SC, PNP launch e-Warrant system nationwide
The Supreme Court (SC) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) launched on Tuesday afternoon, September 8, the automated service and implementation of the warrants of arrest issued by the courts through the enhanced electronic warrant (e-Warrant) system.
Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta and PNP Chief General Camilo Pancratius P. Cascolan led the launching of e-Warrant system at the SC’s full court session hall on Padre Faura Street, Ermita, Manila.
(Photo courtesy of the SC Public Information Office / MANILA BULLETIN)
The e-Warrant system is expected to be fully operational in about 2,600 trial courts and 1,900 PNP stations nationwide before the end of this year, Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez said.
The SC, through the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) and the PNP’s Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) will conduct online regional trainings for courts and police stations.
“Before the year ends, the full implementation of the Enhanced e-Warrant System is expected, after all courts and police stations have undergone online trainings,” Marquez said.
The system “aims to fully automate the issuance of arrest warrants by our courts for a speedier and more effective service by our law enforcement agents,” Chief Justice Peralta said during the launching.
The paperless transmission of the warrants of arrest is the SC’s timely response in the midst of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, he stressed.
“With the nationwide roll-out of the Enhanced e-Warrant System, we are able to adopt technologically-advanced innovations in our court processes for a more accessible, efficient, effective and responsive administration of justice,” he added.
Supporting the automated system, Cascolan said: “Central to my vision of leading a more reliable and credible police force is the improvement of crime solution efficiency. The enhanced e-Warrant system in all courts and police stations will contribute in securing an ideal scale of effectiveness in crime solution.”
To test the efficacy of the system, the first e-Warrant was issued after the launching by Pasig City regional trial court Judge Maria Gracia Cadiz Casalang. The automated warrant of arrest involved a qualified theft case.
Explaining the mechanics of the e-Warrant system, the SC’s public information office (PIO) said:
“Following the determination of probable cause by the court, all mandatory details for the issuance of an arrest warrant are electronically encoded to and generated by the Enhanced e-Warrant system, for instantaneous transmission to the police station which has jurisdiction over the residence of the accused, and to the station which filed the complaint.
“Upon receipt by the police stations of the e-Warrant, the concerned police officers have ten (10) days within which to provide feedback through the system on whether the e-Warrant was served, or in case of failure to serve, the reasons therefor.
“This real-time feedback mechanism is viewable by all the courts nationwide. All courts can also access the system to determine whether an accused has pending cases in other courts, effectively eliminating the delay in the release of an accused who may have the same or similar names.”