THE Supreme Court said the reforms initiated by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo resulted in improved access to justice, as the head magistrate retired on Friday.
In a special en banc ceremony on Thursday, Gesmundo was presented the Judicial Medal of Distinction and The Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos Award.
The Supreme Court said that the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations (SPJI) 2022–2027, which was drafted under Gesmundo, will serve as the blueprint for modernizing the judiciary.
”The SPJI was a plan. You were the reason it became a reality,” Gesmundo said in his farewell message.
Reminiscing his beginning as a young boy in San Pablo City, Laguna, to the highest post in the judiciary, Gesmundo said he never sought the position and attributed his rise to “God’s grace and providence.”
“The Court endures; its members are only temporary stewards. We are entrusted with its care, not its ownership,” Gesmundo said.
He thanked the Filipino people for the opportunity to serve them, noting the judiciary’s work did not begin with him, and it will not end with his retirement.
The reforms initiated by Gesmundo include the enactment of the Judiciary Fiscal Autonomy Act, the deployment of Regional Court Managers and Judiciary Marshals, the reorganization of the Judicial Integrity Board into the Judicial Integrity Office, the completion of more than 100 Halls of Justice nationwide, rollout of eCourt PH, introduction of electronic notarization, digitalization and regionalization of the bar examinations, governance framework for the use of human-centered augmented intelligence in the judiciary, implementation of the Unified Legal Aid Service, and the adoption of rules on gender-fair language and courtroom etiquette and guidelines for Filipino Sign Language interpretation in court proceedings.
Gesmundo credited judges, court officials and employees for carrying out reforms, saying they were results of collective efforts.
Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, who served as master of ceremonies, described Gesmundo as a trusted confidant, mentor and friend.
Gesmundo earned his law degree from Ateneo de Manila University in 1984, and succeedingly joined the Office of the Solicitor General. He was appointed associate justice of the Sandiganbayan in 2005 and became an associate justice of the Supreme Court on Aug. 14, 2017.
Gesmundo assumed office on April 5, 2021, as the country’s 27th chief justice.
