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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives PAOLO Z. DUTERTE and ERIC G. YAP 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
By virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 3. the Court of Appeals (CA) was created on 
December 3, 2935 and was formally organized on February 1, 1936. Its principal 
mandate is to exercise appellate jurisdiction on all cases not falling within the original 
and exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. It exercises original jurisdiction on 
the issuance of writs of mandamus, prohibition, injunction, certiorari, habeas corpus, 
and all other writs whether or not in aid of its appellate jurisdiction.  
As time went by, the mandate and the jurisdiction of the CA broadened with the 
enactment of numerous laws. For instance, Batas Blg. 129, or the Judiciary 
Reorganization Act of 1980, vested the CA with the authority to assume jurisdiction 
over actions for annulment of judgments of the Regional Trial Courts and with the 
power to try and conduct hearings, receive evidence and perform all acts necessary to 
resolve factual issues falling within its original and appellate jurisdiction.   
In support of the CA's mission to streamline the court adjudicative processes to ensure 
the delivery of justice real time by elimination unnecessary time lags (waiting time) in 
the completion and decision stages of cases in the country, this bill seeks to create 
additional divisions in the Court of Appeals, increasing the number of CA Justices 
from sixty-nine (69) to seventy-eight (78). It shall enable the CA to operate and manage 
its case load to serve the Filipino people more efficiently and effectively. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
PAOLO Z. DUTERTE 
ERIC G. YAP 
September 19, 2022
1:55 pm
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives PAOLO Z. DUTERTE and ERIC G. YAP 
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 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 
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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 (3rd) to the Fifth (5th) Judicial 
Regions; 
 
“The Eighteenth (18th), Nineteenth (19th), and Twentieth (20th) 
Divisions shall be stationed in the City of Cebu for cases coming from 
the Sixth (6th), Seventh (7th), and Eighth (8th) Judicial Regions; 
 
“The Twenty-first (21st), Twenty-second (22nd), and Twenty-
third (23rd) Divisions shall be stationed in the City of Cagayan de Oro 
for cases coming from the Ninth (9th) and Tenth (10th) Judicial Regions; 
 
“The Twenty-fourth (24th) Division shall be stationed in the City 
of Vigan for cases coming from the First (1st) and Second (2nd) Judicial 
Regions; and  
 
“The Twenty-fifth (25th) and Twenty-sixth (26th) Divisions shall 
be stationed in the City of Davao for cases coming from the Eleventh 
(11th) and Twelfth (12th) 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. 
 


 
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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,