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CHIEF Judge Diosdado Peralta said goodbye on Monday to his colleagues and employees of the Supreme Court, where he presided during one of the most challenging times for the judiciary, with an increase in extrajudicial executions and a red label of lawyers that come with the spikes. of the Covid-19 case. in the country.
Described by his colleagues as the “most accessible” chief magistrate, Peralta said last year was more than difficult for the 29,000 employees of the judiciary. But, he emphasized that members and officials of the CS have done everything possible to address all judicial concerns during this period.
Peralta was in his fifth month as Chief Justice when the Covid-19 pandemic struck the country, sparking vital institutions, including the judiciary. to close operations for several months and while several places were closed.
“To say that the past year had been difficult is more than an understatement. Both in the personal and professional aspects of our lives, we have all had to deal with the many repercussions of this global health crisis that we still face, ”said Peralta at the last flag-raising ceremony given to a chief magistrate on Monday. who is retiring.
“My fellow Court judges and I had the unenviable task of developing policies and measures related to Covid-19 for implementation in courts across the country, not just for the safety and well-being of the 29,000 employees of the Judiciary. , but for all court users as well ”, he added.
As of yesterday, there are 33 active cases of Covid-19 in the SC.
The hybrid flag-raising ceremony was a reduction of the previous and traditional last flag-raising ceremony due to the pandemic.
It was without arrival honors and was attended by only a select few Court employees, mostly from the Office of the Chief Justice, including the immediate family of the Chief Justice – his wife, Deputy Court Justice Fernanda. Lampas Peralta, and children.
The only two SC Associate Judges physically present were Rosmari Carandang and Henri Jean Paul Inting.
All who attended wore masks and face shields and practiced social distancing in strict compliance with public health standards for Covid-19.
They were scattered over 1,200 square meters of the SC’s open land that was decorated with blue balloons.
The other judges virtually witnessed the ceremony and listened to the chief magistrate give his farewell speech.
Appeal of attorneys
Previously, around 900 independent lawyers and members of various law schools asked CJ Peralta to take proactive measures to protect judges, lawyers, and members of the legal profession from threats and killings.
The lawyers admitted that they were “deeply concerned and concerned” about the profiling of lawyers by the Philippine National Police (PNP), as well as the increasing number of killings involving lawyers.
The Supreme Court has remained silent on the matter, while the Office of the Court Administrator is conducting an inventory of cases involving the murder of lawyers.
However, the SC said that among Peralta’s achievements is the acceleration of videoconferencing of court hearings to keep the wheels of justice moving during the pandemic.
He previously said that the courts have held up to 192,444 videoconference hearings, with a success rate of 88 percent, from May 4, 2020 to February 5, 2021.
To expand this measure, the SC, through CJ Peralta, issued administrative circulars that adopt measures to protect the safety and health of court employees and users, such as the court’s daily operations with skeleton personnel; restrict entry to the judges’ corridors only to those with official business; reinforce physical distancing within court facilities; the constant cleaning of the judicial premises and the control of the health of our judicial personnel; and the restructuring of various face-to-face training programs and activities of the Court into hybrid or mixed learning platforms.
“To this end, I can confidently say that we, the members and officials of the Supreme Court, have done everything within our authority to address all judicial concerns and protect the well-being of all to the best of our ability,” he said. Peralta.
“We have verified that with our determination and willingness to adopt innovations, this pandemic is not and will never be an obstacle in the fulfillment of our sworn duties as public servants. We have all led and lived by example, “he added.
Anti-terrorism law
One of the controversial cases that CJ Peralta would leave unsolved is that of the 2020 Antiterrorist Law, where 37 petitions were filed with the CS seeking to declare the law unconstitutional.
Peralta would leave the judiciary while the CS is still conducting oral arguments on the petition.
The resolution of the case has been delayed because health problems caused several postponements of scheduled oral arguments.
Oral arguments that were supposed to continue today (March 23) were again canceled due to the spikes of the Covid-19 case. The country recorded a record high of 8,019 new daily cases on Monday.
The CV announced that oral argument would continue on April 6.
When Peralta took office as Chief Justice on October 23, 2019, he introduced his 10-Point Program.
Under his leadership, the SC formulated and approved 18 procedural rules and guidelines aimed at improving the administration of justice and addressed the problem of obstructed court records.
They streamlined the staff in various offices, divisions and services of the Court that guaranteed the security of permanence of the employees and improved their processes.
The SC established the Judicial Public Assistance Section (JPAS) that received and acted promptly on concerns, problems and suggestions and even complaints against judicial officials and employees who had made mistakes.
It also formally organized the Judicial Integrity Board (JIB) in an effort to prevent corruption in the judiciary.
Peralta was supposed to retire on March 27, 2022 when he turns 70, the mandatory retirement age for magistrates, but chose to retire a year earlier.
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