Friday, December 19, 2008 Sanchez: A Christmas gift to Lady Justice By Benedicto Q. Sanchez Nature Speaks
THE Asian Development Bank might yet turn out to be a knight in shining armor to save a damsel in distress, in this case Lady Justice. The evil dragons that the hero seeks to slay are corruption and trial delays.
Or this Yule season, the metaphor could be the three magi -- or to use the more secular and commercial image, Santa Claus -- bearing gifts. None of them have to traverse far beyond fields and fountains, moors and mountains since the Bank is located in Quezon City.
The Bank is lending the Philippine government $300 million to improve the integrity of the Philippine justice system. It concluded that bad governance and inadequate infrastructure weaken investor confidence and constrain growth.
"The judiciary and justice sector agencies perform a critical governance and oversight function. A well-functioning justice sector is therefore a key to support sustained growth and poverty reduction," rationalized the Bank.
The $300 million loan will be used to increase budget resources and internal controls as well as support more competitive salaries for judges and prosecutors in a bid to reduce vacancies and help cut delays in the justice system.
The ADB said high caseloads and low conviction rates are prevalent in the court system while lack of funds undermines judge independence. Ouch!
Of course, that is no news for court-annexed mediators (CAMs). Being one, I know that. So do my fellow mediators Sun.Star Bacolod columnist Atty. Andy Hagad and retired judge G.H. Arinday.
The Supreme Court has dinned in the heads of CAMs that we should help decongest court dockets. The more civil or criminal cases with civil aspects we mediate and help settle with compromise agreements between disputants, the quicker the local courts can dispose of backlogs.
To jumpstart the process, the Philippine Judicial Academy under the Supreme Court created the Philippine Mediation Center in Bacolod four years ago. The project was funded by the Justice Reform Initiatives Support (JURIS) Project.
JURIS is a five-year Cdn$7 million (Php270 million) bilateral project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) which supported the Supreme Court's Action Program for Judicial Reform. It is designed to strengthen the collaboration between the judiciary and civil society in promoting justice.
JURIS ended a year ago. PHILJA took up the slack. I hope, ok, expect that PHILJA remembers that court-annexed mediation is a major judicial reform plank.
Philippine Mediation Center-Bacolod is set to vacate early next year its main office at Bacolod's Hall of Justice. It will transfer to a satellite office at the Provincial Administration Center provided by the much-missed governor Joseph Marañon.
May PHILJA provide PMC-Bacolod the funds to build its own office and improved facilities.
May PHILJA raise the pay especially of seasoned mediators and staff, in recognition of their hard work and dedication. For four years, they have backstopped the lower courts in peacemaking among parties in conflicts in the province. I don't know the percentage of settled cases for 2008. But last year, it scored a 57 percent rate, four notches higher than the national average of 53.
With improved mediation services, that will be the best gift the provincial judicial system can bequeath to Lady Justice and the Negrenses.
