A Lament on Court

Observations
A Peek Inside the Courtroom

Submitted By:
BAFFOUR, Felix Geaffrey
DADAT, Louie Marie
DUMAG, Arwin Peter III
GALVEZ, Margarette Marie
HABLO, Djandra Di
MAGGONGGA, Charmaine

"We envision Saint Louis University as an

excellent missionary and transformative
educational
institution
zealous
in
developing human resources imbued with
the Christian Spirit and who are creative,
competent and socially involved."

Submitted To:
Atty. Jennifer Asuncion

INTRODUCTION

Congestion and delay in courts throughout the country threaten to strangle our system of
justice, for as delays increase, the innocent who cannot afford to make bail suffer longer in jail,
the guilty who are released pose greater threats to society, and the deterrent value of speedy
justice is lost. The resultant pressures to dispose of cases more and more quickly lead to still
other wrongs; less and less attention is given to each case, and greater reliance is placed on the
disposition of case through 'Plea Bargaining' and the likelihood of injustice increases."
It cannot be denied that delay in the administration of justice is one of the chronic
problems in our country and, for that matter, in any democratic republic. This problem seems to
be part and parcel of any country under a democratic system of government where every citizen
has the right to due process of law which oftentimes is so slow as to be the very cause of
delayed justice. And since Justice delayed is Justice denied, it is quite obvious that our
country is not yet as peaceful as we want it to be, because without justice there can indeed be no
real peace.
Of course the term Justice would be the defined as the constant and perpetual
disposition to render to everyman his due; the conformity of our actions and our will to the
law (Bouvieres Law Dictionary) which is usually rendered by our courts. Studies show that
there are a huge number of cases now pending in courts especially in the urban centers where 75
million of the population is concentrated. Many courts in these cities have 1,000 or more cases
in their dockets. And through the years, they keep on piling up higher and higher instead of
dwindling down.
Factors affecting delay1 in the disposition of cases in the judiciary are numerous.
However the same may be classified into three categories2: (1) those arising from human failures;
(2) those caused by the nature of the judicial system; and the indiscriminate filing of cases in
court.
1 DELAY the excessive or abnormal lapse of time which results from a breakdown
in the series of judicial operations necessary to move a case from its filing in court
to final disposition.
2 The Problem Of Delay In The Philippine Court System (CAPARAS, EL and
FELICIANO, FP).

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There is delay in disposition of cases because of human failings which refer to weaknesses of
the men and women administering the judicial system such as judges, lawyer-advocates, court
personnel, prosecutors, sheriffs, defense counsel, process servers, and others connected to or with
the system. That those personnel who are authorized by law to manage, control and administer
justice suffers from cases of laziness, inefficiency, incompetence, conflict of interests and
corruption.
Taken for example litigations are prolonged because lawyers have a tendency to withhold
evidence and surprise their opponent at the last minute, or they are reluctant to stipulate on facts
for fear of weakening their positions. Also, trials are greatly slowed down because lawyers are
allowed to object to questions asked, and since they view this system as a fight to the finish
they indiscriminately object to questions as a means of blocking the other partys evidence due to
the adversarial nature of our proceedings.
While those that arise from the nature of the judicial system emanates from procedural
requirements that entail the need of furnishing notices and copies of needed documents, i.e.
pleadings, briefs, etc, that may take up to at least two weeks. Not to mention that these periods
may even be extended by a simple motion to extend before the court. The filing a complaint,
itself, is one tedious task. Though some steps have already been made to unclog the courts, i.e.
the Katarungang Pambarangay Law,3 the Arbitration Law,4 and it still is not enough.
Aside from clogged dockets, the other obvious cause of delayed justice here is
undoubtedly the lack of courts and/or the many existing vacancies in our courts not only in far
flung areas but also in urban centers. Apparently, the job of a judge in our country is no walk in
the park especially in the lower courts with clogged dockets. The strain and stress of the job
somehow discourage the most qualified, sincere and dedicated individuals to become judges
even if the compensation is adequate enough. So, many of our courts remain vacant or they do
not usually attract the best, the brightest and most diligent lawyers. Somehow this also
3 Presidential Decree No. 1508, s. 1978.
4 Republic Act 876: An Act To Authorize The Making Of Arbitration And Submission
Agreements, To Provide For The Appointment Of Arbitrators And The Procedure For
Arbitration In Civil Controversies, And Other Purposes.

