malaysiang
MANILA – Senator Robinhood ‘Robin’ Padilla has filed a bill facilitating the qualifications to ensure Shari’ah courts will get the needed judges.
In his Senate Bill (SB) 2820 filed on Sept. 11, Padilla seeks to amend Article X, Section 8 of Republic Act 11054 or the organic law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Padilla said RA 11054 requires membership to the Philippine Bar as among the requirements for Shari’ah judges for Shari’ah circuit courts.
“As pointed out by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, these stringent requirements are one of the reasons why it has become challenging to fill up positions in the Shari’ah circuit courts,” he said.
He said the NCMF also pointed out that “since most of the issues discussed under the circuit courts are communal in nature, the judges’ knowledge on the Shari’ah practices must be prioritized over legal expertise.”
He said Article 140 of Presidential Decree 1073 – the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines enacted b
y then President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1977 – does not have such a requirement.
Instead, the judges must have completed the needed Shari’ah and Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) courses administered by the Supreme Court, he added.
Under the bill, Article X, Section 8 of RA 11054 removes the requirement of being a regular member of the Philippine Bar, and adds that the judge to be appointed must be practicing Shari’ah law for at least five years.
Source: Philippines News agency
