Judicial Education and Human Rights in the Philippines
Sedfrey M. Candelaria and Ronald P. Caraig

The Philippine Judicial Academy (philja) is the education armof the Supreme Court of the Philippines. It is mandated to conduct
training not only for judges and court personnel but also for those
aspiring for positions in the judiciary. Taking the lead in judicial education,it has introduced courses on human rights with multidisciplinary content
and techniques in its training programs.
This article outlines and expounds the various course offerings ofphilja in the past decade focused on human rights concerns. It begins witha background on philja and proceeds to discuss the programs on humanrights developed at various levels of the judicial hierarchy. It concludes on ahigh note for the future of judicial education, not only in the Philippines but
even in the region.
The Philippine Judicial Academy: Background

Philja was created by the Supreme Court on 12 March 1996 through theissuance of Administrative Order No. 35-96.1 It received its mandate on 26
February 1998, through Republic Act No. 8557.2 This law institutionalized
philja as a “training school for justices, judges, court personnel, lawyers,
and aspirants to judicial posts.”3
Philja provides and implements a curriculum for judicial education,and conducts seminars, workshops and other training programs designed
to upgrade legal knowledge, moral fitness, probity, efficiency, and capability. The Academic Council4 of philja considers and approves the trainings,
programs and activities and sets out policies relating to judicial education.
Philja has fourteen Academic Departments,5 which include the Department
of International Law and Human Rights Law and the Department of Special
Areas of Concern. These two departments propose curricular offerings relating to international law, human rights law, women and children, environment, among others, and take part in the review and approval of academic
programs and courses of philja.
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Philja includes courses in its curriculums and programs that address
the latest developments in substantive and procedural law, as well as updates
on technology and its possible application in the courts. It holds lectureson ethics and value formation and other special issues or areas of concern,such as problems of vulnerable and marginalized groups in society, and conducts faculty enhancement and leadership trainings. Philja regularly holds
its core (flagship) programs6 that include the Pre-Judicature Program, theJudicial Career Enhancement Program, the Orientation Seminar-Workshop
for Executive and Vice Executive Judges, the Orientation Seminar-Workshop
for Newly Appointed Judges and Clerks of Court, and the Continuing Legal
Education for Court Attorneys.
Philja’s special focus programs7 are thematic in nature, focusing on
new rules and current trends and developments, as well as emerging issues
in particular areas of law, including human rights and international humanitarian law. The other programs of philja include development programsfor court personnel,8 alternative dispute resolution programs,9 conventionseminars,10 programs for quasi-judicial agencies,11 discussion sessions/roundtable discussions,12 special lectures,13 and international conferences.14
Philja also produces regular and special publications.
Human Rights Concerns
The broad range of human rights concerns in the Philippines has prompted the Supreme Court to develop new rules for application by the courts.
Often, new rules emerge through a situation analysis of events confronting the courts and the society at large. One remarkable example of how theSupreme Court and philja have responded to such human rights concerns
is the multi-sectoral15 approach to address the phenomenons of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
In the Helpbook on Human Rights Issues: Extralegal Killings andEnforced Disappearances, Dean Pacifico A. Agabin notes that “a scan of thehorizon of human rights in the Philippines over the past decade shows adark landscape brightened only by a few shafts of light at infrequent intervals.”16 He stresses that “after September 11, 2001, the world, including thePhilippines, has never been the same again.”17
To address the alarming incidence of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, the Supreme Court convened on 16-17 July 2001

