Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo urged members of the Metropolitan and City Trial Judges Association of the Philippines to ensure access to justice during this new normal period.
Speaking at the 22nd Annual METJCAP convention in Boracay, the Chief Justice said that while the pandemic has been a boon to the digital transformation, “Let us keep in mind that it is one thing to usher in change, it is another to keep it.
Specially now as we are regaining normalcy, the task is to ensure that things will not simply slide back to the way they were.”
He said the reforms which were adopted during the past two years have already significantly affected the lives of the stakeholders.
He pointed out the public’s expectations from the judiciary have been altered, if not already raised.
“Therefore, we cannot just maintain the status quo; we must strive to bring the SPJI (Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations) vision into fruition,” Gesmundo stressed. “Decades of judicial reforms and hundreds of projects have taught us that changing tools and processes is not all that we need.”
But more important is the change in mindset, in attitude, in the perspective of the people, with judges, officials, personnel and court users needing to start with a change of heart, he added.