The city government has taken another step to strengthen the declaration of Puerto Princesa as a “Green Justice Zone” with the proposal to institutionalize the declaration through an ordinance.
The Green Justice Zone committee, led by Judge Jocelyn Sundiang-Dilig, submitted a draft of the ordinance to Mayor Lucilo Bayron on Monday, February 26.
Puerto Princesa City was launched on November 10, 2023, by the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) as the 12th Justice Zone in the Philippines and the first Green Justice Zone.
The JSCC, composed of the Supreme Court (SC), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Department of Justice (DOJ), has been designating justice zones throughout the country since 2010 for the faster resolution of special cases.
For the city, the Green Justice Zone focuses on environmental cases.
City Legal Officer Atty. Norman Yap explained that a justice zone is essentially an area identified by the JSCC as one that showcases the delivery of real-time and responsive justice.
“So, basically, we are supposed to be a center of excellence of some sort as a locality in delivering justice. That said, one of the goals to have a justice zone is to institutionalize is such that all three agencies, all justice sector players will communicate, coordinate and collaborate so that justice is delivered real time,” Yap told members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod during their regular session on Monday.
“This solution is an innovation because hindi sustainable yung, for example, parami nang parami yung nakukulong, hindi naman pwedeng ang laging solusyon ay magdagdag ng prison facility. That kind of mindset will not work.
He further elaborated that certain cases can be resolved through the issuance of a policy, allowing qualified individuals or detainees to undergo probation instead of incarceration, facilitating their reformation.
“Certain cases that do not have merit do not need to be filed in court. Last year for example, the DOJ issued a circular that says hindi na enough na may probable cause lang, dapat may reasonable degree of certainty na ma-convict yung akusado bago i-file yung kaso sa korte para yung court, hindi na ma-clog yung docket,” he explained.
“So dito sa locality natin, ganun din. May mga nakikita na kaming issues kagaya ng delay ng pag-act sa probation applications. Yung drugs cases, may mga nagpi-plea bargaining doon. They plead guilty to a lesser offense hoping na ma-probation sila at hindi na kailangan makulong. Pero nakulong pa rin sila kasi na-clog doon sa probation yung process,” he added, stating further that such problems can be addressed on a policy level.
He also emphasized the adoption of an ordinance that would establish the Justice Zone Committee as a permanent body. This ordinance would define the committee’s membership, including representatives from the local government, alongside the DILG, DOJ, and local courts.
Yap stated that once the ordinance is enacted, the committee will also reactivate the Barangay Justice System to further streamline the process.
“We’re proposing a very modest amount as a starting fund where we will capacitate barangay officials to revitalize the Barangay Justice System because if it really works, mababawasan din ang mapupunta sa korte na kaso,” he said.
“Kasi sa ngayon, yung mindset nila is kung hindi ito maayos in three days, ay di i-refer natin sa court. Sana mabawasan yung ganung mindset. Proactively, they will start resolving cases using a manual or a technique that hopefully we will be able to roll out,” he added
