The Supreme Court yesterday announced it has started plans for an electronic payment system to receive court fees and payments from litigants, their counsels and representatives 24/7.
In a statement, the High Court said it has signed a memorandum of agreement with Union Bank of the Philippines to develop an e-payment solution for the judiciary. It will provide an application designed to provide the courts with options to receive fees and payments digitally.
Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta, who led the MOA signing, said the project will be greatly beneficial to the courts and the general public.
“It will streamline the processes on the assessment and payment of court fees,” he said in a statement.
The SC also invited other banks and e-payment service providers to submit their proposals to integrate their services with the Judiciary ePayment Solution.
The technical assistance “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,” Peralta said.
The Judiciary ePayment System will be rolled out nationwide to first and second-level courts with pilot courts.
All first and second level courts nationwide are on a skeleton workforce (50 percent) arrangement from March 15 to 24. Those working from home are required to submit accomplishment reports, according to a March 14 memorandum signed by SC Administrator Midas Marquez.*PNA
