The Supreme Court (SC) emphasized the importance of inter-agency collaboration and transparency in enhancing public trust in the justice system through its Justice Zones initiative.

At the 2025 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit, SC Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh, in a high-level panel on “Open Justice,” detailed the Justice Zones’ role in transforming the approach to justice delivery. 

She explained that the initiative addresses long-standing challenges in the country’s justice system, which has suffered from “fragmentation and limited public trust.”

“The five pillars of the criminal justice system—the police, prosecution, courts, corrections, and community—belong to different government agencies, most under the Executive branch, while the Judiciary operates independently. This institutional separation often led to inefficiency, duplication of efforts, and wasted resources,” she said.

According to Justice Singh, the Justice Zones, first established in 2014, were designed as local platforms to strengthen coordination among these pillars.

She added that since its inception, the program has expanded to 16 zones nationwide and received an 87% (“excellent to very good”) rating from a European Union Governance in Justice Programme report based on stakeholder feedback.

The magistrate also stressed that transparency remains crucial in building public confidence. 

“It may not necessarily be about corruption, but it may be a basic lack of understanding of what the processes are,” she said, noting that the Judiciary has implemented an information and education campaign to make processes more accessible and comprehensible to citizens.

Furthermore, she announced the upcoming launch of a new Justice Zone in November targeting efforts against Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) in the most affected region.

Alongside Justice Singh, Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier represented the SC at the Summit, held from October 7 to 9, which brought together around 2,000 representatives from governments, civil society, and policy institutions worldwide to exchange best practices in open governance and citizen engagement.

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