AROUND 20 metropolitan trial courts (MeTCs) and municipal trial courts in cities (MTCCs) nationwide, including one in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu, were chosen as pilot areas to test the Supreme Court (SC)'s new judiciary ePayment solution (JEPS) program.
Through the SC's JEPS program, payment of fees in trial courts can now be made online, not only for small claims cases.
The implementation of the JEPS program is made through Circular No. 44-2022, issued by the newly appointed SC Court Administrator Raul Villanueva on Wednesday, March 2, 2022.
Aside from Lapu-Lapu City's MTCCs, also included in the pilot implementation are the MeTCs of Quezon City, Mandaluyong City and San Juan City in Metro Manila; the MTCCs of Malolos City, Bulacan; Baguio City, Benguet; Angeles City, Pampanga; Cabuyao City, Laguna; Naga City, Camarines Sur; Vigan City, Ilocos Sur; Ilagan City, Isabela; Puerto Prinsesa City, Palawan; Bacolod City, Negros Occidental; Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental; Tacloban City, Leyte; Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur; Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental; Cotabato City, Maguindanao; Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte; and Davao City, Davao del Sur.
Under the circular, the SC directed all clerks of court (COCs) and acting clerks of court (ACOCs) of the 20 pilot courts to adopt the JEPS's interim guidelines.
The SC also designated the Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP) as an alternative mode of payment for legal fees and other collections, in addition to the Fortune Pay Online Portal, until the integration of the latter with the system.
The SC also ordered the COCs and ACOCs of the pilot courts to properly inform the public about the new system by posting instructions on how to pay electronically on the payment windows and bulletin boards of their respective courts.
The JEPS is aimed at making the assessment and payment of legal fees and other collections of the judiciary more convenient by providing the litigants, their lawyers, and persons requesting clearances, certifications, and other services from the court the option to pay electronically.
The system is currently limited to Union Bank accounts (no convenience fee), bank transfers through instaPay and PESONet (both with a convenience fee).
The pilot implementation of JEPS in selected courts is an offshoot of the Memorandum of Agreement entered into by the SC and the UBP on March 15, 2021, for the latter to develop an ePayment solution for the judiciary. / JKV, PR