SC justice pushes collective action, reform vs corruption

Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen called for broad institutional reforms and bold public engagement to dismantle systemic corruption, warning that silence in the face of misconduct makes government officials complicit.

Speaking at the 2025 Sikhay Laban Sa Korapsyon (SiLaK) forum at Marco Polo Ortigas Manila, Leonen described corruption as a crisis rooted in historical and structural issues, including political dynasties, oligarchic influence and regulatory capture.

“Recent developments have further revealed the depth of fractures within our system,” Leonen said. “The ongoing public disclosures of misconduct suggest we might have a fundamental problem, possibly one rooted in the very ideological foundations of our government that still need to be critically examined.”

Leonen, speaking on behalf of Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo, outlined the judiciary’s internal efforts to combat graft under the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022–2027.

These reforms include the newly approved 2025 Code of Judicial Conduct and Accountability and the creation of the integrity@judiciary.gov.ph platform for reporting misconduct.

The senior magistrate highlighted the court’s shift toward digitalization, citing initiatives like eFiling, an expanded judicial e-library, and the use of specialized courts to handle corruption cases involving infrastructure projects.

He also cited the “CALESA Digital Initiative,” which explores the use of artificial intelligence to streamline court processes.

Leonen stressed that the judiciary is also decentralizing administrative functions through Regional Court Management Offices to improve monitoring and transparency across the country.