JURISDICTION OF PHILIPPINE COURTS

Contents:
Rule 135…………………………………………………………………1
Republic Act No. 7691…………………………………………………2
Administrative Circular No. 9-94…………………………………….4

Rule 135 of the Rules of Court (Source: chanrobles.com.ph)

SEC. 3. Process of superior courts enforced throughout the Philippines. - Process issued from a superior
court in which a case is pending to bring in a defendant, or for the arrest of any accused person, or to
execute any order or judgment of the court, may be enforced in any part of the Philippines.
(Italicized Emphasis added by researcher)

SEC. 4. Process of inferior courts. - The process of inferior courts shall be enforceable within the
province where the municipality or city lies. It shall not be served outside the boundaries of the
province in which they are comprised except with the approval of the judge of the Regional Trial Court
of said province, and only in the following cases:
(a) When an order for the delivery of personal property lying outside the province is to be complied
with;

(b) When an attachment of real or personal property lying outside the province is to be made;chan
robles virtual law library

(c) When the action is against two or more defendants residing in different provinces; and

(d) When the place where the case has been brought is that specified in a contract in writing between
the parties, or is the place of the execution of such contract as appears therefrom.chan robles virtual
law library
Writs of execution issued by inferior courts may be enforced in any part of the Philippines without any
previous approval of the judge of first instance.chanrobles virtualawlibrary
Criminal process may be issued by a justice of the peace or other inferior court, to be served outside his
province, when the district judge, or in his absence the provincial fiscal, shall certify that in his opinion
the interests of justices require such service.
 RELATED LAWS

Republic Act No. 7691

Title: “An Act Expanding the Jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and
the Municipal Circuit Trial Courts, amending for the Purpose Batas Pambansa, BLG. 129, Otherwise
Known as the “Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980”

Section 1. Section 19 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, otherwise known as the "Judiciary Reorganization Act
of 1980", is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 19. Jurisdiction in civil cases. – Regional Trial Courts shall exercise exclusive original
jurisdiction.
"(1) In all civil actions in which the subject of the litigation is incapable of pecuniary estimation;
"(2) In all civil actions which involve the title to, or possession of, real property, or any interest
therein, where the assessed value of the property involved exceeds Twenty thousand pesos
(P20,000,00) or, for civil actions in Metro Manila, where such value exceeds Fifty thousand
pesos (P50,000.00) except actions for forcible entry into and unlawful detainer of lands or
buildings, original jurisdiction over which is conferred upon the Metropolitan Trial Courts,
Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts;
"(3) In all actions in admiralty and maritime jurisdiction where the demand or claim exceeds One
hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) or, in Metro Manila, where such demand or claim
exceeds Two hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00);
"(4) In all matters of probate, both testate and intestate, where the gross value of the estate
exceeds One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) or, in probate matters in Metro Manila,
where such gross value exceeds Two Hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00);
"(5) In all actions involving the contract of marriage and marital relations;
"(6) In all cases not within the exclusive jurisdiction of any court, tribunal, person or body
exercising jurisdiction of any court, tribunal, person or body exercising judicial or quasi-judicial
functions;
"(7) In all civil actions and special proceedings falling within the exclusive original jurisdiction of
a Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court and of the Court of Agrarian Relations as now provided
by law; and
"(8) In all other cases in which the demand, exclusive of interest, damages of whatever kind,
attorney's fees, litigation expenses, and costs or the value of the property in controversy
exceeds One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) or, in such other cases in Metro Manila,
where the demand exclusive of the abovementioned items exceeds Two Hundred thousand
pesos (P200,000.00)."

Section 2. Section 32 of the same law is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 32. Jurisdiction of Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts and Municipal Circuit
Trial Courts in Criminal Cases. – Except in cases falling within the exclusive original jurisdiction of
Regional Trial Courts and of the Sandiganbayan, the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial
Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts shall exercise:
"(1) Exclusive original jurisdiction over all violations of city or municipal ordinances committed
within their respective territorial jurisdiction; and
"(2) Exclusive original jurisdiction over all offenses punishable with imprisonment not exceeding
six (6) years irrespective of the amount of fine, and regardless of other imposable accessory or
 other penalties, including the civil liability arising from such offenses or predicated thereon,
irrespective of kind, nature, value or amount thereof: Provided, however, That in offenses
involving damage to property through criminal negligence, they shall have exclusive original
jurisdiction thereof."

