WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM OF
THE PHILIPPINES?
by: Marty P. Cachapero
I am a Branch Clerk of Court of a
Regional Trial Court in the province. As the Clerk of Court, I exercise general
administrative supervision over all the personnel of the branch and more
importantly, a partner of the judge in administering justice in the regional
level.
As an officer of the court, I am aware of
the various opinions of the people about the institution of which I am a part
of. I believe the popular
connotations about our judicial system are that it is ineffective, inefficient,
snail-paced, anti-poor, and most of all corrupt. We cannot entirely blame the
people for thinking in this manner. Perhaps they have their own experiences to
support their personal beliefs. But, it is also fair to say that the judiciary
should not entirely be held responsible for this. Party litigants, lawyers, and
prosecutors, share the fault as well. This is because litigants, lawyers, and
prosecutors are all partners of the judiciary in the proper delivery of
justice.
The ineffectiveness and inefficiency of
the justice system are mainly due to the complicated, expensive, and tedious
court processes. However, the Supreme Court, through the leadership of the
newly installed Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, is constantly reexamining
and introducing ingenious reforms in our court procedures, the latest of which
is the substitution of the entire direct examination of a witness to a mere
submission of a judicial affidavit of the said witness. This change is very
promising, and if executed properly, will result to a more effective,
efficient, inexpensive, and perhaps, expeditious resolution of cases.
The work, however, is not the sole
responsibility of the Judiciary. The other players – the lawyers and litigants
– have a part to perform. Lawyers need also to maintain a high degree of
professionalism and competence in the discharge of their duties to their
clients and to the court as well. Duties such as the genuinely advancing the
cause, and safeguarding the rights, of their clients, and the faithful
compliance, and avoidance of misuse, of court processes.
I have seen cases pending in court for
more than a decade. But a careful perusal of the record of these cases would
reveal that one of the reasons why these cases were dragged for such a long
time was because the lawyers and the litigants themselves were not vigilant
enough in pursuing their cases. Lawyers, particularly the prosecuting
attorneys, normally employ means to delay or prolong their cases, all of which
were designed to favor their clients. On the other hand, defense lawyers and
their clients lack the commitment to push for the early resolution of their
cases when there are available remedies at their disposal.
As for the claim of corruption in the
judiciary, a keen effort to end it must be initiated not only by the government
but by each and every one of us. If someone witnesses an incident of
corruption, one must have a strong conviction and brave disposition to report
it to concerned authorities. Also, if there is no one subscribing to
corruption, there will be no corrupt people in the judiciary.
I have been with the judiciary enough to
observe workings of our judicial system, and although there are various areas
that really need improvement, it is far from being a hopeless case. Work has to
be done though to gain the confidence of the people to our judicial system. All
what it takes is the strong and common effort of the judiciary, the lawyers,
and the people to make the judiciary great once again.
