‘With these operational policies in place, our judiciary should be on track to working well for the interest of all Filipinos.’
THE courts, even in the National Capital Region, need to have decent operational office space, if not real Halls of Justice, if they are to function well and maintain their reputation as symbols of dispensation of justice.
Thus, we note that the Supreme Court leadership and the city of Makati have cooperated to give Makati judges a better place of work, while waiting for their new Hall of Justice building. Pasig City and Quezon City have well-appointed buildings for their courts, unlike Manila, the nation’s capital city, where the prosecutors and the judges are cramped in just one floor of the City Hall building, with leaky ceilings to contend with.
Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo may be praised for boosting the morale of the judges despite their lack of office spaces. Gesmundo led other justices in the blessing of the interim courts building in Makati.
Gesmundo also reminded the judges: “Justice is not measured by the pillars or the beautiful buildings, [but] the kind of service that we provide to our people. How we administer justice is the reflection of our judicial system. Let us do our best.”
While the Supreme Court (SC) assured it “will protect judges from warrantless charges,” the Chief Justice stressed they “will not let go of any shortcomings or misbehavior, or any violation committed by judges with respect to our constitutional mandate.”
Gesmundo said “any violation (by judges) of our administrative canons for judicial ethics will merit proceedings, and appropriate sanctions will be meted out by the Court.”
Gesmundo pointed out that the SC “has to make this balance to improve the public’s perception of the Judiciary.”
He also said: “What we are trying to say now is that we have to shift our mindset of how the people look at the Judiciary. In fact, not only the Judiciary, but the entire legal profession is part of that call to try to improve or innovate.”
With these operational policies in place, our judiciary should be on track to working well for the interest of all Filipinos.
