PATIKUL, SULU — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. emphasized that institutional accountability and the rule of law must bring governance directly to marginalized communities, reinforcing that legal recourse should be within reach for all Filipinos.
Marcos delivered the statement on Tuesday, October 20, during the formal inauguration of the Sulu Hall of Justice located at the Sulu Provincial Capitol.
Addressing attendees, the Chief Executive underlined the administration’s overarching vision for the judicial sector.
”As we come together here at the Sulu Hall of Justice, we reaffirm a fundamental principle: that justice must be accessible to every Filipino, that our institutions must uphold the rule of law, protect our people’s rights, and bring government closer to those that it serves,” Marcos said.
He noted that previous logistical constraints and inadequate infrastructure in Sulu created systemic hurdles that hampered local court operations, prolonged litigation processes, and imposed undue hardships on residents.
”These difficulties affect court operations, delay the resolution of cases, and, ultimately, place an added burden upon our people,” Marcos said.
”At the heart of these challenges are Filipinos whose livelihoods and families may depend on the timely resolution of their cases,” he added.
”After all, peace means resolving conflicts through justice, treating every person with fairness, and respecting the rule of law,” he further said.
According to the President, the newly inaugurated facility marks a tangible advancement toward operationalizing judicial equity.
”It makes the justice system more accessible to our people, providing a place where their rights can be upheld, their grievances heard, and their disputes resolved under the rule of law,” Marcos stated.
Highlighting ongoing judicial modernization initiatives, Marcos pointed to the Department of Justice’s Katarungan Office in Zamboanga City, which assisted over 8,200 individuals nationwide as of August 2026, alongside the 2023 inauguration of the country’s first trafficking-free Justice Zone to mitigate case backlogs and jail congestion.
He also noted that the Public Attorney’s Office served over 52 million clients and managed more than 1.8 million cases from July 2022 to March 2026.
Furthermore, the President cited technological upgrades such as digital notarization, e-Court 2.0, the Unified Case Management System, and computerized regionalized bar examinations.
Rounding out his speech, Marcos pledged continued executive cooperation with the judiciary alongside parallel improvements in public health and education.
“I recognize that justice is only one part of our broader responsibility to the people. We must also strengthen our health and education systems so that every Filipino can live healthy, secure, and dignified life,” Marcos said.
“Here in Sulu, this means bringing essential services closer to communities, particularly those who have long faced barriers to accessing them. We will continue working towards these goals for the remainder of 2026 and in the years ahead,” he vowed.