(Chief Justice and JSCC principal Lucas P. Bersamin (third from left) leads the ribbon cutting during the formal opening of the Angeles City Justice Zone. He is joined (from left) by EU Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen, Justice Secretary and JSCC principal Menardo I. Guevarra, DILG Secretary and JSCC principal Eduardo M. Año, Angeles City Mayor Edgardo D. Pamintuan, and Angeles City Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Omar T. Viola. PIA 3)
ANGELES CITY – In an effort to speed up the delivery of justice by identifying problems and finding solutions as well decongest the jails, the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) launched here on Friday the Angeles City Justice Zone (ACJZ).
Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice and JSCC principal Lucas P. Bersamin said, “establishing Angeles City as a Justice Zone signifies that the vital justice services will henceforth be rendered more effective by bringing together the coordinative capabilities of each agency of justice for the benefit of the public.”
Justice Zone is an area where local justice sector agencies such as the police, prosecutors, judges, public attorneys, and managers of detentions facilities identify problems and arrive at common solutions to address them, Bersamin explained.
JSCC members include the SC, Deparment of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The SC, DOJ, and DILG are now in the planning stages of formulating a convergence budget for a set of projects towards improving the capacity, operations and effectivity of the justice sector. “With this strategy, cooperation and coordination already occur at the earliest stages,” Bersamin said.
Among the reforms introduced by JSCC so far included the E-Courts for trial courts, automated hearing, continuous trial, e-Subpoena for police, e-Dalaw to facilitate jail visitations, and case decongestion efforts in both the courts and in the prosecution offices.
Meanwhile, European Union (EU) Ambassador Franz Jessen said during the launching of the ACJZ that the Justice Zone will improve justice delivery at the local level through the 3Cs — communication, cooperation, and coordination because it can be focused on the identification of common problems and common solutions to be addressed in a local area.
“By focusing on coordination and increase in knowledge sharing, you develop more oriented-system and analytical approaches defined on justice perspective and not just on one institution perspective,” Jessen added.
Governance in Justice (GOJUST) is a three and- a-half-year justice program which supports the JSCC at the national level and roll out the Justice Zone concept at the local level as an important mechanism for sustainable and long-term reforms.
Angeles City is the fourth Justice Zone supported by the EU under its GOJUST program. Others are located in the cities of Quezon, Cebu and Davao.
