A.M. NO. 04-6-02-SC
RESOLUTION
LAUNCHING THE JUSTICE ON WHEELS PROJECT AND CREATING AN AD HOC
COMMITTEE FOR THE PURPOSE
WHEREAS, AMONG THE JUDICIAL REFORMS
SHOWCASED IN Guatemala is the mobile court, which is a big bus partitioned into
the office of a judge, room for the clerical staff, mediation room, and
prosecutor’s room;
WHEREAS, this mobile court moves about
in places where there are no judges; it hears cases involving labor, domestic
relations, and others; and conducts mediation;
WHEREAS, the principal purpose of the
mobile court in Guatamela is to bring justice closer to the people or to
provide people in remote areas adequate and inexpensive access to justice;
WHEREAS, in view of the many vacancies
in court in the Philippines,
especially in municipal trial courts and municipal circuit trial courts, delays
in the resolution of cases pending threat are inevitable. Delayed justice
creates a negative impact on the justice system, undermines social, economic
and even political stability, and impedes national progress.
WHERAS, due to various constraints,
foremost of which is the lack of interest on the part of lawyers to apply for
appointment to vacant judicial posts in courts of the first level, it is not
possible to fill up the vacancies within the near future;
WHEREAS, the urgent need to dispose of
the pending cases in vacant courts of the first level and to ensure efficient
and effective administration of justice to the people in places within the
jurisdiction of the vacant courts may be properly attended to through what
maybe known as Justices on Wheels Project, akin to Guatemala’s mobile courts;
NOW, THEREFORE, he Court hereby resolves to
1. Launch the Justice on Wheels Project; and
2. Create an Ad Hoc Committee on Justice on Wheels Project, which
shall be composed of:
Chairman
: ADOLFO S. AZCUNA
Associate Justice
Vice
Chairman
: ZENAIDA N.
ELEPAÑO
Deputy Court Administrator
Members :
CHRISTOPHER O. LOCK
Deputy Court Administrator
EVELYN T. DUMDUM
Program Director
Project Management Office
ISMAEL G. KHAN, JR.
Asst. Court Administrator
and
Chief, Public Information Office
EDILBERTO DAVIS
Deputy Director
Program Management Office
ATTY. THELMA BAHIA
OIC, Court Management Office
Office of the
Court Administrator
Secretary : (To be designated by the Chairman)
The expense allowance provided for in
Administrative Circular No. 13-99 shall be applicable to the Chairman, Vice
Chairman, Members, and Secretary of the Committee.
The Committee shall prepare the design
of the vehicle that shall serve as the Justice on Wheels, and formulate the
rules governing the implementation of the Justice on Wheels project. The
design of the vehicle and the draft rules shall be submitted not later than 15 July 2004 to the Court
en banc for its approval.
Upon the approval by the Court of the
design of the vehicle, the Committee on Bids shall forthwith take such measures
as may be necessary for the fabrication and acquisition of the vehicle, which
shall be delivered to the Court not later than 15 December 2004. The cost of the
acquisition of the vehicle shall be charged against the portion of the
Judiciary development Fund allotted for equipment and facilities.
This Resolution shall take effect upon its promulgation.
Promulgated this eighth day of June 2004.
(Sgd.) Davide, Jr.
C.J., Puno, Vitug, Panganiban, Quisumbing, Ynares-Santiago, Sandoval-Gutierrez,
Carpio, Austria-Martinez, Corona, Carpio-Morales, Callejo, Sr., Azcuna and
Tinga, JJ.
A Backgrounder
In
2004, when the “Justice on Wheels” (JOW)
project was launched featuring the country’s first mobile court in the form of
a large bus, the JOW Committee headed by Justice Adolfo S. Azcuna prioritized
the hearing of cases involving minors who were either victims or suspects of
various crimes and also those cases in certain areas in the country where there
were no circuit court judgments. By the latter part of 2007, these issues
were already resolved.
The
Committee, now headed by Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, decided it was time
to focus on court-annexed mediation. Hence,
the JOW mobile court is now being used as a Mobile Philippine Mediation Center
for court-annexed mediation or mediation for cases referred by courts. The
project is dubbed as “Court-Annex
Mediation on Wheels” (CAMOW), which was conceptualized with the cooperation
of the Philippine Judicial Academy. The CAMOW is consistent with the
Supreme Court’s initiative under the Judicial Reform Support Project (JRSP) to
bring the courts closer to the poor and to provide a fast and free resolution
of conflicts through conciliation, mediation and adjudication.
