BROADCAST journalist Raffy Tulfo yesterday took his oath as senator before Supreme Court Justice Marvic Leonen and assured the public that he will work closely with the judiciary “on how to increase the efficiency of its work processes through digitalization.”
Tulfo was accompanied by his wife, ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Jocelyn Tulfo, during the simple ceremony at Leonen’s office at the Supreme Court building in Padre Faura, Manila.
Tuldo said he will work with the SC and the Office of the Court Administrator to find ways on how to modernize court processes and how to generate more funds for additional courts and detention facilities nationwide.
“More online or video conferencing are needed not just at the courthouses or halls of justice, but also at the jails at the municipal, city, and provincial levels. Especially at the jails where there is high congestion, there should be a room or hall where several court hearings can be simultaneously conducted. Every detention facility should have a venue for online court hearings,” Tulfo said in a statement.
He said he will also push for additional “court on wheels” to conduct more remote hearings.
“These courts on wheels would be for the remote places where physical facilities are not available because the courts on wheels would be a better cost-efficient option,” he added.
Tulfo said the judiciary should also switch from the current paper-based processes to a fully digitalized system, especially with regards the storage of old court documents so they can be secured.
“Old court documents should be digitalized and stored in a secure digital base while the paper documents can be stored in regional warehouses. Incoming new documents should be digitalized outright. I look forward to seeing the proposed solution of the Supreme Court to this problem,” Tulfo said.
