The High Court feels the pinch

Would you believe? Now it is the Supreme Court that is complaining because the budget for the coming year allocated to the judiciary is too small to enable it to attain the dreams for streamlining the office and give decent pay to its officials and employees. Chief Justice Reynato Puno is right, how can we have a world class judiciary on a third world budget?

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Maybe the High Court should have been more cooperative with the powers-that-be? Perhaps it has not been toeing the line in all those cases brought to it for decision where the highest officers of the land were involved? Anyway, Puno says the amount they are being given will not be enough for the SC to build a Hall of Justice, nor will it enable him to increase the salaries of court officials and employees so they will not be tempted to find “other sources”.

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Puno pointed out that there are 20,200 court personnel and 2,200 trial court judges. I don't know if the justices themselves are included in those 22,400 people who draw their salaries from the judiciary. The amount, P10.3 billion, would mean the office could hardly pay its telephone and water bills, and, worse, won't have enough for the retirement benefits of judges, justices, and other employees. Another thing that bothers the High Court is that it will also not have enough to pay for security services, not only for the courtrooms, but also for the judges and justices, who have themselves become endangered species.

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The shoe is on the other foot, the tables have been turned, and so forth and so on. Where House Speaker Jose de Venecia used to be on the righteous side, after his son had exposed the alleged graft and corruption accompanying the now defunct ZTE broadband deal with that Chinese company, now it is he who is facing investigation for his alleged participation in the Northrail affair. Now some senators are picking on him, even those who are not supposed to be partymates of the President. Somebody should have recited to him the saying (adapted, if you please), “If you live in a house of glass, don't let your children throw stones.”

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The E-Jeepney, the proposed public utility vehicle that runs on electricity, is being tested in Makati and Mayor Jejomar Binay himself is encouraging his constituents to patronize it. Aside from Makati , the E-Jeepney had also been tested in Bacolod during the last visit here of the President. If it clicks, it will surely reduce our dependence on imported fuel, but what will happen to all those plans for jatropha and ethanol and all?

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A Christmas warning: The United States continues to warn consumers against toys, jewelry, backpacks, lunchboxes, even raincoats made in China because of the continuing discovery of lead contents in them that can cause poisoning. The warning is particularly focused on toys, because very young children may put them in their mouths, even swallow them, and that will spell trouble. Figures released by health officials say that 73,000 children below five years old were rushed to emergency room and 20 actually died from that in 2005. In the U.S. the biggest toy giant firm is Mattel. Isn't that the one connected to the big chain called “Toys R Us”?

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Has Agusan del Sur Congressman Rodolfo Plaza set the cat among the pigeons, in a manner of speaking? Plaza, who obviously does not buy the story that the late Rep. Wahab Akbar of Basilan had been assassinated on orders of his political foes, has declared that only the Abu Sayyaf AND the Armed Forces of the Philippines have motives to do away with Akbar. Hmmm. Plaza even explained that the ASG would do it as terrorists, and to destabilize the government, and the military… hadn't someone said before that its Marines would never forgive those who beheaded and desecrated the bodies of their comrades?

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Well, it is good to hear that there is no Filipino among the more than 2,000, some even say 3,000, victims of cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh . Although Pinoys and Pinays seem to be everywhere in the world, I guess nobody wanted to go to Bangladesh , a country even poorer than us. Who would hire them and pay them big bucks to work there? See how they even defy our laws and go to Iraq because there's money there? And also to Afghanistan and Lebanon , even when wars are on?*

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