Mobile courts now serving North Cotabato

Two mobile courts, known as Enhanced Justice on Wheels (EJoW) buses, will be fielded in North Cotabato for use by trial court judges for hearings and other court processes.

This, after the hall of justice (HoJ) in Midsayap, North Cotabato was severely damaged due to earthquakes that hit Mindanao and the building has been declared unsafe.

Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez said Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta has authorized the fielding of two EJoW buses to temporary serve as courtrooms.

The HoJ in Midsayap based on the initial report submitted to OCA “needs total rehabilitation”

In Kidapawan City and Kabacan town, cracks on the walls of court houses were noticed after the earthquakes and a series of aftershocks.

The first mobile court travelled Metro Manila roads in 2004 for the Supreme Court 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.

The SC now has 10 EJOW buses which are regularly fielded to help decongest dockets of trial courts.

North Cotabato residents are already familiar with EJoW buses.

In December last year, about 300 detention prisoners in the district jail of North Cotabato were released through the EJOW program of the SC.

Marquez personally supervised the fielding of EJOW buses in Kidapawan City.

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