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the National Consultative Summit on Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced
Disappearances. During the Summit, reports showed a “steady rise on
extralegal killings from 2001 to 2006”18 and “a similar rise in enforced
disappearances.”19
Quoting data provided by Karapatan, an alliance of organizations that
advance human rights, Dean Agabin writes that since 21 January 2001 thenumber of victims of extrajudicial killings reached 1,20620 while that of enforced disappearances rose to two hundred and six.21
Dean Agabin continues:
The bleak and forlorn landscape of human rights in thePhilippines has been illuminated partly by the Supreme Court in2007. Shocked and outraged by the rising tide of extralegal killings and enforced abductions committed against political activists and journalists, the Court, after conducting the summit on
the issues, promulgated the rule on the writ of amparo that tookeffect in October 2007.
The following year, the high tribunal approved the rule on
habeas data, which empowers the courts to compel government
and military officials to allow access to official documents by invoking ‘the right to truth.’22
The convening of a national conference on human rights and the adoption of rules on writ of amparo23 and habeas data24 are not the only significant efforts of the Supreme Court and philja that put human rights at thecore of judicial education in the Philippines. The succeeding sections of thisarticle describe the various courses, programs, tools, and techniques employed in the hundreds of seminar-workshops held by philja.
PHILJA and Human Rights Education
Since its inception more than fifteen years ago, philja has endeavored andcontinues to include human rights and related issues in its trainings, programs and activities25—from the general topic of human rights, to specificor particular rights of indigenous peoples, women, children, even economic,
social and cultural rights, to cite a few, to the intertwined issues of humanrights and the environment, to national laws and international human rights
treaties and covenants.

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PHILJA’s Core Programs
Philja has six core or flagship programs. The Pre-Judicature Program provides initial training to aspirants for judicial positions, as mandated by thephilja’s statutory and administrative charters. Upon appointment to the
judiciary, judges undergo an Orientation Seminar-Workshop for Newly
Appointed Judges to prepare them for assumption of office and the discharge of their duties. The Orientation Seminar-Workshop for Executive
Judges and Vice Executive Judges is an update on laws, legal developments
and issuances that would enhance their capability to discharge their administrative functions. For judges and judicial personnel who have beenin the judicial service for some time, they undergo the Judicial Career
Enhancement Program (now the Regional Judicial Career Enhancement
Program). Newly appointed clerks of court are also required to attend theOrientation Seminar-Workshop. Finally, the Academy also has a Continuing
Legal Education for Court Attorneys that aims to meet the professional enhancement needs of Court Attorneys of the Supreme Court and Appellate
Courts.
The following human rights topics were invariably discussed inthese programs: Human Rights: International and Domestic Standards;
Developments in International Law, International Law and Domestic
Enforcement and Implementation; International Covenants and Domestic
Legislation; Human Rights and Social Context and Economic Issues;
Human Rights, Gender Sensitivity and the Protection of Children; Women’sand Children’s Rights; Indigenous Peoples Rights; Human Rights Law andPhilippine Jurisprudence; Human Rights and the Courts: Social Context
Issues and the Vulnerable Sectors; Human Rights and the Constitution;
Humanizing the Law; Human Rights and Care for Disadvantaged Sectors;
Violence Against Women and Children; and International Criminal Courts
and the International Criminal Law.
Special Focus Programs
As mentioned earlier, philja’s special focus programs are thematic in nature, focusing on new rules and current trends and developments, as well as
emerging issues in particular areas of law, including human rights and international humanitarian law. These programs cater to judges, court personnel
and other stakeholders.

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Human Rights Law
As early as 2001, philja has held the Philippine Judiciary Workshop on
Realizing Economic, Social and Cultural (esc) Rights to understand thesubstance, process and the applicability of international norms on economic, social and cultural rights; and to understand the role of the Judiciary in
the application of treaty obligations on esc rights within the context of thePhilippine Constitution.
Judicial Seminars on Indigenous Peoples Rights Act were held in 2002
to relate the key provisions of the law to state policy and objectives, to solve
problems relative to indigenous peoples rights, and to resolve claims of indigenous peoples under the law.
The Challenge of Terrorism and the Defense of Human Rights seminar
was held in 2002 to exemplify the perspective towards the balancing of equities: human rights and terrorism and to discuss and interpret human rights
and terrorism provisions in the Philippine Constitution, international documents and covenants.
The Seven-Day Course on International Criminal Law for Philippine
Justices and Judges in the Netherlands was developed in 2007 by the Hague
Forum for Judicial Expertise, in cooperation with philja’s Department ofInternational Law and Human Rights Law.
The Seminar-Workshop for Judges on Extrajudicial Killings andEnforced Disappearances was held in 2007 to familiarize the participants on
the Rule on the Writ of Amparo involving extrajudicial killings and enforced
disappearances and to address the concern of judges, among others, on theprocedure in identifying and deciding cases on extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
A Forum on the Rule on Writ of Amparo was held in 2007 to disseminate
the newly promulgated rule, to address potential problem areas, and share
perspectives regarding the protection of life and liberty. A Video Conference
on the Rule on Writ of Amparo for Judges and Clerks of Court of the 3rd,
4th, 5th and 11th Judicial Regions was likewise held. The Third Distinguished
Lecture Series of 2007 included a lecture on the “Writ of Amparo: An
International Perspective.” Thereafter, philja held a Series of Multi-Sectoraland Skills-Building Seminar Workshops on Extralegal Killings and Enforced
Disappearances during the 2008-2009 period to address the need for judges

