(6) Cooperatives shall be exempt from the payment of all court and sheriffs fees payable to the Philippine Government for and in connection with all actions brought under this Code, or where such actions is brought by the Authority before the court, to enforce the payment of obligations contracted in favor of the cooperative.
Since the payment of legal fees is a vital component of the rules promulgated by this Court concerning pleading, practice and procedure, it cannot be validly annulled, changed or modified by Congress. As one of the safeguards of this Courts institutional independence, the power to promulgate rules of pleading, practice and procedure is now the Courts exclusive domain. That power is no longer shared by this Court with Congress, much less with the Executive.11
x x x x
The separation of powers among the three co-equal branches of our government has erected an impregnable wall that keeps the power to promulgate rules of pleading, practice and procedure within the sole province of this Court. The other branches trespass upon this prerogative if they enact laws or issue orders that effectively repeal, alter or modify any of the procedural rules promulgated by this Court. Viewed from this perspective, the claim of a legislative grant of exemption from the payment of legal fees under Section 39 of R.A. 8291 necessarily fails.
Congress could not have carved out an exemption for the GSIS from the payment of legal fees without transgressing another equally important institutional safeguard of the Courts independence - fiscal autonomy.12 Fiscal autonomy recognizes the power and authority of the Court to levy, assess and collect fees,13 including legal fees. Moreover, legal fees under Rule 141 have two basic components, the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF) and the Special Allowance for the Judiciary Fund (SAJF).14 The laws which established the JDF and SAJF15 expressly declare the identical purpose of these funds to guarantee the independence of the Judiciary as mandated by the Constitution and public policy.16 Legal fees therefore do not only constitute a vital source of the Courts financial resources but also comprise an essential element of the Courts fiscal independence. Any exemption from the payment of legal fees granted by Congress to government-owned or controlled corporations and local government units will necessarily reduce the JDF and the SAJF. Undoubtedly, such situation is constitutionally infirm for it impairs the Courts guaranteed fiscal autonomy and erodes its independence.17
Endnotes:
1 Records, pp. 9-13.
2 xxx (6) Cooperatives shall be exempt from the payment of all court and sheriffs fees payable to the Philippine Government for and in connection with all actions brought under this Code, or where such actions is brought by the Cooperative Development Authority before the court, to enforce the payment of obligations contracted in favor of the cooperative.
3 For your information and guidance, the Court En Banc in its Resolution dated 15 July 2003, issued in A.M. No. 03-4-01-0, Resolved to EXEMPT the cooperatives from the payment of all court and sheriffs fees payable to the Philippine Government for and in connection with all actions brought under Republic Act No. 6938 or the Cooperative Development Code of the Philippines, or where such action is brought by the Cooperative Development Authority before the court, to enforce the payment of obligations contracted in favor of the cooperative.
In connection therewith the following guidelines shall be observed:
(a) All actions brought before the Court are filed by the duly elected officers of the cooperative in the name of or for and on behalf of the cooperative;
(b) All actions brought before the Court are filed pursuant to the pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 6938 also known as the Cooperative Code of the Philippines but shall be limited only to enforce the payment of obligations contracted in favor of cooperative, otherwise cooperatives will not be exempt from payment of pertinent fees.
4 “Legal fees” as defined in Section 1, paragraph (d) of Article II of A.M. No. 08-11-7-SC (IRR) Rule on the Exemption from the Payment of Legal Fees of the Clients of the National Committee on Legal Aid (NCLA) and of the Legal Aid Offices in the Local Chapters of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) as approved by the Supreme Court on 25 August 2009.
5 Id.
6 Section 10, Rule 141 of the Rules of Court.
7 A.M. No. 03-4-01-0. Exemption of Cooperatives from Payment of Court and Sheriffs Fees Payable to the Government in Actions Brought under Republic Act No. 6938.
8 Re: Petition for Recognition of the Exemption of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for Payment of Legal Fees, A.M. No. 08-2-01-0, 11 February 2010, 612 SCRA 193.
9 361 Phil. 73 (1999).
10 Id. at 88.
11 Re: Petition for Recognition of the Exemption of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for Payment of Legal Fees, supra note 8 at 206 citing Echegaray v. Secretary of Justice, supra note 9 at 88-89.
12 Re: Petition for Recognition of the Exemption of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for Payment of Legal Fees,id. at 209 citing Section 3, Article VIII of the Constitution, “[t]he Judiciary shall enjoy fiscal autonomy.”
13 Id., citing Bengzon v. Drilon, G.R. No. 103524, 15 April 1992, 208 SCRA 133, 150.
14 Id. See Amended Administrative Circular No. 35-2004 dated 20 August 2004 (Guideline in the Allocation of the Legal Fees Collected Under Rule 141of the Rules of Court, as Amended, between the [SAJF] and the [JDF]).
15 Id. Presidential Decree No. 1949 and Republic Act No. 9227.
16 Id. Sec. 1 of Presidential Decree No. 1949 provides:
Sec. 1. There is hereby established a [JDF], hereinafter referred to as the Fund, for the benefit of the members and personnel of the Judiciary to help ensure and guarantee the independence of the Judiciary as mandated by the Constitution and public policy and required by the impartial administration of justice.
Sec. 1 of Republic Act 9227 provides:
Sec. 1. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared a policy of the State to adopt measures to guarantee the independence of the Judiciary as mandated by the Constitution and public policy and to ensure impartial administration of justice, as well as an effective and efficient system worthy of public trust and confidence.
17 Id. at 210.
18 G.R. No. 165922, 26 February 2010, 613 SCRA 733.
19 In Re: Exemption of the National Power Corporation from Payment of Filing/Docket Fees, A.M. No. 05-10-20-SC, 10 March 2010, 615 SCRA 1.