Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo has challenged the Sandiganbayan to adopt modern technology quickly to enhance its mandate of dispensing justice swiftly and efficiently.
Gesmundo joined the Sandiganbayan justices, court officials and employees online in the celebration last Friday, July 1, of the anti-graft court’s 44th founding anniversary.
He said that through the use of technology, “the Judiciary is gearing up not only for this pandemic but also for the future.”
“We are making use of technological advancements to make sure that, regardless of the situation, the courts can continue with its duty of dispensing justice to all, swiftly and efficiently.”
Chief Justice Gesmundo was a Sandiganbayan associate justice for 12 years until 2017 before his promotion to the Supreme Court (SC) as associate justice and then as head of the entire judiciary starting April 5, 2021.
In his message, Gesmundo pointed out the SC’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations (SPJI) 2022-2027.
He said SPJI “is a plan guided by an Innovation Agenda to review and assess the organizational structure and operations of the various offices of the Judiciary, and to develop and establish an information and communication technology infrastructure for the Philippine Judiciary.”
He stressed that SPJI “is founded on four guiding principles: Timely and Fair Justice, Transparent and Accountable Justice, Equal and Inclusive Justice, and Technologically Adaptive Management.”
“These principles will help the Judiciary in achieving three outcomes: Efficiency, Innovation, and Access,” he said.