Chief Justice Peralta witnesses Senate OK of judiciary’s 2020 budget
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2019 05:27:01 +0000
THE Senate approved in less than a minute the proposed P40.17 billion budget of the judiciary for 2020 as Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta and other court officials witnessed the deliberations on Wednesday.
Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd welcomed Peralta, whom he said he did not expect to personally appear at the Senate.
“We’d like to welcome the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court here in the premises,” Sotto said.
“He has been representing the judiciary every year, so I did not expect him to be here because he is already the Chief Justice now, but he’s still here,” he added.
No senator questioned the budget when Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara presented it on the floor.
Lawyer Brian Hosaka , Supreme Court spokesman, told reporters that Chief Justice Peralta would appear before the Senate hearing. “This is a rare if not an unprecedented event where a sitting CJ appears before a budget hearing for the judiciary,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri moved to have the judiciary’s budget deemed submitted and approved. JAVIER JOE ISMAEL