Bacolod City Justice Zone members met Thursday, April 28, to find ways to reduce the backlog in pending cases and decongest overcrowded jails in the city.
The strategic planning session to identify problems and solutions was held at Park Inn by Radisson Hotel in Bacolod City.
The three jail facilities in Bacolod City with about 1,500 inmates are congested by 300 percent, Executive Judge Raymond Joseph Javier of the Bacolod Regional Trial Court said.
He also said 80 percent are detained for drug related cases.
The Bacolod City Justice Zone meeting was attended by representatives from the Supreme Court, Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The Bacolod City Justice Zone was created in 2018 and is one of eight in the country, Javier said.
Christian Eldon, team leader of the Justice Sector Reform Programme: Governance in Justice (GoJust) II, joined the activity.
The European Union has been funding the Philippine justice sector for many years through programs such as GoJust to improve the delivery of justice, he said.
One element is through strengthening coordination in the justice sector through the justice zone chaired by the executive judge, Eldon said.*