Why does a litigant have to wait for ten or even twenty years to have justice done to him or to his adversary? With the courts already much improved, with so many court branches already created and filled up, why are cases still delayed and justice denied? With judges and court personnel's salaries and benefits already raised, why this endemic inefficiency and ineptitude?
My good and conscientious neighbor, Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta is going around the country, inspecting courts by surprise and examining dockets that are clogged by some lazy and inept judges. I will whisper to him the names of judges I know who are preoccupied doing other things, other than hearing cases and deciding them on time, including partisan politics, gambling, and even womanizing. Well, court administration should be done by the court administrator himself, but we have an action-oriented CJ who is known for his hard work, his spartan work ethic, and his self-discipline. I knew him as a fellow Law professor and Bar reviewer before, and we often bump into each other now, either in the subdivision, church, or the supermarket.
I teach Legal and Judicial Ethics and daily, and each teaching moment, I always take the opportunity to instill in my students the importance of resolving cases with a sense of urgency. I teach the canons and the Code of Professional Responsibility, and my favorite line is “never delay a man for money or for malice.” Trials should be conducted with a no-nonsense determination to finish the case on a predetermined date. I’ve never been a judge, but I passed the pre-qualifications for appointment to the Court of Appeals. The Judicial and Bar Council endorsed me to the president but GMA appointed me DOLE undersecretary instead.
Although I didn’t join the judiciary, I was appointed in 1977 by President Marcos as a Labor arbiter (which currently has the rank, emolument of a Regional Trial Court judge). And during my time, when I hear cases, I saw to it that in the first hearing, I asked the lawyers to agree on predetermined schedules from beginning to end. For instance, submission of position papers on February 5, simultaneously at 8 a.m.; reply on February 19; rejoinder on February 26; hearing, if necessary, on March 5. If not, the case is deemed submitted for decision on March 12. I should promulgate the decision on or before March 27. No postponement or extension is allowed. I don’t write long decisions. I used the FIRA technique: that is F for Facts, I for Issue, R for Ruling, and A for Applicable Laws and Jurisprudence.
The courts may take longer than Labor arbiters because of the many intricacies of the Rules of Court. But if I were a judge, I would see to it that all cases should not last in my sala longer than 12 months. I shall discipline the clerks of courts and their deputies, instill strict work ethic in my branch, and impose strict deadlines on my stenographers, researchers, and interpreters. If they cannot cope, I will ask that they be transferred and I should be given dynamic, passionate, and committed court personnel. I was a court interpreter myself when I was studying in the college of law. My two bosses --the late judge Eliseo Ynclino and Judge Jesus P. Narvios-- were sticklers for discipline and urgency. I learned from them immensely.
Labor arbiters who delay cases for whatever reason, should be transferred to Sulu. Commissioners who have a lot of backlog should be made to explain. I will talk to NLRC Chairman Gerry Nograles and Secretary Bebot Bello, who are both my friends. They should know that there are delinquent elements in the NLRC. In Cebu, however, I have no problem. They are the best in the whole country.