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and other stakeholders in the criminal justice system to properly address thespate of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
The Fourth Distinguished Lecture Series of 2008 dealt on the theme“Customary International Humanitarian Law (ihl): Issues on State andCommand Responsibility.
Philja organized the International Conference on the International
Criminal Court in 2008 to discuss insights on translating International
Criminal Court principles into domestic legislation and judicial reform andthus strengthen the domestic criminal justice system.
In partnership with the European Union-Philippine Justice Support
Programme (epjust), philja held the Knowledge Sharing on New
Human Rights Issues: International Humanitarian Law, Anti-Torture Law
and Human Security Act in relation to Extralegal Killings and Enforced
Disappearances in 2010 to provide an overview of the European experience, as well as the Philippine experience on new human rights issues on
International Humanitarian Law, Anti-Torture Law and Human Security
Act.
Philja participated in three study visits/exchange programs: theeurojust Study Visit in The Hague, Netherlands (11-15 October 2010);
the Judicial Human Rights Training Exchange Program (29-30 November
2010 and 1-3 December 2010) in Barcelona and Madrid, Spain; and epjust
Judicial Human Rights Training Exchange Program (7-11 March 2011) in
Vienna, Austria.
Women and Children
Philja held a total of twenty-six programs 26 focusing on human rights andwomen and children.
The Seminar-Workshops on Strengthening the Legal Protection ofChildren were held in the 1998-1999 period to familiarize the participants
with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (crc) and the Philippine
laws related to children.
During the 2004-2007 period, philja held the Basic and Advanced
Regional Multi-Sectoral Seminar-Workshops on Juvenile and Domestic
Relations Justice to discuss the rights of families, women and children under
the CRC, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (cedaw) and other United Nations human rights stan-Judicial Education and Human Rights in the Philippines

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dards, and to familiarize participants with the recent laws and Supreme
Court rules affecting women, children and the family.
The Capacity Enhancement Training for Family Court Judges andPersonnel in Handling Child Abuse Cases began in 2006 (and continued
until 2011) to demonstrate awareness and sensitivity in handling child abusecases during and after judicial proceedings. This series of trainings would
later utilize vignettes showing court scenes to demonstrate good and badpractices as tools for critiquing. In partnership with the British Embassy
and the Child Protection Unit Network, philja produced in 2006 six Video
Training Modules on Improving Judicial Proceedings Involving Child Sexual
Abuse/Exploitation Cases.
Philja held Seminar-Workshops on cedaw and Gender Sensitivity
and the Courts for Justices, Judges, and Court Personnel during the 20062011 period to enhance their knowledge and develop their awareness andskill on the applicability of cedaw and gender-fair language.
The Members of the Committee on Decorum and Investigation (codi)of the Supreme Court attended the philja Seminar-Workshops in 2008 to
equip them with the know-how on doing investigation and writing reports
on sexual harassment cases.
Access to Justice
Philja held the Seminar-Workshops on Access to Justice and Laws on
Women and Children for Judges and Court Personnel of First Level Courts
in 2007 to increase the awareness of judges and court personnel of the firstlevel courts on the issues regarding access to justice and basic laws concerning poor women and children, and to identify the role and importance of theBarangay (Community) Justice System in accessing justice.
Under the Access to Justice for the Poor Project, philja held in 2007 an
Information, Education and Communication Skills Training for designatedMunicipal Court Information Officers on the enhancement of the ability ofthe poor and the vulnerable groups (poor women and children in particular)
to pursue justice through their increased knowledge about their basic rights
and the Justice System; and the strengthening of the justice system to makeit more accessible to poor and vulnerable groups.
Philja held in 2008 the Seminar-Workshops on Access to Justice andCode of Conduct to explain the rationale for each of the Canons of the Code44