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contributes to the delays in litigating cases because judges appointed take longer time in deciding
the case despite the time limitation of three months fixed by the Constitution for them to decide.
For example the procedure in collecting and handling of evidences, especially in drug
related cases, involves a complicate process and documentation. Thus the process is extended
even before one of the parties may even enter a court room.
Another point to be stressed is the fact that there are from 30 to 60 cases scheduled for
hearing in a day. Just calling the cases in the calendar already takes about one and a half hours.
So even if the courts are punctual enough to start the hearing at 8:30 a.m., only two hours remain
for trying the ready cases and hearing the testimonies of the witnesses. If there are more cases
ready to be heard, the less time can be devoted to each of them. So oftentimes the judge is
constrained to give the parties in each case a mere ten minutes which is definitely not enough to
present and finish the testimony of even just one witness. With this piecemeal style of hearing
cases, trials last from three to almost eight or ten years or even longer which are clear instances
indeed of delayed justice now prevailing here not disregarding the fact that the lack of
prosecutors which constitute a unequal proportion in the hearing of the case is one of the reasons
for the delay of cases.
Lastly people seeking redress, even lawyers, think that courts are the initial place to settle
disputes when, originally, courts are the ultimate place of dispute resolution. While overlooking
that there are other venues of settlement outside the court. According to Alfredo F. Tadiar 5 in his
paper6 a fourth classification is the number of cases filed related to the issuance of bouncing
checks. Instead of judges deciding cases of those in connection with crimes against persons,
security and liberty the court is used as a means of collecting from drawers under the Bouncing
Checks Law.7 Tadiar, recommended that the criminal act be de-criminized in a way it that the act
should only be punish when there is an exchange of goods and payment between the buyer and
5 Chairman, National Amnesty Commission and former Associate dean, U.P. College
of Law.
6 Unclogging The Court Dockets.
7 Batas Pambansa Bilang 22.

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seller and not before the goods are delivered. It seems that sellers are filing complaints of
bouncing checks even before there is the act of delivery from their side.
RECOMMENDATION
Better supervision and training of staff that administers justice. 8 There should be a clear
understanding the processes involving the redress of rights that should be at least known to its
personnel. That the personnel, before a case enters into courts, be trained in the proper way of
processing of evidences and deliver them efficiently.
It seems that, the number of cases filed vis--vis the number of courts is not
proportionate.

In line with this recommendation is to increase in the number of competent

courts, especially in the metropolitan areas, in proportion to corresponding demographic

increases and locating them in centers of population for greater accessibility is another effective
measure would easily help in the speedy disposition of cases.
Make more effective the accountability of judges and other court personnel through
disciplinary action - No matter how effective the screening process may be, however, there will
always be some undesirables that somehow get appointed to the system. Those who were
initially qualified become, in time, tainted by the same undesirable traits they were originally
free from. The next remedy, therefore, would be to make more effective the administrative
disciplinary actions that could deter undesirable acts or ultimately weed out the incorrigibles.
While the foregoing measures relate to increasing the output of individual judges,
concern for the national output of the judiciary in resolving disputes must also be addressed.
Vacancies in courts, prosecutorial offices and support personnel diminish output. Appointments
to fill up vacancies must, therefore, be made soon after every vacancy that occurs.
The decriminalization of bouncing checks and petty recurring offenses and
misdemeanors, i.e theft, vandalism, intoxication, disorderly conduct, etc. The decrease in the
jurisdiction of courts, thus restricting judicial access, and to devolve the same to line agencies,
increasing their jurisdiction, to help lower courts reduce the number of cases they need to decide.
8 JUSTICE - The constant and perpetual disposition to render every man his due

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In light of the experiences that resulted to a lament on court observations. The

deficiencies that were observed are not only the concern of the judges and lawyers but of all of
us. We need to put pressure that what is right should be followed and without delay. Besides
hope we also can demand that we be given justice without delay. It can be done. If in other
countries it is done, then we can also do it. Every system has its flaws from have problems with
delays and technicalities. But something can still be done. As we unite efforts in heeding the call for
judicial reforms, We strongly believe the "culture of delay" visualized in the "slow as turtle" image

of the Philippine judiciary, will soon be a thing of the past.

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