CJ Gesmundo Underscores Importance of Trial Court Employees in the Administration of Justice
February 24, 2023
Supreme Court Justices and officials, led by Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo (seated, center), pose for posterity with the national and regional officers of the Judicial Court Clerks Association of the Philippines (JCCAP) during the second day of JCCAP’s 13th National Convention held at the Grand Astoria Hotel in Zamboanga City on February 23, 2023. The Chief Justice is joined by (seated, from left) Assistant Court Administrator Maria Regina Adoracion Filomena M. Ignacio; Justice Antonio T. Kho, Jr.; Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez; Justice Jose Midas P. Marquez; Deputy Court Administrator Leo M. Madrazo; and Assistant Court Administrator Lilian C. Barribal-Co. Not in picture are Assistant Court Administrator and Public Information Office Chief Brian Keith F. Hosaka and Deputy Clerk of Court and Chief Technology Officer Jed Sherwin G. Uy. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)
“Let me tell you that every employee in the Judiciary is important to us. No distinction as to what position or level you are in the Judiciary.”
Thus said Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo, as he addressed almost 4,000 court clerks from the first-level, second-level, and Shari’ah courts nationwide during the second day of the 13th National Convention of the Judicial Court Clerks Association of the Philippines, Inc. (JCCAP) at the Grand Astoria Hotel in Zamboanga City on February 23, 2023.
In his keynote, the Chief Justice shared that as far as he and the Justices are concerned, “those people working in the trial courts are the most crucial in the administration of justice.”
“You are the first contact of people transacting in the courts regarding their cases,” said Chief Justice Gesmundo, adding that it is important that the trial court employees of whatever rank or position “must be able to reflect the kind of judicial service that we want to give our people. If people are dissatisfied in their first contact with the trial court, it reflects on us.”
The Chief Justice likewise highlighted the importance of the Supreme Court’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027, or SPJI.
The SPJI is a plan powered by an Innovation Agenda to review and assess the organizational structure and operations of the various offices of the judiciary, and to develop and establish its information and communications technology infrastructure.
“We cannot overemphasize that the SPJI is necessary to reinvigorate and retool the judicial system. The Court must consistently be proactive and continuously innovate especially at this time of greater uncertainties and challenges,” said the Chief Justice.
He assured the JCCAP that the institution of reforms in the courts means ensuring everyone’s progress.
“These innovations are not meant to supplant us, but to support us, to empower us to unleash our potential for more effective and more meaningful work,” emphasized the Chief Justice. “We are transforming our processes not simply to tinker with them, but to free those who work in the judiciary from the shackles of bureaucracy that limit their productivity, so that they may be empowered to lead happier and healthier lives. Our reforms are as much for all the women and men of the judiciary as they are for the public we serve.”
The JCCAP (formerly known as the Judiciary Association of Clerks of the Philippines, or JACOPHIL) is the association of 3,966 judiciary clerks from all judicial regions nationwide.
Chief Justice Gesmundo was joined by Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez, Associate Justice Jose Midas P. Marquez, Associate Justice Antonio
T. Kho, Jr., Deputy Court Administrator Leo T. Madrazo, Assistant Court Administrator (ACA) Lilian C. Barribal-Co, ACA Maria Regina Adoracion Filomena M. Ignacio, ACA and Public Information Office Chief Brian Keith F. Hosaka, and Deputy Clerk of Court and Chief Technology Officer Jed Sherwin G. Uy.
Justice Marquez received a Special Recognition Award from the JCCAP “for his full and constant support to the JCCAP” as Court Administrator then and as a Member of the Supreme Court now.
During the program, ACA Barribal-Co gave a presentation on the four canons of the Code of Conduct for Court Personnel, which applies to all personnel in the Judiciary who are not Justices or judges, while ACA Ignacio discussed the various circulars and issuances of the Supreme Court relating to court proceedings during the pandemic. Atty. Jul-Ahmad J. Gaspar, Assistant Chief of the Management Information Systems Office of the Supreme Court, concluded the event by providing an overview of the innovations the Judiciary is undertaking through E-Court technology. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)
