By Rey Panaligan Eighty more trial court stations in the country have been authorized to pilot test hearings of civil and criminal cases via video conferencing. This is to expedite resolution of cases at this time when physical access to courts is still restricted, mass gatherings are prohibited, and social distancing is strictly enforced. Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez said the pilot testing of video conferencing in the 80 court stations has been approved by Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta. Video conferencing is one of the measures adopted by the Supreme Court (SC) to resolve cases and decongest jails in the country. In areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ, courts are fully operational but the entry of people is restricted and, in many cases, discouraged. Courts are managed by skeleton work force on rotation basis. Filing of cases and petitions, like those on bail issues, are authorized to be done manually or electronically. Justices and judges are mandated to act on urgent cases. Marquez said that since May 4, some 1,350 trial courts nationwide have conducted 7,624 hearings via video conferencing that resulted in the release, as of May 22, of 22,522 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) who were mostly detained at the lockup cells of the Philippine National Police (PNP). He said the PDLs were released either through bail or their own recognizance or when they were found to have served the minimum period of their sentences. “There have already been three convictions promulgated online by our trial courts. There was a case for qualified human trafficking in Angeles City, and for large scale trafficking for prostitution and rape both in Cebu City. In all three, the accused were sentenced to life imprisonment and reclusion perpetua,” he pointed out. Earlier, Marquez said Chief Justice Peralta had authorized the continuation of video conferencing on cases involving PDLs and children in conflict with the law (CCWL). PDLs are those charged in court with criminal offenses and violations of city and municipal ordinances and are detained while petitioning to post bail, attending hearings, and awaiting the decisions on their cases. A CCWL is “anyone under 18 who comes into contact with the justice system as a result of being suspected or accused of committing an offence.” Video conferencing will enable suspects in criminal cases to testify and be cross-examined right inside their detention cells. “If a party wishes that a testimony of a witness be heard via video conferencing, the proper motion just needs to be filed in court, and the judge, using his or her sound discretion, can either grant or deny the motion,” Marquez said. “If a party wishes that a testimony of a witness be heard via video conferencing, the proper motion just needs to be filed in court, and the judge, using his or her sound discretion, can either grant or deny the motion,” Marquez said.