The Supreme Court (SC) is revisiting the Rules on Criminal Procedures after receiving inputs from persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in various detention facilities across the country.
As part of the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovation 2022-2027 (SPJI), the revision by the High Court’s Sub-Committee on the Revision of the Rules of Criminal Procedure aims to address the problems of docket congestion and delays in criminal proceedings.
The SC conducted consultations to gather inputs from PDLs who stand to be affected by the proposed amendments in the Rules.
Among the participants were women, men, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, women with children, pregnant women at the time of their arrest, and mothers with children aged below 1.
The PDLs’ shared concerns include the absence of competent lawyers upon arrest and prolonged pre-trial detention. As such, the proposed amendments would be to expressly allow the dismissal of cases where the right to a speed trial has been violated.
Alternative modes of detention, conditional arraignment, custodial hearing, and the application of the writ of habeas corpus in criminal cases, were among the other proposals.
The Judiciary partnered with The Asia Foundation, Humanitarian Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc. (HLAF), and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Rizal-San Juan-Mandaluyong Chapter in conducting stakeholder consultations.