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cof Conduct for Court Personnel, as it relates to the “traits of a good ethicalcourt personnel.”
The Multi-Sectoral Stakeholders Seminar-Workshops in Improving
Access to Justice in Family Courts were held during the 2008-2009 period
aimed at raising the level of awareness of participants on Human Rights
Based-Approaches to Access to Justice in Family Courts.
Anti-Trafficking in Persons
With the enactment of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (Republic
Act No. 9208 or RA 9208), philja held the following activities:
a. Seminar on Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 and its
Implementing Rules and Regulations (2002) and the National InterDisciplinary Seminar on Trafficking in Persons (2004). These seminars dealt
with the international and national efforts to curb, if not altogether eliminate, human trafficking and the roles and responsibilities of the government’s Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (iacat) as provided for in
the Implementing Rules and Regulations.
b. Study Program on the Judicial Helpbook on R.A. 9208—AntiTrafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (2008) and the Roundtable Discussion
on RA No. 9208 and RA No. 9262 (The Anti-Violence Against Women and
Their Children Act of 2004)—for Judges of the National Capital Judicial
Region (2006).
c. Roundtable Discussion on Anti-Trafficking in Persons (2011)—tointroduce the basic concepts of human trafficking to non-specialist judges
and prosecutors. A series of asean Awareness Program on Trafficking in
Persons for Judges and Prosecutors (January, February, June 2011) was heldin partnership with the Asia Regional Trafficking in Persons Project (artip),
Australian Government Aid Program, and Cardno (an international consulting firm).
d. Competency Enhancement Trainings for Family Court Judges andCourt Personnel in Handling Child Abuse Cases and Trafficking Cases held during the 2008-2011 period to improve the competencies of judges
and personnel of family law courts and single salas27 in handling child sexual
abuse and commercial sexual exploitation cases.
e. Seminar-Workshop on Combating Human Trafficking in thePhilippines was held from 2010-2011 to improve the competencies of judges

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and prosecutors in handling human trafficking; to encourage participants toshare concerns and problems encountered in handling human trafficking
cases and to apprise them of the severity of the human trafficking problem
in the Philippines.
Environmental Law
Philja held the Judges’ Forum on Environmental Protection: Philippine
Environmental Law, Practice and the Role of Courts in 2003 to strengthen
the capacity of judges on the handling of environmental disputes in orderto protect human health and safeguard the natural environment for present
and future generations.
In 2003, the Role of Courts in Fisheries Management: ConferenceSeminars on Fisheries and Environmental Laws for Judges and Prosecutors
were held to familiarize judges and prosecutors with fisheries and aquatic
resource laws and their implementing rules and regulations and to enablejudges to effectively and judiciously adjudicate criminal cases for violationsof fisheries laws, rules, and regulations.
Philja held the Environmental Law Seminar-Workshops for Selected
Judges from 2005-2006 to update the participants on the present state of
the environment, and on the five environmental laws; and to emphasize theimportant role of the Courts in protecting the environment.
It held in 2007 the high-profile Asian Justices Forum on the Environment:
Asian Experience to Strengthen Environment Adjudication in Asia in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (usaid), theAsian Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network (aecen) andthe Supreme Court-Program Management Office to exchange views on therole of the judiciary on environmental adjudication, to strengthen the role ofthe “green” benches and to establish international linkages with counterpart
judges and courts in Asia.
A Multi-Sectoral Consultative Workshop on the Manual/Benchbook
and Training Design for Green Courts was held in 2008 to discuss the format of the environmental manual that will be most useful to the judges andpractitioners; and to design an enhanced environmental training program.
In 2008, philja organized a number of activities that provided participants with an overview of the environmental laws pertaining to air andwater pollution, solid, hazardous and toxic waste management and mecha-

