Role of SC in the rule of law

Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo is a man on a mission. With time-bound goals to accomplish, the sitting Chief Justice of the High Court has laid down specific milestones to be put in place following the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations (SPJI) 2022 to 2027. Gesmundo described the SPJI as the “bible” that would guide generations of Chief Justices after him.

Thus, Gesmundo disclosed the SC, along with the Court of Appeals all the way down to the lowest courts of the land, have all committed to the completion of the SPJI. Gesmundo believes the goals spelled out in the SPJI will be much achieved and continued on even after he bows out of the judiciary. At the core of the SPJI is the use of technology-driven judiciary proceedings like virtual trials or video-conferencing and hearing across the country.

Assisted by SC Associate Justices Jhosep Lopez, Midas Marquez, and Filomena Singh, the Chief Justice presented and explained to us in broad strokes the SPJI during our Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum at Cafe Adriatico in Remedios Circle in Manila last Wednesday.

We noted having almost one-third of the High Court en banc sitting down with us at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay, out from their air-conditioned chambers at the SC along Padre Faura in Manila. “As you have correctly noted, we are now coming out of our gates in Padre Faura to be closer with the people and reach out to media as well,” the Chief Justice quipped.

Gesmundo has been bringing out the SC justices out of their inner sanctums to town hall meetings across the country and talk with media and the public about the SPJI. This is because, Gesmundo stressed, the SPJI is not only for judges and lawyers but also for all stakeholders of the country’s justice system “to educate” them on the rule of law.

Coincidentally released last Wednesday was the latest Rule of Law Index of the World Justice Project (WJP) that showed the Philippines remaining as one of the weakest in the region in terms of adherence to the rule of law. However, the Philippines rose from 102nd out of 139 countries last year, or it improved to 97th out of 140 included in this year’s index, according to the same report.

The index measures adherence to rule of law based on 44 indicators grouped into eight: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice. Countries get a score of 0 to 1, with 1 indicating strongest adherence to rule of law.

Just last Monday, Marquez cited, the SC Magistrates flew to Davao City “to monitor developments” in the so-called “Justice Zone” being set in place under the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC). The Chief Magistrate explained the JSCC was set up as a platform to deliver justice not in slow grind but in real time.

The JSCC is composed of, namely, the SC and all the justices, judges and other court workers; the Department of Justice for the prosecution and its attached agencies such as the Bureau of Corrections and the National Bureau of Investigation; and, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, including the Philippine National Police and penal institutions under the agency. The JSCC represents the country’s pillars of the criminal justice system that will ensure transparency, efficiency, accessibility, and accountability of all concerned members, Gesmundo pointed out.

Gesmundo cited he was merely hewing close to his avowed goals before the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC). He recalled having promised the JBC to observe “collegiality” in all decisions of the SC as well as to implement “participative and collective” efforts in all undertaking of the High Court. Former president Rodrigo Duterte first appointed Gesmundo to the SC in August 2017 and named him as the 27th Chief Justice on April 5, 2021.

The Chief Justice is among the 13 of Duterte-appointed Magistrates at the 15-man SC.

The SC had undertaken reforms during the eight Chief Justices in the last 20 years, according to the SPJI. This means each of the eight Chief Justices served an average of at least two and a half years. Unfortunately, two of the past Chief Justices during that 20-year span were unceremoniously removed from office.

The first was the late Chief Justice Renato Corona who got impeached by Congress in December 2011. Corona’s impeachment was strongly backed by the late president Noynoy “PNoy” Aquino III. With 20 Senators who voted “yes” to impeach Corona, then Senator and now President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. voted “No” along with the late Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Joker Arroyo.

Subsequently, PNoy appointed associate justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno who was then the most junior at the SC and thus became the first woman Chief Justice. However, the Duterte administration allies in Congress initiated and approved the filing of an impeachment case against Sereno. But before the impeachment could reach the Senate, Sereno’s tenure was cut short by her fellow SC Justices in a quo warranto ruling in May 2018. With an 8-6 vote, the majority of the SC en banc who included Gesmundo, ousted Sereno on the basis of her appointment as being invalid.

iting them as lessons learned from the past, Gesmundo adopted the policy that the SC is not the Chief Justice but each and every single member of the High Tribunal. Only two of them are female, namely, Singh and Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier. “But we have the big voice,” Singh asserted.

The Chief Justice chuckled in agreement. Midas added to confirm that Filipina judges even outnumber their male counterparts in the first and second levels of courts.

Like the rest of the members of the judiciary covered by the mandatory 70-year-old age of retirement, Gesmundo is set to retire one year ahead of the SPJI period. Gesmundo turns 66 years old next week (Nov. 6). Hence, the next five years will be crucial for the Chief Justice in terms of carrying out the role of SC in the rule of law in the Philippines.