The Supreme Court (SC) has started briefing the country’s trial court judges on their roles as frontliners in the implementation of the five-year Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations (SPJI) during a workshop held at the Manila Hotel.
Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo had said that SPJI for 2022 to 2027 is anchored on four guiding principles -- timely and fair justice, transparent and accountable justice, equal and inclusive justice, and technologically adaptive management -- to achieve three outcomes – efficiency, innovation, and access.
During the Oct. 26 and 27 Manila Hotel workshop conducted through the Governance in Justice (GOJUST), the judges -- led by Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva -- conducted an extensive discussion of the SPJI.
The SC’s public information office (PIO) said that as part of the High Court’s efforts to build and enhance the capacity of the lower courts as the SPJI’s frontliners, the participants were oriented on basic concepts and tools on process mapping and analysis, data management and analytics to improve existing processes such as hiring, procurement, and retirement.
It said that in addition to increasing awareness on the SPJI and building the capacity of the lower courts, the workshop was also intended to apply the participants’ inputs and recommendations on the courts of Angeles City, Calamba City, and Makati City as pilot projects.
In his opening remarks during the workshop, Chief Justice Gesmundo encouraged the participants to implement the SPJI “with a sense of urgency and a sense of mission, underscoring that the mission is not impossible, but is doable and achievable if the entire Judiciary works together.”
In his earlier speech before the convention of the Philippine Judges Association (PJA), Gesmundo underscored the role of the judges in the success of the SPJI which he described as “our blueprint for action in the next five years.”
Without the support of judges, Gesmundo said “reforms will not last; they will not even take root.”
“Our aim, then, is to raise awareness about our vision and strategies among the Judiciary, and to convert as many stakeholders as we can—turning them from acquiescent observers and passive beneficiaries into invested and proactive participants,” he stressed.
He pointed out that attempts at judicial reform have proven that the work does not end in changing tools and processes, but can be sustained only if coupled with a “change in mindset, in attitude, in perspective of our people: our judges, our officials, our personnel, and our court users.”
During the Manila Hotel workshop, SC Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh presented and discussed the highlights of the SPJI to guide the participants in formulating their recommendations.
SC Associate Justices Jhosep Y. Lopez and Jose Midas P. Marquez also attended the workshop.
The judiciary’s SPJI is also being tackled by the SC in its Ethics Caravan on information and consultation drive for the proposed Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA).
The CPRA is the proposed set of rules on the ethical conduct and accountability of lawyers in the practice of law. It would amend the 34 -year-old Code of Professional Responsibility (CPR) of lawyers.
The first caravan was held in Cebu City last September. The Davao City caravan was held last Oct. 25. The same caravans will also be held in Naga City, Baguio City, and in the National Capital Region.
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