The Philippines’ 97th-place finish in the 2026 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index calls for massive, painstaking, and consistent reform. We need reform that ordinary Filipinos experience in their everyday, not the impunity we see in the enforcement of laws and the disposition of cases — from traffic to online scams to corruption. To improve the Philippine justice system is to improve Filipino lives and livelihoods.
WJP’s factors point the way: accountable government, freedom from corruption, transparency, fundamental rights, public safety, fair enforcement, and effective civil and criminal justice. Government must lead, with business, academe, civil society, and basic sectors as partners.
For one, the judiciary must have a budget that can deliver measurable results. Its budgets for 2027 (over 86 billion pesos) and the succeeding years must be able to deal with over half a million (over 637,000) court cases pending in mid-2026 and subsequent additional cases.
Two, we propose clear targets in the next three years: shorten the shelf life of cases; bring workloads in congested courts down (certainly much lower than the 5,000 cases a Cabuyao, Laguna RTC judge was handling that caused him to resign); create and operationalize additional courts where needed; and reduce judgeship vacancies from roughly 20 percent to single digits. Of course, these must be supported by adequate personnel, legal aid, digital systems, and functioning courthouses.
Justice means holding the guilty accountable while protecting the innocent. Three: Improve conviction rates, especially of corruption cases, through stronger investigations, capable prosecution, and timely trials. Justice means due process is followed, not sacrificed.
But money alone cannot cleanse the system. We must confront judicial corruption, which we raised with nominees before the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC). Integrity must guide appointments, promotions, oversight, and disciplinary action.
Toward these ends, four: Convene the Judiciary Executive Legislative Advisory and Consultative Council (JELACC), a proposal supported by all chief justice nominees we interviewed during their JBC interviews. Use JELACC to coordinate sustained funding and institutional reforms while safeguarding judicial independence.
Our justice system is the soil in which development grows. When corruption and delay poison and exhaust that soil, family livelihoods and national economy wither. When fairness and accountability replenish it, public trust and opportunity flourish.
References: https://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index/
https://worldjusticeproject.org/sites/default/files/documents/Philippines_4.pdf