd.) MA. LUISA D. VILLARAMA
Asst. Clerk of Court
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