SC Justice Abad seeks to decongest courts of backlog cases

Associate Justice Roberto Abad. Photo from https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph

MANILA, Philippines — Supreme Court Associate Justice Roberto Abad said he was unhappy with the backlog of cases in all courts around the country.

Abad is the first to be interviewed by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) on day 2 of the public interview for chief justice candidates.

“I am so unhappy with case congestion in court. Crisis in our courts have not been addressed,” Abad said.

Abad is proposing a system of a one face to face hearing with judgment rendered at the end of the day in ordinary cases.

He said in this kind of system, the Maguindanao massacre case, for example, could be resolved in a year instead of the projected 20 years.

Abad is known in the judiciary as “the innovator” in the judiciary.