Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
1 9th CONGRESS
First Regular Session
HoUSEBILLNo.5675
Introduced by REP. GLONA G. LABADLABAD
2nd District, Zamboanga del Norte
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This proposed bill was initially filed in the  17th and 18th Congress and seeks to create two
(2) additional branches of Regional Trial Court and five (5) branches of Municipal Trial Court in
Cities  in the 2nd District of Zamboanga del Norte,  amending for the purpose Batas Pambansa
81g.  129, otherwise known as the "Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980."
These courts shall be distributed as follows:
Municipality ofsindangan     -one (1) Regional Trial cout
City ofDipolog                         -one (1) Regional Trial cout
City ofDipolog                         -five (5) Municipal Trial court in cities
Batas Pambansa 81g.129, which took effect on August 14,1981, created six (6) branches
of Regional Trial Courts (RTCs) in Zamboanga del Norte (five in Dipolog City and one jn the
Municipality  of Sindangan)  and two  branches  of Municipal  Trial  Court  in  Cities  (MTCC)  in
Dipolog City.
From       1981       to       2022,       or       a       period       of      more       than       forty       one
(41) years, the population in Zamboanga del Norte and Dipolog City have more than doubled.
The  number of cases  filed with,  and pending before,  the  courts  in these areas have  increased
significantly throughout the years. Yet the number of courts remain stagnant.
The  five  (5)  current branches  of RTCs  in Dipolog  City  have  a combined  caseload  of
1,617 as of December 2019, or 323 per branch. This number exceeds the manageable caseload of
300  for  second-level  courts  as  recommended  by  the  Supreme  Court's  Office  of the  Court
Administrator (OCA).  Moreover, the RTC of the Municipality of Sindangan has a caseload of
372 as of July 2019. Thus, the creation of an additional branch is also needed.
Furthemore, the combined caseload of the two branches of MTCCs in Dipolog City is
2,003 as of September 2019. This number exceeds the manageable level of 500 cases per OCA's
recommendation.  To help decongest the caseload of the MTCC branches in Dipolog City, the
creation of five  (5)  additional branches thereat is likewise recommended by the Office of the
Court Administrator.


Article  Ill,  Section  16,  of the  1987  Philippine  Constitution  guarantees  that  "All
persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before all judicial, quasi-
judicial,  or administrative bodies." But with the continued clogging of the court dockets in
the Second Legislative District of Zamboanga del Norte, the attainment of this constitutional
right remains elusive unless more courts are created.
For the above reasons, urgent approval of this measure is earnestly sought.


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
1 9th CONGRESS
First Regular Session
HoUSEBILLNo.5675
Introduced by REP. GLONA G. LABADLABAD
2ND District, Zamboanga del Norte
AN ACT
CRHATING TWO (2) ADDITIONAL BRANCHES 0F REGIONAL TRIAL COURT IN
THE  2NI'  I>ISTRlcT  OF  ZAMBOANGA  DHL  NORTH,  wlTH  sTATloNs  IN  THH
MUNICIPALITY  OF  SINDANGAN  AND  THE  CITY  0F  DIPOLOG,  AND  FIVH  (5)
BRANCHES 0F MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURT IN CITIES, WITH STATION IN THH
CITY   oF   DlpoLOG,   FURTHER   AMnNDING   FOR   THE   puRpoSE   BATAS
PAMBANSA     BLG.      129,     OTHHRWISE     KNOWN     AS     THE     "JUDICIARY
REORGANIZATI0N ACT OF 1980" AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
Be it enacted by the Senate and House Of Representatives Of the Philippine,s in Congress
assembled:
SECTION 1. Two (2) branches of Regional Trial Court, with stations in the Municipality
of Sindangan and the  Gty  of Dipolog,  respectively,  and  five  (5) branches  of Municipal  Trial
Court in Cities, with station in Dipolog City, are hereby created in the Ninth Judicial Region.
SEC. 2. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, in coordination with the Secretary of the
Department of Justice,  shall immediately include in the Court' s program the operationalization
of  the   abovementioned   additional   two   (2)   Regional   Trial   Court   branches   and   five   (5)
Metropolitan Trial Court in Cities branches.
SEC.  3.  The  amount  necessary  for the  creation  of the  aforementioned  courts  shall  be
funded out of the appropriations for the Judiciary. Thereafter, such sum as may be necessary for
their operation and maintenance shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
SEC.  4.    Sections  14 0) and 29 of Batas Pambansa 81g.129,  otherwise known as "The
Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980", as amended, as well as other laws, rules and regulations
that may be inconsistent herewith, are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
SEC.  5. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after completion of its publication in
the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Approved,