Press Release
May 15, 2009

SC ASKED TO RECONSIDER DECISION ON LEGAL FEES EXEMPTION
ROXAS APPEALS FOR REVIEW OF SC CIRCULAR, DOJ COOPERATION

Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas today renewed his appeal to the Supreme Court to reconsider his proposal to exempt victims of the Legacy pre-need scam from paying legal fees.

Roxas at the same time asked the Department of Justice to help the victims of the Legacy owner Celso de los Angeles by also waiving legal fees from the complainants in the syndicated estafa cases filed against the Legacy owner and other officials.

"Tulungan natin ang mga kawawang mga biktima nitong Legacy. Nananawagan ako sa ating mga mahistrado na bigyang daan ang hustisya para sa libo-libong ninakawan ng perang pinag-ipunan nila ng matagl para sa kinabukasan ng kanilang mga anak at pamilya," he said.

With schools opening again, it would be injustice if these victimized pre-need plan holders, many of whom are parents who bought education pre-need plans for their children, would still worry where they could get the money for the legal fees for the cases they filed against De los Angeles and his cohorts, the Visayan senator said.

Roxas said his lawyers are now studying the possibility of filing the appropriate pleading asking the high court to amend Administrative Circular 35-2004 and grant exemption to pre-need victims from the payment of court filing fees.

The circular states that pre-need plant litigants can only enjoy exemption from paying court fees "if they fall under the category of indigent litigants", which is defined as those "whose gross income and that of their immediate family do not exceed an amount double the monthly minimum wage of an employee and those who do not own real property with a fair market value of more than P300,000.00."

The Visayan senator reiterated his proposal that the SC and the DOJ collect legal fees from the victims if they win monetary awards against Legacy and other pre-need firms that have collapsed because of financial abuses and mismanagement.

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