"REPUBLIC
OF
THE PHILIPPINES"SUPREME
COURT"Manila"EN
BANC
"RESOLUTION
OF
THE COURT EN BANC DATED JANUARY 11. 1983 PROVIDING FOR THE INTERIM OR
TRANSITIONAL
RULES AND GUIDELINES RELATIVE TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE JUDICIARY
REORGANIZATION
ACT OF 1980 [B. P. Blg. 129].
"RESOLUTION
"Considering
the
enactment of the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980 [B. P. Blg. 129]
which provides for the reorganization of all the Courts except the
Supreme
Court, the Sandiganbayan and the Court of Tax Appeals and some changes
in the present rules on procedures; realizing the necessity of
harmonizing
the provisions of the Rules of Court with the changes thus affected;
and
pending a more thorough revision of the Rules of Court which is now in
progress, the Court resolved to promulgate the following interim
or transitional rules and guidelines relative thereto for all inferior
courts according to the Constitution:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
"A.
General Provisions
"1. Designation
of Courts.- The reference to the (a) Court of Appeals, (b) Courts
of
First Instance, and (c) "inferior courts" in the Rules of Court shall
be
deemed changed to (a) the Intermediate Appellate Court, (b) the
Regional
Trial Courts, and (c) the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial
Courts
and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts, respectively.cralaw:red
"B. P. Blg.
129 creates
thirteen judicial regions corresponding to the thirteen administrative
regions of the country in place of the sixteen judicial districts under
the Judiciary Act of 1948.cralaw:red
"2. Territorial
Jurisdiction of Courts.-
"(a)
Metropolitan
Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts
shall exercise their jurisdiction in the city, municipality or circuit
for which the judge thereof is appointed or designated.
"(b) A
Regional
Trial Court shall exercise its jurisdiction within the area defined by
the Supreme Court as the territory over which the particular branch
concerned
shall exercise its authority, in accordance with Section 18 of B. P.
Blg.
129.
"3. Writs
and Processes.
-
"(a)
Writs of certiorari,
prohibition, mandamus, quo
warranto, habeas corpus
and injunction issued by a Regional Trial Court may be enforced in any
part of the region.
"(b) All
other processes,
whether issued by a regional trial court or a metropolitan trial court,
municipal trial court or municipal circuit trial court may be served
anywhere
in the Philippines, and, in the last three cases, without a
certification
by the judge of the Regional Trial Courts.
"(4) Motions
for
Reconsideration.- No party shall be allowed a second motion for
reconsideration
of a final order or judgment.
"5. Session
Hours.-
Regional Trial Courts, Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial
Courts,
and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts shall hold daily sessions from
Monday
to Friday, from 8:30 to 12 00 noon and from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. assisted
by a skeletal force, also on rotation, primarily to act on petitions
for
bail and other urgent matters.cralaw:red
"On
Saturday afternoons,
Sundays and non-working holidays, any Judge may act on bailable
offenses
conformably to the provisions of Section 7, Rule 112 of the Rules of
Court.cralaw:red
"All
Executive Judges,
whether in single sala or multiple salas, shall remain on duty on
Saturday
mornings.cralaw:red
"7. Motion
Day.-
Except those motions requiring immediate action, all motions should be
scheduled for hearing on Friday afternoons, or if Friday is a
non-working
day, in the afternoon of the next business day.cralaw:red
"8. Preliminary
Injunction Not Granted Without Notice Issuance of Restraining Order.-
No preliminary injunction shall be granted without notice to the
defendant.
If it shall appear from the facts shown by affidavit or by the verified
complaint that great or irreparable injury would result to the
applicant
before the master can be heard on notice, the Court to which the
application
for preliminary injunction was made, may issue a restraining order to
be
effective only for a period of twenty days from date of its issuance.
Within
the said twenty-day period, the Court must cause an order to be served
on the defendant, requiring him to show cause, at a specified time and
place, why the injunction should not be granted, and determine within
the
same period whether or not the preliminary injunction shall be granted,
and shall accordingly issue the corresponding order. In the event that
the application for preliminary injunction is denied, the restraining
order
is deemed automatically vacated
"`Nothing
herein
contained shall be construed to impair, affect or modify in any way any
rights granted by, or rules pertaining to injunctions contained in,
existing
agrarian, labor or social legislation.cralaw:red
"B.
