The Supreme Court (SC) will pilot test its online payment of all court fees from lawyers and litigants, and others fees like those for clearances, certifications, and other court services.
Dubbed as the “Judiciary Electronic Payment Solution,” the online payment will be tested in 20 first-level courts in the country based on a circular issued by the Office of the Court Administrator.
In a statement released by the SC’s Public Information Office, Court Administrator Raul Villanueva said that clerks of court of the 20 pilot courts were directed “to adopt the Interim Guidelines Implementation of the JEPS which, among others, designates the Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP) system as an alternative mode of payment of legal fees and other collections, in addition to the Fortune Pay Online Portal, until the integration of the latter with the system.”
Participating courts during the pilot test include the Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC), Quezon City; MeTC Mandaluyong City; MeTC, San Juan City; Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) in Malolos City, MTCC, Baguio City; MTCC, Angeles City; MTCC, Cabuyao City; MTCC, Naga City; MTCC, Vigan City; MTCC, Ilagan City; MTCC, Puerto Prinsesa City; MTCC, Bacolod City; MTCC, Lapu-lapu City; MTCC, Dumaguete City; MTCC, Tacloban City; MTCC, Zamboanga City; MTCC, Cagayan de Oro City; MTCC, Cotabato City; MTCC, Dipolog City; and MTCC, Davao City.
The clerks of court will post the instructions on how to pay electronically using UBP system on the payment windows or bulletin boards of their respective courts, both in English and in the local dialect of the place where the pilot court is situated.
“The JEPS is aimed at making the assessment and payment of legal fees and other collections of the Judiciary more convenient by providing the litigants, their counsels/representatives, and persons requesting for clearances, certifications, and other services from the court the option to pay online through major banks as conduit,” the SC said.