As part of its ongoing efforts to modernize the judiciary, the Supreme Court (SC) conducted orientations on electronic filing (e-Filing) for Judicial Region VI judges and court personnel in the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo early this month.
Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, in his message to participants, emphasized the benefits of digitalization in improving access to justice.
He highlighted how technology can streamline case management, reduce processing times, and enable real-time case updates.
Leonen also acknowledged the challenges of adapting to technological changes, encouraging participants to embrace innovation.
“Without discomfort, we can have no meaningful reforms,” he said as he underscored the crucial role of trial courts in providing feedback to refine these digital initiatives.
Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier, meanwhile, urged judges and court personnel to enhance their digital proficiency as the judiciary’s frontliners.
“Take note that we are doing everything first at your level because you are in the forefront, and you are foremost in our minds when it comes to efficiency,” she said in a statement from the SC Office of the Spokesperson March 20.
Lazaro-Javier also reaffirmed the SC’s goal of a fully paperless judiciary by 2027, which starts with the successful adoption of eFiling in trial courts.
This digital shift is a key initiative under the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027, which led to the development of eCourt PH 2.0—a unified, comprehensive, and intelligent case management system aimed at digitalizing court adjudication.
The first phase of this modernization effort is eFiling, which was fully implemented on Dec. 1, 2024, for civil cases in trial courts. This system requires the electronic submission of pleadings and court documents, except for initiatory pleadings, eliminating manual filing inefficiencies, and expediting case resolution.
Court Administrator Raul Villanueva, chairperson of the Philippine Judicial Academy Court Management Department, on the other hand, lectured on Rule 13-A, the Interim Rule on Electronic Filing and Service of Pleadings, Judgments, and Other Papers in Civil Cases.
He guided participants through its key provisions, including deadlines and procedural requirements for successful eFiling, as well as addressed participants’ concerns, offering practical solutions such as assisting parties without email addresses or internet access, acquiring additional equipment for eFiling, and using digital files for exhibit identification and marking.
The orientation session also featured presentations on eFiling and the eLibrary, followed by open forums where participants could clarify the implementation of digital court processes.
The events concluded with remarks from executive judges Rose Edith Gautier Togonon of Branch 25, Regional Trial Court, Iloilo City, and Therese Blanche Alunan Bolunia of Branch 47, RTC, Negros Occidental, who both expressed their support for the judiciary’s digital transformation and the importance of continuous learning in adapting to these changes. ||
