By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

REFUSING to be labeled “threats to judicial independence,” the administration and the Legislature yesterday defended the proposed funding cut for the judiciary, saying that each government entity must carry a fair share of the burden.
“The chief justice said clearly how he feels about the situation as it relates to the budget,” Gov. Felix P. Camacho said, reacting to Supreme Court Chief Justice F. Phillip Carbullido’s tirade against the executive and legislative branches for making “political budgetary decisions” that he said curtail the courts’ ability to do their job. (See top story)
The governor said he disagreed with the chief justice’s statement that “judicial independence is being threatened.”
“There is a system of checks and balances and mutual respect that exists among all branches of the government,” Camacho said in an interview with reporters after Carbullido delivered his State of the Judiciary Address yesterday.
Because of the financial condition of the government, the governor said, adjusting the appropriations for all departments and agencies was absolutely in order. “Even the executive branch gets a 29 percent cut,” Camacho said.
Budgetary decisions, he added, are being coordinated among co-equal branches of the government.
In the original revised budget proposal, Camacho proposed to cut the judiciary’s appropriation by 2.5 percent, the same rate of reduction as the rest of the departments and agencies. From $20 million, the governor proposed that the funding level be reduced to $19.6 million.  
Public Auditor Doris Brooks later suggested further cuts for the judiciary. But the Legislature, acting on Sen. James Espaldon’s amendment, agreed to reinstate the judiciary’s original appropriation.
“We thank Sen. Espaldon for rejecting the public auditor’s call for further cuts and we thank the senators who supported the Espaldon amendment,” Carbullido stated in his address.
“With an initial budget cut in the amount of $900,000 and an additional shortage of $2.5 million in allotments halfway into the fiscal year, the fact is that our current budget has already been cut by about 17 percent,” the chief justice said.
Espaldon, R-Tamuning, said Carbullido’s remarks about judicial independence served as “a reminder that the three branches of government are co-equal.”
“I’m glad that the chief justice articulated that in front of everybody. Not too many understand that, or some may have forgotten,” said Espaldon, chairman of the committee on the judiciary.
Espaldon said when he fought at the Legislature for the restoration of the judiciary’s original appropriation, he highlighted the judicial branch’s efficient system.
“They have long-term strategies and plans. I’m not sure if other branches of the government have those. This is the branch that we should look to. They have practices that we should emulate,” said Espaldon, a longtime employee of the courts before becoming a senator.
But as senators continue to rework Bill 74, the judiciary’s budget faces another threat of reduction.
Upon the governor’s request, Vice Speaker Eddie Calvo, R-Maite, on Monday introduced a new set of amendments to Bill 74, revising the level of funding cuts for all departments and agencies from 2.5 percent to 1 percent.
Under Calvo’s amendments, which had yet to be discussed as of press time, the judiciary’s budget would be reduced from $20 million to $19.9 million.
“I don’t want the Legislature to be perceived as a threat to judicial independence. But the problem that we have now has to do with the financial condition of the government of Guam. We have to balance GovGuam’s financial capability with the revenue that we anticipate to come in,” said Calvo, chairman of the committee on finance and taxation.
“We want to prioritize education, health and public safety and with the numbers presented by the administration and the need for large reductions on spending, it appears that all agencies have to feel the impact of the budget cuts,” Calvo added.
While saying he understood Carbullido’s concerns about the impact of potential funding cuts on judicial operations, Calvo explained that the Legislature’s actions are meant to ensure that GovGuam continues to be a viable entity.
But just the same, the vice speaker added, “I would like to see what I can do to ensure that judicial independence is intact.”