Armand N. Nocum
Inquirer

WIDELY maligned because of the alleged corruption and incompetence of some judges, the Philippine justice system is now winning recognition as a role model of judicial reform, a senior jurist said.

“The Philippines is seen by many countries now as both a country which was in need of reform and a country now which is the source of reform,” Associate Justice Artemio Panganiban said on the sidelines of the International Conference and Showcase on Judicial Reforms, which opened in Makati City yesterday.

“Somehow, we’re a poor country, we’re a developing country, but our judiciary has made an impact in the world that we are now the role model on how to conceive, plan, develop and implement a judicial reform program,” said Panganiban, who chairs the three-day conference.

Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. told delegates: “A good government depends on a good judiciary.”

“We are here to formulate the ideal state of justice. We are to be the architects of an idyllic system of justice,” Davide said.

Apparently impressed by the country’s efforts at judicial reform, international foreign bodies have agreed to foot the bill for the holding of the meeting. Normally, it is the host country that picks up the tab.

Clashing images

Indicating interest in the Makati conference, 45 countries sent delegates, including high court chief justices and their deputies from Russia, Japan, China, Canada, Australia, Malaysia and Pakistan, among others.

The Philippine image of a country in the midst of judicial reforms struck a contrast with the results of a survey on the country’s legal system conducted in August by the Social Weather Stations.

In a sampling of 440 lawyers in four key urban areas — Metro Manila and the cities of Baguio, Cebu and Davao — 49 percent said they were “aware” of judges in their localities who were on the take.

But only 8 percent of these lawyers had the courage to report the bribery, with 56 percent saying they could not prove anything anyway and 29 percent saying they feared reprisal, SWS said.

Justice on wheels

Panganiban told reporters many of the delegates had come to the conference to see the programs and projects the country had initiated in line with the judicial reform launched by Davide, who assumed his post in 1998 and is retiring shortly.

He admitted, though, that some of the projects were inspired by projects abroad, including Mexico’s computerization and the “justice-on-wheels” program of Guatemala, where judges go to remote places to hear cases.

Bellwether of reform

Other programs the Philippines has undertaken include the electronic library, which enables lawyers wherever they are to access the Supreme Court’s library through the court website so they could look into previous cases and rulings; the computer literacy program, and the decision of the court to exercise more transparency by creating a public information office.

In his keynote address, Davide said that after getting world attention for its “people power” revolutions, the Philippines had again become a “bellwether, this time in the area of judicial reform.”

Davide’s goal

When he started the reform initiatives, Davide said his goal was to create a “judiciary that is independent, effective and efficient and worthy of public trust and confidence, and a legal profession that provides quality, ethical, accessible and cost-effective legal service….”

Since starting the program to weed out unscrupulous members of the court for “impropriety, immorality and other improper conduct,” Davide said they had disciplined “a number of justices” and “dismissed 47 judges and one justice in a period of five years.”

Winners and losers

A sizable number of lawyers have been disbarred, he said.

As for the critics, Davide said: “The justice system will always be attacked because in every case there are winners and losers, and I cannot imagine losers congratulating the justice system. Its just a matter of perception.”

And people’s mindsets are changing because of “our campaign against graft and corruption,” he said.

Davide said delegates to the conference would affirm their duty to do well not only for their individual countries, but for the “greater interest of justice for humanity and civilization.”

Top jurists

As of yesterday, the conference has listed 129 delegates from 45 countries. Thirty-nine of the delegates are chief justices or presidents, deputy chief justices or vice presidents of Supreme Courts, and senior justices.

Among the chief justices are Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Lebedev (Russia), Akira Machida (Japan), Beatriz Ofelia de Leon Reyes de Barreda (Guatemala), Tun Dato’ Sri Ahmad Fairuz Bin Dato’ Sheik Abdul Halim (Malaysia), Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (Pakistan), Syed J.R. Mudassir Husain (Bangladesh) and Chanchai Likhitjitta (Thailand).

Other court officials are from the United States, India and other countries.

The funding agencies include the Asian Development Bank, Asia Foundation, United Nations Development Program, Australian Agency for International Development, American Bar Association-Asia Law Initiative and British Council.