Trial court judges will soon be relieved of administrative concerns and devote more time to their adjudicating tasks as the Supreme Court (SC) hopes to implement the Office of the Regional Court Manager (ORCM) in every judicial region in the country.
With the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP) serving as host venue for the Davao caravan leg, the high tribunal bared its modernization program of the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) in line with SC’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations (SPJI) 2022-2027.
According to the SC, through the ORCM, the OCA will devolve some of its key functions to the regional court managers who will be directly communicating with the court branches within the region, and vice versa; as observed in the current SC set-up, all court branches are reliant on their executive judges, and ultimately on the central office of the OCA for official action.
University President Dr. Bonifacio G. Gabales, Jr. welcomed the esteemed participants of the caravan. “We are privileged to witness the unfolding of a transformative initiative by the Philippine Supreme Court, spearheaded by the Regional Trial Court, Branch 10 in Davao City. The establishment of ORCM underscores the commitment to efficiency, innovation, and accessibility within our judiciary,” he said. Dr. Gabales also wished the discussions in the caravan to pave the way to a future marked by progress, equity, and the relentless pursuit of justice.
OCA Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva delivered the opening remarks. He said that through the ORCM, the Judiciary will accelerate and promote the use of technology in the judicial regions. He also expressed the SC’s gratitude to its development partner, the European Union-GOJUST II, for the support to the ORCM initiative. Villanueva also encouraged those interested to consider a career as a regional court manager.
Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh, in her inspirational message, expressed that the pilot implementation of the ORCM is “a significant addition to the remarkable list of SPJI achievements” in streamlining court operations, improving case disposition, and delivering real-time and responsive justice to the people. Justice Singh also recalled her experience serving as a trial court judge as being saddled with administrative duties that “exacerbates the judiciary’s perennial problems of clogged court dockets and case delays”.
In his video-recorded message, Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo expressed his hopes that the implementation of ORCM would help in eradicating administrative delays and inefficiencies that add to the worries and concerns of the trial court judges. CJ Gesmundo also assured the court judges that the high tribunal had heard their grievances over several concerns and is more than ready to address them through the ORCM and other innovations under the SPJI.
The Davao-leg caravan is the fourth information drive organized by the SC with others held at San Fernando, La Union on April 5; Angeles City, Pampanga on April 12; and Butuan City on April 19.
