JSCC Convenes Quezon City Leg of Justice Zone Dialogue Series
January 31, 2023
The establishment of Justice Zones nationwide has come full circle, with the convening of the Quezon City leg of the Justice Zone Dialogue Series by the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) on January 27, 2023 at the University of Santo Tomas.
Led by the principals of the JSCC—Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin D. Remulla, and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary for Peace and Order Oscar F. Valenzuela—the fifth and final leg of the dialogue series saw the representatives of the three component agencies of the JSCC reaffirm their commitment to strengthen the coordination among their agencies to address the concerns of the justice sector.
Noting that the first ever Justice Zone in the country was launched in Quezon City in 2014, Chief Justice Gesmundo said that the sector-wide approach to the delivery of justice “was the innovative solution that the JSCC devised to address the perennial problems of delay and congestion in the government agencies that are counted as pillars in the criminal justice system, including the courts.”
Chief Justice Gesmundo remarked that the JSCC has provided a ready venue unhampered by the usual bureaucratic roadblocks to discuss and address cross-cutting issues that affect the delivery of justice services to Filipinos.
“And this is what is mirrored in our Justice Zones,” he said, adding that more sector activities which highlight the cooperation among all the justice stakeholders can now be seen.
The Chief Justice emphasized that JSCC continues to break down barriers. “I think there can be no better example of this than the initiative of the Honorable Secretary of Justice to push for what has been in our Justice Zone Map of proposed sector activities since 2014, and that is the Joint Case Build- up to be conducted by the prosecutors and the law enforcers. Now the prosecutors are going to take an active part in the case build-up, a task previously exclusively assigned only to our law enforcers. For this groundbreaking initiative, we thank Secretary Remulla.”
Chief Justice Gesmundo likewise shared that the JSCC will continue to establish other Justice Zones this year, the first of which will be the one in Zamboanga City. This will be the first Specialty Justice Zone, focusing on the most pressing problem in the community that necessitates justice sector interventions. “The Zamboanga City Justice Zone will be the pilot site for our Victim-Sensitive Courts Program, which will involve sector capacity building for judges, prosecutors, public attorneys, law enforcers, and social workers on the victim-sensitive handling of criminal cases, particularly in human trafficking cases,” disclosed the Chief Justice.
On the part of the DOJ, Secretary Remulla shared updates regarding the efforts of the Department and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to regionalize the jails in the country, revealing that the BuCor and the DOJ have started transferring persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) from the heavily congested New Bilibid Prison to BuCor’s facilities in other regions which are less congested.
“This regionalization is but the start of the forward, with the intent of bringing PDLs closer to their families and relatives who are undoubtedly their support systems towards reformation and ultimately, community reintegration,” he said, adding that the BuCor on January 23, 2023 released an additional 340 PDLs.
Secretary Remulla also said that “since we assumed office in July last year, or in a matter of less than seven months, the number of PDLs releases has reached a total of 4,124,” adding that the President of the Philippines fully supports the DOJ’s endeavor of regularly releasing PDLs and has, in fact, “directed the Department to continue processing PDLs who are qualified for parole in an effort to continually decongest our jails.”
“These efforts to decongest our prisons are of vital importance to us, as it remains part of the Department’s efforts to promote and protect human rights under the aegis of the rule of law,” said Secretary Remulla.
Speaking for the DILG, Usec. Valenzuela expressed that the Justice Zones “have provided opportunities, especially for us in the local government and interior department along with our attached agencies—the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)—to strengthen collaboration with the prosecutors, public attorneys, judges, and other members of the justice system to work together towards the improvement of access to justice for our countrymen.”
He shared that it cannot be denied that the DILG is faced with difficulties in decongesting jail facilities nationwide. “For example, in Quezon City, a report from the BJMP Quezon City shows that male dormitories’ congestion rate is 1,330%, and the female dormitories’ congestion rate is 281%. This is far from what is desirable, and the BJMP is doing its best to find ways to decongest its jails,” said USec. Valenzuela.
He conceded that more things should be done to improve access to justice for all, but added that worth noting is the fact that the established Justice Zones in the country enabled the stakeholders to work together and connect with every member of the justice sector.
“The dialogues, roundtable discussions, and even the simple conversations we are having…will lead us to ways and means to improve further the justice system in our country,” Usec. Valenzuela said.
Chief Justice Gesmundo was joined by Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro- Javier, Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul B. Inting, Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez, Associate Justice Jose Midas P. Marquez, and Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh, who delivered the welcome remarks and provided a context-setting presentation.
Also present were Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva; Court of Appeals Associate Justices Ronaldo Roberto B. Martin, Michael Frederick L. Musngi, Bernelito Fernandez, Jennifer Joy C. Ong, Michael P. Ong, Eduardo S. Ramos, Jr, Jaime Fortunato A. Caringal, Rex Bernardo L. Pascual, Jose Lorenzo R. Dela Rosa, and Eleuterio L. Bathan; Assistant Court Administrator and Public Information Chief Brian Keith F. Hosaka, and Deputy Clerk of Court and Judicial Reform Program Administrator Laura C.H. del Rosario.
Mr. Christian Eldon, Team Leader of the European Union Governance in Justice II Programme (GOJUST II) Philippines, the development partner of JSCC in the Dialogue Series, led the GOJUST II representatives.
The first four legs of the Justice Zone Dialogue Series were held in the cities of Cebu, Davao, Naga, and Baguio. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)
