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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Guevarra hopes more regional DOJ Action Centers are set up

Guevarra hopes more regional DOJ Action Centers are set up

Published Mar 27, 2022 12:35 pm

Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra

Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra on Sunday, March 27, expressed hope that more regional offices of the Department of Justice Action Center (DOJAC) would be set up by the new administration.

“The DOJAC regional offices bring justice closer to the people,” said Guevarra who attended last March 24 the launching of the fifth DOJAC in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija for Region III.

He said that in 1985 DOJAC was set up “to provide assistance and speed up actions on the concerns of the people especially those from the marginalized sectors of our society.”

DOJAC

“DOJAC attends to and acts upon written, phone in and walk in requests for legal assistance by the ordinary Filipino especially on pending transactions with different agencies of the government.” he noted.

“DOJAC has also expanded its services to provide mediation for disputants to resolve conflicts before they escalate further,” he added.

A total of 16,105 clients was served by four DOJAC regional offices in 2021, he said.

“I hope the next SOJ (secretary of justice) carry on this meaningful program,” he stressed.

The four other DOJACs are in Region X in Cagayan de Oro City which was opened on March 6, 2020; DOJAC Region XI in Davao City, Nov. 25, 2020; DOJAC Region VII in Cebu City, Nov. 15, 2021; and DOJAC Region I in San Fernando City, La Union, March 8, 2022.

In his speech during the launching of DOJAC Region III, Guevarra said there have been plans to shut down DOJACs.

“In fact, prior to my assumption as justice secretary, the dissolution of DOJAC was already in the pipeline,” said Guevarra who was appointed by President Duterte as justice secretary in 2018.

He said that in 2005, “a directive to constitute and replicate DOJAC services in the regions was issued to the regional prosecutors.”

“However, the absence of a physical space to house the project proved an important obstacle then as people remained reluctant to discuss their legal concerns and needs in spaces that did not guarantee a sense of privacy or security in the bare minimum,” he said.

“This reluctance and the low availment of DOJAC services forced many into the conclusion that DOJAC was no longer relevant,” he added.

He pointed out that when assumed the DOJ post he “worked to improve to a great extent DOJAC’s frontline service of our people who were then underserved and immediately I resolved to regionalize DOJAC.”

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