STRENGTHENING THE CREDIBILITY

OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

By HILARIO G. DAVIDE, JR.
2002 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee
for Government Service
Presented at the 44th Ramon Magsaysay Awards Lecture Series

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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Competence is manifested in two areas. First, as public servants, all

members of the judiciary must be so competent as to faithfully adhere to
the command in the Philippine Constitution that public office is a public
trust and, therefore, public officers and employees must at all times be
accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility,
integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead
modest lives.
Competence is also manifested as expertise in the dispensation of official
duties. For judges, this means that they must be knowledgeable in both
law and procedure, they must be familiar with recent legal developments
as well as emerging trends. Recently, for example, Philippine judges have
been required to acquaint themselves with electronic and genetic
evidence, matters that were once confined to science fiction. Our judges
are likewise keeping themselves abreast with international legal concepts
such as the evolving meaning of terrorism, economic and socio-cultural
rights, intellectual property, and many other unusual fields of law.
For court personnel, professional competence is exhibited as their mastery
of their roles and functions in the administration of justice. Such mastery
includes a recognition that they are part of a team with the singular
objective of achieving justice for the people.
To develop competence in these two areas, the Supreme Court supports
judges and personnel with a program of continuing education
implemented by the Philippine Judicial Academy, the education arm of
the Supreme Court. The Office of the Court Administrator, which is
tasked with the supervision of all courts below the Supreme Court,
meanwhile leads efforts to constitute each trial court as an efficient
management team.
At the same time, in order to discourage judges and personnel from
straying from the straight and narrow path of justice, the Supreme Court
has aggressively cracked the whip on erring employees and officers. From
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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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matters which should remain confidential in the interest of justice.

Over and above these efforts is the comprehensive program for reform
being undertaken by the Supreme Court. We are pursuing our Action
Program for Judicial Reform or APJR, a six-year program outlining
several initiatives that will revolutionize the delivery of justice in the
country. The APJR covers administrative concerns, facility requirements,
human resources development, and support systems among many other
issues. This is an ambitious initiative which will demand much from the
Judiciary, and will also require the convergence of various sectors of
society. The program will rely on the credibility of the judiciary for its
success, and its success will ensure the strengthening of that same
credibility.
With all these efforts it is necessary to ask if the Philippine judiciary has
indeed been able to strengthen its credibility. Judging from news reports
and public reactions, I can confidently say that we still have a long way
to go. Many of the reports are unsubstantiated, thus, conclusions drawn
from them are unjustified. Yet doubts remain in the public mind, and this
remains a cause for concern for all of us in the judiciary.
Such doubt affects the morale of all employees, especially those who
adhere to every law and rule applicable to their work.
Rather than blame the public for drawing such conclusions, or condemn
the media for making such reports, I feel that the Supreme Court should
instead double its efforts at public education. It is only when the public
fully understands and appreciates the role of the judiciary can we truly say
that we have won the peoples faith and trust. Until then, we in the
judiciary will continue to persevere in developing and exhibiting the
competencies that will convince the people of our dedication to justice.

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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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