Video conference hearings in the Philippines: Prospects during normal times

• Main Authors: Gomez, Gio Franco, Bunales, Christian Gregory P
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: Court proceedings; Videoconferencing; Law
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_law/22; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1029&context=etdm_law
• Institution: De La Salle University

As young as the phenomenon is, the impact that Covid-19 has had on the way court proceedings are conducted has already received significant attention from legal scholars. However, few have looked at how video conference hearings (VCHs) are being governed and conducted in developing economies such as the Philippines. By doing doctrinal research on the Philippine Supreme Court's guidelines in relation to the conduct of VCHs, this paper seeks to determine whether VCHs may be utilized by Philippine courts even in the absence of a crisis that necessitates its usage. Though primarily an offshoot of the Covid-19 pandemic, VCHs, the researchers have found, may still be continued even under “normal times,” i.e., in the absence of external attending circumstances that necessitate the conduct of VCHs, such as those enumerated under Item (I)(3)(b) of Administrative Matter (A.M.) No. 20-12-01-SC. Ultimately, this paper hopes to serve as a useful resource for Special Committees that will be tasked to constantly improve Supreme Court guidelines on conducting VCHs in the Philippines, with the end view of achieving greater access, convenience, and efficiency for litigants (regardless of status, literacy, or disability), lawyers, and even court officers, employees, and judges.