US human trafficking report backs Sereno-led court reform

MANILA, Philippines – The launch of the continuous trial system, a judicial reform initiated by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, was among the Philippines’ significant improvements in combatting human trafficking.

This is according to the United States’ 2015 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, which covered local efforts from April 2014 to March 2015.

“In 2014, the Supreme Court instituted the continuous trial system pilot project, significantly expediting trafficking prosecutions,” read the 2015 TIP report.

“[S]even trafficking cases were completed in less than one year,” it added.

The 2014 TIP report earlier recommended the system to speed up the prosecution of crimes involving modern slavery.

The system was piloted in regional trial courts and metropolitan trial courts in Manila, Quezon City, and Makati in September 2014. Sereno projected that trial time would be reduced from 3 to 5 years, to 90 days under the system.

The Philippines is a source country in cross-border human trafficking, but it has maintained its place at Tier 2 of the TIP’s 3-tier ranking for sustained efforts in fighting the social menace. 

In the Philippines, where hundreds of thousands migrate yearly for work abroad, human trafficking often starts with illegal recruitment and the promise of overseas employment. (READ: Desire to work abroad exploited by human traffickers)

Expansion needed

Still, the report notes that “endemic inefficiencies in the judicial system left some cases pending prosecution.” (READ: Case delay worst barrier to justice in key PH cities)

The disposal rates of human trafficking cases by trial courts also point to a larger problem in the Philippine judiciary – the clogging of court dockets.

In the Philippines, state figures from 2005-2010 show lower courts were confronted with an annual average caseload of more than one million – equivalent to an average of around 4,221 cases per working day.

Some 52 volunteer courts are involved in the judicial experiment of the continuous trial system, but the 2015 TIP report recommends the expansion of the system.

Budget for speedy trials

While the continuous trial system has been widely lauded, Sereno has repeatedly appealed for greater funding of the judiciary for this purpose.

Sereno has referred to the system as “revolutionary” and a “game-changer” in the case disposal rates of trial courts. (READ:Sereno wants more funds for faster case disposal)

Automation and the use of court technology in case management is among her reform priorities in her term as Chief Justice. (READ: SC: Efficient courts vital to ASEAN integration)

She is now on her third year as the first female leader of the Philippines’ 15-member High Court. The 54-year-old Sereno has 16 more years as chief justice until the mandatory retirement of 70 – a rare opportunity to institute long-lasting judicial reforms.

The TIP report is an annual report detailing the extent of a country’s government measures against trafficking. (READ: How to report suspected cases of human trafficking) – Rappler.com