The 1st National Criminal Justice Summit in the Philippines held last 05 to 06 December 2011 in Manila was attended by more than 500 participants comprising key representatives and officials from the justice sector agencies and representatives from the public and the private sectors. Themed “Advancing Justice,” the activity was jointly launched by the members of the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC), comprising the Supreme Court (SC), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation, under the Foundation’s joint project with the DOJ, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.

His Excellency President Benigno S. Aquino III delivered the keynote address during the opening ceremony which was also attended by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, House of Representatives Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr., Chief Justice Renato C. Corona of the SC, Secretary Leila M. de Lima of the DOJ and Secretary Jesse M. Robredo of the DILG. Vice President Jejomar C. Binay presided in the closing ceremony.

Deputy Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva formally opened the first day with an overview of the activities lined up for the two-day event. He recognized the distinguished guests present, including justices, judges, ambassadors and officials of the diplomatic corps, officials of the justice sector agencies and representatives from public and private sector stakeholders in the Philippine criminal justice system.

In her welcome remarks, Secretary de Lima of the DOJ emphasised the value of close co-operation and co-ordination between and amongst all agencies working in the criminal justice system. Secretary Robredo of the DILG underlined the crucial role of law enforcers in the fight against crime and in the over-all delivery of justice in the country.

In messages delivered by each on behalf of their institutions, Chief Justice Corona, Senate President Enrile and House of Representatives Speaker Belmonte shared their respective visions for the improvement of the Philippine criminal justice system.  Common to all three were the expressed need to update the country’s laws, described as “archaic” and inconsistent with the prevailing conditions in the country, in order to address the evolving nature of criminality, and the call for joint efforts in the pursuit of justice.

In his keynote address, the President reiterated his call for “greater accountability in the government.”  He called on all public servants from all branches of the government to “remain faithful to their sworn duties and to owe allegiance to the Filipino public, rather than to their appointing authorities.”

A manifestation of cooperative efforts was evidenced by the signing of the “Declaration for Justice Reform” by the Chief Justice and the Secretaries of the DOJ and of the DILG. The Declaration embodies commitments to “advance justice through effective reforms in laws and rules, rethinking of the criminal justice framework and the optimization of material and human resources in the justice sector agencies.”

In telling “The Criminal Justice Story,” Assistant Secretary Geronimo L. Sy of the DOJ pointed out three major concerns to be addressed towards the improvement of the current state of the criminal justice system: updating of the penal code, revision of the rules on criminal procedure and the rethinking of the traditional “five pillars” of the criminal justice framework.

This was followed in the afternoon by four sessions of incisive discussions on specific areas in the current criminal justice system.  Director Rosendo M. Dial of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and Director Gaudencio S. Pangilinan of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) shared an overview of the challenges, prevailing problems, actions being taken and prospects for reform of the corrections institution of the country.  Former Budget Secretary Salvador M. Enriquez, Jr. revealed how justice sector agencies are in fact underutilizing their resources and pointed out how resources should be combined with strong resolve for more focused initiatives and effective actions.

An insight on how trials are being conducted in the country was given by the SC’s Justice Roberto A. Abad, who proposed the adoption of an inquisitorial, rather than adversarial, system of trial. Proposed reforms in the rules on criminal procedure were enumerated by the Court of Appeal’s Justice Eduardo B. Peralta, Jr. Expected to be adopted soon to help facilitate the delivery of justice in the current system, these reforms aim to address systemic problems like chronic delays and docket congestion.

City Prosecutor Lourdes R. Zapanta of Tanauan City started off the second day with a succinct review of the speeches given and discussions held during the previous day.  Mr. Paul G. Schäfer, Resident Representative of the Hanns Seidel Foundation/Germany (HSF) in the Philippines, opened the day’s activities with a message which emphasised the development cooperation work of the Foundation in the country, particularly in the areas of good governance and the rule of law, and social development, in co-operation with relevant government agencies, non-government organizations and the private sector.

Two more discussions followed.  Government Corporate Counsel Raoul C. Creencia of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel introduced the joint project amongst the DOJ, the HSF and the German Federal Foreign Office, beginning with the existing penal laws situation in the country and the creation of the Criminal Code Committee (CCC), the CCC’s action plan and its mandate, as well as the activities undertaken thus far towards the drafting of a ‘modern’ criminal code for the Philippines.  Asst. Sec. Sy discussed the CCC’s work in progress in more detail and shared the game-changing legal concepts proposed by the Committee for the new code.

Judge Maria Filomena D. Singh of the Regional Trial Court in Quezon City described the pivotal role of judges in helping to contribute to the increased efficiency of the judicial system through a proactive approach, including co-operation with investigation and prosecution.  Police Chief Superintendent Alex Paul I. Monteagudo, Deputy for the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management of the Philippine National Police (PNP), discoursed the gaps in the law enforcement pillar of the criminal justice system with recommendations for further improvement.

The afternoon was devoted to “Café de la Justice,” a consultative workshop wherein inputs of all the participants were solicited, and doable measures to help enhance the administration of the criminal justice system in the country were identified towards the enhancement of the existing criminal justice system framework, and for consideration in the drafting of the code.

The results of a survey conducted during the course of the summit and a synthesis of the consultative workshop, were presented by Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez of the SC.  Based on a respondent’s base of 140, the results of the survey showed that over four-fifths (82%) of the respondents agreed that “there is a need for a new criminal code.” Almost all the respondents (96%) were in favour of adopting the model where “the police and the prosecutor coordinate closely together in the case build-up.”

The afternoon was capped by the joint avowal of the participants to the Pledge of Commitment to the Justice Reform Agenda, led by Vice President Jejomar C. Binay, who, in his closing remarks, supported the joint efforts of the different government agencies in the justice sector towards “advancing justice” and lauded the concerted efforts of the members of the CCC.

 

Attachments:

Event Programme

Declaration for Justice Reform

Pledge of Commitment Pledge of Commitment to the Justice Reform Agenda