By Charissa Luci
The House subcommittee on judicial reforms has jumpstarted its initial deliberations on the proposed creation of more court salas in various parts of the country.
Credit: Court of Tax Appeals / MANILA BULLETIN
Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso, panel chairman, said the Lower Chamber will flex its muscles to pass several measures seeking to address the shortage of court salas.
"The insufficiency in the number of trial courts is one of the causes of delay in the adjudication of cases," Veloso, a former Court of Appeals Justice, said.
The panel discussions zeroed in the creation of an additional Regional Trial Court (RTC) branch, a Municipal Trial Court (MTC), and a Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC), all in Misamis Occidental, as contained in House Bill 652, filed by Misamis Occidental Rep. Henry Oaminal and the setting up of an additional branch of the RTC in Mountain Province, as proposed by Mountain Province Rep. Maximo Dalog under HB No. 286.
“In consonance with the State’s policy of providing effective mechanism for the efficient administration of justice," Oaminal, chairman of the subcommittee on correctional reforms, said.
He said his bill would help ease the burden of the courts and result in the speedier and inexpensive resolution of cases.
Also discussed by the panel were House Bill 3492 authored by Pampanga Rep. Juan Pablo Bondoc, which seeks the creation of three RTC branches in Pampanga and HB 3565 and HB 3749, authored by Zamboanga City Reps. Manuel Jose Dalipe and Celso Lobregat, respectively which both seek the creation of four branches of the RTC in Zamboanga City.