THE Supreme Court (SC) yesterday announced that it has reorganized the Judicial Integrity Board (JIB) into the Judicial Integrity Office (JIO), a new body with extensive and motu propio powers to investigate misconduct within the judiciary.
The reorganization was recommended by a Technical Working Group and approved by the Court en banc in a resolution authored by Associate Justice Antonio Kho Jr.
Under the reorganization, the five-member JIB will be replaced with a single JIO that will be appointed by the SC.
The JIO will have a four-year term of office and may be reappointed once.
A new JIO may also be named upon the retirement of the incumbent Chief Justice.
With the motu propio powers, the JIO, unlike the JIB, can act even without a formal complaint.
The JIO can also receive referrals from other government agencies, such as the Civil Service Commission, the Commission on Audit, the Office of the Ombudsman, and the Department of Justice.
The investigative jurisdiction of a JIO is also broad, covering justices of the Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan, Court of Tax Appeals, and Shari’ah High Court, and judges of first- and second-level courts, including Shari’ah District and Circuit Courts.
Also under its investigative jurisdiction are officials and employees of all courts, including the SC as well as the Office of the Court Administrator and the Philippine Judicial Academy.
The JIO also has the power to issue subpoenas for witnesses and documents and can recommend the preventive suspension of a respondent while the probe is ongoing.
For a less serious offense, the SC said a dispute resolution mechanism is required involving parties within the same office, branch, or court.
“Before a case is assigned a docket number, the Judicial Integrity Officer will refer it for a mandatory grievance conference,” the SC said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the SC said the JIB personnel will be transferred to the JIO until the latter’s staffing pattern is approved.
During the transition period, the SC said the acting JIB chairperson will function as the JIO.
On the other hand, the remaining regular members of the JIB shall serve as consultants to the JIO until their term ends.
The JIB was created in 2020 as part of the Strategic and Judicial Innovations (SPIJ).
