📋 Tender Overview
The Supreme Court, as a member of the Philippine (PH) Open Government Partnership (OGP) Steering Committee, has achieved progress in the Judiciary’s commitments to the principles of open government under the OGP.
The OGP, with the Philippines as founding member, is an international partnership of governments and civil society organizations that aims to promote a transparent, participatory, inclusive, and accountable governance.
Aligned with the target outcomes of the Court’s reform program, the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI), the Supreme Court’s commitments to the 6th PH-OGP National Action Plan (NAP) are (1) the establishment of more Justice Zones; and (2) improved public access to quality, free, or affordable legal services.
Led by Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh, the Court has posted progress on these two commitments.
Justice Zones
The establishment of Justice Zones is the flagship program of the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC), made up of the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government, for justice sector coordination at the local level.
These zones streamline coordination among various agencies involved in the justice system, addressing issues of delay and accountability effectively.
Under the 6th PH-OGP NAP, the JSCC targets the creation of four justice zones every year from 2024 to 2027.
At present, a total of 13 justice zones have been created: 10 justice zones in Quezon City, Cebu City, Davao City, Angeles City, Bacolod City, Naga City, Calamba City, Balanga City, Baguio City, and Dagupan City; and three specialty zone areas in Zamboanga City (Trafficking-Free Justice Zone), Tagaytay City (Economic Tourism Justice Zone), and Puerto Princesa City (Green Justice Zone). In addition to these, the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) Tri-City Justice Zones are poised to be launched in Regions 8 and 10 with preparations currently underway.
Free Legal Aid Directory
To increase the public’s access to legal information and services, the Supreme Court has launched a free legal aid public directory.
Under the 6th PH-OGP NAP, the Court aims to publish a database of legal aid providers to enable litigants to find affordable legal guidance and representation.
To supplement the current legal aid directory on the Supreme Court website, the Court launched the Judiciary Information and General Support System (JIGSS) on the online messaging application, Messenger.
JIGSS serves as a chatbot that provides instant responses to queries on legal assistance, trial court information, and online payment of court fees.
For legal assistance, JIGSS provides contact information on free legal aid providers all over the Philippines, specifically (1) the legal aid clinics accredited under the Court’s Clinical Legal Education Program (CLEP), (2) the legal aid clinics of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), and (3) the Public Attorney’s Office.
JIGSS also helps the public locate a trial court by linking them to the Court Locator, where courts can be found categorized by province or region, municipality, court type, and the branch or the name of the judge. Once users find the court from among the search results, they will be directed to the page with that court’s complete contact information, including directions to the Hall of Justice, using the incorporated Google Map. The contact number of a particular court can also be called directly by simply clicking the number. The same works for the displayed email address.
Information on how to make court fee payments online is also instantly available to JIGSS users, by connecting them to the Judiciary e-Payment Solution (JePS). JePS enables them to compute the amount of legal fees they need for their court transactions and conveniently proceed with the payment online.
JIGSS complements ongoing Court programs to improve public access to quality, free, or affordable legal services which include the establishment of legal aid clinics that offer free legal services to the community under the Revised Rule 138-A of the Rules of Court; the institutionalization of the CLEP in law schools under the Revised Law Student Practice Rule; and the conduct of the National Legal Aid Summit and the first Clinical Legal Education Summit.
