BY REY PANALIGAN
Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta on Friday said “the wheels of justice continue grinding despite COVID-19 pandemic” with 825 cases resolved by the Supreme Court (SC) since the lockdowns started last March.
In the trial courts, Peralta said that there have been 67,481 hearings through video conferencing on criminal cases involving 45,336 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).
The hearings, either in court or video conferencing, resulted in the release of 60,532 PDLs as of August 21, the Chief Justice said.
“This is a most-welcome development considering that our jails are congested and that stricter measures are being implemented especially with the present health crisis,” Peralta pointed out.
“This is also proof that the Judiciary never wavered even during the almost six-month government lockdown in dispensing its constitutional duty to adjudicate cases,” he added. (Rey Panaligan)
