ORIENTATION SEMINAR FOR CASE

DECONGESTION OFFICERS
Bayview Hotel, Manila
12 May 2016

HON. RAUL BAUTISTA VILLANUEVA

Deputy Court Administrator
Office of the Court Administrator (OCA)-SC
 CASE
DECONGESTION
ACTIVITY
 HUSTISYEAH! PROJECT
Covered by A.M. No. 13-04-11-SC dated 16 April 2013
(Re: Proposed Full Roll Out of the Case Decongestion
Activity Implemented by The Asia Foundation

 One-time case decongestion program

(Aims to declog court dockets by conducting an
inventory of cases and developing a decongestion
plan in coordination with the concerned judges)
 175 heavily congested courts nationwide
 Targets the reduction of overall case
dockets by 20% in the target courts
 Requires the inventory of court dockets
 Involves formulation of case
decongestion plans (removes dormant and
dismissible cases)
 Implementation (monitored by OCA)
Quezon City
33 Participating courts
(29% reduction in cases from 2012
baseline)
Due to the success of Hustisyeah! In QC, it
has also been implemented in more
courts in:
Makati Cebu
Manila
Pasig,
San Juan,
Taguig
Angeles
Davao
Cebu
 CREATION OF 635
CONTRACTUAL COURT
DECONGESTION OFFICER
(CDO) POSITIONS FOR THE
FIRST AND SECOND LEVEL
COURTS
 MEMORANDUM dated
08 April 2015
 Addressed to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno

 Recognized the LOW DISPOSITION RATE of first and second

level courts which resulted in CASELOAD INCREASES

 Also, disclosed that only RTCs, MeTCs and MTCCs have

positions for LEGAL RESEARCHERS

 As such, the creation of a POSITION that is SPECIALLY

TRAINED to handle the DECONGESTION of the COURT
DOCKETS was recommended

 One Case Decongestion Officer (CDO) will be assigned to

branches with 500 cases or more
 MEMORANDUM DATED 08 April 2015 (cont.)

Proposed duties and responsibilities of the CDOs

 ORGANIZE CASES by typology (per batch) before starting physical inventory
 Conduct PHYSICAL INVENTORY of cases
 CONSOLIDATE all CASE INVENTORIES per court
 PREPARE REGULAR REPORTS on the DELAY of civil, criminal and special
proceedings and consolidates the same
 PREPARE CASE BRIEFS for the cases
 ASSIST the COURT in the preparation of notices, conduct legal research or
draft orders
 MONITOR CASES that are for removal from dockets

 PERFORM such DUTIES as may be ASSIGNED by the JUDGE

 PREPARE MONTHLY REPORTS (as may be determined) and submit the same
to the SC
 MEMORANDUM DATED 08 April 2015 (cont.)

PROPOSED QUALIFICATION STANDARD FOR CDOs

SALARY GRADE 18
EDUCATIONAL Bachelor’s degree relevant to the
REQUIREMENT job (As an additional requirement,
the applicant must be a college of
law graduate)
EXPERIENCE 2 years of relevant experience
REQUIREMENT
TRAINING 8 hours of relevant training
REQUIREMENT
ELIGIBILITY Career Service (Professional)
eligible-2nd level eligibility
 MEMORANDUM DATED 08 April 2015 (cont.)

DISTRIBUTION OF CDOs NATIONWIDE

NCJR-FIRST LEVEL COURTS 87

NCJR-SECOND LEVEL COURTS 83
OTHER REGIONS-FIRST LEVEL 23
COURTS
OTHER REGIONS-SECOND 442
LEVEL COURTS
TOTAL 635
 A.M. No. 15-04-07-SC
21 April 2015
(Re: Creation of 635 Contractual Court Decongestion
Officer Positions for the First and Second Level Courts)

 APPROVED the creation of 635 CDO positions

 Provided that CDOs shall be on contractual basis for a period of TWO (2) YEARS
under the OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR

 CDOs to be designated to the beneficiary stations as provided in the OCA

Memorandum dated 08 April 2015

 CDOs shall be under the direct supervision of the judge of the branch or station
where they are designated (based on guidelines as may be provided by the Court)

 Court likewise approved the Budget for CDOs

NOTE: In a letter dated 29 April 2015 addressed to DBM Secretary Florencio Abad, CJ Sereno disclosed
that the budget needed for CDOs is P238.894M which was eventually included in the GAA for FY 2016
(RA 10717)
 MEMORANDUM dated
27 November 2015

 Addressed to CJ Sereno

 Recommended the start of the processing to hire CDOs

 Mentioned that while in hiring CDOs there are stringent

EDUCATIONAL, EXPERIENCE and TRAINING
REQUIREMENTS, as well as the required ELIGIBILITY for the
same, the requirement that should be GIVEN WEIGHT is that the
applicant must be a “COLLEGE OF LAW GRADUATE”

