PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed into law Republic Act (RA) No. 12304 which seeks to promote paperless filing of pleadings and other court submissions, thus digitizing access to Shari’ah courts in the country.
The President, in signing the new law on September 18, amends RA 9997 or the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) Act of 2009 and ensures that Muslim Filipinos have equitable access to the Shari’ah courts.
RA 12304 directs the NCMF and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), in coordination with the Supreme Court, to create a digital platform to allow paperless filing of pleadings and other court submissions to the Shari’ah courts.
The NCMF shall also coordinate with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on the proper collection of statistical data for Muslim Filipinos at the national, regional, provincial, city, and municipal levels; and prepare an annual report which shall include the data on Muslim births, marriages, and deaths for the year based on the transmitted registered civil registry documents from local civil registry offices, Shari’ah Circuit Registrars, and the Philippine Foreign Service Posts Abroad.
RA 12304 also directs the NCMF’s Bureau of Legal Affairs to provide Muslim Filipinos with legal education and assistance in case of litigation involving their persons or interests, as well as to act as the legal counsel of the Commission and investigate cases involving its personnel and valid complaints brought before the Commission.
The Bureau shall also ensure equitable access to Shari’ah Courts and facilitate the filing or submission of appropriate documents with the proper Shari’ah Court for Muslim Filipino litigants who are in a region where there is no existing Shari’ah Court.
The NCMF, meanwhile, is tasked to submit an annual report on the implementation of RA 12304 to the Senate President, House Speaker, and chairpersons of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities and Muslim Affairs and the House Committee on Muslim Affairs.
The President also signed, on September 18, RA 12307 that created 11 additional branches of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) in the Eleventh Judicial Region in Davao City.
RA 12307 also provides for the creation of additional positions in the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) and the prosecution service, as mandated by existing laws such as RA 10071 or the Prosecution Service Act of 2010 and RA 9406.
The new law directs the Supreme Court to assign the respective branch numbers to the newly created courts and to issue the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of the new law, including possible realignment of seats and existing branches and their territorial jurisdictions.
The Chief Justice, in coordination with the Department of Justice (DOJ), is also ordered to ensure the immediate inclusion of the new court branches’ operationalization in the SC program.
Funding for the personnel, operations, and courtrooms will be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
The two laws become effective within 15 days of their publication in a national daily or the Official Gazette. Copies of the two laws were uploaded to the Official Gazette on September 24.
