Make online hearings the 'general rule,' IBP urges Supreme Court
MANILA, Philippines — The Integrated Bar of the Philippines on Monday called on the Supreme Court to further refine its guidelines and make electronic trials as “the general rule” amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Courts on Monday resumed full operations, including the conduct of "in-court" trials, following the easing of health and safety protocols in the country.
IBP national president Domingo Egon Cayosa, in a statement, urged the SC to refine its guidelines during the enforced General Community Quarantine and “make online hearings in trial courts the general rule.”
“Computerization and online proceedings in the administration of justice has been adopted in other jurisdictions with positive results and great advantages. Any remaining kinks in the Philippine setting like IT hardware, training, and internet availability or speed can and should be adequately addressed,” Cayosa added.
Move to ‘smart’ courts
The IBP stressed that the justice sector “must move forward and faster with techno-pivot to develop truly ‘smart’ courts, offices and transactions that would immensely improve the administration of justice.”
A UP College of Law previously recommended the incorporation of new technologies into the Philippine court system during, and even after, COVID-19 pandemic.
When Enhanced Community Quarantine was in place Metro Manila, Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta directed courts to conduct hearings through videoconferencing in light of restrictions in movement due to the pandemic.
Since the lockdown was enforced, 22,522 Persons Deprived of Liberty have been released through videoconference hearings, data from the Office of the Court Administrator showed.
On Sunday, Court Administrator Marquez said that more than 7,000 videoconferencing hearings were conducted in a month.
He explained that videoconferencing hearings, for either civil or criminal cases, will also continue even during GCQ. “If a party wishes his/her case to be heard via videoconferencing, the proper motion just needs to be filed, and the court, using its sound discretion, can either grant or deny the motion,” he said.
IBP also commended quasi-judicial bodies, such as the Energy Regulatory Commission and National Labor Relations Commission, for shifting to online hearings.
“Beyond helping contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus and keeping litigants and workers in the justice sector safe, the wise use of IT promotes efficiency, accessibility, integrity, transparency, accountability and speed in the resolution of cases,” Cayosa also said.
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