Less than three years ago, when President Marcos won the presidency in 2022, the country’s conviction rate in criminal cases was less than 25 percent, courts were heavily burdened with the volume of cases, and there was a tantamount delay in the administration of justice.
But just more than a week ago, less than a month into 2025 and just two-and-a-half years into the President’s “Bagong Pilipinas,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that there is now a 78 percent across-the-board conviction rate in the Philippines.
DOJ Undersecretary Raul Vasquez, during the “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon” briefing, noted how this conviction rate under the Marcos administration was a far-cry from past years, when the average conviction rate barely hit 26 percent.
“Sa ngayon across the board nasa 78 percent na dahil nga sa pag-implement ng case buildup at saka iyong higher degree of proof, so medyo gumanda-ganda na iyong lahat ng mga pamamalakad natin at pagsugpo ng kriminalidad,” he said.
(Now, across the board, it’s at 78 percent because of the implementation of case buildup and the higher degree of proof, so our management and the fight against criminality improved).
Efforts by the DOJ to institutionalize case buildup meant that only cases with strong evidence and proof go to court, ensuring the conviction of most cases once they reach trial.
The push to reform the country’s justice system, decongest cases in courts, and bring justice to victims was evident in the speech delivered by President Marcos in July 2024 during the signing ceremony of the DOJ Rules on Criminal Investigation.
Calling the signing of the 2024 DOJ-National Prosecution Service or DOJ-NPS Rules on Preliminary Investigations and Inquest Proceedings “transformative,” the Chief Executive said the move will set the country to the direction of “a more robust and responsive legal system.”
“Through this, all prosecutors are now empowered to take the lead in criminal investigations, ensuring that there is proper and sufficient case build-up before filing in court,” the President said.
“These new rules and procedures ensure fairness and due process as we protect all of our citizens, including the accused, and hold the guilty accountable,” he added.
These new rules, President Marcos shared, wouldn’t have been possible without the “strong collaboration” between the executive and the judiciary as he hoped to address issues of heavily burdened courts, slow implementation of the law, and delays in the dispensation of justice.
Under the 2024 DOJ-NPS rules, the Chief Executive tackled three main issues that hurdle case conviction and clog court operations: the low quality of evidence, bureaucratic red tape, and accountability of the prosecution.
These were explained in detail by President Marcos in his speech, saying that the new rules require “prima facie evidence with a reasonable certainty of conviction” rather than evidence from probable cause.
“This means that only strong cases are brought to trial, reducing frivolous suits and malicious prosecution that clog our courts,” he added.
Procedures were made to be more flexible, too, with the new rules allowing the submission of additional documents for the examination of the case and true to the President’s rallying call to digitalize government services in hope of providing better quality of service, the 2024 DOJ-NPS rules now espoused the use of technology.
“Adopting e-filings and virtual hearings are a testament to our commitment to digitalize government services throughout the country,” the Chief Executive said.
“And through this, we aim to make our justice system more efficient by streamlining processes, cutting down delays, [and] making justice more accessible to everyone,” he added.
Recognizing that delays in court proceedings have led to the slow resolution of cases that further victimized the victims, President Marcos also made sure prosecutors will be made accountable to the public.
“The period set in resolving preliminary investigation complaints will guarantee that cases will be evaluated and resolved within a reasonable time,” he said.
In 2022, shortly after taking the helm of the agency, DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla lamented the country’s low conviction rate, even going so far as to say that criminals are having “a heyday, an easy time with the law.”
“We are not getting a passing rate. This is not a standard that we can live with. We have to change this drastically,” he said.
Back then, he and former Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. agreed to amending the rules, although admitting that the process will take time.
And while the new rules took two years to conclude, the now holy grail of criminal investigation procedures only needed six months to improve what once was a dismal conviction rate.
In fact, in July 2024, the DOJ reported a 93.59 percent conviction rate in cases filed before the trial courts from the second quarter of 2023 up to the first quarter of 2024.
This can be attributed to Remulla’s and Abalos’ decision to embark in the retraining of law enforcement units in remedial and substantive laws while negotiations for the 2024 DOJ-NPS rules were being undertaken by the executive and judicial branches.
Under Department Circular (DC) No. 20 issued by Remula on March 31, 2023, law enforcement agencies and prosecutors must join forces in gathering evidence to strengthen cases to be filed in courts.
Since the issuance of DC 20 and until March 2024, former Justice Undersecretary Jesse Hermogenes Andres said that “7,114 weak cases, out of 26,681 complaints, were not filed in court contributing to decongestion of court dockets.”
‘Rule of law’ for all
In President Marcos’ vision of a “Bagong Pilipinas,” the rule of law works not just for a select few, but it’s a commitment by his administration to ensure all Filipinos, regardless of their status in life, have access to a justice system anchored in integrity and impartiality.
This, Vasquez said during the televised press briefing, was what the Marcos administration hoped to achieve as it continues to work in bringing justice to all.
“Ang importante kasi diyan is hindi—we’re not here after making people to suffer imprisonment, hindi eh. Iyan ay ang number one na guidance natin, ang vision natin ay ang rule of law sa lahat,” he explained.
(What’s important there is—we’re not here after making people to suffer imprisonment, it’s not that. That’s our number one guidance, our vision is the rule of law in everything).
“Ang pantay at parehas na pagsugpo ng kriminalidad, pag-implement ng ating mga batas regardless of your stature in life, of your financial situation, your social position of your influence, et cetera,” he added.
(The fair and equal end to criminality, implementing our laws regardless of your stature in life, of your financial situation, your social position of your influence, et cetera).
Stressing that the prosecution of cases should be based on facts and not personalities, the DOJ official said that what was important “is actually to go after the true criminals and spare the innocents from useless and, I would say, expensive litigation and all the hassles of being held to court because of this frivolous complaints.”
President Marcos, in his bid to usher in a new era in the country’s justice system, reminded law enforcers and prosecutors that every case they handle, every decision they make, and every reform they handle “will impact the lives of every single Filipino and it will shape the future of our country.”
“So, guided by the principles of justice and our unwavering belief in the rule of law, let us strive to bring a better and a just future for our people and our nation,” he said.
