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

15" CONGRESS

HOUSE BILL'NO.

Introduced by Representative Roman T. Romulo.
Lone District of Pasig City

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This proposed bill seeks to establish 12 additional branches of the Metropolitan
Trial Court (MeTC) at Pasig City hereby amending Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, otherwise
known as “The Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980".

‘Section 16, Article Il of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that:

“All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their
cases before all judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.”

In the case of Mendoza-Ong vs. Sandiganbayan with G.R. Nos. 146368-69 on
October 18, 2004, it was held that:

“The right to speedy disposition of cases, like the right to
speedy trial, is violated only when the proceedings are attended by
vexatious, capricious and oppressive delays. In the determination of
whether said right has been violated, particular regard must be taken
of the facts and circumstances peculiar to each case. The conduct of
both the prosecution and the defendant, the length of the delay, the
reasons for such delay, the assertion or failure to assert such right by
the accused, and the prejudice caused by the delay are the factors to
consider and balance. A mere mathematical reckoning of time
involved would not be sufficient.”

The lack of sufficient number courts, though not among the reasons that strips
the public of their right to speedy disposition of cases, undeniably results to clogged
court dockets and lengthy judicial processes. The number of courts should be
proportionate with the population that it serves.

Based on the records of the National Statistics Office (NSO), Pasig City has a
population of 268,565 in 1980 which boomed to 617,301 in 2007. On the other hand, the
five (5) Metropolitan Trial Courts in Pasig City as per the Batas Pambansa Big. 129
approved on August 14, 1981 remains the same. The limited number of courts that will
handle and dispose of cases causes adverse effects in the delivery of justice for all.

The Nationals Statistics and Coordination Board (NSCB) reported that MeTCs in
the country has a court-case disposition rate of .82 in 2008 and .74 in 2009. This is the
ratio of total cases in a year over total cases filed which means that a ratio of less than 4
indicates an increasing backlog, greater than 1 as decreasing backlog and equal to 1
indicates that the backlog is being maintained. The continued backlog in the disposition
of cases is expected to worsen in the coming years and as reported by the NSO, the
Philippine population is projected to grow from 76.5million in 2000, to 141.7 million in
2040.

Through the passage of this proposed Bill, the public shall have a strengthened
judicial system which is able to efficiently and timely dispose cases.

For these reasons, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

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HON. ROMAN T. ROMULO



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Introduced by Representative Roman T. Romulo
Lone District of Pasig City

AN ACT
CREATING TWELVE ADDITIONAL BRANCHES OF THE METROPOLITAN
TRIAL COURT IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION TO BE
STATIONED AT THE CITY OF PASIG, FURTHER AMENDING FOR THE
PURPOSE BATAS PAMBANSA BILANG 129, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "THE
JUDICIARY REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1980,” AS AMENDED, AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1. Twelve (12) additional Metropolitan Trial Court branches for Pasig
City, with seats thereat, are hereby created in the National Capital Judicial Region,

SECTION 2. The Supreme Court shall assign the respective branch numbers for
the newly created branches.

SECTION 3. 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 implementation of this Act. The funding therefor shall likewise be included in the
annual General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 4. Section 27 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 129, otherwise known as
“The Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980," as amended, as well as other provisions
that may be inconsistent herewith, is hereby deemed repealed, modified and or further
amended,

SECTION §. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after 18
Completion of its publication in the Official Gazette or two (2) newspapers of general
Circulation,

Approved,