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Judges-at-large
THE CRIMINAL justice system in the Philippines is perceived to be slow, given the sheer volume of docketed cases. Human rights lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno once said that a trial usually lasts six to 10 years.
The House Committee on Appropriations hopes to address the backlog in the lower courts, especially amid the gains law enforcers have made in the ongoing war on drugs, by approving the budgetary requirements of a substitute bill for House measures seeking the creation of positions for “judges-at-large.” This measure aims to decongest court dockets in an efficient manner.
Judges-at-large are basically deployable judges who have no permanent salas. This means they can be detailed by the Supreme Court to any court in the country, depending on the need. The substitute bill provides for the creation of 50 Regional Trial Judges-at-Large and another 50 Municipal Trial Judges-at-Large. It amends sections of Batas Pambansa 129 for this purpose.
The measure is timely in the light of the anti-illegal drug campaign, which has led to the arrest of thousands of suspected drug offenders. Since June 2016, some 96,700 drug suspects have been jailed, bared an Agence France Presse report in September. Delaying the resolution of these cases is unfair to the defendants as well as the lawmen who risked their lives in the conduct of anti-drug operations.
Under the proposed measure, the salary level of the 100 judges-at-large will be equal to those received by Regional Trial Judges, Metropolitan Trial Judges, Municipal Circuit Trial Judges, and Intermediate Appelate Justices. These new magistrates will also receive displacement allowances, which will cover their housing, food, transportation, and other necessary expenses incurred during their detail to courts which are outside their places of residence.
The measure hopes to declog court dockets efficiently because the speedy delivery of justice is so important. Justice delayed is justice denied.
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