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cnisms for their implementation; and discussed the application of specificaspects of evidence and other remedies on environmental cases. These
activities included the Roundtable Discussion on Strategy for Support
to Environmental Courts, the Seminar-Workshop on Capacity Building
on Environmental Laws and Procedures for Lawyers of the Departmentof Environment and Natural Resources, and the Seminar-Workshop on
Managing Environmental Cases.
In 2009, it held the Forum on Environmental Justice: Upholding theRight to a Balanced and Healthful Ecology.
In 2010, it held the workshops on Multi-Sectoral Capacity Building on
Environmental Laws and the Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases
to acquire knowledge and demonstrate understanding on the basic environmental laws, rules, regulations, administrative processes and court-related
rules of procedure for environmental cases.
In 2011, a Resource Persons Discussion Workshop on the CapacityBuilding Seminars for Environmental Law and the Rules of Procedure forEnvironmental Cases was held to discuss the topics to be included in training programs as well as the standard contents and flow of these topics.
Shari’a Law
In 1999, philja conducted the Seminar for Shari’a Court Judges and Clerksof Court on Philippine Law to acquaint participants with the different areasof Philippine Law and to familiarize them with legal issues and problems
and their solutions in Philippine Law.
The Seminar on Shari’a, Indigenous and Local Justice Systems was heldin 2005 to know the state of the local modes of alternative dispute resolution
in the context of the national legal system and to arrive at a shared understanding of how different justice systems and mechanisms operate in thecommunities of Internally Displaced Persons (idp).
Philja organized in 2007 the Orientation Seminar-Workshop on
Comparative Analysis Between the Family Code and The Code of Muslim
Personal Laws to discuss the significant distinctions between the two laws.

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Publications
In order to complement the capacity-building programs, philja develops
handbooks, course notes, compilations of laws, rules and regulations, andother multi-media tools for the participants.
The Training Manual on Gender Sensitivity and cedaw (2007) aims to
make more members of the judiciary gain a deeper understanding of women’s human rights under cedaw that would in turn be applied and reflectedin court decisions and issuances.28
The cedaw Benchbook (2008) explains how jurisprudence has helped in
the realization of women’s human rights and how it can further do so as partof state obligations under the cedaw. It is a resource material for those interested in the application of cedaw in the Philippines by providing a snapshot of successful and failed experiences, and how to work towards creatinga legal system that offers a better understanding, and complete protection,of the rights of women.29
The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Benchbook for Judges (2009) aims toprovide information on the national and global contexts of trafficking andupdate the knowledge of judges on the provisions of the anti-trafficking law(RA 9208) and other related laws.
The Participants and Facilitators Handbook on Competency
Enhancement Training for Family Court and Single Sala Judges & Personnel
Handling Sexual Abuse and Commercial Sexual Exploitation Cases (2009)
gives specific instructions as to what participants have to do during thetraining.
The Proceedings of the International Conference on the International
Criminal Court (2010) is a compilation of the proceedings and papers delivered during the two-day International Conference on the International
Criminal Court on the theme “Protecting Human Rights—Upholding
International Justice.”
The Helpbook on Human Rights Issues: Extralegal Killings and Enforced
Disappearances (2011) focuses on state responsibility, human rights and humanitarian law, the doctrine of command responsibility, extralegal killings(elk) and enforced disappearances (ED).
The Access to Environmental Justice: A Sourcebook on Environmental
Rights and Legal Remedies (2010) presents the remarkable array of environmental law and principles that enshrine the rights of the present generation

