By Farah G. Decano

           

THE prohibitive filing fees in courts surely pose an obstacle to the Filipino’s access to justice, especially the middle class. The so-called poor can always file for free because they may present themselves as pauper litigants while the rich will not mind the expense.  It is always the ignored middle class that will feel the impact of this high litigation expense.

For example, a P2 million collection case will cost litigants more or less P70,000 while a case for recovery of real property which has a market value of almost five hundred thousand pesos on its tax declaration will make them cough out around P35,000.   These amounts are overwhelming to a typical middle-income person who strut out an 8am to 5pm job.

Who may be considered as pauper litigants? According to the Rules of Court, individuals may apply as pauper litigants if two of the following requirements coincide: 1) the gross income is less than double the amount of the minimum wage; and 2) they have no real properties that have a fair market value of more than P300,000.00.  Should they only comply with one of the requirements, then the court may set the matter for hearing for the determination of indigency.

As of May 2022, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board approved the minimum wages of P372.00/day for non-agricultural establishments with less than 10 employees, and P400.00/day for those with more than 10.  Hence, if one has a monthly wage of about P17,000.00 a month then one may be disqualified from availing of this free filing fee.  (This columnist sought for updates to this rule from the office of a Clerk of Court but as of press deadlin,e information was not yet available.)

A 2018 discussion paper submitted to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies and quoted by imoney.ph in an article dated May 2022, classified those individuals   earning P21,194 to P131,484 as belonging to the middle income category.  They are further categorized into lower middle class, middle class and higher middle class.

With the present spiraling inflation, it will not be a surprise if there will be a reclassification of income levels this year wherein the lower middle-income earners shall begin at P30,000.00.  With this monthly compensation for lower middle-class earners, how can one sustain the costs of seeking justice?  What about those who belong to the low-income level but are not below the poverty threshold as provided by the rules on indigency?

We can only hope that the Supreme Court will revisit the fees and make justice accessible in these times of inflation.  Maybe there should be adjustments again.  Perhaps the middle class should be allowed to have their properties subjected to a lien by the government to cover payment of these filing fees later.

Provincial lawyers, on the other hand, are mostly solo practitioners who are vulnerable to economic changes just like everybody else.  To ask them to reduce their fees will make it difficult for them to pay for office spaces, secretaries, utilities and supplies.  Their fees are also dictated by prevailing “market prices” since prospective clients are free to canvass the lawyers of their choice.  Although there are other avenues by which disputes may be resolved, there is only one branch of government where we can file cases.  And it is about time the Supreme Court recalculates the filing fees especially in these abnormal times.

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