SC: 463 judge positions still vacant, causing case backlogs

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 463 judge positions remain vacant, which contribute to the continuous backlogs of cases in courts across the country, the Supreme Court (SC) told the House of Representatives on Monday.

SC Administrator Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta said this during the House committee on appropriations’ hearing on the proposed 2027 budget for the judiciary, after Kabataan party-list Rep. Renee Co raised concerns about the lack of judges in the country despite the recent creation of new regional trial courts and family courts.

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“Ang judge vacancies po namin as of now, 463 po. It represents 16.7 percent of the authorized judicial positions,” Gomez-Estoesta said.

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(Our judge vacancies as of now are 463. It represents 16.7 percent of the authorized judicial positions.)

According to Gomez-Estoesta, some courts in the country remain “unorganized” because a Notice of Staffing and Classification Action (NOSCA) has not yet been issued.

She explained that NOSCA is a document issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to authorize the creation of a judge or court personnel position.

“If there is no NOSCA yet issued, we call it the unorganized courts. And despite the fact that we want to fill them in, we cannot do so because of the lack of a NOSCA,” the SC administrator said.

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“Dahil unfilled po yung 463, kailangan po talaga na antayan namin ang NOSCA, but hopefully this will be remedied by the Fiscal Autonomy Act because the DBM po ay nabibigyan lang po siya ng 120 days para i-issue po siya. Otherwise, the Supreme Court will now resort to other appropriate measures just to have it funded with the DBM,” she explained.

(Since the 463 is unfilled, we really need to wait for the NOSCA, but hopefully this will be remedied by the Fiscal Autonomy Act because the DBM is only given 120 days to issue it. Otherwise, the Supreme Court will now resort to other appropriate measures just to have it funded with the DBM.)

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After hearing this, appropriations committee vice chairperson and Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez interjected, urging the SC to finish promulgating the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the Judiciary Fiscal Autonomy Act that could open judge positions.

“Promulgate the IRR for the law so that we can already open them because some courts, five to seven years nang na-create. There is a felt need in many districts, cities, and provinces for courts to already be organized. Grabe na rin ang backlogs eh (The backlogs are too bad.),” he said.

Responding to this, SC Associate Justice Jose Midas Marquez said the IRR has already been submitted to the Court En Banc and is under review.

The associate justice mentioned that the court is only on recess this September, noting that come October, “we will push for its approval already.”

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Marquez, meanwhile, explained that some of the provisions of the law are “self-implementing.”

“So kahit hindi po natin antayin yung IRR, pwede na po natin gampanan yung ating mandato na maging fiscally autonomous ang judiciary. So we can already proceed with the filling up of these courts and maibigay sa JBC (Judicial and Bar Council) para mabuksan na po yung position for application for judges, and thereafter lalagyan na po natin ng mga court personnel,” the associate justice said.

(So, even without waiting for the IRR, we can already fulfill our mandate for the judiciary to be fiscally autonomous. We can proceed with staffing these courts and refer the matter to the JBC (Judicial and Bar Council) so that applications for judgeships can be opened, after which we will fill the court personnel positions.)

When asked if the budget for the filling up of positions is already included in the 2027 proposed budget, the SC administrator said, “The appropriations will come from the DBM,” citing the need for the NOSCA.

Rodriguez then asked the DBM’s side about this matter.  

In response, DBM Director Carlos Castro said the judiciary currently has only three pending budget requests related to the creation of positions.

“Nevertheless, kapag ito ay nafill-up-an ng judiciary, meron naman po tayong mapagkukunan ng pondo, meron po tayong miscellanious personnel benefits fund. Ni-rerelease din naman po natin ito upon the release of the judiciary,” the DBM official said.

(Nevertheless, when this is filled up by the judiciary, we have a source of funding; we have a miscellaneous personnel benefits fund. We also rereleased it upon the release of the judiciary.)

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The judiciary is seeking an P86.27 billion budget for 2027, around 22 percent more than its P70.61 billion budget in 2026. /gsg