Section 3. Section 33 of the same law is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 33. Jurisdiction of Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts and Municipal Circuit
Trial Courts in Civil Cases. – Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal
Circuit Trial Courts shall exercise:
"(1) Exclusive original jurisdiction over civil actions and probate proceedings, testate and
intestate, including the grant of provisional remedies in proper cases, where the value of the
personal property, estate, or amount of the demand does not exceed One hundred thousand
pesos (P100,000.00) or, in Metro Manila where such personal property, estate, or amount of the
demand does not exceed Two hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00), exclusive of interest,
damages of whatever kind, attorney's fees, litigation expenses, and costs, the amount of which
must be specifically alleged: Provided, That interest, damages of whatever kind, attorney's fees,
litigation expenses, and costs shall be included in the determination of the filing fees: Provided,
further, That where there are several claims or causes of actions between the same or different
parties, embodied in the same complaint, the amount of the demand shall be the totality of the
claims in all the causes of action, irrespective of whether the causes of action arose out of the
same or different transactions;
"(2) Exclusive original jurisdiction over cases of forcible entry and unlawful detainer: Provided,
That when, in such cases, the defendant raises the questions of ownership in his pleadings and
the question of possession cannot be resolved without deciding the issue of ownership, the
issue of ownership shall be resolved only to determine the issue of possession; and
"(3) Exclusive original jurisdiction in all civil actions which involve title to, or possession of, real
property, or any interest therein where the assessed value of the property or interest therein
does not exceed Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000.00) or, in civil actions in Metro Manila, where
such assessed value does not exceed Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) exclusive of interest,
damages of whatever kind, attorney's fees, litigation expenses and costs: Provided, That in cases
of land not declared for taxation purposes, the value of such property shall be determined by
the assessed value of the adjacent lots."

Section 4. Section 34 of the same law is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 34. Delegated Jurisdiction in Cadastral and Land Registration Cases. – Metropolitan Trial
Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts may be assigned by the
Supreme Court to hear and determine cadastral or land registration cases covering lots where
there is no controversy or opposition, or contested lots where the value of which does not
exceed One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00), such value to be ascertained by the
affidavit of the claimant or by agreement of the respective claimants if there are more than one,
or from the corresponding tax declaration of the real property. Their decisions in these cases
shall be appealable in the same manner as decisions of the Regional Trial Courts."
Administrative Circular No. 9-94
Title: Guidelines in the Implementation of Republic Act No. 7691. Entitled “An Act Expanding the
Jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and the Municipal Circuit Trial
Courts, amending for the Purpose Batas Pambansa, BLG. 129, Otherwise Known as the “Judiciary
Reorganization Act of 1980”

For the guidance of the bench and the Bar, the following guidelines are to be followed in the
implementation of Republic Act No. 7691, entitled "An Act Expanding the Jurisdiction of the
Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts, Amending for the
Purpose Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, Otherwise Known as the ‘Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980’"

[1] The new jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Courts, Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial
Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts in civil and original cases, and in cadastral and land
registration cases, under Sections 19, 32, 33 and 34 of B.P. Blg. 129, as amended by R.A. No.
7691 was effective on April 15, 1994, fifteen (15) days after the publication in the Malaya and in
the Times Journal on March 30, 1994, pursuant to Section 8 of R.A. No. 7691.

[2] The exclusion of the term "damages of "whatever kind" in determining the jurisdictional
amount under Section 19 (8) and Section 33 (1) of B.P. Blg. 129, as amended by R.a. No. 7691,
applies to cases where the damages are merely incidental to or a consequence of the main cause
of action. However, in cases where the claim for damages is the main cause of action, or one of
the causes of action, the amount of such claim shall be considered in determining the jurisdiction
of the court.
[3] The criminal jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts and
Municipal Trial Courts under Section 32 (2) of B.P. Blg. 129, as amended by R.A. No. 7691, has
been increased to cover offenses punishable with imprisonment not exceeding six (6) years
irrespective of the amount of the fine. As a consequence, the Regional Trial Courts have no more
original jurisdiction over offenses committed by public officers and employees in relation to their
office, where the offense is punishable by more than four (4) years and two (2) months up to six
(6) years.

[4] The provisions of Section 32 (2) of B.P. 129 as amended by R. A. No. 7691, apply only to
offenses punishable by imprisonment or fine, or both, in which cases the amount of the fine is
disregarded in determining the jurisdiction of the court. However, in cases where the only
penalty provided by law is a fine, the amount thereof shall determine the jurisdiction of the court
in accordance with the original provisions of Section 32 (2) of B.P. Blg. 129 which fixed original
exclusive jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal
Circuit Trial Courts over offenses punishable with a fine of not more than four thoudand pesos. If
the amount of the fine exceeds four thousand pesos, the Regional Trial Court shall have
jurisdiction, including offenses committed by public officers and employees in relation to their
office, where the amount of the fine does not exceed six thousand pesos.

However, this rule does not apply to offenses involving damage to property through criminal
negligence which are under the exclusive original jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Trial Courts,
Municipal Trial Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts, irrespective of the amount of the
imposable fine.