The court hearings were done on board two buses parked in front of the Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos Hall of Justice Building at the city hall compound in Barangay Pulung Maragul here.
Each bus is divided into two sections, one for mediation and another for courtroom litigation, where cases were heard rendering speedy and swift justice especially to poor litigants.
SC Justice Mariano C. Del Castillo said during his keynote address that the program is meant to bring the court to the marginalized sector of society instead of the poor going to the court.
“Ito po ay programa ng Korte Suprema na ang layunin ay magbigay ng mabilis at libreng hustisya sa ating mga mahihirap na kababayan lalung-lalo na po ang naka preso na hindi mabatid ang kadahilanan ay naka preso pa rin bagamat maari na po silang makalaya (This is a program of the Supreme Court whose purpose is to give speedy and free dispensation of justice to our poor countrymen especially those that are imprisoned who cannot comprehend the reason why they are still in prison even if they can already be set free),” he said.
Giving back
Del Castillo, who started his career in 1992 as a regional trial court judge here, said he personally attended the EJOW program here because his stint as Angeles RTC judge is one of the factors that helped him reach the SC and now it’s time to give back service to Angelenos.
“Ang naging karanasan ko dito sa Angeles ay isa sa nakatulong sa akin para maka-abot sa Korte Suprema kaya minabuti ko pong pumunta dito at kahit papano po magsilbi muli sa pamamagitan nitong EJOW (My experience here in Angeles was one of the things that helped me to reach the Supreme Court that is why I made it a point to come here where at least I can serve again through the EJOW program),” Justice Del Castillo said.
Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, who was also among the guests, narrated how he personally talked to many of the inmates whose cases are still pending before the courts. “For sure, many of the dregs of our society are in jail, but even they are entitled to justice more so if there are innocents among them,” he said.
Pamintuan said he visited the inmates at their detention cells in Barangay Santo Domingo last May during the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight where he put up a big television screen so that they can watch the fight live as he again thanked the Supreme Court for conducting the EJOW program here.
During last Friday’s EJOW, 59 inmates were set free, 94 cases were dispensed, seven cases that were referred to mediation were resolved and 245 inmates were given free medical and dental services.
Delays
Executive Judge Omar Viola said the courts are battered with issues and concerns like clogging of court dockets, delay in the resolution of criminal cases and prolong detention of those being tried in court.
“We have been confronted with these challenges and we must respond to the occasion and the EJOW is one of our answers,” Viola said during his welcome remarks.
“This will show the advocacy of the judiciary not just to uphold the rule of law but also respond to the needs of the people especially to poor litigants by ensuring the efficient and speedy disposition of justice,” he added.
IBP-Pampanga
For his part, IBP-Pampanga Chapter President Darwin Reyes said “one of our missions and visions is to speed up the implementation of the wheels of justice. This is one of the avenues to speed up the disposition of cases and those that are due for release will be released to decongest the jail.”
“This is a good program of the SC which continues to find a ways to improve the justice system,” he added.
During the launching of the first EJOW in 2011, 63 cases were fully resolved involving poor inmates who were given back their freedom.
Since the SC program was first implemented in December 2004, some 8,500 inmates were given back freedom; 20,358 benefited in the program’s medical and dental aid; 5,748 benefited from the legal aid program; 13, 626 cases were dispense through mediation; and 29,572 benefited in the information dissemination program of the EJOW.
SC public information chief Theodore O. Te said the SC has also enhanced the E- Court system, case decongestion, continuing trial system, and Task Force Katarungan which are some of the reforms to speed up the dispensation of justice.
Meanwhile, Del Castillo said the SC has passed an En Banc Resolution two weeks ago making the Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos Hall of Justice Building here the repository of records or as a secondary data bank of the SC.