Procedure
in Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Courts and Municipal Circuit
Trial
Courts.
"9. Uniform
With
That in Regional Trial Courts.- Rules 5 and 123 of the Rules of
Court
are hereby repealed. The procedure to be observed in Metropolitan Trial
Courts, Municipal Trial Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts, in
all
cases and proceedings, whether civil or criminal, shall be the same as
that to be observed in the Regional Trial Courts.cralaw:red
"10. Jurisdiction
in Ejectment Cases.- Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial
Courts,
and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts, without distinction, may try cases
of forcible entry and detainer even if the question of ownership is
raised
in the pleadings and the question of possession could not be resolved
without
deciding the issue of ownership, but the question of ownership shall be
resolved only to determine the issue of possession.cralaw:red
"11. Application
of the Totality Rule. - In actions where the jurisdiction of the
Court
is dependent on the amount involved, the test of jurisdiction shall be
the aggregate sum of all the money demands, exclusive only of interest
and costs, irrespective of whether or not the separate claims are owned
by or due to different parties. If any demand is for damages in a civil
action, the amount thereof must be specifically alleged.cralaw:red
"12. Preliminary
Investigations.- Preliminary investigations may be conducted by
Metropolitan
Trial Courts (except those in the National Capital Region), Municipal
Trial
Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts in the manner provided for in
Section 37 of B. P. Blg. 129.cralaw:red
"No warrant
of arrest
shall be issued by any Judge of a Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal
Trial
Court and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts in any criminal case filed
with
him unless he first examines the witness or witnesses personally, and
the
examinations shall be under oath and reduced to writing in the form of
searching questions and answers
"C.
Procedure
in the Regional Trial Courts.
"13. Venue
of
Actions. - The venue of all actions, whether civil or criminal, and
in special proceedings filed in the Regional Trial Courts shall mean
such
area defined by the Supreme Court as the territory over which a
particular
branch shall exercise authority in accordance with Section 18 of B. P.
Blg. 129.cralaw:red
"All
provisions of
the Rules of Court referring to "procedure" shall be deemed to mean
such
area.cralaw:red
"D.
Procedure
in the Intermediate Appellate Court.
"14. Exercise
of Original Jurisdiction. - The Intermediate Appellate Court may
entertain
petitions for mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, habeas corpus,
and quo warranto, and issue auxiliary writs or processes,
whether
or not in aid of its appellate jurisdiction.cralaw:red
"15. Trial
of
Cases.- Whenever the Intermediate Appellate Court shall conduct a
trial
or hearing to receive evidence, it shall observe the procedure
prescribed
for such purpose in the trial courts.cralaw:red
"E.
Appellate
Procedure.
"16. Cases
Reviewable
by the Intermediate Appellate Court.- The Intermediate Appellate
Court
may review final decisions, orders, awards or resolutions of regional
trial
courts and of all quasi-judicial bodies except the Commission on
Elections,
the Commission on Audit, the Sandiganbayan, and decisions issued under
the Labor Code of the Philippines and the Central Board of Assessment
Appeals.cralaw:red
"17. Petitions
for Writs of Certiorari, etc.- No petition for certiorari,
mandamus,
prohibition, habeas corpus or quo warranto may be filed
in
the Intermediate Appellate Court if another similar position has been
filed
or is still pending in the Supreme Court. Nor may such petition be
filed
in the Supreme Court if a similar petition has been filed or is still
pending
in the Intermediate Appellate Court, unless it be to review the action
taken by the Intermediate Appellate Court on the petition filed with
it.
A violation of this rule shall constitute contempt of court and shall
be
a cause for the summary dismissal of both petitions, without prejudice
to the taking of appropriate action against the counsel or party
concerned.cralaw:red
"18. Elimination
of Record on Appeal and Appeal Bond. - The filing of a record on
appeal
shall be dispensed with, except in the cases referred to in
sub-paragraph
(b) of paragraph 19 hereof.cralaw:red
"No appeal
bond shall
be required for an appeal.cralaw:red
"19. Period
of
Appeal.-
"[a] All
appeals,
except in habeas corpus cases and in the cases referred to in
paragraph
(b) hereof, must be taken within fifteen (15) days from notice of
judgment,
order, resolution or award appealed from.
