Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENT ATIVHS
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRES
First Regular Session

421 ‘ DEX SERVICE
HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by HON. RONALD M. COSALAN

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to amend Sections 3, 4 & 10 of the Judiciary Reorganization
Act of 1980 (Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, as amended), by creating two (2)
additional divisions of the Court of Appeals, which is proposed to be
permanently stationed in Baguio City, aside from the existing twenty-three (23)
divisions of the Court of Appeals stationed in Manila, Cebu and Cagayan De
Oro City.

The additional divisions are proposed to be authorized to hear and
decide cases originating from the First (consisting, of the provinces of Abra,
Benguet, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Mountain Province, Pangasinan,
and the cities of Baguio, Dagupan, Laoag and San Carlos) and the Second
Judicial Regions (consisting of the provinces of Batanes, Ifugao, Kalinga,
Apayao, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino).

The creation of two additional divisions aims to provide convenience and
expediency to court litigants and the general public who are otherwise forced to
travel to Manila to file and follow up their cases. It further aims to lessen
expenditures on the part of the National Government, since transportation of
voluminous records from different trial courts in the north to Manila would
entail large budgetary appropriations for the Judiciary. Transmitting
documents to Manila usually cause delay in the disposition of cases, which
eventually aggravates anxiety on the part of court litigants.

Likewise, the bill also seeks to increase the number of Associate Justices
of the Court of Appeals from sixty-nine (69) to seventy-five (75). ‘The increase in
the number of Justices will promote speedier administration of justice and help
unclog court dockets of cases pending before them.

In view thereof, approval of the bill is highly recommended.

nidet hrf
js RONALD M. COSALAN,

fe District of Benguet


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Ses

HOUSE BILL NO. :

Introduced by HON. RONALD M. COSALAN

AN ACT
CREATING TWO ADDITIONAL DIVISIONS IN THE COURT OF APPEALS IN
BAGUIO CITY, INCREASING THE NUMBER OF COURT OF APPEALS
ASSOCIATE JUSTICES TO SEVENTY-FIVE (75), AMENDING FOR THE
PURPOSE THE JUDICIARY REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1980, AS
AMENDED AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1. Section 3, Chapter 1 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 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-FOUR (74) 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.”

SECTION 2. Section 4 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, as amended, is hereby
further amended to read as follows:


4. Exercise of Powers anu Functions. ~ The Court of Appeals shall exercise its
powers, functions, and duties through TWENTY-FIVE (25) [twenty-three (23)]
divisions, each composed of three (3) members. The Court may sit en banc for the
purpose of exercising administrative, ceremonial or other nonadjudicatory functions.”

SECTION 3. Section 10 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 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 to the Fifth [First to Fifth] Judicial
Regions; THE EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH DIVISIONS SHALL BE IN BAGUIO
CITY FOR CASES COMING FROM THE FIRST AND SECOND JUDICIAL REGIONS;
the Twentieth, Twenty-first and Twenty-second (Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and
Twentieth] divisions shall be in Cebu City for cases coming from the Sixth, Seventh and
Eighth Judicial Regions; the Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth [Twenty-
first, Twenty-second, and Twenty-third] divisions shall be in Cagayan de Oro City for
cases coming from the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth 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.”

SECTION 4. 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.

SECTION 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.

SECTION 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 his or her written consent, or to undermine the security of tenure of
its members as provided in the Constitution, or alter the seniority in said Court in
accordance with existing laws.

SECTION 7. Separability Clause. - If any portion or provision of this Act is
declared unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provision not affected
thereby shall remain in force and effect.


SECTION 8. 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.

SECTION 9. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in any newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,