Senator Francis Pangilinan on Wednesday presided over a joint public hearing of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, along with the committees on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation, and Finance, at the Senate in Pasay City.
The hearing focused on several proposed measures, including Senate Bills 279, 296, 755, 927, 1165, 1228, 1791, and 1867—collectively referred to as the proposed Bureau of Immigration Modernization Act—as well as Senate Bill 1547, which seeks to establish a joint congressional commission on justice system reform.
During the session, Pangilinan stressed the urgent need to overhaul the country’s justice system, citing stronger coordination between the legislative and judicial branches as crucial to preventing large-scale corruption.
“The corruption scandal of 2025 is not just a crisis in corruption…It is really a crisis of the justice system,” Pangilinan said in reference to the massive scandal involving trillions of pesos in government funds.
The senator highlighted the slow pace of justice in the Philippines, pointing to the 2004 Fertilizer Fund scam, which took 21 years before a conviction was secured by the Sandiganbayan.
Pangilinan explained that the proposed joint congressional commission on justice reform aims to study the country’s courts, prosecutors, jails, and police, not to assign blame, but to fix systemic issues and ensure swift, fair, and humane justice.
“It is simple. Justice must be fair, impartial, and accessible to all—regardless of wealth, influence, or connections. That is the justice that gives our children security and dignity and restores public trust in our institutions,” the Senator added.
Citing international benchmarks, the senator noted that in the 2025 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, the Philippines ranked 97th out of 143 countries and 13th out of 15 in East Asia and the Pacific, with particularly low scores in civil and criminal justice.
“The criminal justice factor is near the bottom globally. Even our own Philippine Development Plan admits that swift, fair, and humane justice is an unfinished business,” Pangilinan said.
“This is why a joint congressional commission on justice reform is necessary—a commission that listens to data and the voices of the people to address what is broken in our justice system.”
