THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has invested about P1 billion in training, capability-building and institutional reforms while expanding its prosecution force by nearly 1,000 positions under the Marcos administration, Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said.
Speaking in a weekend interview, Vida said the investments seek to address long-standing shortages in manpower and resources that had limited the department’s ability to deliver justice efficiently.
“We have invested not only in human resources but also in office spaces and training. For the first time, the DOJ now has the capacity to regularly train all its personnel,” Vida said.
The department aims to provide every prosecutor, official and employee with at least one job-related training each year to strengthen professional competence and improve public service.
Vida said the DOJ’s prosecution service has grown from 2,966 prosecutors and prosecution attorneys in 2022 to 3,968 today, an increase of about 1,000 positions nationwide.
Vida said the expansion is expected to improve the department’s capacity to prosecute criminal cases more effectively as it implements reforms requiring stronger evidence before charges are filed in court.
He added that the increase in personnel fulfills the intent of Republic Act 10071, or the Prosecution Service Act of 2010, which authorized additional prosecutor positions but remained largely unfunded for more than a decade.
“Only under this administration was funding finally provided. We now have the resources not only to hire more prosecutors but also to continuously train them,” Vida said.
DOJ officials said the modernization program includes regular capability-building programs for prosecutors, administrative personnel and other employees as part of the department’s broader effort to improve the delivery of justice nationwide.
Embracing AI
Vida said the DOJ is embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies to improve the delivery of justice while institutionalizing reforms to ensure they endure beyond the current administration.
He said technological innovation has become an important tool in modernizing the justice system, but stressed that AI should complement, not replace, human judgment.
“The mix of using artificial intelligence and machine learning should be balanced,” Vida said. “In the end, we need to humanize everything. There should still be compassionate justice.”
He said AI and digital technologies have already helped accelerate key DOJ processes, including the release of qualified persons deprived of liberty, as well as improve the department’s administrative and operational functions.
According to Vida, while the department welcomes new technologies that enhance efficiency, fairness and compassion must remain at the heart of the justice system.
The justice chief acknowledged that one of the DOJ’s biggest challenges is ensuring that its reforms continue to benefit the public regardless of changes in leadership.
“The challenge now for the Department of Justice is how do we make all these programs resilient,” he said.
To address this, Vida said the DOJ is institutionalizing its initiatives by issuing department orders and other policy directives so that reforms become embedded in the department’s operations rather than being tied to individual officials.
“We are making sure these are not personality-driven. We are issuing the proper department orders so that all of our improvements become permanent — not just for today, but so future generations can continue to benefit from them,” he said.
Vida said institutionalizing reforms would help preserve the gains achieved through modernization while ensuring that future administrations can build on existing programs instead of starting from scratch.
He added that combining technological innovation with durable institutional policies would enable the DOJ to deliver faster, more efficient and more compassionate justice for Filipinos in the years ahead.
