USAID launches new project to enhance Phl judicial system

MANILA, Philippines - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has again extended a helping hand to Manila in the Philippine government’s bid to reform the judiciary.

The USAID, through the US embassy in Manila, launched a new project with the Supreme Court (SC) aimed at enhancing confidence in the country’s judicial system through more efficient and timely settlement of court cases.

USAID assistant administrator Eric Postel, mission director for the Philippines Gloria Steele, and Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno signed the memorandum of intent for the project, dubbed Judicial Strengthening for Court Effectiveness or JUSTICE at the SC session hall last Wednesday.

The deal was forged in affirmation of the mutual commitment of the SC and USAID to advance judicial efficiency, predictability, integrity and effectiveness in pursuit of the objectives of the Partnership for Growth.

“This new project is in line with the US-Philippines Partnership for Growth initiative, which aims to advance inclusive economic growth in the country by addressing the most serious constraints to growth,” Postel said in a statement released by the US embassy.

Launched in November 2011 by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, the Partnership for Growth provides a new framework for deepening and strengthening bilateral engagement between the Philippines and the US government to accelerate inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

The JUSTICE project will assist in the application of case management technologies and procedural and operational measures to decongest courts. It will also support efforts to improve judicial integrity and strengthen contract and intellectual property enforcement.

A study co-authored by Sereno in 2007 cited judicial efficiency as a major impediment to the country’s competitiveness, with 84 percent of corporations surveyed citing that court delay was their main consideration in deciding not to invest in the country.

US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. also hailed the project.

“The JUSTICE project is exactly the type of cooperation we are seeking to increase under the Partnership for Growth. This project will have real, tangible consequences and will benefit citizens of both of our countries,” he said.