In a letter dated February 15, 2019 to Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin, Presiding Justice Romeo F. Barza (Barza) of the Court of Appeals made the following request:

May I respectfully request that the Court of Appeals be allowed to budget the following amounts to defray the cost of the expenses relative to the retirement of the Presiding Justice and Associate Justices, to wit:

a)	For a retiring Presiding Justice not to exceed Two Million Pesos (P2,000,000.00); and
b)	For a retiring Associate Justice not to exceed One Million Eight Hundred [Thousand] Pesos (P1,800,000.00)

subject to liquidation in accordance with applicable accounting and auditing rules.

May I further request for a yearly increase often percent (10%) in the aforesaid budget to cushion the effects of inflation.

A certification from our Chief of Fiscal Management and Budget Division and the Chief Accountant as to the availability of funds for the said purpose is attached to this letter.^[1]

Acting on the aforequoted letter, the Court issued a Resolution^[2] dated February 19, 2019 requiring the Fiscal Management and Budget Office (FMBO) to comment thereon within 30 days from notice.

Atty. Corazon G. Ferrer-Flores (Ferrer-Flores), Deputy Clerk of Court and Chief, FMBO, submitted her Comment dated May 21, 2019. Taking into account the current budgets of the Sandiganbayan, the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA), and the Supreme Court for their respective Retirement Programs; plus the budgetary history of the Court of Appeals and the impact of the proposed increase in the retirement program budgets for retiring Court of Appeals Presiding and Associate Justices on the present as well as future overall budgets of the said appellate court, Atty. Ferrer-Flores ultimately made the following recommendations:

IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, we respectfully recommend the following budgets for the activities in connection with the retirement of the Presiding Justice and Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals, subject to a yearly increase of ten percent (10%) to cushion the effects of inflation, chargeable against the savings from the regular appropriations of the Court of Appeals and subject further to availability of funds:

1)	For a retiring Presiding Justice - not to exceed ONE MILLION TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (P1,200,000.00); and
2)	For a retiring Associate Justice - not to exceed ONE MILLION PESOS (P1,000,000.00).00.[3]

After a judicious consideration of all important factors, the Court deems it appropriate to grant an increase in the retirement program budgets for the retiring members of the Court of Appeals in the amounts of One Million Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (PhP1,500,000.00) for a Presiding Justice and One Million Two Hundred Thousand Pesos (PhP1,200,000.00) for an Associate Justice. These amounts are partway between Presiding Justice Barza's proposed budgets and Atty. Ferrer-Flores's recommended budgets.

The current retirement program budget for the retiring Presiding and Associate Justices of the Court of Appeals is Two Hundred Thousand Pesos (PhP200,000.00) each, which is below what Justices of other courts of equal and higher ranks receive, to wit:

Court/Position	Number of Justices	Current Budget (PhP)
Supreme Court Chief Justice	1	2,420,000.00
Supreme Court Associate Justice	14	2,200,000.00
Court of Appeals Presiding or Associate Justice	69	200,000.00
Sandiganbayan Presiding or Associate Justice	21	450,000.00
CTA Presiding or Associate Justice	9	650,000.00

Thus, it is readily apparent that the retirement program budget for retiring members of the Court of Appeals is due for an update and/or adjustment.


Per the Chief of the Fiscal Management and Budget Division of the Court of Appeals, the increased retirement program budget for the retiring Presiding or Associate Justice will cover his/her (a) luncheon/dinner reception; (b) judicial tokens; (c) miscellaneous expenses of the En Banc Special Session; (d) souvenir for guests; and (e) food stubs for employees. Given that the Sandiganbayan, with 421 employees, has a retirement program budget of Four Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (PhP450,000.00) for each of its retiring Presiding or Associate Justice; and the CTA, with 271 employees, has a retirement program budget of Six Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (PhP650,000.00) for each of its retiring Presiding or Associate Justice, it is justifiable that the Court of Appeals, with 1,660 employees (four and six times more than those in the Sandiganbayan and the CTA, respectively) will need a higher retirement program budget for its retiring Presiding or Associate Justice compared to the two other courts.

The Court, however, refrains from granting the Court of Appeals the automatic ten percent (10%) annual increase on its new retirement program budget purportedly to cushion the effects of inflation. Any subsequent increase will still be subject to the review and approval of the Court and will depend on the availability of funds and prevailing circumstances.

WHEREFORE, the Court resolves to GRANT, effective on July 1, 2019, the request of the Court of Appeals, through Presiding Justice Romeo F. Barza, to increase its allocated retirement program budget, as follows:

a)	For a retiring Presiding Justice - not to exceed ONE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (PhP1,500,000.00); and
b)	For a retiring Associate Justice - not to exceed ONE MILLION TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (PhP1,200,000.00).

SO ORDERED.

Bersamin, C. J., Carpio, Peralta, Del Castillo, Perlas-Bernabe, Leonen, Caguioa, A. Reyes, Jr., Gesmundo, J. Reyes, Jr., Carandang, Lazaro-Javier, and Inting, JJ., concur.
Jardeleza, J., on welness leave.

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^[1] Rollo, p. 1.

^[2] Id. at 3.

^[3] Id. at 10.