Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo issued a call on judges to be the “force multipliers” of the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovation 2022-2027, to help get the Supreme Court’s message across, and to be active agents of reform.
In his keynote address on the second day of the Philippine Judges Association Midterm Convention and Seminar on 20 October 2022 at the Shangri-La, The Fort, BGC, Taguig City. The event, with the theme “PJA: Forging Ties for Humanity and Peace” was the PJA’s first face-to-face convention in two years.
The Chief Justice was joined by Court Administrator Raul Villanueva.
“As a concrete step towards this direction, I urge the PJA to join the Court and the rest of the Judiciary as we work for reforms through innovation”, said the Chief Justice, referring to the SPJI, the long-term reform program formally launched by the Supreme Court last 14 October 2022.
The Chief Justice, described the program as “our blueprint for action in the next five years” with an emphasis on ‘our’ “because you are all participants in implementing the SPJI.”
Without the support of the judges, Gesmundo said“reforms will not last; they will not even take root. Our aim, then, is to raise awareness about our vision and strategies among the Judiciary, and to convert as many stakeholders as we can — turning them from acquiescent observers and passive beneficiaries into invested and proactive participants.”