Manila: Senator Robin Padilla has advocated for the swift passage of a new bill that would grant Muslim Filipinos online access to Shari’ah Courts. In his sponsorship speech for Committee Report 237 concerning Senate Bill (SB) 2613, delivered on Wednesday night, Padilla highlighted the urgent necessity to resolve the long-standing issue faced by Muslim Filipinos in submitting documents to Shari’ah Courts, a challenge that has persisted for 15 years.

According to Philippines News Agency, Padilla emphasized that part of the amendments to Republic Act (RA) 9997 includes the establishment of a digital platform. This platform would facilitate the paperless filing of various documents in Shari’ah Courts, such as marriage certificates, birth certificates, death certificates, pleadings, and other court submissions. He further mentioned the collaboration with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to realize this initiative.

Padilla also referenced the Supreme Court’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovation (SPJI) 2022-2027, which aims to tackle institutional challenges through four guiding principles: timely and fair delivery of justice, transparency and accountability, equality and inclusivity, and adaptability to technology. He pointed out the current inadequacies in resources and the limited access that Muslim Filipinos have in terms of filing and submitting documents to Shari’ah Courts.

He made a straightforward request for the empowerment of the Bureau of Legal Affairs to provide administrative support to the public. Padilla assured that SB 2613 would not complicate court regulations.

Additionally, Padilla called for cooperation between the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) to gather data about Muslim communities across various administrative levels. SB 2613 mandates the NCMF and DICT, in collaboration with the Supreme Court, to develop a digital platform enabling paperless court submissions. Meanwhile, the Commission and the PSA are expected to work together to ensure accurate statistical data collection for Muslim Filipinos from national to municipal levels.