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and its posterity to a more livable and sustainable place on Earth. It likewise
provides the remedies available to ordinary Filipinos seeking redress for actual damage arising from an environmental hazard as well as the immediate
recourse on any species of life.30
The Capacity Assessment Report on Environmental Justice (2010) provides an evaluation of the roles and responsibilities of the pillars of justice
to execute and implement the provisions of the Constitution and environmental laws.31
The Laws, Rules and Issuances on Environmental Cases is a special publication of philja that provides courts, especially Environmental Courts,
and other pillars of the Criminal Justice System with a helpful referenceon laws, rules and issuances on environmental cases.32 Likewise, the Laws,
Rules and Issuances for Cases Involving Family, Domestic Relations, Womenand Children provides courts, especially Family Courts, and other pillars of
the Criminal Justice System with a helpful reference on laws, rules and issuances for cases involving family, domestic relations, women and children.33
Participants
In line with its mandate, philja’s core programs serve justices, judges, court
personnel, lawyers, and aspirants to judicial posts. From 2000, it was able totrain or reach out to 27,66734 participants on human rights-related trainings
and other activities.
Philja’s special focus programs, on the other hand, cater to judges,
court personnel and other stakeholders. To date, 21, 69535 participants attended its human rights-related trainings and other activities under these
programs.
A number of the philja’s special focus programs are multi-sectoral inapproach. As aptly put by Justice Ameurfina A. Melencio Herrera, philja’s
Founding Chancellor Emeritus, when she addressed the participants of the
Asian Justices Forum on the Environment in 2007:
The training programs will continue to be multi-sectoral toinclude prosecutors, [officials of different] government agencies, [members of the law] enforcement agencies, [members of ]people’s organizations, and public interest lawyers; as our experience has been that this approach is more effective in the interaction of participants leading to a better understanding of eachother’s viewpoints on environmental protection.36

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Philja receives full support from the Supreme Court by guaranteeing
the participation of judges and court personnel in its trainings and other activities.37 The same is true with the quasi-judicial, legislative, and executive
agencies, and other stakeholders.
The World Bank noted in its Judicial Sector Study in 2000 that: “[Philja]
achieves international standards in that it supports judicial independence
through a judicial majority and it is representative of the various courts it
serves.”38
Approach to Trainings/Methodologies Used/Training Modules
Philja’s trainings and other activities have always been trailblazing.
Participatory methodologies have always been employed: workshops, groupexercises, role-plays, moot court, immersion programs. The traditional lecture format is made more engaging with the use of multimedia presentations. A number of forums were simultaneously held in various parts of thecountry through the use of video conferencing to reach wider audience.
Time is also provided for sharing of knowledge among participants
through group discussions, plenaries and forums.
These trainings and other activities are periodically reviewed to provide
the best and the current trends and developments on the topics involved.
Curriculum content covers both legal and nonlegal topics.
Philja has a Corps of Professors as its official instructional force.39
These professors are all authorities in the various fields of law and judicial
management.
It must be noted that a number of the Philja’s special focus programs
are implemented in response to requests received from development partners, agencies, and non-governmental organizations (ngos). The SeminarWorkshop on Capacity Building on Environmental Laws and Proceduresfor Lawyers of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources heldin 2008 is an example.
Philja’s Academic Affairs Office (aao) and the resource persons design
the program content and methodologies, which are at times based on training needs analysis (tna).
A number of the philja’s trainings and other activities have produced
training manuals (such as the manuals on gender sensitivity and cedaw,

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and on rape) and helpbooks (such as those on cedaw, anti-trafficking, andhuman rights in general).
The 2001 Year-End Report of philja notes that:
The substantive quality of the programs, the expertise of[philja] lecturers, and the continuing assessment and improvement of the curricula, contributed to [their] consistently highrating by participants ... Also[, the participants] graded … mostfavorably … the educational experience, the format, the methods, the choice of thematic programs, including the working
teams assigned.40
Philja’s contribution in uplifting judicial competence to global standards has also been recognized by international institutions. The WorldBank’s 2000 Judicial Sector Study has noted philja’s independence whileinternational conferences of judges have acknowledged philja’s standards
in judicial education. The Commonwealth Judicial Education InstituteInaugural Meeting in Nova Scotia in Canada last December 2001, for example, commended philja for having the “most advanced and sophisticatedstructure of judicial education.”41
Conclusion
The relative success of philja’s human rights education offerings is a function of availability of resources, competence of resource persons, and themulti-disciplinary approach to the programs.
Philja’s track record in delivering project-based programs through donor grants and the efficient compliance with judicial education standards
has gained the trust and confidence of partners and stakeholders. In fact,
philja’s experience is being shared within the region and worldwide to thisdate.
Philja utilizes optimal evaluative tools to measure the behavioral
patterns of judges and court personnel as well as their respective outputs
through decisions and policies that reflect their enhanced knowledge andskills. But they are applied on per activity basis. Thus an important task
remains, i.e., the undertaking of a major impact assessment of judicial education in order to measure the qualitative impact of all philja’s offerings.

