What is fiscal autonomy.docx

What is fiscal autonomy?  As envisioned envisioned in the Constitution, Constitution, the fiscal autonomy autonomy enjoyed by the the Judiciary, Judiciary, the Civil Civil Service Commission,, the Commission on Audit, Commission Audit, the Commission on Elections, and t he Office of the Ombudsman contemplates a guarantee on full fleibility to allocate and utili!e t heir resources "ith the "isdom and dispatch that their needs re#uire$ %t recogni!es the po"er and authority to levy, assess and collect fees, fi rates of compensation not eceeding the highest rates authori!ed by la" for compensation and pay plans of the government and allocate and disburse such sums as may be provided by la" or prescribed by them in the course of the discharge of their functions$ &iscal autonomy means freedom from outside control$ %f the Supreme Court says it needs '(( type"riters but )*+ rules "e need only '( type"riters and sends its recommendations to Congress "ithout even informing us, the autonomy given by the Constitution becomes an empty and illusory platitude$ he Judiciary, the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman must have the independence end fleibility needed in the discharge of their constitutional duties$ he imposition of restrictions and constraints on the manner the independe independent nt constitutional offices allocate and utili!e the funds appropriated for their operations is anathema to fiscal autonomy and violative not only of the epress mandate of the Constitution but especially as regards the Supreme Court, of the independence and separation of po"ers upon "hich the entire fabric of our constitutional system is based$ %n the interest of comity and cooperation, the Supreme Court, Constitutional Commissions, Commissions, and the Ombudsman have so far limited their objections to constant reminders$ We no" agree "ith the petitioners that this grant of autonomy should cease to be a meaningless provision$ %n the case at bar, the veto of these specific provisions in the -eneral Appropriations Appropriations Act is tantamount to dictating to the Judiciary ho" its funds should be utili!ed, "hich is clearly repugnant to fiscal autonomy$ autonomy$ he freedom of the Chief Justice to ma.e adjustments in the utili!ation of the funds appropriated for the ependitures of the judiciary, judiciary, including the use of any savings from any particular item to cover deficits or shortages in other items of the Judiciary is "ithheld$ /ursuant to the Constitutiona Constitutionall mandate, the Judiciary must enjoy freedom in the disposition of the funds allocated to it in the appropriations la"$ %t .no"s its priorities just as it is a"are of the f iscal restraints$ he Chief Chief Justice must be given a free hand on ho" to augment appropriations "here augmentation is needed$ decisional independence and institutional independence$0 '1 )ecisional independence 2refers to a judge3s ability to render decisions decisions free from political political or popular popular influence based based solely on the the individual facts and applicable la"$0'4 On the other hand, institutional independence 2describes the separation of the judicial branch from the eecutive and legislative branches of government$0'5 Simply put, institutional independence refers to the 2collective independence of the judiciary as a body$6 $/rohi $/ro hibi biti tion on un unde derr se sect ctio ion n '5 '5,, Art rtic icle le 7% 7%%% do does es no nott ap appl ply y to ap appo poin intm tmen ents ts to fi fill ll a va vaca canc ncy y in th the e Supreme Co Cour urtt or  or to to ot othe herr ap appo poin intm tmen ents ts to th the e ju judi dici ciar ary y$ h he e re reco cord rds s of th the e de deli libe bera rati tion ons s of th the e Constitu Cons titutiona tionall Com Commiss mission ion reve reveal al that the frame framers rs devo devoted ted time to meti meticulo culously usly drafting, drafting, styli styling, ng, and arranging the Constitution$ Such meticulousness indicates that the organi!ation and arrangement of the provisions of the Constitution "ere not arbitrarily or "himsically done by the framers, but purposely made to reflect their intention and manifest their vision of "hat the Constitution should contain$ As can be seen,  Article 7%% is devoted to the Executive Departmen Departmentt, and, among others, it lists the po"ers vested by the Constitution in the /resident$ he presidential po"er of appointment is dealt "ith in Sections '4, '5 and '8 of the Article$ 9ad the framers intended to etend the prohibition contained in Section '5, Article 7%% to the appointment of +embers of the Supreme Court, they could have eplicitly done so$ hey could not have ignored the meticulous ordering of the provisions$ hey "ould have easily and surely "ritten the prohibition made eplicit in Section '5, Article 7%% as being e#ually applicable to the appointment of +embers of the Supreme Court in Article 7%%% itself, most li.ely in Section 4 :';, Article 7%%%$ 1

LEAGUE OF CITIES OF THE PHILIPPINES v. COMELEC

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