The House of Representatives on Monday approved on the third and final reading a measure seeking to provide Filipino Muslims better access to Shari’a courts through the electronic processing of routine documents in the said courts.

House Bill (HB) 9045, which was approved with 251 votes, also allows the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) to process documents for and in behalf of Muslim Filipinos in Shari’a Courts.

The proposed measure amends for the purpose Republic Act 9997, or the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Act of 2009.

Under the measure, the NCMF and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), in coordination with the Supreme Court, shall create a digital platform to allow paperless filing of routine documents such as marriage certificate, birth certificate, death certificate and the collection of appropriate court fess.

The bill also authorizes the NCMF to enter into public-private partnerships to facilitate the filing of documents to fulfill this mandate.

HB 9045, however, states that any information or data obtained by the Commission and DICT through the digital platform “shall be treated with confidentiality, and the right to privacy of the parties shall be observed.”

The NCMF shall also coordinate with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on the collection of statistical data for Muslim Filipinos in the national, regional, provincial, city and municipal levels.

“The Commission and the PSA shall prepare an annual report on the Muslim Filipino population. The annual report shall include the latest census of population of Muslim-Filipinos, Muslim births, marriages, and deaths for the year,” the bill read.

The NCMF’s Legal Affairs Bureau, meanwhile, is tasked to provide Muslim Filipinos with legal education and assistance in case of litigation involving their persons or interests; ensure that they have equitable access to Shari’a Courts; and facilitate the filing or submission of appropriate documents with the proper Shari’a Courts for Muslim Filipino litigants who are in a region where there is no existing Shari’a Court. (PNA)

Photo credit: Facebook/HouseofRepsPH