By Jeffrey Damicog
Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta has renewed the Philippine judiciary’s commitment for closer ties with its counterparts in member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The 7th Meeting of the Council of ASEAN Chief Justices, held in Phuket, Thailand on 22 November 2019. (TWITTER: SC PIO/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Peralta made this vow during the Seventh Meeting of the Council of ASEAN Chief Justices (CACJ) held in Phuket, Thailand.
“The Philippine Judiciary is one with the CACJ in promoting close relations and mutual understanding among the ASEAN judiciaries; providing a regular forum for the Chief Justices to discuss and exchange views on common issues facing the judiciaries of the region; and facilitating judicial cooperation and collaboration among judiciaries with a view to accelerating the economic growth and development of the ASEAN region,” he said during his speech on Friday.
Peralta pointed out that his aspirations for the Philippine were “the same as my hope for all judiciaries in the ASEAN.”
“With that goal in my heart, I trust that this proactive and dynamic endeavor will bear fruit toward the /continuing development of legal systems for the benefit of the peoples of ASEAN,” he stated.
With this, Peralta said the Philippine judiciary has also expressed support to the activities of the CACJ working groups, namely, Judicial Education and Training (JET), Service of Civil Processes with ASEAN, Court Technology and Case Management, Cross-border Disputes Involving Children (CBDIC), and the ASEAN Judiciaries Portal (AJP) project.
The JET and the CBDIC are both co-chaired by the Philippines along with Indonesia and Singapore, respectively.
For his part, Peralta bared before the CACJ his 10-point program that he is implementing in the Philippine judiciary.
“Two of the four ideas of my program are efficiency and committed service in the delivery of justice, which are cornerstones of an effective judicial system,” he said.
“I am certain that with improved efficiency, one of the greatest challenges of the Philippine Judiciary, namely, its high docket inventory, will be addressed. Efficiency can be achieved not only by improving case adjudication and court administration, but also through automation of court processes and the incorporation of latest court technology in hearings and trials,” he added.
Peralta, who participated in the event for the first time, admitted being excited in getting to know more about the CACJ and its works considering he was just recently appointed chief justice.
The CACJ’s current chairman is Singapore Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon who was also present during the event.