(Eagle News) – Videoconferencing hearings will continue in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ), the Supreme Court (SC).
In an announcement on Sunday, May 31, SC Court Administrator Midas Marquez cited the initial success of the videoconferencing hearings held in various authorized courts nationwide.
More than 7,000 videoconferencing hearings were done in a month, and more than 22,000 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) were released during the lockdown period.
“There have been already three convictions promulgated online by our trial courts,” Marquez said, adding that in all three, “the accused were sentenced to life imprisonment and reclusion perpetua.”
He identified these cases as one for qualified human trafficking in Angeles City, and a large scale trafficking for prostitution and a rape case, both in Cebu City.
According to Marquez, a party who wishes his or her case to be heard via videoconferencing only need to file the proper motion, and the court in its sound discretion can either grant or deny the motion.
The remedy is available in both civil and criminal cases, he added.
Eagle News Service