Under
the definition of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Law (ADR Law), court-annexed mediation is “any
mediation process conducted under the auspices of the court, after such court
has acquired jurisdiction of the dispute. It is mandatory, being part of
pre-trial.” It is therefore a component of the Philippine court system.
Cases
covered by court-annexed mediation are all civil cases, settlement of estates,
and cases covered by the Rule on Summary Procedure, except those which by law
may not be compromised; cases cognizable by the Lupong Tagapamayapa under the
Katarungang Pambarangay Law; the civil aspect of quasi-offenses under Title 14
of the Revises Penal Code; the civil aspect of estafa and libel cases where
damages are sought (Sec. 9, Rule 11, AM
No. 04-2-04 SC effective 16 August 2004); the civil aspect of BP 22 cases;
and “mediatable” cases under the Family Code, such as support, custody/habeas
corpus in relation to custody, legal separation, property relations, separation
of property, and guardianship.
Under
the Supreme Court Judicial Reforms Program, cases filed in court which are
classified as “mediatable” are referred to the Philippine Mediation Center –composed
of trained mediators from the Philippine Judicial Academy. The mediators are
given 30-60 days to facilitate resolution of regular cases and 120 days for
family cases. Should the parties refuse or fail to come to a settlement, the
case goes back to the judge for a full-blown trial.
This
is a very good program of the Supreme Court because most provinces, cities and
municipalities in the country lacked mediation centers and facilities. The Province of Cavite is one such province without a
mediation center.
This
is where the CAMOW comes in. As pilot centers, the Supreme Court looked at
places where the number of cases exceeded the judges’ normal case loads, such
as the provinces of Rizal and Bulacan. On August 15, 2007,
the Chief Justice approved the recommendation of the Committee for the
deployment of the 1st and 3rd Mobile
Court buses to the Provinces of Bulacan and Rizal,
respectively. Specifically, on September 21, 2007, the
CAMOW program was launched in Taytay, Rizal. Following its successful run
in Taytay, the mobile court has since been transferred to Cainta, Rizal on January 14, 2008.
The
choice of locations was based on necessity. There is only one Philippine
Mediation Center (PMC) Unit in the entire province of Bulacan,
while Rizal does not have a single PMC Unit. With the invaluable support of the
accredited mediators, as well as the local governments and local courts, the
CAMOW has had an auspicious run. The Provinces of Bulacan and Rizal
posted an average success rate of 97% for the year 2007, proving to be an
effective tool in unclogging court dockets.
The
Committee uses the following criteria in deploying the buses for court-annexed
mediation: caseload base, presence of Supreme Court-accredited mediators and
the absence of mediation units in the area.
With
funding from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank in 2004, the Supreme
Court launched the program by initially acquiring a fully furnished bus that
served as a courtroom in the front and a mediation center at the back. The
mobile court’s interiors include a courtroom, mediation room, table for party
litigants, computer area, drinking fountain, kitchenette, refrigerator and
comfort room.
Roadmap
As
we enter the half-year mark of 2008, the JOW / CAMOW program will strive to
maintain the excellent record that was achieved last year. The slogan of
the Committee on Justice on Wheels this year is: Our Courts Are Driven To Serve
You Better. Access to justice – especially for the poor and
the marginalized, and decongestion of court dockets are the main goals.
Thus, after serving Bulacan and Rizal, the 1st and 3rd Mobile Courts
will be brought to other provinces, cities or municipalities that are in need
of its assistance.
Supreme
Court Assistant Court Administrator Nimfa Vilches says the Committee intends to
implement the CAMOW program in various parts of Luzon – Batangas, Cagayan Valley, Tuguegarao, Pangasinan, La
Union, and Bicol.
Furthermore,
plans are underway to use the JOW bus deployed in Bohol
to hear and mediate environmental cases. She shares, “The Visayan
triangle is renowned the world-over for its rich marine life, which is why it
has been suggested to station the said mobile court in Cebu City.
We are hoping that the deployment of the third mobile court will serve as an
effective deterrent for those who wish to exploit our natural resources in that
island.”
Challenges Ahead
ACA
Vilches says while the CAMOW program is enjoying a successful run in its first
quarter of operations, she believes that the Committee must set a boundary
system for its future undertakings. She stresses, “We will function as
long as we are needed; and while we are here to address the immediate needs of
the people, we must be careful not to send a wrong signal to the judges.
They must continue to hear and decide cases conscientiously and expeditiously
and must not wait on the mediators to take over their cases. Our main
task is to efficiently redirect the transfer of mediatable cases which have
already been filed in court and clog the dockets.”
