Mobile courts value more on PR, says DOJ chief

MANILA, Philippines - The value of the Supreme Court's mobile courts may be more on public relations, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said Thursday. Gonzalez admitted in a radio interview he still has doubts on how far the courts-on-wheels can go in dispensing justice, saying they are likely to handle relatively "small" cases. "These are good innovations on the part of the Supreme Court, but how much coverage these mobile courts have remains to be seen. I'm not really very much convinced about these mobile courts," he said in an interview on dwIZ radio. When told that the mobile courts managed to resolve 20 cases in a day, he said, "Well, siyempre may ano yan, may PR aspect yan (well, you know, it has a PR aspect)." But he said he will encourage these mobile courts as they still help expedite cases. "We should not discourage these practices on the part of the court. Kung maka-expedite ng kaso yan, that would be very, very good in our system (If they can help expedite cases, they would be very, very good in our system). Justice delayed is justice denied," he said. - GMANews.TV