MANILA - Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin on Wednesday promised to make reforms in the judiciary during his 11-month tenure in the Supreme Court.

"I shall make it my objective to lead the Supreme Court and the rest of the judiciary in respecting and promoting the rights of our people, thus I will prioritize reform of our procedural law to make court proceedings less tedious, less intimidating, more economical and speedier," he said in his speech during during the culmination event of the "Judicial Strengthening to Improve Court Effectiveness (JUSTICE) Project."

Among the changes he will make are revising the Rules of Court and providing the poor access to legal remedies by tapping the help of law schools and students.

Bersamin also emphasized that the judiciary must remain independent.

"We are part of a sovereign nation, the judiciary, but our role is to be an independent judiciary. We cannot always go to the other 2 branches of government to ask for assistance," he said.

He thanked several stakeholders for helping the Philippine judicial system by funding its projects.

JUSTICE Project was a 6-year undertaking funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), ABA Rule of Law Initiative, and The Asia Foundation.

Its programs include case management software ECourt, conducting study on expanding jurisdiction on small claims, and mobile application Find Justice PH.

Present in the event were Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta and Alexander Gesmundo who took active roles in some JUSTICE Project initiatives; Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez who supervises all lower courts; USAID-Philippines Acting Mission Director Maram Talaat; ABA ROLI Associate Executive Director for Global Programs Alberto Mora; and The Asia Foundation Country Representative Sam Chittick.

Bersamin took the helm of the Supreme Court last week, replacing Teresita Leonardo-De Castro who retired from government service in Oct.

He will serve the post for 11 months before he reaches the mandatory retirement age by Oct. 2019.