The unprecedented damage brought about by Typhoon Yolanda in Central Visayas has pushed Supreme Court chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to order the fast-tracking of the implementation the digitization of court records.
Sereno said this week that the destruction of the court records in the typhoon-hit areas, particularly in Tacloban City where paper-based court records in the Hall of Justice were wiped out, provided the justification for the judiciary to accelerate its migration online.
In July of this year, the SC launched e-Court system to allow litigants to monitor their pending cases through an e-Court kiosk. The project is being pilot-tested in Quezon City.
Sereno said that unlike now in which the courts are faced with the gargantuan task of reconstructing the damaged court records, digital records are relatively safer since they can be replicated and backed up.
Under the e-Court program, the courts can perform digital archiving and retrieval system. They can also computerize the notification system for litigants and lawyers regarding court schedules and subpoenas.
The chief magistrate said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is also confronted with the same problem on how to reconstruct the records of cases.
Sereno said although the courts in the typhoon-affected areas have resumed, the hearings are being held in tents while court records are literally being dried under the sun.
“The court has to start functioning to bring a sense of normalcy,” Sereno said during the courtesy call of the newly appointed United States Ambassador to the Philippines Philip S. Goldberg.
During the event, Sereno cited the US government’s assistance in the SC’s reform projects, which included the e-Court program.
The e-Court system, interestingly, is using a homegrown solution from local software house Ideyatech, which specializes on Java technology and is based in Ortigas, Pasig City.
The solution developed by Ideyatech is an electronic end-to-end case management system that organizes cases digitally, from filing of complaints to resolution and enforcement.
A calendar of hearings is also a feature of the system that allows judges to view happenings on a daily, weekly, up to an annual basis.
The public can also search for cases according to case number, category, or title, and allows monitoring of cases in terms of history or status. The e-Court can show the status of active and pending cases, as well as a notice of overstaying detainees that reminds the concerned judge or legal entity. — with reports from PNA
