Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. ___ 5059

Introduced by Honorable Kimi S. Cojuangco

Explanatory Note

This bill seeks to create two additional Regional Trial Court branches
in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan. The proposed measure aims to hasten the
handling and disposition of cases in compliance with Section 16, Article III
of the 1987 Constitution, calling for the speedy disposition of cases.

At present, the Regional Trial Courts in Urdaneta City are
experiencing a backlog in cases. The limited resources of the already
existing RTC branches combined with the amount of cases being filed has
led to a delay in the administration of justice. Following the data from the
Office of the Court Administrator, the total caseload of the five existing RTC
branches at the City of Urdaneta is 2,635. This means an average caseload
of 527 per branch. Taking into consideration the manageable caseload of
300 to 450 per branch, it is clear that the number of RTC branches for the
said city should be at least 6. Taking this into account, this proposed
measure becomes imperative.

Adding two additional branches will help in the unclogging, as well as.
decreasing the number of caseloads for the already existing RTC branches.
‘Two new branches will allow for the handling of more cases in the future
meaning the quick disposition of cases.

Every citizen is given the right to speedy disposition of cases and with
the current situation, their right is being denied. The addition of two RTC
branches proposed in this measure will help in alleviating the situation in
the City of Urdaneta and is therefore highly recommended.

won i Siac


eVoaunwne

Introduced by Honorable Kimi S. Cojuangco

AN ACT
CREATING TWO ADDITIONAL BRANCHES OF THE REGIONAL
TRIAL COURT IN THE FIRST JUDICIAL REGION TO BE
STATIONED AT URDANETA CITY, PROVINCE OF PANGASINAN,
FURTHER AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE BATAS PAMBANSA
BILANG 129, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS “THE JUDICIARY
REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1980,” AS AMENDED, AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFORE

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

SECTION 1. Two (2) additional Regional Trial Court branches for
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan, with seats thereat, are hereby created in the
First Judicial Region.

SECTION 2. The Supreme Court shall assign the respective branch
number 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 14 (a) of Batas Pambansa Bilang 129, otherwise
known as the “The Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980,” as amended, as
well as other provisions that may be inconsistent herewith, are hereby
deemed repealed, modified, and/or further amended.

SECTION 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,