Press Release
April 20, 2008

"Increase salary of judges, lawyers in gov't. service" -- Angara

A senate bill is proposing a hefty, across-the-board pay increase for justices, judges and lawyers in the judiciary to ensure the continuous recruitment of the "best and the brightest" lawyers for these tough and critical positions.

Senate Bill 886 filed Senator Edgardo J. Angara proposes a minimum pay of P40,000 monthly and the maximum pay at a little over P100,000 a month.

The Angara bill sets a pay level for every salary grade that is given to lawyers, judges and justices in the judiciary. The most junior starts at Salary grade 26 and the most senior holds a Salary Grade 32.

The current minimum pay for a court attorney is Php 19,521 a month while the maximum pay is Php 23,422 a month. For judges, the monthly minimum pay is Php 22,521, while the maximum is Php46,200.

Angara said that the pay level of lawyers, judges and justices in the judiciary is not at par with what lawyers in the private practice get and this should be corrected because of the tough and sensitive work that lawyers, judges and justices carry out.

The level of competence and the level of integrity of these important components of the judicial system will also be raised by a hefty , across -the -board pay increase, said Angara.

Angara used to be one of the top private law practitioners in the country and was also president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. He has been a staunch advocate of bigger pay for government workers.

Angara said that the low compensation package has been discouraging best and the brightest lawyers from joining the judiciary.

As a result, vacancies have been hard to fill , directly resulting in case backlogs, said Angara.

Angara said that the additional pay for lawyers, judges and justices in the judiciary should be taken from the appropriations of the judiciary, the judiciary development fund and the national treasury.

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