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EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE
Senate Bill No. 1253
'19 
DEC 18 P4 56
RECf. ;
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE "BONG" T. GO
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.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
A strong and efficient Judiciary is essential to the protection and enforcement of 
fundamental rights. Thus, the Judiciary must remain steadfast if it is to fulfill its role in 
the administration of justice pursuant to its Constitutional mandate.
However, the fulfilment of this mandate is jeopardized by the sheer number of 
cases being handled by the Judiciary, resulting to clogged dockets. These problems cause 
inevitable delays in deciding and resolving cases, diluting the public's confidence and trust 
in the country's justice system. In this regard, the Court of Appeals, as the country's 
foremost appellate court, has been instituting internal measures to alleviate the problem.
However, the Legislative must not leave it to the Judiciary to fix the problem, as it 
takes an inter-departmental effort to properly address it. In this regard, this proposed 
measure seeks to add three additional divisions of the Court of Appeals, each with three 
members. These additional members and divisions will enable the Court of Appeals to 
handle its case load in a more efficient manner.


In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is Mrnestly sought.
SENATOR CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE "BONG" T. GO


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE
Senate Bill No. 1253
£»{fi» l( :;>c jEWfrftarp
•19 
DEC 18 P4 56
R£Cr 
':•?
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE "BONG" T. GO
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 o f Representatives o f the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
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Section 1. Section 3, Chapter 1 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 129, as amended, is
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hereby further amended to read as follows:
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"Sec. 3. Organization. -  There is hereby created a Court of
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Appeals which shall consist of a Presiding Justice and seventy-seven (77)
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Associate Justices who shall be appointed by the President of the
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Philippines. The Presiding Justice shall be so designated in his
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appointment, 
and the Associate Justices shall 
have precedence
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according to the dates of their respective appointments or, when the
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appointments of two or more of them shall bear the same date,
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according to the order in which their appointments were issued by the
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President. Any member who is reappointed to the Court after rendering
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service in any other position in the government shall retain the
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precedence to which he was entitled under his original appointment, and
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his service in the court shall, for all intents and purposes, be considered
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as continuous and uninterrupted."


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


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"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.
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.


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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,