MANILA, Philippines - Chief Justice Renato Corona has urged the five sectors of the justice system to coordinate actions to improve efficiency in the system.
These five sectors are the courts, prosecution, enforcement, correction, and rehabilitation.
“This coordinated approach is the answer to our continuing problems,” Corona said in a speech delivered at the 1st National Criminal Justice Summit held at the Manila Hotel last Dec. 5.
The Philippine justice system is a complex network of government agencies in charge of resolving disputes, investigating crimes, prosecuting suspects, as well as correction and rehabilitation of offenders.
Corona said attaining coordination among the agencies involved in the justice system will take a lot of time and effort.
Delegates to the justice summit pledged their commitment to the justice reform agenda. Corona said this is a small step towards accomplishing their collective goals.
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Corona said that despite the introduction of reforms into the system, issues that weaken the justice system still have to be addressed.
He listed among these the delays in the resolution of cases, perceived graft and corruption, weak institutional systems, poor court technologies and facilities, inadequate human resource development programs and perceived limited access to justice by the poor.
Corona said these problems can be solved through proper coordination among agencies involved.
“The answer, I believe, can be inferred from the success of the Judgment Day and EJOW Program. To make this inference, all we need to do is figure out the factors which made such projects successful, and then ascertain what the justice sector ultimately needs. The answer, fellow stakeholders in the justice sector, is quite simple,” said Corona. – With Michael Punongbayan
