STA. ROSA CITY MTC ASSAILED FOR ‘IGNORING’ E-WARRANT SYSTEM

THE country’s anti-crime and anti-corruption crusaders are in an uproar after finding out that some local courts continue to ignore the ‘e-Warrant System’ designed to further strengthen the delivery of justice for victims of violence and all forms of crimes.

On September 22, Monalie Dizon, Secretary General of the ‘Coalition Against Corruption’ (CAC) filed a complaint before Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, thru the Office of Court Administrator (OCA) headed by former Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta, specifically citing Branch 1 of the Municipal Trial Court of Sta. Rosa City, Laguna, and its Clerk of Court, Carmela Callos.

The e-Warrant timeline

Responding to public outcry that the country’s criminal justice system fails to provide justice to crime victims with suspects remaining scot-free, the government, in 2011, under the term of President Noynoy Aquino, and the with support of the Supreme Court, rolled out the ‘e-Wanted Person Information System’ (e-WPIS).

In 2020, during the Duterte administration, the system was further improved with the launching of the ‘Enhanced e-Warrant System,’ (e-Warrant System) during the term of Supreme Court Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta and Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General, PGEN. Camilo Cascolan.

The enhanced system aimed to connect some 2,600 trial courts and 1,900 police stations across the country by the end of the year.

It seeks to transition the judiciary away from slow, paper-based manual warrant distribution thru a secure digital pathway for use by the PNP to effect arrest of wanted persons within their respective jurisdiction.

The agreement also provides for the PNP to inform the issuing court within 10 days thru the system if the warrant was successfully served or explain why the arrest failed.

The system also requires the courts to upload the status of commitment orders and bail petitions to prevent illegal detention incidents.

In 2023, the OCA, under Circular 150-2023, reminded lower courts to strictly follow the e-Warrant System and stop the manual practice of issuing warrant of arrest, in response to the concerns of law enforcers that some courts continue to ignore the importance of the system.

The OCA was forced to issue the reminder as a year earlier, it issued a circular (Circular 149A-2022) mandating all lower courts’ officers, clerks of court and responsible staff to undergo a 2-days familiarization seminar on the e-Warrant System in partnership with the PNP.

‘Gross Negligence?’

“This is a serious violation,” Dizon stressed. “It defeats the entire purpose of the system to strengthen our criminal justice system at the expense of crime “victims.”

Dizon said she also has “personal experience” in the hands of Callos’ office, involving two cases she has been pursuing in the court and expressed concern that a similar situation may have been happening in other parts of the country.

She said the first incident happened in June 2015 where she was even allegedly rudely treated by an unidentified court staff when she inquired over the phone of the warrant’s status. No copy of the warrant was given to the local police, she added.

The latest incident she averred, happened last July 13, involving a separate case she filed after the office of Callos failed again to provide the local police with a copy of the arrest warrant, despite a formal request from the Sta. Rosa City Chief of Police.

Dizon further averred that her own queries suggested the court has not been updating its e-Warrant System for “at least 6 years,” or since it was relaunched in 2020.

She added that the subsequent excuses by the office of Callos that their end of the system is “not working,” her office lacks personnel, or most of them are “not techie” or computer literate, do not hold water.

Responding to the formal letter sent by Dizon and Volunteer Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) chairman, Atty. Manny Obedoza, PNP Director General PGEN. Melencio Nartatez, thru the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM), PBGEN. Matthew Bacay, DIDM Director, confirmed last September 10 that there was “no reported incident” of “technical difficulties, deficiencies or concerns regarding access to operation” of the Sta. Rosa MTC to the e-Warrant System.

In an earlier letter, Baccay, citing their monitoring of the system, disclosed that the court only uploaded one warrant as of September 2.

“Ito ay isang seryosong paglabag sa kasunduan ng Philippine National Police at Korte Suprema nang ilunsad ang Enhanced e-Warrant System noong 2020, upang mapabilis ang pag-aresto sa mga may pananagutan sa batas at ang paggawad ng hustisya sa mga biktima ng krimen at karahasan,” Dizon stressed.

“Dapat lang na mabilis itong aksyunan ng ating Korte Suprema dahil ang nakasalalay dito ay ang integridad at kredibilidad ng ating sistema ng hustisya” she added.