Corona urges coordination in justice system

MANILA, Philippines - Chief Justice Renato Corona has urged the five sectors of the justice system to coordinate actions to improve efficiency in the system.

These five sectors are the courts, prosecution, enforcement, correction, and rehabilitation.

“This coordinated approach is the answer to our continuing problems,” Corona said in a speech delivered at the 1st National Criminal Justice Summit held at the Manila Hotel last Dec. 5.

The Philippine justice system is a complex network of government agencies in charge of resolving disputes, investigating crimes, prosecuting suspects, as well as correction and rehabilitation of offenders.

Corona said attaining coordination among the agencies involved in the justice system will take a lot of time and effort.

Delegates to the justice summit pledged their commitment to the justice reform agenda. Corona said this is a small step towards accomplishing their collective goals.

Early this year, the Supreme Court launched “Judgment Day,” at the Las Piñas City Hall of Justice.

Corona said that during the pilot testing of the program, 46 persons were acquitted, including 39-year-old Julius Ocampo who languished in jail for six years for use of illegal drugs and 27-year-old Nino Polo who was incarcerated for four years for murder.

Ocampo and Nino were acquitted because of the prosecution’s failure to prove them guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

Judgment Day also resulted to the provisional release of five inmates and the conviction of eight others in criminal cases.

The program, which is an initiative of Las Piñas judges, is the simultaneous disposition of cases in one day.

Corona said the program effectively promotes the speedy resolution of criminal cases and awareness of the justice system.

The program is expected to enhance the implementation of the Enhanced Justice on Wheels (EJOW) program.

The Supreme Court created the EJOW program to decongest courts burdened with unresolved cases, initiate court-annexed mediation and provide legal aid for underprivileged litigants. 

The project also serves as a venue for dialogue between members of the justice sector, as well as a means to coordinate legal action at the barangay level to also include legal remedies for indigenous peoples. 

The program started with three so-called mobile courts in 2008. The program now has nine buses because of donations from local government units and non-government organizations, the latest of which was a donation from Santiago City.

These mobile courts have visited 40 provinces and have facilitated the release of some 6,500 inmates and the mediation of 7,000 cases.

Some 13,000 inmates were also given medical and dental attention.

Around 3,600 persons benefited from the legal aid provided by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, while 18,773 barangay officials have participated in its information campaigns.

“Through these initiatives, we in the Judiciary hope that we are making valuable contributions toward reform in the justice sector,” Corona said.

Corona said that despite the introduction of reforms into the system, issues that weaken the justice system still have to be addressed.

He listed among these the delays in the resolution of cases, perceived graft and corruption, weak institutional systems, poor court technologies and facilities, inadequate human resource development programs and perceived limited access to justice by the poor.

Corona said these problems can be solved through proper coordination among agencies involved.

“The answer, I believe, can be inferred from the success of the Judgment Day and EJOW Program. To make this inference, all we need to do is figure out the factors which made such projects successful, and then ascertain what the justice sector ultimately needs. The answer, fellow stakeholders in the justice sector, is quite simple,” said Corona.  – With Michael Punongbayan