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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives PAOLO Z. DUTERTE 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The country is relatively behind in terms of its justice system despite its constitutional 
mandate to guarantee its citizen’s speedy disposition of cases before any judicial, 
quasi-judicial or administrative bodies. A number of initiatives have been made to 
declog court dockets, the most recent of which is Republic Act No. 11576 or the 
Judiciary Reorganization Act of 2021 which expanded the jurisdiction of first-level courts 
in hopes to eventually declog second-level courts, particularly the Regional Trial 
Courts. 
Despite the said initiatives, the Court of Appeals’ court dockets remained unattended, 
wherein its number of divisions in the country remain to be three (3), namely, in 
Manila City, Cebu City, and Cagayan de Oro City. The said number of divisions is 
notwithstanding the unchanging jurisdiction of the said court— appellate jurisdiction 
on all cases not falling within the original and exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme 
Court—as the Batas Pambansa Bilang 129 or the Judicial Reorganization Act of 1980 
remains operative. 
Given that a multitude of cases are still brought to the Court of Appeals, access to the 
said courts becomes another pertinent issue. Only one (1) division is allocated in each 
island group of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Hence, in pursuit of increasing access 
to the said courts and declogging court dockets of the Court of Appeals’ divisions, this 
bill seeks to establish another Court of Appeals division in Mindanao, to be stationed 
in the City of Davao. The said proposed measure also grants the appointment and 
streamlines the salaries, allowances and other emoluments of the Court of Appeals 
Justices to be assigned in the said division.  
PAOLO Z. DUTERTE 
April 25, 2023
12:18 pm
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives PAOLO Z. DUTERTE 
AN ACT 
CREATING AN ADDITIONAL DIVISION OF COURT OF APPEALS TO BE 
STATIONED IN THE CITY OF DAVAO, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE 
BATAS PAMBANSA BILANG 129, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS 
THE JUDICIAL REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1980, APPROPRIATING FUNDS 
THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Creation of Court of Appeals in the City of Davao. – A division 
of Court of Appeals is hereby created in the City of Davao, to be known as the Court 
of Appeals in Davao City, with jurisdiction over cases originating from the eleventh 
(11th) and twelfth (12th) Judicial Regions.  
SEC. 2. Composition. – The Court of Appeals in Davao City shall compose of 
three (3) members, who shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines upon 
the recommendation of the Judicial and Bar Council. 
SEC. 3. Qualifications. – The Justices of the Court of Appeals in Davao City 
shall be natural-born citizens of the Philippines and shall possess the same 
qualifications as those required of the Justices of the Court of Appeals under the 
existing laws.  
SEC. 4. Salaries and Allowances. – The Presiding Justice and Associate Justices 
of the Court of Appeals in Davao City shall receive the same salaries, allowances, and 
other emoluments as those of the Justices of the Court of Appeals. 
SEC. 5. Jurisdiction. – The Davao City Court of Appeals shall have the 
appellate jurisdiction over all the cases and appeals from the eleventh (11th) and 
twelfth (12th) Judicial Regions.  
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SEC. 6. Venue of Sessions. – The Court of Appeals in Davao City shall hold its 
sessions in the City of Davao, except in cases of force majeure or other emergency 
situations, where it may hold sessions in any other place within its jurisdiction. 
 
SEC. 7. Appropriations. – The funds necessary for the operation of the Court 
of Appeals in Davao City is hereby authorized to be included in the the General 
Appropriations Act for the year following the approval of this Act. Thereafter, the 
amount necessary for the continuous operations of the said Court of Appeals’ division 
shall be included in the annual appropriations.  
 
SEC. 8. Transitory Provisions. – The Justices of the Court of Appeals in Davao 
City shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines within ninety (90) days 
from the approval of this Act. All pending cases on appeal originating from the 11th 
and 12th Judicial Regions, except those which have been submitted for resolution, shall 
be referred to the Court of Appeals in Davao City.  
 
SEC. 9. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part of this Act is declared 
unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall remain in full 
force and effect. 
 
SEC. 10. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, issuances, rules and 
regulations, inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
SEC. 11. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following 
its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
 
Approved,