Dasmariñas Arena, Dasmariñas, Cavite
July 4, 2024
The Department of Justice (DOJ) showcased its recent achievements, milestones and ongoing reforms to address most pressing issues during its inaugural ‘Bagong Pilipinas DOJ Town Hall’ held at the Dasmariñas Arena in Dasmariñas, Cavite.
According to DOJ Undersecretary Jesse Hermogenes Andres, the Department has implemented transformational reforms to tackle major issues such as court congestion, jail overcrowding and the primacy of human rights in criminal justice administration.
He noted that while court congestion in prison overcrowding remains a challenge, the DOJ has made significant strides. Since the change of Administration in July 2022 up to March 2024, the DOJ has facilitated the release of 11,940 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) after a diligent review of their prison records. This effort has significantly reduced overcrowding from 305% in 2022 to 239% in May 2024, and improved the congestion rate to 214%. The DOJ has streamlined its processes for reviewing petitions for parole and executive clemency. From July 2022 to May 2024, about 3,474 PDLs were granted parole. Of this number, 1,684 were recommended for executive clemency and 92 were granted executive clemency.
Moreover, the DOJ has implemented Department Circular (DC) No. 20 Training Program in collaboration with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other law enforcement agencies. This program aims to strengthen law enforcement capacity and improve the quality of cases filed in courts. In 2023, a total of 214 training sessions were conducted nationwide, training 8,119 prosecutors and other law enforcement agents.
The DOJ has also initiated a collaborative review and revision of the Rules of Criminal Procedure on Preliminary Investigation, enforcing a new threshold of evidence before a person can be brought to court to stand trial and potentially be deprived of liberty. This ensures that cases filed in courts hold prima facie evidence instead of just mere ‘probable cause,’ resulting in 7,114 weak cases not being filed in court and contributed to the decongestion of court dockets. Through this reform, the Department has achieved a high conviction rate of 93.59% for cases subjected to case build-up from the second quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024.
Furthermore, the Justice Department has issued DC No. 11 which sets the maximum bail at PhP10,000 for indigents to dissuade them from choosing imprisonment when bail exceeds PhP10,000. Apart from this, the DOJ also introduced reforms for the automatic dismissal of weak cases.
“All these efforts are being introduced to achieve our motto ‘real justice in real time.’ With accountability mechanisms firmly in place, we will be able to establish a culture where perpetrators are made responsible for their actions,” said Undersecretary Andres.
He also highlighted other achievements, including the Philippines maintaining its highest rating at Tier 1 for anti-trafficking efforts in 2024 for nine (9) consecutive years.
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