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This will further contribute to enhancing philja’s capacity to ensure
judicial excellence in the coming years.
Endnotes
1 Establishment of the Philippine Judicial Academy, Administrative Order No.
35-96, 12 March 1996.
2 An Act Establishing the Philippine Judicial Academy, Defining its Powers andFunctions, Appropriating Funds Therefor, and for Other Purposes, Republic Act No.
8557, 26 February 1998.
3 Ibid.
4 Philippine Judicial Academy: An Introduction (Manila:PHILJA, 2010), page 7.
5 Ibid., page 8.
6 Ibid., page 17.
7 Ibid., page 22
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid., page 24.
10 Ibid., page 28.
11 Ibid., page 31.
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid., page 32.
14 Ibid., page 34.
15 Multi-sectoral refers to different people and institutions related to the justice/legal system including judges, prosecutors, officials of government agencies,
members of law enforcement agencies, members of people’s organizations, and public interest lawyers.
16 Pacifico A. Agabin, Situationer: Human Rights in the Philippines, Helpbook
on Human Rights Issues: Extralegal Killings and Enforced Disappearances (Manila:
Supreme Court, 2011), page 1.
17 Ibid.
18 Supra note 16, page 2 (citing Supreme Court Information Office, A
Conspiracy of Hope: Report on the National Consultative Summit on Extrajudicial
Killings and Enforced Disappearances, 1 [2008]).
19 Ibid.
20 Supra note 16, page 3 (citing Karapatan, 2010 Year-End Report on the
Human Rights Situation in the Philippines, 16 [2010]).
21 Supra note 16, page 4, citing Karapatan, ibid., page 17 [2010]).
22 Supra note 16, page 9.
23 The writ of amparo is an order of the court protecting persons from violation or any threat of violation of the right to life, liberty and security. The rule on
the writ of amparo defines the petition for the issuance of this writ in the following
manner:52

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The petition for a writ of amparo is a remedy available to any person whoseright to life, liberty and security is violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity.
The writ shall cover extralegal killings and enforced disappearances or threats
thereof. (Section 1. Petition. The Rule on the Writ of Amparo, Resolution A.M.
No. 07-9-12-SC of the Philippine Supreme Court, 25 September 2007. Effective 24
October 2007.)An immediate issuance of the writ follows the filing of the proper petition andserved on respondent, who is obliged to answer the writ within seventy-two hours
from its receipt. Continuous and summary hearing is held. The court, justice or
judge may, motu proprio or upon motion, grant temporary reliefs such as temporary protection order for the party or any member of the immediate family of thepetitioner; inspection order for the land or other property or any relevant object;production order for any documents, papers, etc. or objects in digitized form whichconstitute or contain evidence relevant to the petition; or witness protection orderfor the protection of witnesses.
24 Similar to the writ of amparo, the writ of habeas data is meant to protect
persons from violation or threat of violation of their right to privacy in life, liberty
or security. Upon the filing of the petition, the court, justice or judge shall immediately order the issuance of the writ if on its face it ought to issue. The hearing on the
petition is summary although the court, justice or judge may call for a preliminary
conference to simplify the issues and determine the possibility or obtaining stipulations and admissions from the parties. The judgment may result into (a) denial of
the privilege; or (b) court enjoining the act complained of; or (c) order the deletion,
destruction , or rectification of the erroneous data or information and grant of otherreliefs as may be just and equitable. The writ of habeas data issued is enforceable
anywhere in the Philippines. [The Rule on the Writ of Habeas Data, Resolution A.
M. No. 08-1-16-SC of the Philippine Supreme Court, 22 January 2008. Effective 2
February 2008.
25 Culled from the “Report on Human Rights Programs and Related Activities
Implemented by PHILJA” submitted by Justice Delilah Vidallon Magtolis, PHILJA
Chief of Office for Academic Affairs.
26 The following are the PHILJA trainings and other activities focused on
women and children:•
Seminar-Workshop on Strengthening the Legal Protection of Children(1998-1999)•
Basic and Advanced Regional Multi-Sectoral Seminar Workshop on
Juvenile and Domestic Relations Justice for Single Sala Courts (2004-2007)•
Video Production on Trials Involving Children (1999)•
Workshop on Video-Conferencing in Trial Cases Involving Testimony ofChildren (1999)•
Gender Sensitivity Training Programs (1999-2000)•
Training for Family Court Judges (2000)•
Training for Family Court Judges and Social Welfare Officers (2001)•
Seminar-Workshop for Court Social Workers (2001)•
Capacity Building for Rape Case Management (2002)

