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More than the other branches of government, the judiciary values the
peoples trust and confidence. The effectiveness of the courts is firmly
rooted in their credibility in the public eye. Without the peoples belief in
the justice system, court decisions become mere scraps of paper; and
society is brought closer to chaos, as citizens become tempted to take the
law into their hands.
The judiciary is at a disadvantage in its efforts to build credibility. It
cannot and should not be swayed by popular movements or lobby groups;
generally it cannot, on its own, act on issues of public interest unless these
are encompassed in a case before a court; its members do not have the
luxury of explaining their decisions beyond what is already written in the
decisions, and neither do they have the power to revise their decisions if
these are met with public opposition. Most importantly, it is unbecoming
of the Judiciary to engage in public relations campaigns which aim to
create a positive image of the courts. Evidently, where the administration
of justice is concerned, credibility cannot be created or bought, it must be
earned.
I will now discuss how the Philippine judiciary continues to earn the trust
and confidence of the people, how the judiciary has been strengthening its
credibility. I must clarify that we in the judiciary have not been working
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to restore the credibility of the justice system, which presumes that such
credibility was lost. Public trust in the justice system may have waned in
the past, but I believe it was never lost, or else anarchy would have
reigned.
Credibility is described as the authority to inspire belief. Credibility,
therefore, has two components, authority and belief. As applied to the
Judiciary, authority must be commanded by the courts, but belief is an
element born from the people, it is not something that may be ordered by
the courts to exist. In a way, strengthening credibility is much like
gardening.
The gardener, in the exercise of his authority, plants a seed. Despite his
authority, the gardener cannot will the seed to blossom into a tree, he
cannot order or coerce it to become a tall oak. The seed, like the peoples
belief, cannot grow without nurturing. Thus, the gardener must provide
the seed with its requisite nutrients, he must protect the growing tree from
harmful insects and contend with the harshness of the elements. Soon the
gardener will have his tree, and in return for his labors the tree will provide
shade and fruit.
So it is with the peoples belief. Once it is as strong as a mature tree, the
courts can rely on the peoples faith to carry them through unjustified
attacks.
How have we gone about earning the peoples trust?
To begin with, the Judiciary must command authority. Every single
component of the judiciary must exhibit competence. The Judiciary does
not consist only of judges and justices. Equally important in the
administration of justice are the court personnel, from the lowliest utility
worker to the most senior court clerk. Each of these public servants
contribute to the more effective and efficient dispensation of justice, and
all of them must render judicial services with utmost competence.
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1999 to April 2002, three hundred fifty- two (352) magistrates have been
disciplined for various offenses. The figure includes one justice of the
Supreme Court who was admonished and one justice of the Court of
Appeals who was dismissed from service. As to personnel, two hundred
twenty-two (222) have been similarly disciplined in various degrees for
different offenses from the years 1999 to 2001.
I state these numbers not to indicate that the Philippine judiciary is a den
of hoodlums. Indeed, out of some 25,000 employees and officers, only
about 600 have been found guilty of one offense or another for a period
spanning about three years. The bad eggs are an absolute minority. Instead
I wish to emphasize that the judiciary has not been sitting idly by in the
face of proven charges against its members.
Thus do we plant the seed of credibility in the judiciary: by ensuring that
every judge and employee of the judiciary will realize their full potential
in the service of the people through the administration of justice. In this
way we hope to assure the public that the courts will only render justice.
Yet as I stated earlier, we cannot compel this seed to become a tree. Our
nurturing comes in the form of policies and programs to promote
transparency of court processes. In recent years, the most determined step
taken by the Supreme Court in this direction was the creation of the Public
Information Office or PIO.
The PIO is implementing the Supreme Courts information, education and
communication plan, which seeks to educate the public about the role of
the Judiciary in society, its powers and duties, as well as its limitations.
The justice system is truly a mystery to the people, and it is high time we
unraveled the mystery for their benefit.
The Supreme Court is also formulating a disclosure policy, which will
detail what information may be accessed by the public. This measure
supports efforts at transparency and accountability while securing those
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This is a challenge I welcome and one which I am sure all judges and
personnel are ready to face.
Thus have we waged our campaign to strengthen the credibility of the
justice system. I feel that we need not restore something that was not lost,
but at the same time the judiciary cannot settle for anything less than the
peoples full faith and confidence.
I am taking this campaign another level higher today. I invite all of you
here to inform us of your concerns. I invite you moreover to participate in
our efforts to enhance the administration of justice. This is the
convergence I spoke of. And the product of our shared labors will be the
tree I mentioned earlier, the tree of justice that will not be felled by any
challenge. That tree will be a judiciary truly and eternally worthy of public
trust and confidence, and it will be a bastion of justice for all.
Thank you very much. God bless you all.
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