The Supreme Court has signed a memorandum of agreement with Union Bank of the Philippines on March 15, 2021 allowing UnionBank to develop an ePayment solution for the judiciary.
Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta said the Judiciary ePayment Solution will involve an application designed to provide the courts the options to receive fees and payments digitally from litigants, their counsels, and representatives in a safe, secure, real-time, 24/7 basis from anywhere at their convenience.
The Chief Justice led the signing of the MOA for ePayment project, which will benefit the courts and the general public as it will streamline the processes on the assessment and payment of court fees.
Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez and UnionBank Board Vice-Chair Dr. Justo A. Ortiz were the principal signatories in the MOA.
Also present during the signing were retired Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno, now an Independent Board Member of UnionBank; and UnionBank officers in Executive Vice President Ana Aboitiz Delgado representing Board Member Sabin Aboitiz, Senior Executive Vice President Henry R. Aguda, and Senior Vice President lawyer Joselito Banaag.
Members of the UnionBank Project Team led by Ma. Cecilia Bernad, Francesca Montes, Alfonso Tanjuatco, and Jeraline Jacob, as well as Supreme Court officials including Deputy Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva and Assistant Court Administrator and Spokesperson Brian Keith F. Hosaka were likewise present.
Aside from UnionBank, the SC is also inviting other banks and ePayment service providers to submit their proposals to integrate their ePayment service with the Judiciary ePayment Solution.
Chief Justice Peralta thanked UnionBank for its technical assistance, saying: “It comes at a very opportune time as the Philippine Judiciary is currently in the midst of its quest for digital transformation and at a time when online service is a great advantage due to the COVID-19 pandemic when face-to-face transactions are discouraged whenever possible.”
UnionBank now aims to be an active participant-observer in the modernization of the country’s judicial system.
The Judiciary ePayment System will be rolled out nationwide to first and second-level courts with pilot courts.
“We are especially proud of this engagement because the Supreme Court of the Philippines is an institution of great trust with deep historical and psychological roots in Filipino lives as guardian of the Constitution, final arbiter of our laws, and guarantor that we are all equal under the law,” UnionBank Vice-Chair Ortiz said.
“So, we, in UnionBank, are very cognizant of the trust the Supreme Court has, in turn, vested in us to deliver on this project and value greatly this opportunity to be of service to the Filipino people,” he added.