Despite being considered as a rapidly growing country both economically and socially, the Philippines still needs to improve its justice system to definitively obtain its status of newly developed country. In fact, the criminal justice system is characterized by ineffective case management, lack of adequate numbers of prosecutors, overburdening of existing prosecutors, and a lack of professional training. This results in long delays and a low conviction rate of less than 25%. IDLO is working to enhance the capacity of prosecutors in the Philippines.
IDLO and the Philippines have a history of collaboration. The Philippines became a Member Party in 1989 and, as its first activity in country, IDLO conducted trainings between 1996 and 2001. Since then, IDLO has benefited from the support of Professor Alfredo Flores Tadiar and former Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago on its Board of Advisers, and the Philippines have been involved in IDLO activities since. The historic cooperation between IDLO and the Philippines leaves ample room for new developments to take place.
To mark the successful conclusion of a project aimed at enhancing the capacity of prosecutors in the Philippines, 113 lawyers of the Office of the Ombudsman came together with members of the international community for a symposium in Manila on integrity and anti-corruption initiatives.
The criminal justice system in the Philippines experiences poor coordination among agencies, particularly police and prosecutors. Currently, there is a shortage of prosecutors to take criminal cases to trial in the Department of Justice (DOJ), and many of those who serve on behalf of the people require support in order to perform their duties with a high level of necessary knowledge, skills and ethics.
On November 7th and 8th in Manila, IDLO launched its new program in the Philippines with signing ceremonies at the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice. The ceremonies officially marked the opening of two initial projects in the country.
