Expediting resolution of court cases, purging of misfits and scalawags in the courts, upgrading the mechanics of Bar examinations, and enhancing the participation of law students in legal aid programs for the poor are the four-point agenda of Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin in his 11-month tenure as head of the Judiciary.
These programs for the Judiciary were laid down by Bersamin during the testimonial dinner tendered for him Tuesday by the University of Santo Tomas in Manila where he was a law professor from 2001 to 2006.
Admitting that the present Rules of Court contain “provisions that institutionalize delays,” Bersamin said he will work hard “to update our procedural rules to make them embody and be attuned to the technological developments.”
He said that updated rules will “make the judicial system responsive to the public need for quick dispensation of justice.”
The updating of rules is one of the important functions of the Supreme Court aside from case adjudication, and this role of the SC “is very basic,” he said.
“I will purge the Judiciary of misfits and scalawags and enforce the rules of discipline,” he declared.
He pointed out that in the provinces, “there is a very strong perception that justice is only for the strong, the influential, and the wealthy.”
“Those judges and employees in the provinces who have contributed to this wrong perception about the Judiciary will have to go,” Bersamin stressed.
Immediately, he directed Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez, who was in the testimonial dinner, “to start with my home province of Abra.”
“That is a marching order… no matter if they are my relatives or not. I am sure that you know what I mean,” he said. (Rey G. Panaligan)