By Atty. Rita Linda V. Jimeno

We were recently dubbed as the biggest consumer of illegal drugs in this part of the globe. Before that, we earned the title to being the most corrupt nation in Asia. All these may be true but I refuse to believe that we are a nation of losers in every way. Our judiciary is emerging as a winner?a model of genuine and efficient reforms in the delivery of justice to the most neglected; the poorest among the poor. And the cynical must read on, to believe.

The general sense the public has of the Philippine judiciary is that it grinds ever slowly. That it is for the rich who can afford the best lawyers money can buy. That the poor languish in jail, left with no hope of going back to society. Yet, what the Supreme Court has accomplished in less than six months to upgrade the poor?s access to justice is worth noticing. And yes, writing about, for all the world to see.

In barely five to six months since July 2008, 650 inmates from impoverished families, with no lawyers representing them, have been released from prison. And while it is not the judiciary?s mandate to provide for the medical and dental needs of jail inmates, some 5,300?in the same period?have been benefited by the free medical and dental checkups and the medicines that the Supreme Court has brought along in its Justice on Wheels program.

What is the Justice on Wheels all about? Lawyer Jose Midas Marquez, the spokesperson of the Supreme Court and the chief of staff of the Chief Justice, explains that the Justice on Wheels, now known to many as the JOW, is a bus which houses two courtrooms. It goes around the country to conduct hearings in places where courts? dockets are clogged and jails are congested. The judiciary has three Justice on Wheels buses. Every bus is equipped with judges? and lawyers? tables and has seats for witnesses, stenographers and the parties to a case.

On July 9, 2008, barely a week after the Supreme Court?s two-day national Forum on Increasing Access to Justice by the Poor: Bridging Gaps and Removing Roadblocks, which Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno guaranteed would not simply be an ?idle talk-fest,? the enhanced JOW program was launched. And the results have been astounding.

The Justice on Wheels? first stop was the Manila City Jail, which was overcrowded with more than 4,000 prisoners while its capacity was so much less. The Chief Justice disallowed postponement of the hearings as he observed that some of the inmates were already in their 70s or 80s?some languishing in jail for not-so-grave offenses. He also saw that a number of the prisoners were afflicted with various illnesses. One inmate, detained for theft, had the rare disease of elephantiasis. He was promptly sent by the Chief Justice for confinement and treatment at the Philippine General Hospital. Some of the inmates had been in jail beyond the imposable penalty for their alleged crimes yet could not be released as they had no lawyers to represent them. The Chief Justice said: ?The condition here shocks the conscience. I don?t know what stronger word to use.?

For the inmates, this was a chance of a lifetime. Their cases were heard with dispatch. Those who were ill were immediately given medical attention. At the end of that day, eight inmates were released from the Manila city jail while four youth offenders from the Manila Youth Reception Center, were freed. Another four were brought to nearby hospitals for urgent medical attention.

Since then, the jail and docket decongestion program in Manila, where two container vans were converted to serve as additional courtrooms, has not ground to a halt, lawyer Midas Marquez explained. Regular hearings of inmates? cases continue to be held. To date, six months after the program?s start, some 68 inmates have been released.

After the Manila launch, the Court?s Justice on Wheels has gone to different parts of the country. The Supreme Court justices and judges are led by no less than Chief Justice Puno himself and Justice Consuelo Ynares Santiago, the Chairperson of the Committee on Justice on Wheels. The Justices have travelled to the various corners of the country from Metro Manila cities to nearby provinces; to as far as Kalibo, Aklan; Cebu Province; Digos, Davao del Sur and Tagum, Davao del Norte; Davao City; Baler, Aurora and Sarangani Province. The Supreme Court officials have braved strong rains and possible landslides to get to the far provinces.

In Kalibo, Aklan, the mobile court served as two regular courts and enabled the hearing of cases to continue despite the havoc left by typhoon Frank. The roof of the Hall of Justice in Kalibo was blown away while neck-deep water and waist-deep mud flooded the regular courts, destroying court records, equipment and evidence in pending cases.

What makes the JOW program unique and worthy of emulation is that, aside from jail and docket decongestion, it has a mobile court-annexed mediation; has legal aid for those who cannot afford to engage the service of lawyers and also brings with it medical and dental aid complete with free medicines for the inmates. The Supreme Court doctors, dentists and nurses, together with other volunteer medical workers, attend to those availing themselves of free medical and dental services. In Tacloban, an entire basketball court was converted into a virtual hospital and dental clinic, with lines of doctors and dentists individually attending to the medical and dental needs of the inmates. A make-shift booth was constructed at the center which served as a botica dispensing free medicines.

?When you consider the realities on the ground, the poor and the marginalized oftentimes play in an uneven legal field. So the Justice on Wheels program is predicated on that rationale: bringing social justice to the disadvantaged sectors of our society as a living reality,? the Chief Justice reasoned.

The Supreme Court?s efforts have not really gone unnoticed. In Digos City, Davao del Sur, Indonesian Consul General Lalu Malik Partawana witnessed the release of an Indonesian national who was accused of qualified theft of coconuts arising from a land dispute, after his case was heard in the Justice on Wheels. Inspired by the success of the Philippine Supreme Court?s JOW, the Indonesian Consul General vowed to propose to his government the adoption of the Justice on Wheels program in his country.

We, Filipinos, should open our eyes to the bright side of our firmament. There is light, not just darkness.

E-mail: ritalindaj@gmail.com Web: www.jimenolaw.com.ph