[Editor’s Note]

Evicted from his farmland by a local politician and finding no success in court, Mang Jun now lives in a house by the river burdened by legal fees and dependent on his children for provisions. Realities like Mang Jun in the Philippines evoke attention to the importance of impartiality in the courts. Without such impartiality, the subsistence of its people and trust in the judicial system can begin to erode. In this contribution to the Working Papers Series on Judicial Independence and Democracy in Asia, Attry. Maria Cleofe Gettie C. Sandoval explores the aspects and challenges to judicial independence and accountability. Reflecting on ideas of executive overreach vs. judicial independence, balances of the judiciary's independence and the public's right to know, and arguments surrounding fiscal autonomy and the full utilization of funds, the author provides an overview of the Philippines's Judicial system and its current challenges to its independence. To strengthen the state of judicial independence and accountability in the Philippines, the author has five recommendations: 1) evaluating the JBC's effectiveness in depoliticizing the appointments process; 2) strengthening the SC's management capacity and a revisit of the principles of decentralization; 3) improving the performance evaluation metrics of judges; 4) revisiting the issue of SALN disclosure to dispel that the SC is hiding information from the public; and 5) establishing a continuing review of judicial compensation to remove its current ad hoc nature.

※ The following are excerpts from the article. For the full text, please check the attached file at the top of this page.

1. Ruminations of Mang Juan

A local politician evicted Mang Juan[1] from his farmland. Mang Juan protested in court, to no avail. The case is now on appeal. Mang Juan now lives in a house by the river. Without his farm, he subsists on provisions from his children. Burdened by legal fees, he has lost the will to fight and has lost trust in the judicial system but feels too old to join the local communist command. He can migrate to Canada and join his daughter, but the prospects of cold winter nights daunt him. Mang Juan sips his coffee and thinks of the kind of future he will face without his land.

2. Why Judicial Independence Matters

The impartiality of the courts is personally important to Mang Juan and his subsistence is at stake. Politically, the lack of judicial independence erodes the trust and confidence of the public in the judicial system. This paper provides a background on the Philippine judicial system, explores aspects and challenges to judicial independence, and outlines recommendations to strengthen it.

3. Overview of the Judicial System and Judicial Independence

The Philippine judiciary is headed by the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court, with a system of appellate and trial courts. The country’s system of government relies on the principle of checks and balances to prevent any one branch (Executive, Legislative, or Judicial) from acquiring too much power.

Although judicial independence is not an explicitly guaranteed right under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, it has been enshrined in case law and there are provisions in the law and in regulations that support it.

The Canadian Judicial Council breaks down judicial independence into adjudicative independence of the individual judge and the institutional independence of the judiciary. Figure 1 illustrates this and will also be used for the Philippine context.

[1] Mang Juan literally means Mr. John. In the Filipino context, Mang is generally a salutation of respect for an elderly man.

■ Maria Cleofe Gettie C. Sandoval, J.D. works in the areas of law, gender, peace, and security. She started her practice of law as part of an alternative law group that provides legal education, advocacy, training, and representation to members of marginalized sectors, especially women. She also worked in the executive and legislatives branches of government. Currently, she teaches at the School of Law, Ateneo de Manila University and at the MA Humanities Program of St. Scholastica’s College. She earned her Degrees on Bachelor of Arts, Major in Economics and Juris Doctor from the Ateneo de Manila University.

■ Typeset by Juhyun Jun Research Associate
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