Sereno confident project will declog Cebu courts

CEBU, Philippines - Supreme Court Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno yesterday said that with the introduction of  case decongestion project Hustisyeah!, the current 38,000 cases backlog in Cebu would be reduced by at least 30 percent, or down to 26,600 pending cases.

Speaking before over 2,000 lawyers during the 15th Integrated Bar of the Philippines National Convention, she said that Hustisyeah! does away with the registered mail only requirement, allowing the use of private courier for faster delivery of documents.

This, as Vice President Jejomar Binay urged the IBP members to consider joining the new administration that will take over in 2016.

Binay has long announced his intent to run for president in the 2016 elections.

“I know that many of you are engaged in lucrative law practice at the moment and that a decent and upright stint in government can mean a diminution of your income.  But I entreat you to consider a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be of service to our people and country and make your mark in a historic quest to raise this nation to great heights of achievement,” he said.

“Certainly, the Philippine bar must look forward to a big role to play in 2016 and beyond as we sound the clarion call for lawyers to be effective partners in economic growth and nation building,” he added.

The vice president likewise relayed to the lawyers his vision for the country.

“I see a great country that is prosperous, peaceful and orderly, efficiently governed, where people are cared for and provided with all opportunities to become meaningful and productive citizens, and truly respected in the community of nations as a strong and independent sovereign state,” Binay said.

“I see a proud Filipino nation capable of standing up for its rights, freedoms, and honor, whose voice resonates in the Asian continent, if not the world stage. I see a just and decent society that we can bequeath as legacy to the generations to come,” he added.

He also underscored the need to raise quality of the Bar, as he called on the lawyers not to lose sight of the nature of law as a profession

“Members of the bar must live and work by the highest ethical standards.  Not for an instance should a lawyer condone perjury by a client or give counsel that would break or circumvent the law to gain advantage in litigation,” he said.

“Individually we must endeavor to become a trusted counselor, an efficient provider of expert and professional advice, an able partner with the courts in the delivery of justice, a respectable member of our community.  Collectively, we must work to become a force for good and positive change.  In this way, we will be able to restore the prestigious image of the lawyer, shore up the public’s trust, and regain society’s admiration,” he added.

Binay said the IBP should devise a system that monitors the performance of practitioners in terms of their competence, integrity, and ethical conduct.

Sereno, on the other hand, said the five-phase Hustisyeah project targets to make an inventory of cases in participating courts; make a case inventory; formulate a case decongestion plan, which the judges have to approved; implement the plan; and make a final report on the results of the implementation.

She likewise appealed for the lawyers to actively participate in the project as the SC finds ways to make the dispensation of justice efficient, effective, fair and responsive.

She said she wanted to hear more good stories about lawyers from the public.

“Plan a future wherein lawyers can hold their heads up and no longer a subject of sorry jokes about malpractice,” Sereno said.

She went on to speak about judicial reforms implemented under her administration like the electronic-court or e-court, wherein the filing of pleadings and complaints, among others, is done electronically, and all courts are linked for proper monitoring of cases.

Another reform Sereno instituted is the electronic cash or electronic assessment, wherein payment of court fees and raffling of cases are done electronically, eliminating human interaction and intervention.

Sereno added they are taking advantage of available technology to help make the judges and as well as the lawyers’ job easier and convenience. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/RHM (FREEMAN)