Justice Singh takes part in the 2023 Humphrey Global Leadership Forum in Washington DC, USA
November 15, 2023
Supreme Court Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh delivers the opening remarks at the 2023 Humphrey Global Leadership Forum held in Washington DC, USA on October 23-27, 2023. (Courtesy of Risdon Photography)
On the 45th anniversary of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, Supreme Court Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh, an alumna of the Program, was invited to give the opening remarks at the 2023 Humphrey Global Leadership Forum held in Washington DC, USA last October 23-27, 2023. The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program is a leadership development initiative in critical fields via focused academic experience and professional affiliations resulting in the creation of a global network of international professionals.
During her opening remarks, Justice Singh recognized the contribution of the Fellowship Program to her professional advancement by highlighting the knowledge and expertise it provided to her as a mid-career professional back in 2009, when she became a Humphrey Fellow with American University Washington College of Law as her designated school. The opportunity played a pivotal role in allowing Justice Singh to expand the reform initiatives she has long since espoused. Having taken up courses specializing in Gender, Human Rights, and Anti-Corruption, and dedicating herself through professional affiliations, Justice Singh was able deepen her understanding of Court Management and Judicial Education.
Justice Singh shared the Supreme Court’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations (SPJI) which enumerates the projects that the Court aims to achieve in order to improve the administration of justice in the Philippines. She stressed how this is aligned with the impact areas of the Humphrey Fellowship Program. Justice Singh shared the successes of the SPJI in the areas of Efficiency, Innovation, and Access – the digitization of the Benchbook for Philippine Trial Judges; the updated Judicial Forms which judges and litigants can use to expedite case proceedings; the New Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability, which covers new provisions on the use of social media and engagement in secondary professions, as well as extensive rules on conflict of interest. She likewise shared the ongoing efforts to revise the Code of Judicial Conduct and the Code of Conduct for Court Personnel, as well as the creation of the Philippine Judiciary Online Learning Platform, which will provide users with interactive online services, information, educational content, tools, and resource materials, and the up-skilling and capacitating of court management to perform data analytics to identify trends, aberrations and issues which will, in turn, inform our future policy decisions.
Justice Singh also bared the plans of the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC), where she chairs the Technical Working Group on Processes and Capacity Building, such as the launch of the groundbreaking first ever Green Zone in the Asia-Pacific Region in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan and the conduct of the Jail Decongestion Summit in December.
Justice Singh also highlighted the initiatives of the Committee on Gender Responsiveness in the Judiciary (CGRJ), which she co-chairs, such as the formulation of the Rules for Handling Women in Conflict with the Law, the adoption of the Guidelines for the Use of Gender Fair Language and Gender Fair Courtroom Etiquette in the Judiciary, the roll out of an updated Gender Sensitivity Training, the conduct of a study on Gender Mobility and Representation in the Philippine Judiciary, all aimed at achieving, at least, gender sensitivity, and moving forward towards greater gender inclusivity and gender equality.
On October 24, 2023, Justice Singh also took part in the Mentor Talk during which she facilitated a discussion among the new Humphrey Fellows and gave them advice on how to make the most out of their Humphrey Fellowship. (Courtesy of the Office of Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh)
Supreme Court Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh, an alumna of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, participates during a Mentor Talk with the new Humphrey fellows at the 2023 Humphrey Global Leadership Forum October 24, 2023 held in Washington DC, USA. (Courtesy of Risdon Photography)
Supreme Court Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh, an alumna of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship, speaks at the 2023 Humphrey Global Leadership Forum held in Washington DC, USA on October 23-27, 2023. (Courtesy of Risdon Photography)
