The Supreme Court (SC) now has a One-Stop-Shop in a new building where the filing of initiatory and subsequent pleadings, and payment of court fees can be done without going to different offices.
The new building located at the gate of the SC’s offices on Padre Paura Street in Ermita, Manila houses under one roof the functions of the Judicial Records Office (JRO), Fiscal Management and Budget Office (FMBO-Cashier), and the Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC).
The SC said an innovation introduced by the One-Stop-Shop is the inclusion of an area for the OBC for receiving requests for various certifications, such as those for bar membership, bar ratings, good standing (no pending case), verification, and bar examinations abroad, as well as for receiving administrative cases and complaints against lawyers. It will also add windows during “bar season” to accommodate the number of bar applicants and candidates.
It said the building was set up due to the need for a more systematic, organized, and efficient workflow of court processes in the frontlines.
A most welcome addition are the FMBO-Cashier windows on site. This had been a constant source of frustration for court filers in the past as they would have to go all the way to the old building to pay the necessary fees to beat the 4:30 pm cut off, it also said.
With the new One-Stop-Shop, filers are served promptly with the added convenience of the Judiciary e-Payment System (JePS), it added.
The One-Stop-Shop is part of the SC’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations’ (SPJI) to push for efficiency, innovation, and access by centralizing the frontlines, digitizing the processes, and addressing the public’s concerns all in one stop.