SC mobile courts in Sultan Kudarat hear 42 cases, release 5 prisoners

Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta has ordered the fielding of its 10 mobile courts in far-flung areas to help in the expeditious resolution of cases and decongestion of jails in the country.

Two mobile courts of the SC’s Enhanced Justice on Wheels (EJOW) program were fielded in Sultan Kudarat last Thursday to conduct simultaneous hearings and mediation proceedings on pending cases involving detained persons.

Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez, who supervised the EJOW in Sultan Kudarat, said 33 of the 42 cases heard in one day were dismissed and five detainees were released.

While trial court judges were conducting hearings inside the mobile courts, professors of the Philippine Judicial Academy (PhilJA) were giving lectures and information dissemination to more than 1,000 barangay leaders in Sultan Kudarat’s capitol grounds.

SC officials led by Marquez and Deputy Court Administrator for Mindanao Leo T. Madrazo also visited the Isulan district jail where 1,200 persons are detained.

Medical and dental missions and a legal aid were conducted inside the jail as part of EJOW, Marquez said.

He also said a dialogue with justice sector stakeholders in Sultan Kudarat was held to ensure the expeditious resolution of cases and decongestion of jails.

The EJOW proceedings, particularly the jail visitation and medical and dental missions, were also attended by Sultan Kudarat Gov. Suharto T. Mangudadatu and his wife, Maguindanao Gov. Bai Mariam Mangudadatu, members of the Sultan Kudarat provincial board, judges, prosecutors, lawyers from the Public Attorneys’ Office, and private law practitioners from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

The first mobile court was deployed in Metro Manila in 2004 for the SC’s 23-day pilot run covering several youth reception centers, juvenile detention facilities, and jails.

The fully air-conditioned EJOW bus has two main sections – the front section which serves as the courtroom and the rear section which serves as the mediation room.

It is provided with a presiding judge, a clerk of court, a prosecutor, a public attorney, a court stenographer, a docket clerk, a process server, a driver, and a security guard.

During its pilot-testing from December, 2004 to January, 2005, the mobile court was able to hear a total of 754 cases which resulted in the immediate release of 300 detainees.

EJOW records showed that about 12,000 inmates had been released through the project and more than 10,000 civil disputes settled.