"[b] In
appeals in
special proceedings in accordance with Rule 109 of the Rules of Court
and
other cases wherein multiple appeals are allowed, the period of appeal
shall be thirty (30) days, a record of appeal being required.
"20. Procedure
for
Taking Appeal.- An appeal from the Metropolitan Trial Courts,
Municipal
Trial Courts, or Municipal Circuit Trial Courts to the Regional Trial
Courts,
and from the Regional Trial Courts to the Intermediate Appellate Court
in actions or proceedings originally filed in the former shall be taken
by filing a notice of appeal with the Court that rendered the judgment
or order appealed from.
"21. Appeal
to
the Regional Trial Courts.-
"(a) All
cases
decided by Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and
Municipal
Circuit Trial Courts may be appealed to the Regional Trial Courts
exercising
jurisdiction over the area to which they pertain.
"(b) Within
five
(5) days from the perfection of the appeal it shall be the duty of the
Clerk of Court to transmit the original record, or the record on appeal
as the case may be, to the appropriate Regional Trial Court.cralaw:red
"(c) Upon
receipt
of the original record, or of the record on appeal, and of the
transcripts
and exhibits, the Clerk of Court of the Regional Trial Courts shall
notify
the parties of such fact.cralaw:red
"(d) Within
fifteen
(15) days from receipt by the parties of the notice referred to in the
preceding paragraph, they may submit memoranda and/or briefs, or be
required
by the Regional Trial Court to do so. After the submission of said
memoranda
and/or briefs, or upon the expiration of the period to file the same,
the
Regional Trial Court shall decide the case on the basis of the entire
record
of the proceeding had in the Court of origin and such memoranda and/or
briefs, as may have been filed.
"22. Appellate
Procedure
in the Intermediate Appellate Court.-
"(a) Ordinary
Appeals From the Regional Trial Courts.- The procedures provided
for
in Rules 46 and 124 of the Rules of Court shall apply insofar as the
said
Rules are not inconsistent with this Resolution and B. P. Blg. 129.
"(b) Review
of
Appealed Cases From Regional Trial Courts. - In action or
proceedings
originally filed in the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial
Courts
and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts appealed to the Regional Trial
Courts,
the final judgment or orders of the latter may be appealed by petition
for review to in the Intermediate Appellate Court which may give due
course
only when the petition shows prima facie that the lower Courts
has
committed an error of fact or law that will warrant a reversal or
modification
of the decision or formal order sought to be reviewed.cralaw:red
"The
petition for
review shall be governed by the Resolution of the Court of Appeals
dated
August 12, 1971, as modified in the manner indicated in the preceding
paragraph
hereof.cralaw:red
"(c) Appeals
from
Quasi-Judicial Bodies. - The appeals to the Intermediate Appellate
Court from quasi-judicial bodies shall continue to be governed by the
provisions
of Republic Act No. 5435 insofar as the same is not inconsistent with
the
provisions of B.P. Blg. 129.
"23. Perfection
of
Appeal.- In case where appeal is taken, the perfection of the
appeal
shall be upon the expiration of the last day to appeal by any party.
"In cases
where a
record on appeal is required, the appeal is perfected upon the approval
thereof by the Court which should be done within ten (10) days.cralaw:red
"24. Memorandum
Decisions. - The judgment or final resolution of a Court in
appealed
cases may adopt by reference the findings of fact and conclusions of
law
contained in the decision or final order appealed from.cralaw:red
"F.
Appeal to
the Supreme Court.
"25.
Appeals to the
Supreme Court shall be taken by petition for certiorari which shall be
governed by the Rule 45 of the Rules of Court.cralaw:red
"G.
Effectivity.
"26. Those interim
rules and guidelines shall be effective immediately upon the
implementation
of B. P. Blg. 129 as provided in its Section 44.cralaw:red
"The Rules
of Court
of 1964 shall continue to be in force except insofar as any provisions
thereof is inconsistent with the provisions of this Resolution, B. P.
Blg.
129 and other applicable statutes and decrees.cralaw:red
"SO
ORDERED."