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OCA C IRCULAR No . 88 -2011 -A
EXECUTIVE/PRESIDING JUDGES, COURT PERSONNEL OF 17SELECTED FIRST AND SECOND LEVEL COURTS
SUBJECT : CONDUCT OF THE SPECIAL DIAGNOSTIC INVENTORY FOR THECASE DELAY AND DOCKET REDUCTION PROJECT (CDDRP)
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court's Judicial Reform Program (JRP) has implementedprojects and other interventions to address the perennial problem of case congestion anddelay in the hearings and disposal of cases in all court levels. Among these are: case anddocket management training, human resources capacity-building for judges and courtpersonnel, and conduct of dialogues and focus group discussions with other justice sectoragencies who are likewise mandated with the prompt and fair of justice;
WHEREAS, the Chief Justice has stated that case decongestion and efficient casemanagement are among the key priority reform areas under his leadership. With this policydirection, the Court, through the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) and the ProgramManagement Office (PMO) have initially implemented a case decongestion project in thethree (3) Regional Trial Courts and one (1) Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu where the Courts' average number of cases filed is higher than thatdisposed of each month;
WHEREAS, the conduct of a similar Case Delay and Docket Reduction Project(CDDRP) in the 17 selected 1st and 2°d level courts, which were found to have highcaseloads is expected to significantly declog their dockets, and eventually improving theoverall case disposal rate and overall efficiency in their operations;
WHEREAS, the CDDR project aims to: (1) reduce by at least 10% to 15% thenumber of pending cases in these selected courts after the recommendations of thediagnostic audit are complied with; (2) identify the specific problems/difficulties of thejudges and court personnel in disposing of their pending cases; and (3) develop adocket/case management plan for each court branch;
WHEREAS, the conduct of the Orientation on the CDDR Project with the Judges,Clerks of Court and Branch Clerks of Court of the 1 7 selected courts was held last July 15,2011 pursuant to OCA Circular 88-2011 dated July 11,2011;
WHEREFORE, IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, the following guidelines shall beobserved in the conduct of the special diagnostic inventory for the CDDR Project:
The conduct of the Special Diagnostic Inventory on the CDDR Project shallcommence on July 18, 2011 until September 9, 2011 for all the said 17selected courts.
The court branch shall devote this entire period for the accomplishment ofSpecial Diagnostic Inventory Forms for the Project. Electronic copies of theDiagnostic Inventory Forms shall be provided to all these courts.
During the Special Diagnostic Inventory for the CDDR Project, the courtbranches are directed to manage their dockets, and hearings shall bescheduled and conducted only on urgent matters and incidents such as butnot limited to applications for habeas corpus, writs of amparo or habeasdata, temporary restraining order and/ or writ of preliminary injunction,temporary/permanent protection order, applications for bail, arraignmentand trial of detained accused, motions for the lifting of warrant of arrest,and the like.
The CDDR Project will entail three stages of case decongestion, namely:(a) docket inventory; (b) judicial audit, and (c) docket management plan foreach branch.
The docket inventory shall begin with a review of the December 31, 2009semestral docket inventory and the monthly reports from January 2010 toMay 2010 submitted.
The validation of inventory reports will be conducted by the OCA JudicialSupervisors beginning September 15 to October 28r 2011 in the courtbranch, on the following purposes: (a) to validate the reports submittedafter the inventory conducted by the court branch; (b) to aid the courtbranch and the court management/case management decongest ioncommittee to come up with solutions to fast track case disposition.
The formulation of the Case Management Plan by each court branch will bedone from November 1 to December 1, 2011. Following this, the OCAwill approve the Case Management Plan by each court branch and theyshall be directed to implement their Case Management Plan beginningJanuary 2012.
During the Special Diagnostic Inventory for the Project, no application forleave, whether filed by a judge, branch clerk of court, docket clerk, or courtaide, or the Clerk of Court or Assistant Clerk of Court of these selectedcourts, shall be approved except for the most compelling reasons, to bedetermined by the Court Administrator.
The 1 7 courts are directed to submit an initial Diagnostic Inventory Reportcontaining at least fifteen (15) differentiated cases submitted for decision (toserve the purpose of filling up the finalized and approved diagnostic formsfor the CDDR Project).
The submission of the initial Diagnostic Inventory Report for the CDDRProject using the finalized and approved format shall be sent by electronicmail to [email protected] or [email protected] on or beforeAugust 3, 2011.
Pursuant thereto, these selected courts are hereby directed to SUBMIT theirDiagnostic Inventory Report for the CDDR Project on or before September 10, 2011 in thefinalized and approved format using a diskette or CD which shall be sent to by post orcourier to:
RE: Case Delay and Docket Reduction ProjectAttention: Atty. Antonio Andre A. CalizoProgram Management OfficeSupreme Court6th Floor, Centennial BuildingPadre Faura StreetErmita, 1000 Manila
This Circular shall take effect upon its issuance.
Issued this 27th day of July 2011.
C~ Administra tor
Copy furnished:Office of the Chief JusticeOffice of the Associate JusticesOffice of the Court AdministratorOffices of the Deputy Court AdministratorsOffices of the Assistant Court AdministratorsOCA Office of Administrative ServicesOCA Legal OfficeOCA Court Management OfficeOCA Fiscal Management OfficeOCA Office on Halls of JusticeSC Fiscal Management and Budget Office (FMBO)SC Library ServicesSC Public Information OfficeSC Program Management OfficeThe Official Gazette, National Printing Office, Diliman, Quezon CityThe Presiding Judges & BCCs of the 17 selected courts as contained in OCA Circular 88-2011 dated July 11,2011ALL CONCERNED
