Despite being a rapidly growing country both economically and socially, the Philippines continues to struggle to meet its rule of law development goals. As highlighted in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the Philippine justice system is fragmented resulting in inconsistencies and lapses in policy guidance. It suffers from significant backlogs and delays that result in low public confidence.
IDLO in the Philippines is working with the government, civil society and justice professionals to enhance effectiveness and efficiency in the disposition of cases, expand access to quality free or affordable legal services, improve the prosecution of criminal cases, ensure gender-responsive justice, and strengthen the rule of law to advance peace and sustainable development.
IDLO and the Philippines have a history of collaboration. The Philippines became a Member Party in 1989 and IDLO hosted regional trainings in the Philippines between 1996 and 2001. In 2016, IDLO opened a country office in the Philippines and has been assisting the advancement of its partner institutions, beginning with the Department of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman. In more recent years, IDLO has worked with the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the Supreme Court’s Philippine Judicial Academy and the Philippine Commission on Women. As the partnership with the Philippines continues to strengthen and deepen, IDLO is committed to exploring new opportunities for collaboration.
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.
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