judicial

• Judicial power


  Vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts (lower courts) as may be established by law
• Supreme Court of the Philippines and the Lower Courts

  • Legal basis: Philippine Constitution of 1935, 1973, 1987
  • Batas Pambansa Blg. 129 (Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980) created first-level and second-level courts
  • Presidential Decree No. 1083 established Shari'a Courts
• Lower Courts


  • Regional Trial Courts (RTCs)
  • Metropolitan Trial Courts (MeTCs)
  • Municipal Trial Courts in Cities (MTCCs)
  • Municipal Trial Courts (MTCs)
  • Municipal Circuit Trial Courts (MCTCs)
  • Shari'a District Courts (SDCs)
  • Shari'a Circuit Courts (SCCs)
  • Child and Family Courts (CFCs)
• Sandiganbayan


  • Legal basis: Philippine Constitution of 1973, 1987, various Presidential Decrees
  • Tries and decides criminal and civil cases against government officials and employees accused of graft and corruption and similar other offenses
• The Sandiganbayan is at the same level as the Court of Appeals
• The Philippine Constitution of 1987 provided for the anti-graft court known as the Sandiganbayan to continue to function and exercise its jurisdiction over graft and corruption practices provided by law
• Republic Act 7975 strengthened the functional and structural organization of the Sandiganbayan
• Republic Act 8249 further defined the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan, amending for the purpose PD 1606
• Sandiganbayan's Mandate


  • Adjudication of cases involving graft and corrupt practices committed by public officials, employees and accomplices
• The Sandiganbayan's budget for FY 2009 is P322,824,000
• The largest expense category for the Sandiganbayan is Capital Outlay at 42.25% of the total budget
• Court of Appeals


  • Manages information systems
  • Monitors status of cases
  • Conducts court trial/hearing of cases
  • Serves and implements court warrants, writ of executions, subpoenas, court orders
  • Renders and promulgates cases
  • Adjudicates cases
  • Prepares entries of judgment, issues copies of decisions, resolutions and orders
  • Processes requests for statistical data, maintains and updates statistical data
• Commonwealth Act No. 3 (December 31, 1935) created the Court of Appeals, introducing a new appellate layer between the Supreme Court and the courts of first instance
• Commonwealth Act No. 259 (March 1938) named Appellate Judges as Associate Justices and increased their number from the original 11 magistrates to 15 (further increased to 19 by EO 395, December 1941)
• Executive Order No. 27 (January 1944) regionalized the Court of Appeals pursuant to Act. No. 10 of the Japanese-sponsored Philippine Republic
• Republic Act No. 52 (October 4, 1946) re-created the Court of Appeals (abolished by President Sergio Osmeña through EO 37, March 1945), with a Presiding Justice and 14 Associate Justices
• Republic Act No. 296 (June 1948), the Judiciary Act of 1948, introduced the petition for review as a mode of review of decisions of the courts of first instance
• Presidential Decree No. 1482 (June 10, 1978) increased the membership of the Court from 18 (RA 1605, August 1956) and 24 (RA 5204, June 1968) to 45 Justices
• Batas Pambansa Blg. 129 (August 14, 1981), the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980, converted the Court of Appeals into the Intermediate Appellate Court consisting of a Presiding Appellate Justice and 49 Associate Appellate Justices
• Executive Order No. 33 (July 28, 1986) restored the original name to Court of Appeals with a Presiding Justice and 50 Associate Justices
• Republic Act No. 7902 (February 23, 1995) expanded the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals, amending for the purpose Section Nine of Batas Pambansa Blg. 129
• Republic Act No. 8246 (December 30, 1996) created six additional Divisions in the Court of Appeals, increasing the number of CA Justices from 51 to 69 Justices
• The Court of Appeals is vested with the power to review all final judgments, decisions, resolutions, orders or awards of Regional Trial Courts and quasi-judicial agencies, instrumentalities, boards or commissions, except those falling within the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court; to try cases and conduct hearings, receive evidence and perform any and all acts necessary to resolve factual issues raised in cases falling within its original and appellate jurisdictions, including the power to grant and conduct new trials or further proceedings. It issues writs of mandamus prohibition, certiorari, habeas corpus, quo warrant and auxiliary writs or processes, and writs of amparo and habeas data in the exercise of its concurrent jurisdiction with the Supreme Court, Sandigabayan, and the Regional Trial Courts
• Court of Tax Appeals


  • Adjudication of tax, customs and assessment cases
• Republic Act No. 1125 (June 16, 1954) created the Court of Tax Appeals, a special Court mandated to address the adjudication of appeals involving internal revenue tax and customs cases of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the Commissioner of Customs, respectively
• Republic Act No. 9282 (March 30, 2004) expanded the jurisdiction of the Court of Tax Appeals, elevated its rank to the level of a collegiate court with special jurisdiction, and enlarged its membership to a Presiding Justice and five Associate Justices
• The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has exclusive appellate jurisdiction to review by appeal decisions or inaction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue or of the Commissioner of Customs involving their respective responsibilities under the National Internal Revenue Code and the Customs Law, respectively, and those of the Secretary of Finance in automatic review cases where the decisions of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue or of Customs favorable to the taxpayer are elevated to the Finance Secretary; also those of the Secretary of Trade and Industry, in the case of non-agricultural product, commodity or article; or the Secretary of Agriculture, in the case of agricultural product, commodity or article, in connection with the imposition of the Anti-Dumping Duty, Countervailing and Safeguard Duty. This original and appellate jurisdiction includes criminal cases involving violations of the National Internal Revenue Code or the Tariff and Customs Code; decisions of Regional Trial Courts (RTCs) in local tax cases, and of the Central Board of Assessment Appeals (CBAA) in cases involving the assessment and taxation of real property; and collection of taxes the assessment of which has already become final