The Supreme Court (SC) has reorganized the Judicial Integrity Board (JIB) into the Judicial Integrity Office (JIO) to improve how administrative disciplinary cases are handled within the Judiciary. This move aims to streamline processes and strengthen accountability among judges, officials, and employees of the courts.

In a Resolution written by Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho, Jr., the SC En Banc approved A.M. No. 23-12-05-SC, formally creating the JIO under the supervision and control of the SC.

This reorganization is part of the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI), which includes enhancing the JIB’s capacity and processes. Since the JIB was established in 2020, the SC conducted an organizational assessment and process mapping to evaluate its structure, functions, and management. Based on these findings, a Technical Working Group (TWG) recommended the creation of the JIO.

 The SC En Banc approved the TWG’s recommendation, replacing the five-member JIB with a single Judicial Integrity Officer appointed by the SC. The Judicial Integrity Officer will serve a four-year term and may be reappointed once. A new Officer may also be appointed upon the retirement of the incumbent Chief Justice, based on the recommendation of the incoming Chief Justice.

The qualifications of a Judicial Integrity Officer are: being at least 45 years old, having at least 15 years of legal practice, and possessing relevant experience in investigating and evaluating administrative complaints. The Officer must not be related within the third degree to any incumbent Justice of the tertiary courts, any judge of the first- and second-level courts, or any official or employee of the Judiciary. The position comes with a salary of Salary Grade 30, Step 8.

Under its new structure, the JIO is now expressly given the power to conduct fact-finding investigations and to recommend the appropriate penalties or clemency under the law against Presiding Justices and Associate Justices of the Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan, CTA and Shari’ah High Court; judges of the first- and second-level courts, including Shari’ah District and Circuit Courts; officials and employees of all courts, including the SC; and officials and employees of all offices under the supervision of the SC, including the Office of the Court Administrator, Philippine Judicial Academy, Judicial and Bar Council, Mandatory Continuing Legal Education, and Office of the Judiciary Marshals.

The JIO will directly receive administrative complaints. Any complaint received by a court or office under the Judiciary must be immediately referred to the JIO for evaluation. However, administrative complaints against Members of the SC, whether anonymous or not, will be referred to the SC Ethics Committee.

The JIO may also initiate complaints on its own, or upon the SC’s directive, or through referrals from agencies such as the Civil Service Commission, the Commission on Audit, the Office of the Ombudsman, or the Department of Justice. The Judicial Integrity Officer will evaluate these complaints and submit a report and recommendation to the SC.

The JIO has the authority to issue subpoenas for witnesses and documents and may recommend the preventive suspension of respondents during investigations.

For the first time, a dispute resolution mechanism is required for less serious or light offenses involving parties within the same office, branch, or court. Before a case is assigned a docket number, the Judicial Integrity Officer will refer it for a mandatory grievance conference.

During the transition period, the Acting JIB Chairperson shall function as the Judicial Integrity Officer, while the remaining Regular Members shall serve as consultants to the Judicial Integrity Officer, until their current terms end. The current personnel of the JIB shall be transferred to the JIO until the JIO’s staffing pattern is approved.

The JIO’s staffing pattern will be jointly developed by the JIO and the SC Office of Administrative Services.

The Resolution also clarified that with the enactment of Republic Act No. 11691 or the Judiciary Marshals Act, the Corruption Prevention and Investigation Office has been rendered functus officio—meaning it has completed its purpose—as its powers, functions, and duties have been assumed by the Judiciary Marshals.

The Constitution grants the SC administrative supervision over all courts and their personnel, and the SC En Banc has the power to discipline judges of lower courts, including ordering their dismissal.

The Judiciary and its members have the duty to uphold the rule of law and embody the values of competence, integrity, probity, and independence. Thus, the SC emphasized:

“[The Court] will not hesitate to rid its ranks of undesirables who undermine its efforts towards an effective and efficient administration of justice, thus tainting its image in the eyes of the public.”

The Resolution will take effect 15 days after its publication in two newspapers on August 20, 2025. Within a month from its effectivity, the SC will create a technical working group to draft the JIO’s Internal Rules.  (Courtesy of the SC Office of the Spokesperson)

This press release is prepared for members of the media and the general public by the SC Office of the Spokesperson as a simplified summary of the SC’s Resolution. Read the full text of the Resolution in A.M. No. 23-12-05-SC (Re: Reorganizing the Judicial Integrity Board as the Judicial Integrity Office), March 4, 2025.