Council passes Justice Zone Ordinance to address courts and jails congestion

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The 20th Davao City Council passed on August 20 the Justice Zone Ordinance which they hope will improve and speed up the justice system in the city.

The ordinance’s main sponsor, third district Councilor Lorenzo Villafuerte, said in an interview that the ordinance establishes a framework for swift and fair administration of justice through coordination within agencies in the justice sector.  

The councilor said this system ensures court cases will be handled swiftly as jails and detention cells have been overcrowded due to the lengthy period of cases handled in courts, which has strained the city’s resources.

Data presented from the Zone show that the Davao City Jail has 3,127 male inmates and 453 female inmates, while its annex has 853 detainees.

The Justice Zones is part of a broader initiative within the justice sector with local governments in various regions to improve coordination within institutions or zones—law enforcement, prosecution, courts, corrections, and the community, to ensure an effective and responsive justice system.

Other features of the Justice Zone are the strengthening of the barangay justice system, which is the first venue to handle conflicts and cases within its community, and would also function to filter civil and criminal cases.

Another feature is to improve rehabilitation and reintegration programs for PDLs.

The ordinance allocates P 16.38 million for the “Support to Access to Justice Programs for Dabawenyos,” which will be sourced from the Peace and Order and Public Safety budget and the Local Anti-Drug Plan of Action (LADPA).

“This ordinance will allocate a budget, aside from the city’s allocation from the GoJUST program under the European Union, to address the problems of the courts, congested jails, and programs for PDLs (persons deprived of liberty),” Villafuerte said.

But Villafuerte said the council has approved an initial budget of P3.5 million for this program.

“The proposed project design is actually amounting to P16 million.  The design includes programs for congested jails, congested courts, for PDLs, but we opted to have this initial budget of P3.5 (million),” the councilor said.

The councilor said they can request the remaining budget from the Office of the City Mayor. (davaotoday.com)