[ OCA CIRCULAR NO. 185-2017, September 04, 2017 ]

[ OCA CIRCULAR NO. 185-2017, September 04, 2017 ]

[ OCA CIRCULAR NO. 185-2017, September 04, 2017 ]

TO: ALL JUDGES AND CLERKS OF COURT OF FIRST AND SECOND LEVEL COURTS

SUBJECT : THIRD NATIONAL JUDGMENT DAY PROGRAM ON 17 NOVEMBER 2017

On the occasion of the 42 nd Anniversary of the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), and to underscore the continuing efforts to decongest court dockets and jail facilities, the 3rd National Judgment Day Program shall be conducted on 17 November 2017, Friday, by all first and second level courts nationwide.

In line with this, you are DIRECTED to immediately conduct an inventory of civil and criminal cases, especially those involving detention prisoners, and set them for hearing on 17 November 2017, with the objective of terminating these cases pursuant to existing laws and rules. This directive, however, should not prevent any court from promulgating judgments or releasing detention prisoners on an earlier date when warranted by circumstances.

In accordance with the Revised Guidelines for Continuous Trial of Criminal Cases, hearings on motions, arraignments and pre-trials, and promulgations of decisions shall be held in the morning. For judges presiding over more than one court, or sharing the prosecutors and public attorneys with other courts, the hearings may be conducted in the afternoon. Thus, appropriate coordination should be undertaken and the proper notices timely sent to the parties and counsels, the prosecutors, and to the Public Attorney's Office.

At the conclusion of the National Judgment Day Program, all judges shall SUBMIT to their respective Executive Judges a report using the form attached as Annex "A." Within five (5) days from the conduct of the program, all Executive Judges shall forward the reports to the OCA, together with a summary report using the form attached as Annex "B." The reports shall be sent via e-mail with "Subject: NJD2017 (Court, Station)" to both:

nationaljudgmentday2017@sc.judiciary.gov.ph and nationaljudgmentday2017@gmail.com

The Executive Judges are further instructed to ensure that all courts within their supervision comply with this directive.

For strict compliance.

4 September 2017

(SGD.) JOSE MIDAS P. MARQUEZ Court Administrator