The Supreme Court (SC) wrapped up its nationwide Information and Recruitment Drive for the Office of the Regional Court Manager (ORCM) with its 10^th and final leg held before judges and court personnel of the National Capital Judicial Region (NCJR) at the Park Inn by the Radisson, Quezon City, on February 5, 2025.  

As one of the reforms under the SC’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI), the ORCM project aims to improve and speed up administrative performance for the trial courts by decentralizing select services of the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) to the regions. By conducting the information and recruitment drive, the Court aims to introduce the ORCM concept and encourage trial court employees to apply for interim ORCM positions. Since October 2024, the Court has traveled to the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 9th, and 12th Judicial Regions, culminating in the NCJR.

Addressing an audience of around 400 Metro Manila judges and court personnel and over 800 online attendees, Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen emphasized that the ORCM is ultimately aimed at making Judiciary services more accessible to the public. ”Eventually, all our Executive Judges would be more focused on their adjudication function,” he said, “thus improving the overall dispensation of justice.”

Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez echoed this in his welcome remarks, noting that inefficient administrative systems have long affected the public trust in the justice system. Highlighting the ORCM’s potential “to change the landscape of judicial administration,” he said the SC En Banc is “fully committed to seeing this reform through, ensuring that it evolves based on the real needs and feedback of our judges and court personnel.”

In August and October 2024, the Court operationalized six interim ORCMs in the 1st, 3rd, 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11th Judicial Regions. For 2025, ORCMs are poised to be established in the remaining judicial regions, with two each for the 4th Judicial Region and the NCJR. At present, the six pilot ORCMs process vacancies, leave applications, and travel requests in the trial courts. Soon, the ORCMs will also process the payment of utility bills and the maintenance of Halls of Justice.

Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva explained that the ORCMs, to effectively perform their functions, were designed to be digital in their operations, stakeholder-centric, accountable, proactive, and agile—ensuring that they can enhance the delivery of administrative services and better assess the trial courts’ needs. He also assured court personnel that despite the ongoing reforms in the Judiciary, they would not be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI). Instead, AI will serve as a tool to assist them in their tasks, requiring human intervention and skills to be effective.

During a panel discussion, Atty. Antonio Caesar R. Manila, Deputy Chief Justice Staff Head of the Office of the Chief Justice and a representative of the Interim Planning and Development Office, highlighted how aspiring ORCM personnel must be “vision-oriented, agile problem solvers, tech-proficient, good communicators, and team players.” Atty. Manila emphasized the SC’s goal of professionalizing the ORCM, ensuring that positions are filled based on the requisite skills, mindset, education, experience, and specialized training.

Joining the panel discussion were some of the prime movers behind the creation of the ORCMs: Assistant Court Administrators Atty. Lilian C. Barribal-Co and Atty. Maria Regina Adoracion M. Ignacio, and resource persons Maria Dorothy A. Agonos, Eng. Andrei M. Maniago, Atty. Maria Teresa O Demesa-Razal, and Ms. Grace M. Tiglao. Interim Regional Court Managers Atty. Maria Pamela S. Oliver and Atty. Joevanni A. Villanueva also joined the panel to showcase their milestones and challenges in establishing the ORCM in their own judicial regions.

The event also served as a venue to train judges and court personnel on e-Filing, a component of eCourt PH version 2.0.  Associate Justice Rodil V. Zalameda explained that the shift to electronic filing and service is more than just adopting a new tool but improving the entire court process. “With electronic filing and service, we are not just making things faster and more convenient for lawyers and the courts, but we are also enhancing access to justice.”

The eFiling system will allow for quicker filing times, less paperwork to manage, and easier tracking of pleadings.

Atty. Cherry Jean O. Romano of the Management Information Systems Office led the eFiling training of judges and court personnel. (Press release courtesy of the SC Office of the Spokesperson)