Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

)
HOUSE BILL NO. 2410

Introduced by
HON. BERNARDO M. VERGARA

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to amend Secs. 4 and 10 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, as
amended by R.A. No. 8246 (December 30, 1996), by adding a division of the Court of
Appeals for the Cordillera Adminstrative Region (CAR) and the First Judicial Region,
composed of three (3) Justices, with permanent station at Baguio City for cases
coming from said territories.

As provided in R.A. No. 8438 (December 22, 1997) “An Act to Establish the
Cordillera Autonomous Region”, the area of CAR consists of the provinces of
Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Abra, Kalinga, Apayao and the chartered City of
Baguio, while under the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980, as amended, the First
Judicial Region consists of the Province of Abra, Province of Benguet and the City of
Baguio, Province of locos Norte and the City of Laoag, the Province of Ilocos Sur,
Province of La Union. Mountain Province, Province of Pangasinan and the cities of
Dagupan and San Carlos.

Under present rule, decisions and resolutions of the Regional Trial Courts in
CAR and First Judicial Region are brought on appeal or special civil action to the
Court of Appeals in Manila in the exercise of its original and appellate
jurisdiction. This considerably adds to the ever-increasing overload of the Court of
Appeals in Manila which, as a consequence, adversely affects the expeditious
resolution of the appealed cases. Delay in the final resolution of cases has oftentimes
spawned doubts in the litigants on the efficiency of the justice system. This is
compounded by the inconvenient, inexpedient and expensive access to the court of
Appeals in Manila to follow up their cases. In like manner, the protracted transmittal
of court records to Manila multiplies the delay thereby causing anxiety on the litigants
in the speedy disposition of justice. Thus, the creation of a division for the Cordillera
Autonomous Region and the First Judicial Region with permangageat in Baguio City

GRevnne M.
VERGARA



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Batasan Hills, Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNO.__2410

Introduced by
HON. BERNARDO M. VERGARA

AN ACT CREATING A DIVISION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR
CASES COMING FROM THE CORDILLERA AUTONOMOUS REGION AND
THE FIRST JUDICIAL REGION, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE BATAS
PAMBANSA BLG. 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. Sec. 4 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, as amended by RA No. 8246, 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-
four (24) 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. 2 Sec. 10 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, as amended by RA No. 8246, is
hereby 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
Second to the Fifth Judicial Regions;


The Eighteenth, Nineteenth and
Twentieth Divisions shall be in Cebu City for
cases coming from the Sixth, Seventh and
Eighth Judicial Regions; the Twen
Twenty-second and Twenty-third Divisions
shall be in Cagayan de Oro for cases coming
from the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth
Judicial Regions and Twenty Fourth Divisi
ses coming from CAR and First
1 Region. 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 3. The amount 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. 4, Upon 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. 5. Separability Clause. — If any portion or provision of this Act is
declared unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act or any provision not affected
thereby shall remain in force and effect.

Sec. 6. Repealing Clause. — All laws, presidential decrees, letters of
instruction, executive orders, rules and regulations, or any part thereof inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly

:. 7. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days
following its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved.