Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo underscored the “tremendous task” of officials and personnel of the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) in the supervision of 3,734 trial courts, including Shari’ah courts, nationwide.
In his message during OCA’s 47th anniversary celebration on Friday, Nov. 18, Gesmundo said that “while every court has its own problems distinct from each other, the best solution for these does not come quick and easy.”
“These problems should never be a reason for inadequacy and inefficiency; instead, these should even impel the Philippine Judiciary towards more zealous action, cognizant of the opportunity given to not only improve court services, but through it, better the administration of justice as well,” he said.
“To accept the way it has always been done is a curse. To see things as a challenge is a blessing,” the Chief Justice said as he stressed that the Supreme Court struggled to find a solution to strike a balance between performing its mandated tasks and maintaining the safety of court employees and court users throughout the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The summary of Gesmundo’s speech and photos during the celebration were provided to the media by the SC’s public information office (PIO).
Also in his message, Gesmundo rallied OCA officials and personnel “to keep up with technological advancements to better its services to the judges, lower court employee, and court users.”
He also underscored the collective determination of the judiciary to overcome the present challenges through the five-year Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations which is “a consolidation of ideas, aspirations, plans and proposals for the pursuit of one primary goal: the delivery of responsive and real-time justice.”
“We cannot overemphasize that the SPJI is necessary to reinvigorate and retool the judicial system. The Court must be proactive and innovative at this time of greater uncertainties and challenges. We must adapt our mindset to new realities and optimize technology to improve the administration of justice,” he said.
He pointed out that “most of the projects the SC implemented or will implement through the OCA.”
He commended OCA for visiting the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City on Thursday, Nov. 17. During the visit, OCA officials and personnel, led by Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva, listened to the concerns of the inmates and distributed health and hygiene kits.
Court Administrator Villanueva expressed his gratitude to all OCA
officials and employees for their hard work.
For his part, Associate Justice Jose Midas P. Marquez, who served as Court Administrator prior to his promotion to the SC, rallied everyone to continue working hard to best serve the constituents of OCA ― the judges, lower court personnel, and court users.
Justice Marquez said: “Do your best to make the lives the judges and court personnel more pleasant, if not easier for them. Let’s keep working. Let’s do our best so that we can serve our constituents more efficiently and more effectively.”
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