In my previous blogs, I posted a letter of mine addressed to the Chief Justice Reynato Puno (who was then a senior associate justice) containing the results of my researches on the intent of the judiciary to study the application of the native Filipino language in all court proceedings in the Philippines.
At that time, he was tasked by the Supreme Court to head the committee that would study the application of Filipino in Philippine court proceedings.
I sent the letter to him as a free service of the Las Pinas City Bar Association (LPBA), Inc., which I founded in 2001, to aid his committee in its aforecited task.
It is one of the corporate objectives of the LPBA to actively participate in all major deliberations and advocacies involving the rule of law and the improvement of the justice system in the Philippines.
The other day I was gladdened by the fact that in the Tagalog province of Bulacan, through the efforts of Tagalog-speaking judges in that province, the plan to pilot test the application and use of Filipino in the courts in that province has started to be implemented.
Below is a news item on the matter.
I invite the comments of my readers on the issue of whether or not it is wise, useful, and practical to use Filipino (and major regional dialects, for that matter, e.g., Bisaya, Ilongo, Waray, Bicolano, Ilocano) in court proceedings and legal instruments, and what procedural and substantive rules to apply and observe thereon.
Feel free to post your comments.
This issue is one important topic that that must explored and debated well by all Filipinos (not only by jurists and academicians) because it concerns all of us as one nation-state and because it has long-term effects on the equitable and effective operation of the justice system of the country and the fulfillment of the constitutional provision on access to justice by the poor, the oppressed, and the ignorant who compose the great majority of Philippine society.
Here is the news item on the matter.
MALOLOS CITY , Philippines – The use of the national language in court proceedings gained further foothold in Bulacan as legal judges, lawyers and other court employees underwent a training seminar yesterday.
Aimed at the full implementation of the use of Filipino language in regular court trials next year, the training seminar was initiated by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Bulacan chapter in collaboration with Philippine Judicial Academy and the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
The training seminar is dubbed as “Pagsasanay ng mga Hukom Ukol sa Paggamit ng Wikang Pilipino sa Hukuman.”
Lawyer Renato Samonte, the president of IBP-Bulacan chapter said the seminar was designed to prepare judges, lawyers and even court stenographers.
He said they planned to pilot the project in seven regional trial courts here and in the municipal trial court in Guiguinto, Bulacan.
This was affirmed by leading proponents on the use of the Filipino language in court proceedings like retired Justice Jose dela Rama, the coordinator of the PHILJA sub-committee on the Use of Flipino Language in Court Proceedings, and retired Judge Cezar Peralejo.
As a former judge in Makati RTC, Dela Rama is best remembered when he penned his ruling in Filipino on the libel case filed by the late President Corazon Aquino against the late STAR publisher Maximo Soliven and late STAR columnist Louie Beltran.
On the other hand, Peralejo has published a legal dictionary in Filipino which he said will greatly help court workers in the use of Filipino in court proceediongs.
Two years ago, Dela Rama initiated the use of Filipino in a criminal case proceedings at the sala of Judge Manuel Siayngco here.
He also initiated the use of the national language during lectures at the Marcelo H. Del Pilar Law School in the Bulacan State University here early this year by doing the lecture himself.
Dela Rama is aided by former Judge Hermin Arceo, who also delivered a lecture on Constitutional Law in Filipino.
Like Dela Rama, Arceo is a Bulakeñyo who have translated the 1992 Local Government Code into Filipino.
See:
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=525486&publicationSubCategoryId=67