Marvic Leonen’s CJ agenda: Curb corruption, declog court dockets

MANILA, Philippines — Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said cleaning the ranks and decongesting court dockets would be his top priorities if he is named the next chief justice.

During his panel interview with the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) on Thursday, Leonen was asked by Sen. Francis Pangilinan how he would address rumors of “transactional rulings” among judges and justices if he took the helm.

“What you stated, I will not contradict… You say something about transactional cases, but I will say, it’s not all cases,” said Leonen, who was appointed by the late President Benigno Aquino III.

He pointed to the functions of the Judicial and Integrity Office (JIO), the Supreme Court’s probing body for disciplinary cases within the judiciary, which acts on complaints and can also initiate investigations.

“Instead of being just passive — waiting for complaints and for complainants to move the case forward, it is possible for the JIO… personnel [to do] what the military calls counterintelligence,” Leonen said.

Leonen said the proposed plantilla staff for the role was awaiting approval.

READ: Leonen: Corruption still exists in courts

He also proposed an independent study to review major corruption cases involving big-ticket government deals or items that have reached the high tribunal since 1986.

He said the study would check whether those behind the corruption had been held accountable and what caused undue delays in some cases.

Leonen said the delays could be attributed to various factors, such as “failure” on the part of judges; the absence of prosecution members; mistakes in presenting evidence; negotiated settlements; and waning public interest.

While the numbers in the Supreme Court and lower courts are “overwhelming,” Leonen hopes they will reach a manageable level if he takes over.

One way to address the backlog is to target a steady increase in the clearance rate, starting at 100 percent before raising it to 120 percent, then 125 percent, and so on, “to be able to wipe the backlog,” he said.

Reviewing staffing patterns and mentoring junior justices are other measures to address the judiciary’s perennial issue.

The JBC began interviewing candidates on Thursday for the position of the Philippines’ 28th chief justice, who will succeed outgoing Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, who is set to retire next month.

Leonen fielded questions from the JBC panel for three hours. Associate Justice Alfredo Caguioa is also expected to answer questions for three hours. /mcm