Sandiganbayan nears full computerization

As part of the modernization program of the judiciary, the Sandiganbayan, the country’s special court that tries graft and plunder cases of corrupt government officials, will be fully computerized before the year ends, its presiding justice revealed yesterday.

"We hope that by the end of the year, the Sandiganbayan will be fully computerized," presiding Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro told prosecutors and lawyers of detained President Joseph Estrada as the court cancelled the trial from Aug. 22 to 31.

De Castro said that on the four trial dates (Aug. 22, 24, 29, 31) that the special division will not hear the Estrada plunder and perjury cases, the anti-graft court justices will be "busy" with their computer literacy training to be conducted by the Philippine Judicial Academy.

"Anyway, what we are doing will be to the advantage of everyone. The court will devote its time to other worthwhile activities," she said, denying the request of the Chief Special Prosecutor to reinstate the cancelled trial dates that they initially sought to call off.

Under the computerization program, the magistrate explained that there will be "expeditious disposition of cases to ensure that no cases will gather dust."

"The computers will even remind us that there are pending incidents," she said.

Lawyer Renato Bocar, chief of the legal division, said there will indeed be "red flags" for "off-track" cases, "green" for "adjusted" ones and "black" for "on-track" cases." He explained through that they have no specific time frame for a case to be decided.

The computerization of the Sandiganbayan, he said, is "sponsored" by the US Agency for International Development (US-AID). It was patterned after the case-flow management that was pilot-tested in the regional trial courts in Pasay City.

"Fast-track" cases in Pasay courts are decided within six months. Average, or "standard" cases are disposed of in just eight months.

"In our case, we still have to study that," Bocar clarified.

As of June 2005, the Sandiganbayan has a total of 2,037 pending cases, both civil and criminal cases, which includes high-profile ones like the cases against Estrada and retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, who were both indicted for plunder, a non-bailable offense.

Before the end of this month (August), Bocar said 29 units of personal computers will be arriving, while the 57 other units will be coming on September, which may include laptops for 13 of the 15 Sandiganbayan justices.

There are two vacancies in the anti-graft court. Three magistrates are assigned to each of the five divisions.

Bocar likewise assured that there will be no streamlining of personnel since stenographers will still be around. He said they will only be backed up by a "computer-aided transcription" machine.

"The stenographic machine will be translated to the computer. Simultaneous to that there is a computer where the transcription will be read on the (computer) monitor. There will also be a monitor in the rostrum, so there is no more need to read back the questions," he said.