OCA CIRCULAR No. 19-2012, March 13, 2012

The Supreme Court’s Judicial Reform Program (JRP) has implemented projects and other interventions to address the perennial problem of docket congestion and delay in the hearings and disposal of cases in all court levels. Among these are: case and docket management training, human resources capacity-building for judges and court “personnel, and conduct of dialogues and focus group discussions with other justice sector agencies which are likewise tasked with the prompt and fair administration of justice.

In line with the Chief Justice’s priority reforms and policy direction in case decongestion and efficient case and docket management, the Court, through the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) and the Program Management Office (PMO), has initially implemented a case decongestion project in the three (3) Regional Trial Courts and one (1) Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu where the courts’ average number of cases filed is higher than that disposed of for each month.

The conduct of the CDDRP was approved by the Chief Justice per Memorandum PMO-PDRMG 07-06-2011 dated 6 July 2011 which is being implemented in 16 selected 1st and 2nd level courts which were found to have high caseloads for the period beginning December 31, 2009 semestral docket inventory.

The CDDRP aims to: (1) reduce the number of pending cases in these selected courts by at least 10% to 15% after the recommendations of the diagnostic audit are complied with; (2) identify the specific problems/difficulties of the judges and court .personnel in disposing of their pending cases; and (3) develop a docket/case management plan for each court branch.

Pursuant to OCA Circular 88-2011 dated July 11, 2011, the Judges, Clerks of Court and Branch Clerks of Court of these courts were provided with an Orientation on the Project on July 15, 2011. Thereafter, on 27 July 2011, the OCA issued OCA Circular No. 88-2011-A which contains the guidelines in the conduct of the special diagnostic inventory, and provided that said courts shall be furnished with electronic copies of the Special Diagnostic Inventory Form/Worksheet for their docket inventory. Further, consultations and technical assistance were provided the said courts during the Validation Meeting with the Clerks of Court, Branch Clerks of Court and Clerks in Charge on October 11, 2011 pursuant to OCA Circular 1 Said activity oriented the court personnel on the validation tools and procedures for special diagnostic inventory reports submitted by these courts to the OCA and PMO on September 10, 2011.    

In connection with the conduct of the regular semestral docket inventory, Memorandum PMO-PDRMG 01-05-2012 dated 5 January 2012 was issued to the CDDRP courts directing them to continue using the special diagnostic inventory worksheet for their semestral docket inventory for the period July-December 2011.

Pursuant thereto, you are hereby directed to SUBMIT the semestral docket inventory for the period July to December 2011 in electronic copy using a diskette or CD, and the Case Data Report as of December 31, 2011 in hard copy using the attached format. Both shall be submitted on or before April 16,2012 to be sent by post or courier to:

RE:     Case Delay and Docket Reduction Project
Attention: Veronica A. Jimenez
Program Management Office
6th Floor, Centennial Building
Supreme Court, Padre Faura Street
Ermita, 1000 Manila

For strict compliance.

Issued this  13th day of March 2012.