The ANAKALUSUGAN Party-list has filed the “Voltaire Rosales Bill” to give security and ensure benefits for bereaved families of judges, prosecutors, and lawyers in response to the alarming number of threats and killings among their ranks.
Filed under House Bill No. 1694, the proposal amends Section 2 and 3 of Republic Act No. 910, which accords benefits for the family of retired judiciary personnel only, to include families of justices and judges killed in the performance of duty. It also recommends retroactive application of the law to compensate victims of slain judiciary members.
“Our Justices and Judges deserve better. They are the keepers of our law, and as legislators, we must do our part to be able to afford them the same security that we have. They should be able to practice their profession in safety,” Representative Ray Florence Reyes penned.
Under the bill, spouses and children of slain judiciary members will be entitled to the existing benefits under the law plus the ten years’ salary of the slain member. It also includes automatic increase in pension benefits adjacent to the increase in the salary of the same position from when the member retires.
When the family member does not receive the full lump sum within one year from death, any sum will still be granted and computed based on the difference between the amounts already received.
The necessary amount will be appropriated under the current General Appropriations Act of the Judiciary branch.
Reyes highlighted the need to do so citing reports from Amnesty International wherein 61 lawyers, judges, and prosecutors were killed since 2016.
“It is our hope that this bill allows our Justices and Judges to continue to uphold and dispense proper justice without fear for their families’ futures.
This allows them to take on dangerous cases knowing that the government offers them and their families full support,” Reyes added.