Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.,  
HON. MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE, HON. TSUYOSHI ANTHONY “HORI” 
G. HORIBATA AND HON. NICOLAS “NICK” ENCISO VIII
 EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Essential to the protection and enforcement of our fundamental freedoms is the efficient 
administration of justice. However, data shows that the Philippines is one of the countries with 
the slowest judicial system. The country is ranked No. 102 out of 113 in terms of the efficiency 
of its criminal justice system, according to the 2018 World Justice Project Rule of Law. Naming 
a few examples are these two cases that made world records: the Maguindanao massacre 
where 58 poor souls, including 32 media workers, were murdered which took 10 years in 
court; and the Ozone Disco Club fire in Quezon City that claimed the lives of 162 persons 
which took 18 years. 
It is for this very reason that this proposed bill seeks to create additional divisions for the Court 
of Appeals (CA), increasing the number of justices from sixty-nine (69) to seventy-eight (78). 
The public’s trust in the justice system is corroding because of the clogging of the court’s 
dockets that result in lengthy delays in resolving cases. This reality goes against every 
person’s constitutional right to a prompt, fair, and impartial hearing. It is worth stressing that 
the pursuit of justice requires that cases be processed efficiently. 
Delays create undue stress and increase in expenses resulting in the erosion of the public’s 
confidence in the justice system. 
This bill seeks to better the administration of justice, in addition to effective case processing 
and efficient management of information and resources, by increasing the divisions of the CA. 
In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is most earnestly sought. 
LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
 MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE 
TSUYOSHI ANTHONY “HORI” G. HORIBATA 
NICOLAS “NICK” ENCISO VIII 
September 13, 2022
8:00 am
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.,  
HON. MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE, HON. TSUYOSHI ANTHONY “HORI” 
G. HORIBATA AND HON. NICOLAS “NICK” ENCISO VIII
AN ACT 
CREATING ADDITIONAL DIVISIONS IN THE COURT OF APPEALS, 
INCREASING THE NUMBER OF COURT OF APPEALS JUSTICES 
FROM SIXTYNINE (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 of Representatives of the Philippines 
in Congress assembled: 
Section 1. Section 3, Chapter 1 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 129, as amended, is 
hereby further amended to read as follows: 
"Sec. 3. Organization. — There is hereby created a Court of 5 
Appeals which shall consist of a Presiding Justice and seventy-
seven (77) 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 
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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. 
 
Sec. 2. Section 4, Chapter 1 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 129, as amended, is 
hereby further amended to read as follows: 
 
"Sec. 4. Exercise of Powers and Functions. — The Court of Appeals 
6 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. 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 18 
of Manila for cases coming from the Third (3rd) to the Fifth (5th) 
Judicial Regions; 
 
"The Eighteenth (18th), Nineteenth (19th), and Twentieth (20th) 22 
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 30 of 
Vigan for cases coming from the First (1st) and Second (2nd) Judicial 
Regions; and 
 
"The Twenty-fifth (25th) and Twenty-sixth (26th) Divisions shall be 2 
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. 
 
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,