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RE: QUERY OF MR. ROGER C. PRIORESCHI RE EXEMPTION FROM LEGAL

FACTS:

Mr. Roger C. Prioreschi, the administrator of the Good Shepherd Foundation, Inc., wrote a letter to the Chief Justice, seeking exemption from legal and filing fees for the foundation. Mr. Prioreschi pointed out that the foundation works for the indigent and underprivileged people and requested that the same exemption granted to indigent individuals be extended to foundations like theirs. The Court Administrator Jose Perez explained that the exemption from fees is reserved for indigent persons and does not include foundations or associations. The Court is tasked to interpret the law and the specific requirements of the law on exemption from fees offer little room for interpretation. The Good Shepherd Foundation, Inc. is a juridical person, and as such, cannot be considered an indigent litigant and be accorded the exemption from fees meant only for natural persons. The Court concluded that although the foundation works for indigent and underprivileged people, it cannot be granted the same exemption from fees as indigent individuals.

ISSUES:

  1. Can foundations like the Good Shepherd Foundation, Inc. be granted the same exemption from payment of legal fees as indigent litigants?

  2. Does the working of a foundation for indigent and underprivileged people justify the grant of exemption from legal fees?

RULING:

  1. The Courts cannot grant foundations like the Good Shepherd Foundation, Inc. the same exemption from payment of legal fees granted to indigent litigants.

  2. The working of a foundation for indigent and underprivileged people does not justify the grant of exemption from legal fees.

PRINCIPLES:

  • The right to free access to the courts and quasi-judicial bodies and to adequate legal assistance cannot be denied to any person by reason of poverty, as provided by Sec. 11, Art. III of the 1987 Constitution.

  • The exemption from legal and filing fees is based on the free access clause, which is embodied in Sec. 11, Art. III of the 1987 Constitution.

  • The exemption from legal and filing fees is only applicable to natural person indigent litigants, as provided by Sec. 21, Rule 3, Rules of Court, and Sec. 19, Rule 141, Rules of Court.

  • Juridical persons, such as foundations, cannot be accorded the exemption from legal and filing fees granted to indigent litigants.

  • Exempting juridical persons from legal and filing fees may be prone to abuse and could lead to circumvention of the rule on payment of fees.