NOTE: An Invitation to Apply for the Position of Court Decongestion Officer was subsequently published
in major newspapers in January 2016
 MEMORANDUM dated
12 February 2016
 Recommended to CJ Sereno the hiring of the FIRST BATCH of CDOs
numbering about ONE HUNDRED NINETY (190), on a contractual basis, for
SIX (6) MONTHS, renewable every 6 months, for a maximum period of 2 years,
upon the discretion of the Court, with the recommendation of the concerned
presiding judges and the OCA

 Disclosed that, upon being hired, the applicants will undergo the appropriate
orientation and legal research training and will thereafter be deployed to the
beneficiary stations

 Mentioned that, upon deployment, the CDOs shall regularly submit to the SC,
through the OCA, MONTHLY REPORTS on the status of civil, criminal and
special proceedings cases in their respective stations, as well as ASSIST the
JUDGES in LEGAL RESEARCH and DRAFTING of ORDERS and CASE
BRIEFS of PENDING CASES

NOTE: For this batch of about 190 CDOs, the PHILJA disclosed their engagement
per the letter addressed to CJ Sereno dated 29 April 2016
 CONTRACT OF COURT
DECONGESTION OFFICER
 TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF
THE CONTRACT
PERIOD OF  Work shall commence on 16 May 2016 until 15
CONTRACT November 2016, which is renewable every six (6)
months, dependent on the performance of the CDO,
as may be determined by the OCA, with the
recommendation of the concerned presiding judge of
the beneficiary court
 CDO will be under probation for the first 3 months
 If the CDO is under bar, and subsequently passes the
Bar Examinations during the effectivity of the
Contract, the CDO commits to be bound by his/her
obligations up to the end of the Contract

TERMINATION  OCA may terminate or suspend the contract on JUST

OF CONTRACT or VALID CAUSE
COMPENSATION  Service of CDO compensated monthly in the amount
of P33,452.00, subject to 10% withholding tax

NOTE: In the letter to Sec. Abad, the gross salary was computed at P31,351.00/mo.
 TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE CONTRACT (cont.)

TASKS OF A  Assist in the conduct of an inventory of cases of

CDO the court to which the CDO will be assigned
 Prepare a decongestion plan with the conformity of
the concerned presiding judge
 Assist in legal research and, if necessary or
appropriate, in drafting orders and/or decisions
 Submit monitoring reports related to the
decongestion activity every 3 months
 Submit the monthly activity log sheet within 5
days from the end of the preceding month
 Perform other court duties assigned by the
presiding judge in accordance with guidelines
approved by the SC and attend seminars,
workshops and conferences
 TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE CONTRACT (cont.)

CONFIDENTIALITY  CDO cannot reproduce, transcribe, disclose or

OF RECORDS make known in any manner documentary
information filed/found within the premises of the
court to 3rd parties without prior written approval from
the OCA
 CDO shall uphold the strict confidentiality of any
and all information that will come to his/her
knowledge and desist to back up court information

ACCOUNTABILITY  CDO to turn over to the clerk of court/officer-in-

FOR COURT charge of the court within 3 days from completion or
EQUIPMENT termination of the Contract all materials, processes,
data and other information related thereto
 CDO accountable for any equipment (i.e. laptop)
and supplies issued by the OCA and shall be liable
for the cost of repair or replacement of any issued
equipment caused by breach of contract, negligence
or dishonesty
 TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE CONTRACT (cont.)

NO EMPLOYER-  The Contract does not create an employee-

EMPLOYEE employer relationship between the OCA and the
RELATIONSHIP CDO
 Services rendered by the CDO under the Contract
are not considered and will not be credited as
government service, and the CDO is not entitled to
the benefits enjoyed by the regular personnel of the
OCA
 CDO is considered as an independent contractor
and he/she is not authorized to make any contract,
agreement, warranty or representation on behalf of
the OCA or create any obligation, express or implied
on its behalf

DISPUTE UNDER  Any dispute under the Contract shall be settled by

THE CONTRACT the OCA and its decision shall be final
 TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE CONTRACT (cont.)

BREACH OR  Any breach or violation of the Contract by the CDO

VIOLATION OF THE shall make the latter administratively, civilly or
CONTRACT criminally liable, depending on the specific
circumstances thereof
CONFLICT OF  CDO shall disclose all relations within the 4th civil
INTEREST degree of consanguinity or affinity to any of the
parties involved in the cases handled by the court
where he/she has been assigned, in which event, and
to avoid a conflict of interest, the CDO shall be re-
deployed to a different beneficiary court
 Upon expiration of the Contract, or the termination
thereof, and the CDO becomes a lawyer, the latter
shall not be allowed to appear as counsel in the
court where he/she was assigned for a period of one
(1) year from his/her last day of service
 Salamat ng Marami!!!
GOOD LUCK! HAPPY
“CASE DECONGESTING”!!