Pioneering program helps vendors, SMEs get easy access to legal system

MANILA, Philippines - When one talks about the country’s legal system, the words “tedious” and “frustrating” come to mind.

Indeed, the wheels of justice grind excruciatingly slow that there are times when aggrieved parties just shrug their shoulders in frustration over small cases.

For how could they not? When the process is slow, legal fee expenses and logistics costs pile up, surpassing the actual damages sought by the petitioner.

Because of these problems, the Supreme Court launched in 2008 the Small Claims Court Pilot Project, a project that aims to improve access of the poor to justice.

Then Chief Justice Reynato Puno envisioned the project to shorten “the distance between our dream of justice for the poor and the cruel reality on the ground.”

Four years since the High Tribunal launched the project, Court Administrator Midas Marquez said the landmark initiative has been helping a lot of small claimants including small businesses, vendors and rural banks that have been aggrieved by clients.

 “We launched this with the marginalized sector in mind. We looked at issues confronting the marginalized sector and one of the problems was access to the justice system,” Marquez told The Star in a recent interview.

Since the project was launched, the Supreme Court has been able to help vendors, small businesses and rural banks among others.

The project did not happen overnight.

The program is a pioneering effort of the United States Agency for International Development through the American Bar Association (ABA) Rule of Law Initiative with the aim of improving access to justice for indigent Filipinos.

Marquez said in 2007, the Supreme Court, with the support of the ABA constituted a Technical Working Group composed of various officials of the High Court, select judges and a representative of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines was formed to develop special rules of procedure to govern small claims cases; to formulate specific criteria, designate certain first level courts as pilot small claims courts, and establish monetary limits for small claims cases; to train judges and court personnel of pilot courts through the Philippine Judicial Academy and to integrate the pilot project with the Enhanced Justice on Wheels Program.

From October 2008 to June 2009, more than one third or 37 percent of the cases were settled amicably, data from the Supreme Court showed.

Marquez said that after over a year of pilot testing and some 5,713 small claims cases later, the Supreme Court En Banc promulgated the Amended Rule of Procedure for Small Claims Cases, which became effective nationwide last March 18, 2010.

To date, the Small Claims Court has a total  load of 7,478 cases.

Basically, under the program, the Small Claims Court can hear and decide claims amounting to P100,000 and below, excluding interests and costs.

Furthermore, under the program, cases in this court can proceed without lawyers.

 “Ordinary litigants can prosecute and defend a Small Claims Case without the participation of lawyers,” Marquez said.

According to the program, there are four steps involved in the settlement of cases in the Small Claims Courts.

In a statement, the Supreme Court said the first step involves the filing of documents, pieces of evidence and affidavit at the Clerk of Court at the respective municipality that has jurisdiction over the case. The claimant must pay the P1,000 fee per claim for indigents but additional fees may be charged for non-indigent.

The third step is that the claimant must wait for the “summons of hearing” which will be raffled off by the court.

Once called, the claimant should appear before the designated Small Claims Court on the hearing date for the final decision and settlement mandated by the judge, the Supreme Court also said.

 “Most Filipinos have a misconception that taking disputes to court is time-consuming and costly, and thus, justice is only afforded to the affluent. In the Small Claims Court, the process is simple, the settlement is done face-to-face and justice is achieved quickly,” Marquez said.

The Small Claims Court Project sought to address this problem.

In the Small Claims Courts, judges pass decisions based on facts presented and evidence elicited in a single hearing. Prior to the hearing the case on merit, judges attempt go convince parties to arrive at an amicable settlement in the barangay as decisions made through the Small Claims Courts are final and cannot be appealed.

Marquez said all first level courts, which include Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial courts in Cities and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts are designated as Small Claims Courts.

Indeed, if the project succeeds the way it was envisioned, it truly is a a dream come true especially in the real world where justice is elusive for many, especially indigents.