JUSTICE ON WHEELS

THE JUSTICE ON WHEELS OF THE PHILIPPINES∗
Hon. Adolfo S. Azcuna
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the Philippines
Accessibility to justice by the poor and disadvantaged remains a worldwide
problem despite diverse approaches and strategies that have been formulated and
employed to address it.
When the Honorable Hilario G. Davide, Jr. assumed the post of Chief Justice
in 1998, he vowed in his “Davide Watch” to make access to justice by the poor a
major thrust of the Court. Through his initiative, an Action Program for Judicial
Reform was developed, and in the area of accessibility to justice, one of the
recommendations proposed was the creation of special courts for the poor and
disadvantaged.
On an official visit to Guatemala in 2003, Chief Justice Davide was briefed on
the experiment by the Guatemalan government of bringing justice to the grassroots
through the Mobile Court System. On his return to the Philippines, the Chief Justice
and the World Bank arranged for and made possible two study and observation trips
in January and May 2004 by officials of the Philippine Supreme Court to Guatemala,
to look into the possibility of establishing a mobile court system in the Philippines as
a means to bring justice closer to the poor, by providing a fast and free resolution of
conflicts through conciliation, mediation or adjudication.
In May 2004, a concept paper on the feasibility of establishing mobile courts
in the Philippines was prepared and submitted to the Court. The following month, the
Court launched the Justice on Wheels Project and for this purpose created an ad
hoc Committee and assigned me as its Chairperson. The Court then directed the
Committee to prepare forthwith a design of the vehicle that shall serve as the Justice
on Wheels, and to formulate the rules governing the implementation of the Project. In
August 2004, the Court approved the proposed Implementing Rules and Regulations
of the Justice on Wheels Project.
The Committee then organized three technical working groups for the
preparation of the design and purchase of the mobile court vehicle, the court
jurisdictional structure, and the operational details, respectively.
On December 20, 2004, or barely six months after the Court decided to
implement the Justice on Wheels Project, the first Mobile Court was rolled out.
The Mobile Court (or Justice on Wheels) is custom-built to efficiently serve its
functions. It is divided into two main sections: the front section serves as the
courtroom, while the rear section serves as the mediation room. It is fully airconditioned
and equipped with amenities for the judge, the court personnel, the
litigants and their lawyers.
∗ Presented during the International Conference and Showcase on Judicial Reforms held at the Shangri-la Hotel,
Makati City, Philippines on 28-30 November 2005.
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The Mobile Court is provided with the following personnel complement: a
Presiding Judge, a Clerk of Court, a Prosecutor, a Public Attorney, a Court
Stenographer, a Docket Clerk, a Process Server, a Driver, and a Security Guard.
The Judges of the designated Family Courts in the National Capital Region
(Metro Manila) were assigned to the Mobile Court on a rotation basis. The Judge on
duty brings with her the Branch Clerk of Court, Stenographer, Docket Clerk, Process
Server and the Prosecutor and Public Attorney assigned to her sala. A mobile court
calendar is prepared for each hearing day for each assigned Presiding Judge.
As part of the pilot implementation of the Justice on Wheels Project, the
Mobile Court was initially assigned to hear cases involving juveniles in conflict with
the law. The main purpose was to hear cases involving juveniles who wanted to
plead guilty, or who wanted to be diverted or released on recognizance. More
importantly, the Mobile Court prioritized the hearing of cases of those who have been
in detention for more than the maximum penalty for their particular cases.
This strategy was intended to help decongest the various youth reception and
detention centers within the Metro Manila area, which were holding up to five times
their designed capacities. This was also aimed at decongesting the heavy caseloads
of the designated Family Courts in Metro Manila.
I am pleased to inform this body that in its 66 days of operation within the
period December 20, 2004 to November 11, 2005, the Justice on Wheels was able to
visit several youth reception centers, juvenile detention facilities and jails in eight
municipalities and cities in Metro Manila. Within the same period, the Justice on
Wheels was able to hear a total of 1,126 cases and secure the release of 391
detainees, or around 35 per cent of the total number of cases heard.
In view of the unprecedented accomplishments and impact of the pilot
implementation of the Justice on Wheels project, the Supreme Court has decided to
procure two more buses to be used as mobile courts. These buses will be deployed
in the major island groups in the country, one each in Luzon, the Visayas and
Mindanao. They will be considered as extensions of first level courts, and will travel
from town to town, village to village, and hear cases within the jurisdiction of the first
level court. Procurement for the additional two buses has already been started, and
delivery is expected within January of 2006.
This early, discussions are already on-going for the acquisition of more buses
for the Justice on Wheels. Considering the number of municipalities without regular
courts and the number of detention facilities that are overcrowded, the Justice on
Wheels has indeed demonstrated its usefulness in addressing, at least partly, these
problems.