BAGUIO CITY – The ninth Justice Zone (JZ) in the country was launched at the Convention Center here on Friday, June 24, and is expected to be fully digitized with the assistance of the city’s Smart City project.
Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo led the JZ launching together with Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra and Local Government Secretary Eduardo M. Año
The JZs in the country are projects of the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) composed of the Supreme Court (SC), Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
They were created starting in 2010 “to serve as a joint forum for dialogue on issues of common interest and mechanism for effective coordination and sharing of information in support of planning and implementation of joint initiatives among justice sector institutions specifically the SC, the DOJ, and the DILG.”
The eight other JZs are in Quezon City, Cebu City, Davao City, Angeles City, Bacolod City, Naga City, Calamba City, and Balanga City.
Chief Justice Gesmundo said the judiciary is on its way to full digitization of court processes to speed up the administration of justice.
Gesmundo said the Baguio City Smart City project is poised to help the JZ with the city’s digital infrastructure already in place.
Secretary Año said the slow dispensation of justice in the country is being exploited by anti-government and armed groups to recruit the disenfranchised individuals to their cause.
With the first justice zone in the Cordillera particularly in Baguio City, Año said it will redress such grievances and help in stemming down recruitment.
Secretary Guevarra, on the other hand, said the combined efforts of the five pillars of justice -- law enforcement, prosecution, judiciary, penology, and the community -- “as one integrated system” under the justice zone areas in the country proved that a holistic approach is very effective in speeding court resolutions and eliminating case backlogs in these areas.
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said that the Smart City Project is ready and capable of hosting the digital requirements of JZ.
He gave a tour to Gesmundo, Guevarra and Año in the Baguio Command Center in the basement of the Baguio Convention Center where the Justice Zone ceremonies took place.
Baguio-Benguet Integrated Bar Philippines (IBP) President Atty. Jose Molintas Jr. said that as a private practitioner he has some suggestions to help streamline e-court processes.
City Prosecutor Conrado Catral said that the new JSCC Justice Zone in the city will help litigants in cases pending courts.
Officer-In-Charge (OIC) City Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) Atty. Juliet Camoyot said that the establishment of the JZ will greatly help their poor clients save money because of the digitization of court processes.