By: Raydes B. Barcia
Legazpi City —In a quest to expedite and resolve the delays of disposition of court cases, Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo urged the investigating commissioners of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines – Commission on Bar Discipline (IBP CBD) “to level up and move forward” in solving disciplinary cases against members of the Bar.
Speaking before the participants of the “First CBD Commissioners’ Summit” at the Diamond Hotel in Manila, Gesmundo told the investigating commissioners to discuss among themselves and come up with explicit recommendations as to how to fast-track the disciplinary cases assigned to them, so that the Court En Banc could immediately address the case.
Gesmundo lamented that the statistics provided by the IBP CBD show how administrative cases have suffered perennial delays in disposition, with 902 cases still pending as of July 30, 2022.
The Chief Justice reiterated the speedy resolution of the backlog cases as the people deserve justice.“Our people deserve justice,” Gesmundo said. Expediting the resolution of disciplinary cases will be in line with the Supreme Court’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI), which is ultimately aimed at the delivery of justice in real time,” the Chief Justice said.
Due to this, the Supreme Court and the IBP will soon conduct a nationwide caravan on the new code of professional responsibility and accountability to introduce the new code not only to the different chapters of the IBP, including the other stakeholders who rely on the administration of justice.
The move is to call the attention of the members of the Bar if they digress, violate, or totally ignore what is provided in the code of professional responsibility and accountability.
The three-day summit of Integrated Bar of the Philippines – Commission on Bar Discipline (IBP CBD) with the theme “Standardizing Concepts and Processes in Improving the System of Resolving Administrative Complaints Filed with the Commission on Bar Discipline” was attended by about one hundred IBP investigating commissioners.
Joining Chief Justice Gesmundo were Associate Justices Ramon Paul L. Hernando, Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, Henri Jean Paul B. Inting, Rodil V. Zalameda, Samuel H. Gaerlan, Jhosep Y. Lopez, Jose Midas P. Marquez, and Maria Filomena D. Singh.