Judicial Education and Human Rights in the Philippines•

53

Tele-Video Conference on Psychological Incapacity and Capacity of theChild (2002)•
Seminar-Workshop on Juvenile and Domestic Relations Justice for SingleSala Courts (2002)•
Asia-Europe Experts’ Meeting: Understanding Women and Children(2003)•
Seminar on the New Trend in Understanding Women and Children (2004)•
Capacity Enhancement Training for Family Court Judges and Personnel in
Handling Child Abuse Cases (2006)•
Video Conference on Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act (2006)•
Production of six Video Training Modules on Improving Judicial
Proceedings Involving Child Sexual Abuse/Exploitation Cases (2006)•
Seventh International Society on the Prevention of Child Abuse andNeglect (ISPCAN) Asian Regional Conference and Workshop (2007)•
Seminar-Workshop on Discernment (2007)•
Series of Competency Enhancement Training (CET) for Family Court
Judges and Personnel in Handling Child Abuse Cases and Trafficking
Cases (2008-2011)•
Seminar-Workshop on CEDAW Gender Sensitivity and the Courts for
Justices, Judges and Court Personnel (2006-2011)•
Seminar-Workshop for Members of Committee on Decorum andInvestigation (2008)•
Discussion Sessions on Gender Equality and CEDAW (2008)•
Regional Multi-Sectoral Seminar Workshop on Improving Access inFamily Courts (2008-2009)•
Forum on Children in Conflict with the Law: Creative Partnership among
the Pillars of Justice and NGOs (2009)•
Seminar-Workshop on Sextortion Toolkit Development/Final Validationof Sextortion Kit (2010)•
Seminar-Workshop on Access to Justice and Laws on Women and Children
for Judges and Court Personnel of First Level Courts (2007).
27 A single sala means that only one lower court branch exists in one locality.
28 Amparita S. Sta. Maria, Introduction, Training Manual on Gender Sensitivity
and CEDAW (2007), page 1.
29 Amparita S. Sta. Maria, “Benchbook Framework,” CEDAW Benchbook(2008), page 2.
30 Renato C. Corona. Foreword, Access to Environmental Justice: A Sourcebook
on Environmental Rights and Legal Remedies (2010), page ii.
31 PHILJA Annual Report (2010), page 60.
32 Ibid., page 66.
33 Ibid.
34 Approximate total number of participants collated from the data provided
by PHILJA’s Academic Affairs Office. Several program reports do not mention thenumber of participants.
35 Ibid.

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36 Ameurfina A. Melencio Herrera, “Strengthening Court Capacity on
Environment Adjudication, in 11 PHILJA JOURNAL 32, 558 (2009).
37 Supra note 4, page 2.
38 Supra note 4, page 70.
39 Supra note 4, page 9
40 Supra note 4, page 71.
41 Merzenaida Donovan, PHILJA: Premier Training School for Judges, Court
Personnel, at Action Program for Judicial Reform, http://apjr.judiciary.gov.ph/news_2007/archive_featurearticle009.html.