The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday inaugurated the country’s first Office of Regional Court Manager (ORCM) at Davao City’s Arcadia Event Center.
“With great anticipation, we open today the ORCM, which is empowered to directly resolve many of the administrative concerns our trial courts regularly face,” Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo said during the launch of the country’s ORCM in Mindanao.
In his message, the Chief Justice said the establishment of ORCMs will help ease the administrative work of judges, enabling them to focus on adjudication.
“The ORCM will be the efficient judicial machinery that will support our judges in their main function of adjudication,” Gesmundo said.
The top magistrate added that the decentralization of administrative matters from the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) to the ORCMs will promote efficiency, thereby improving the performance of courts and the delivery of justice.
In his message, Court Administrator Raul Villanueva expressed gratitude to the Supreme Court on behalf of the OCA for the implementation of the ORCMs, stating that the OCA will work side-by-side with the interim Planning and Development Office and the ORCMs to ensure the success of the ORCM.
The ORCM for the 11th Judicial Region will be led by its interim Regional Court Manager, lawyer Kyrie Dea Maia G. Morente of the Office of Deputy Court Administrator Leo T. Madrazo.
Morente said that she was humbled and grateful for the opportunity to serve a higher call as the first Regional Court Manager in the country. She acknowledged that the task is daunting, but vowed that she and her colleagues will rise up to the challenge.
The 11th Judicial Region includes Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao Occidental, Davao del Sur, South Cotabato, Surigao del Sur, Davao City, General Santos City, Saranggani Province, Tagum City, Digos City, Mati City, Panabo City, Island Garden City of Samal, Bislig City, Tandag City, and Koronadal City.
The establishment of the ORCMs is part of the modernization of the OCA, in line with the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027. Five other ORCM offices will also be opened in Luzon and Visayas this year.