With the end of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic “seems nowhere in sight,” Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo asked: “What does the future hold for our judicial system?”
Immediately after his appointment as head of the judiciary, Chief Justice Gesmundo stepped up the Supreme Court’s (SC) efforts to protect the health and safety of justices, judges, personnel and court users nationwide.
As implemented by his predecessor, retired Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta on whose term COVID started in March 2020, Chief Justice Gesmundo, who was appointed last April 5, directed courts to physically close in severely COVID infected areas, maintain skeleton workforce, utilize video conferencing in hearings and resolutions of cases, allow online filing of petitions and court-required pleadings and documents, and speed up vaccination of court officials and personnel.
Gesmundo was guest last Sept. 26 during the virtual celebration of the 60th founding anniversary of the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa).
Founded in 1961, the Philconsa is a non-stock and non-partisan organization dedicated to the preservation and defense of the Constitution.
Those who attended the virtual anniversary celebration were Philconsa President Emeritus and retired Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno; Philconsa Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Manuel M. Lazaro; Philconsa President and House of Representatives Majority Floor Leader Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez; and other officers and guests.
Gesmundo spelled out before Philconsa members and officers his plans, programs, and vision for the next five years that he will be the head of the judiciary.
With the help of his fellow justices in the SC, Gesmundo said his “court watch” will focus on two important programs -- case decongestion and a technology-driven judiciary. A summary of his speech was provided by the SC’s public information office (PIO).
SC’s jurisdiction is spelled out in the Constitution. But, Gesmundo lamented that “cases of every possible legal permutation have been filed before the Court in the guise of grave abuse of discretion.”
“However, ... even if some of the petitions are not given due course for being either procedurally or substantially flawed, they are given time -- studied, discussed, and voted upon by the Court -- before being denied or dismissed outright in a minute resolution. For this reason and many others, the docket of the Supreme Court has reached a record high 34 years into this Constitution,” he said.
Thus, he said, the SC has embarked on a Case Decongestion Program to decrease its backlog.
Internal rules have been amended to comply with the constitutional mandate of resolving cases within two years, he said.
Also, the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Rules of Criminal Procedure have been amended. Notably, on the Rules of Criminal Procedure, Gesmundo cited “the use by the police of body-worn cameras in the implementation of warrants, maintaining the delicate balance between the constitutional rights of persons involved and the efficient operations of law enforcement officers.”
The Chief Justice also highlighted to Philconsa the importance of selecting competent judges.
“The majesty of the Court is in the integrity of its magistrates and the wisdom of their decisions -- they, ever mindful of the impact these decisions, have, not only on the parties involved but also on society and the country, in general. The majesty of the Court lies in its devotion to render justice expeditiously, without fear or favor,” he stressed.
Gesmundo mentioned the Philippine Judicial Academy’s (PhilJa), the education arm of the SC, Prejudicature Program to determine the suitability of applicants to judiciary positions.
He also cited the creation of the Judicial Integrity Board (JIB), which has the exclusive jurisdiction to investigate judicial misconduct and recommend appropriate sanctions when proper.
“Composed of retired justices, the JIB assesses and evaluates disciplinary actions and conducts administrative investigations on members of the judiciary,” he said.
“But perhaps the most significant of all innovations the Court has introduced is involving our brothers in the legal profession to the solution of the problem,” the Chief Justice stressed.
He mentioned Rule 7, Section 3 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, which provides that the lawyer’s signature certifies upon the courts that the case is filed not for any improper purpose.
“By incorporating this in our Rules, we hope to put a stop to the abhorrent practice by lawyers of giving our people false hopes through the filing of cases which serve no other purpose but to clog the dockets of our courts. By doing so, we also hope to restore the waning trust of our people in the judicial system,” he said.
At the same time, the Chief Justice said the SC has started to review and assess the status of the Philippine legal education system through the approval of A.M. No. 19-03-24-SC regarding the Law Student Practice Rule, which now allows externship in courts as a means of complying with the Clinical Legal Education Program of the law school; and of the Revised Model Curriculum for Law Schools, which was prepared by the Legal Education Board so that the courses being offered in law schools would be responsive to the demands of law practice.
To respond to the challenges, Gesmundo expressed his intention to develop and establish an Information and Communication Technology infrastructure for the Philippine Judiciary.
He said: “I plan to set up an E-Court system to enhance court workflow processes and increase virtual access to the courts. This system hopes to cover the whole process from the filing of complaints to the promulgation and execution of judgments.”
The components of Gesmundo’s envisioned technological advancement in the courts:
- Creation of SC portal with links to the different courts for the filing of pleadings and the conduct of online hearings.
- Utilization in the lower courts of the Philippine Judiciary 365 platform, which is a modern workplace productivity solution which allows court employees to collaborate with each other.
- Judiciary ePayment Solution, which will allow litigants to directly pay court fees online using credit card, online banking, digital wallet, among other modes and channels of payment.
- Management System, which allows magistrates, court officials, and employees to access and/or attend courses at their most convenient time, whether in the office or in the comfort of their homes.
- eCourt Project Version 2, which aims to utilize technological innovations that will enhance workflow processes and mechanisms.
- Organizational Review Project of the Judiciary, which will review and assess the organizational structures and internal workflow processes of the different judiciary offices and agencies, their standard operating procedures, staffing pattern, as well as the underlying competency framework.
Gesmundo also highlighted to Philconsa the full use of technology in the judiciary’s processes in the coming localized and digitized 2020/2021 Bar Examinations.
“For starters, the Court allows the online submission of Bar Exam applications and the electronic payment of Bar Exam fees. And as to the exam format, there shall be online but proctored bar exams,” he said.
However, the bar examinations set for November this year have been postponed to Jan. and Feb. 2022 for the safety of examinees and bar personnel due to the rising COVID-19 cases in the country.
“Surely, technology will play a very important role in our court system so we must be ready to adapt and improve ourselves on this aspect. To this end, we exhort not only our Justices, judges, and court employees, but also the members of the legal profession to adapt to technology so the Court can best continue with its duty of dispensing justice swiftly,” he said.
“These are just some of the programs I plan to embark on during my term as Chief Justice. Definitely, the Court will no longer go back to the time of crowded courthouses, case delays and docket congestion, and lack of access to the justice system. Truly, the Court has been relentless in finding solutions to the problems afflicting our judicial system,” he stressed.
Reiterating his question at the start of his speech, Gesmundo said:
“So ‘what does the future hold for our judicial system?’ Well, I have expressed only our part. I leave you to reflect on yours, so together we can hopefully find an answer reflective of our common goals and aspirations.”