SAJ Leonen said technology instrument of institutional reform

Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice (SAJ) Marvic M.V.F. Leonen said institutions should pursue digital transformation with purpose, emphasizing that technology should improve public service, strengthen institutions, and remain guided by human judgment and accountability.

This was stated by Leonen as he speak during the Microsoft Frontier Transformation Day at Fairmont Makati in Makati City on September 22, 2026.

Leonen discussed how institutions can adapt to rapid technological change while remaining responsive to the people they serve.

He said the Judiciary’s digital transformation efforts are anchored on the SC’s five-year Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI).

Rather than beginning with a particular software, platform, or device, the SPJI starts with

institutional objectives and is built on the principles of timely and fair justice, transparent and accountable justice, equal and inclusive justice, and

technologically adaptive management.

“Technology is an instrument of institutional reform; it is not the reform itself,” he said, emphasizing that institutions should focus on the problems they seek to address before adopting new technologies, reminding them to “always begin with the problem, not the product.”

Leaders must first examine the processes that prevent organizations from effectively delivering their mandates and determine whether technology is truly needed to address those challenges, Leonen said.

SAJ Leonen noted that in some cases, the solution may instead involve improved processes, better training, more comprehensive data, or clearer rules.

He added that any kind of digital transformation requires institutional honesty and a willingness to reassess long-standing practices.

Meaningful reform involves process re-engineering, organizational change, capability building, and clearly defining responsibilities and

accountability mechanisms, he said.

It also requires personnel to adapt to new practices, work across traditional divisions, and embrace continuous learning.

Leonen highlighted the ongoing implementqtion of eCourt 2.0 to illustrate the Judiciary’s digitalization efforts, which seeks to create a secure and integrated digital environment for court proceedings.

Building on lessons learned from the earlier eCourt system, the initiative covers electronic filing and service of pleadings, digital court management, electronic appeals, and the expansion of digital tools to additional judicial processes.

SAJ Leonen also shared how technology has enabled courts to extend their services to far-flung areas. Recalling an initiative in Tawi-Tawi, he described how the Judiciary brought videoconferencing equipment by boat to allow litigants and witnesses to participate in court proceedings without the costly and time-consuming travel.

He said the initiative, demonstrated how technology can help eliminate barriers created by distance and geography. “That, to us, is access to

justice,” he said.

The Senior Associate Justice further discussed the Judiciary’s approach to the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

He explained that the Court recently adopted

the Governance Framework on the Use of Human-Centered Augmented Intelligence in the

Judiciary (AI Governance Framework), which establishes safeguards for the responsible use of AI and seeks to ensure that technological innovation remains consistent with the values of justice, accountability, human dignity, and social justice.

Leonen said the AI Governance Framework rests on two main pillars: ethical governance and management governance. “Together, these two

components ensure that AI adoption is both ethically grounded and institutionally managed,” he stressed, explaining how ethical governance establishes the

principles, values, and safeguards that guide the responsible use of AI in the Judiciary, while management governance focuses on the policies, structures, andoperational processes needed to put those principles into practice.