Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Nineteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. _ 4302

Introduced by:

Honorable DAVID C. SUAREZ

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The effective, swift and judicious dispensation of justice is one of
the benchmarks of political modernization. Without it, chaos and
anarchic elements will rule the day and plunge society into a jungle of
lawlessness. The presence of formal structures to ensure the application
of the rule of law among the populace, on the other hand, will most
certainly deter the commission of unlawful acts and subordinate
everyone to abide by the legal covenants of society.

In a country like the Philippines, the wheel of justice is often being
seen to be moving at snail-pace.

In this regard, the Court of Appeals has been instituting internal
measures to alleviate this problem.

This proposed legislative measure seeks to add three additional
divisions of the of the Court of Appeals, each with three members. These

1


additional members and divisions will enable the Court of Appeals to
handle its case load in a more efficient manner.

Hence, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought.



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Nineteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. _ 802

Introduced by:

Honorable DAVID C. SUAREZ

AN ACT

CREATING ADDITIONAL DIVISIONS IN THE COURT OF
APPEALS, INCREASING THE NUMBER OF COURT OF
APPEALS JUSTICES FROM SIXTY-NINE (69) TO SEVENTY-
EIGHT (78), AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE BATAS
PAMBANSA BILANG 129, AS AMENDED OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE JUDICIARY REORGANIZATION ACT OF
1980, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES.

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Section 3, Chapter 1 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 129, as
amended, is
hereby further amended to read as follows:


"Sec. 3. Organization. - There is hereby created a Court of
Appeals which shall consist of a Presiding Justice and seventy-seven
(77) Associate Justices who shall be appointed by the President of
the Philippines. The Presiding Justice shall be so designated in his
appointment, and the Associate Justices shall have precedence
according to the dates of their respective appointments or, when
the appointments of two or more of them shall bear the same date,
according to the order in which their appointments were issued by
the President. Any member who is reappointed to the Court after
rendering service in any other position in the government shall
retain the precedence to which he was entitled under his original
appointment, and his service in the court shall, for all intents and
purposes, be considered as continuous and uninterrupted .”

Sec. 2. Section 4, Chapter 1 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 129, as
amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 4. Exercise of Powers and Functions. -The Court of Appeals
shall exercise its powers, functions, and duties through twenty-six
(26) divisions each composed of three (3) members. The Court
may sit en banc for the purpose of exercising administrative,
ceremonial, or other non-adjudicatory functions."

Sec. 3. Section 10, Chapter 1 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 129, as
amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 10. Place of Holding Sessions. - The Court of Appeals shall
have its permanent stations as follows:

“The first seventeen (17) Divisions shall be stationed in the City
of Manila for cases coming from the Third (3°) to the Fifth (5") Judicial
Regions;

“The Eighteenth (18"), Nineteenth (19"), and Twentieth (20”)
Divisions shall be stationed in the City of Cebu for cases coming
from the Sixth (6") , Seventh (7), and Eighth (8) Judicial Regions;

“The Twenty-first (21%), Twenty-second (22%), and Twenty-third
(23) Divisions shail be stationed in the City of Cagayan de Oro for
cases coming from the Ninth (9") and Tenth (10") Judicial Regions;

"The Twenty-fourth (24") Division shall be stationed in the City of
Vigan for cases coming from the First (1) and Second (2) Judicial


Regions; and

"The Twenty-fifth (25") and Twenty-sixth (26") Divisions shall be
stationed in the City of Davao for cases coming from the Eleventh
(11") and Twelfth (12") Judicial Regions.

"Whenever demanded by public interest or whenever justified by
an increase in case load, the Supreme Court, upon its own
initiative or upon recommendation of the Presiding Justice of the
Court of Appeals, may authorize any division of the Court to hold
sessions periodically or for such periods and at such places as the
Supreme Court may determine for the purpose of hearing and
deciding cases.

“Trials or hearings in the Court of Appeals must be continuous and
must be completed within three (3) months unless extended by
the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.”

Sec. 4. Funding. - The amounts necessary to carry out the provisions of
this Act shall be included in the General Appropriations Act of the year
following its enactment into law and thereafter.

Sec. 5. Upon the effectivity of this Act, all pending cases, except those
which have been submitted for resolution, shall be referred to the
Proper division of the Court of Appeals.

Sec. 6. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to allow the transfer, except
in cases of temporary assignment, of any member of the Court of
Appeals to any place or station without such member's written
consent, or to undermine the security of

tenure of its members as provided in the Constitution, or alter the
seniority in the

Court of Appeals in accordance with existing laws.

Sec. 7. Separability Clause. - if any portion or provision of this Act is
declared unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provision
thereof not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.

Sec. 8. Repealing Clause. - All laws, presidential decrees, letters of
instruction, executive orders, rules, or regulations, or any part thereof
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.


Sec. 9. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days
following its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,