The Supreme Court (SC) has streamlined the investigation of administrative complaints against members of the judiciary and its personnel with the reorganization of its Judicial Integrity Board (JIB) into the Judicial Integrity Office (JIO).

The JIO now has the power to conduct fact-finding investigations and to recommend the appropriate penalties or clemency under the law against the presiding justices and associate justices of the Court of Appeals, the Sandiganbayan, the Court of Tax Appeals and the Shari'ah High Court.

It also has jurisdiction over judges of all trial courts, including Shari'ah district and circuit courts; officials and employees of all courts, including the SC; and officials and employees of all offices under the supervision of the SC -- the Office of the Court Administrator, Philippine Judicial Academy, Judicial and Bar Council, Mandatory Continuing Legal Education, and Office of the Judiciary Marshals.

The JIO will directly receive administrative complaints. Any complaint received by a court or office under the judiciary must be immediately referred to the JIO for evaluation.

However, administrative complaints against SC justices, whether anonymous or not, will be referred to the SC’ Ethics Committee.

At the same time, the JIO can also initiate complaints on its own or upon the SC’s directive, or through referrals from agencies such as the Civil Service Commission, the Commission on Audit, the Office of the Ombudsman, or the Department of Justice.

Headed by the judicial integrity officer, the JIO will evaluate all complaints and submit a report and recommendation to the SC.

It has authority to issue subpoenas for witnesses and documents, and may recommend the preventive suspension of respondents during investigations.

For less serious or light offenses involving parties within the same office, branch, or court, the JIO mandates that its judicial integrity officer, before a case is assigned a docket number, will refer the complaints for mandatory grievance conference.

The reorganization of JIB into JIO was contained in a resolution written by Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho Jr. and approved by the SC as a full court under Administrative Matter No. 23-12-05-SC.

In a press statement issued by its Office of the Spokesperson, the SC said the creation of the JIO is part of the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI), which includes enhancing the JIB’s capacity and processes.

It said that since the JIB was established in 2020, the SC conducted an organizational assessment and process mapping to evaluate its structure, functions, and management.

Based on these findings, a Technical Working Group (TWG) recommended the creation of the JIO which replaced the five-member with a single judicial integrity officer appointed by the SC.

The judicial integrity officer will serve a four-year term and may be reappointed once. A new officer may also be appointed upon the retirement of the incumbent Chief Justice, based on the recommendation of the incoming Chief Justice.

The qualifications of the judicial integrity officer are: at least 45 years old, having at least 15 years of legal practice, and possessing relevant experience in investigating and evaluating administrative complaints.

The officer must not be related within the third degree to any incumbent justice of the tertiary courts (appellate courts), any trial court judge, or any official or employee of the judiciary.

The SC said that during the transition period, the acting JIB chairperson shall function as the judicial integrity officer, while the remaining regular members shall serve as consultants to the judicial integrity officer, until their current terms end.

The current personnel of the JIB shall be transferred to the JIO until the JIO’s staffing pattern is approved.

Under the Constitution, the SC has administrative supervision over all courts and their personnel, and the SC, as a full court, has the power to discipline judges of lower courts, including their dismissal.

In approving the resolution that created the JIO, the SC said: “The Court will not hesitate to rid its ranks of undesirables who undermine its efforts towards an effective and efficient administration of justice, thus tainting its image in the eyes of the public.”