The Supreme Court observed the second year of its five-year Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations (SPJI) with hard work, faith, and perseverance.
The SPJI is the judiciary’s blueprint for judicial reform. This progress is evident in the implementation reform projects and the active involvement of various justice stakeholders in nationwide summits and consultative caravans.
In his keynote message to development partners and the media at the Manila Hotel on 21 October 2024, Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo shared updates on ongoing SPJI initiatives and highlighted promising developments on the horizon.
“The past twelve months have been marked by hard work, faith, and perseverance,” Chief Justice Gesmundo noted. “Throughout this period, we launched nationwide summits and conducted consultative caravans around the country, true to our nature of hearing before we decide and accord everyone due process. We have tried to include as many stakeholders as possible and welcomed their inputs and suggestions in order to draft a truly workable framework and implement a truly practicable solution,” he said.
An overview of the milestones achieved by SPJI’s second year was provided by Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, with Members of the Court presenting detailed updates on projects within the SPJI’s goals of efficiency, access, and innovation.
Under the Efficiency initiatives, the Office of the Regional Court Managers has been operationalized in six pilot areas: the 1st Judicial Region with station in San Fernando, La Union, the 3rd Judicial Region with station in Angeles City, Pampanga, the 7th Judicial Region with station in Metro Cebu, the 8th Judicial Region with station in Palo, Leyte, the 10th Judicial Region with station in Butuan City, and the 11th Judicial Region with station in Davao City.
The Unified Healthcare Plan for all officials and employees of the judiciary has been successfully procured and implemented. To support mental health within the judiciary, ongoing mental health summits are being conducted, dedicated mental health units have been established, and a self-assessment tool for identifying signs of judicial burnout has been introduced.
Consultative caravans on the proposed Code of Judicial Conduct and Code of Conduct for Court Personnel were conducted nationwide, with their target launch set in the second quarter of 2025.
The implementing rules of the Judiciary Marshals Act to operationalize the Office of the Judiciary Marshals have been approved by the Court, with the selection of the Chief Marshal and three Deputy Marshals currently underway.
Under the Innovation initiatives, pilot testing of artificial intelligence (AI) software for voice-to-text transcription for court stenographers is underway in select first- and second-level courts.