National Justice Information System established

TO further enhance information sharing and ensure the speedy delivery of justice, the Department of Justice yesterday signed an agreement with the Supreme Court and the Department of the Interior and Local Government for the establishment of a National Justice Information System (NJIS).

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the NJIS would boost data and information sharing among the three agencies as part of overall efforts to “facilitate the management and exchange of vital information across law enforcement and justice sector agencies.”

“This one is historic for us because it’s about time that this data sharing, information sharing, happened for a system of justice that the people of the Philippines deserve,” Remulla said after the signing of the agreement.

He said the three agencies, under the aegis of the NJIS, will share data with one another through a single portal called the NJIS Data Exchange Platform.

“That is the only proper way to treat our justice system to make sure that we punish people correctly and not make them suffer a day longer in jail and that’s one of the things that we wanted to happen with NJIS,” Remulla added.

Remulla earlier said more qualified inmates would be released in the coming days, adding the DOJ and the Bureau of Corrections are currently streamlining the process that the inmates need to do if they are seeking pardon or parole.

He said the DOJ is also working with the Public Attorney’s Office in digitizing the records of inmates with the Single Carpeta System and simplifying the parole and clemency processes.

Last December, officials from the DOJ, DILG and the SC came together to address the congestion in the country’s prison and penal facilities through a National Jail Decongestion Summit.

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo said the SC, as part of the NJIS agreement, will share data such as public court records, court dockets and schedules, warrants, subpoenas, and other court orders.

“This streamlined data sharing is going to be critical for effective and more responsive policy making in the justice sector,” Gesmundo said.

Interior Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos said the NJIS will be of big help to policemen,