Calamba, Laguna is the 7th Justice Zone to be launched by the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC).

The Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) has approved the launch of Calamba, Laguna as the first Justice zone to be created in 2021 through JSCC Joint Resolution 01-2021 signed on 11 March 2021 at the Manila Hotel.

The Justice Zone is a geographic area where the local justice sector agencies identify common problems and generate solutions to address them. Through an agreed structure, and two-way communication with the JSCC, testing of innovative solutions can take place within the Justice Zone, and successful interventions can be translated into policy decisions by the Council.

The launch is assisted by the Governance in Justice (GOJUST II) programme with funding support from the European Union. GOJUST facilitates increased communication, coordination, and cooperation in the justice sector through the JSCC at the national level and the rollout of the Justice Zones at the local level as the main mechanism for embarking on a long-term sustainable reform agenda.

EU Ambassador to the Philippines, Luc Veron, said “The EU commends the cooperation of the three principals of Supreme Court, Department of Interior and Local Government and the Department of Justice for their continued leadership towards improving the coordination of the justice sector in the country”.

“We are together with the Philippine government in reaffirming the respect for democratic principles, human rights and the rule of law that are an essential part of our Partnership and Cooperation agreement”.

The Calamba Justice Zone was recommended by the Regional Development Council of the National Economic Development Authority, after extensive consultations with the justice sector agencies in Region 4A.

The first justice zone was launched in Quezon City and has proven to be an effective platform for coordination and communication among the justice sector actors. Other justice zones were set up in the cities of Quezon, Cebu, Davao, Angeles, Bacolod and Naga.

Significant coordination efforts were made by justice stakeholders including among others: E-Dalaw Project, provision for transportation to address the problem of the mobility of prisoners-detainees, capacity building and training activities.

The JSCC Joint Resolution approving the launch of the Calamba Justice Zone paves the way for additional Justice Zones that will be established in the near future.

The expansion of justice zones will invigorate coordination at the local level and translate the successes of these initiatives into national policy. This bolsters the benefits of coordination within the justice sector as institutionalized in the Philippine Development Plan (2017-2022).