UNIVERSITY OF CAGAYAN VALLEY

BALZAIN CAMPUS, TUGUEGARAO CITY

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL “Kasama mo sa Iyong mga Pangarap

Name of Student: Ghimar Cuntapay Year/Section: HUMSS 11-BLOCK 1

Subject: Philippine Politics and Governance Teacher: Eliza-Mae B. Languian

MODULE No. 3
TITLE: THE JUDICIARY BRANCH OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT
OVERVIEW/  The Judiciary is known as “the interpreter of the laws ” subject for verification within the
INTRODUCTION constitution of a country.
 In the Philippines, the Supreme Court interprets the law of the land (Article VIII Section
1) as stated that;
Section 1. The Judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower
courts may be established by law.
Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual
controversies involving the rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to
determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or
excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the Government.

LEARNING The learner should be able to understand the concepts underlying the judicial branch of the
OBJECTIVE/S Philippine government
LEARNING To compare and contrast the powers of executive, legislative and judicial branches of the
OUTCOME/S Philippine Government using Venn Diagram

PART 1. CONTENT AND DISCUSSION:

SUPREME COURT – the highest court of the land and the final arbiter of all controversies and disputes
brought by parties to the courts of law.

Composition: One Chief Justice and 14 Associate Justices.

Qualifications
1. Must be a natural born Filipino citizen
2. At least 40 years old
3. 15 years or more as a judge of a lower court or engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines
4. Must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity and independence
5. Recommended by the Judicial and Bar Council

Tenure of Office
1. Members of the Supreme Court and judges of the lower courts shall enjoy their office during good
behavior.
2. Members of the Supreme Court shall enjoy the position until they are removed from impeachment.
3. Hold office until they reach 70 years old or become incapacitated. Until dismissed by members of the
SC for probable cause.

Powers of the SC
1. Exercise original jurisdiction over cases involving ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls,
and over petitions for certiorari, mandamus, quo warranto, prohibition, and habeas corpus:
 UNIVERSITY OF CAGAYAN VALLEY
BALZAIN CAMPUS, TUGUEGARAO CITY

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL “Kasama mo sa Iyong mga Pangarap

a. Certiorari – Special civil action requesting a lower court or body to transmit the records to the
superior court for review.
b. Prohibition – a written order by which a superior court commands a lower court to stop further
proceeding.
c. Mandamus – Order by a superior court to a lower court to perform a certain act which it is bound to
do so.
d. Quo Warranto – An action by the government to recover an office or franchise from an individual or
corporation usurping or unlawfully holding it.
2. Review judgment of lower courts. Cases involving constitutionality, legality of taxes, reclusion perpetua
and errors on questions of law.
3. Assignment of judges to the lower courts.
4. Order a change of venue for a trial.
5. Promulgate rules of court.
6. Appoint officials of the judiciary and hire employees for the judicial branch.

The Philippine Court System

 The first level courts consist of the Metropolitan Trial Courts based in Metro Manila; the Municipal Trial Courts in
Cities based in cities outside Metro Manila; Municipal Trial Courts which are all found in all municipalities and
Municipal Circuit Trial Courts is intended for two to three small municipalities that are too small to have their own
Municipal Trial Courts.
 The second level courts are made up of Regional Trial Courts. There is one RTC for each of the 13 judicial
regions of the Philippines. The Court of Appeals is the second highest tribunal of the Philippines. It reviews the
decisions and final orders of all the RTC.
 The Sandiganbayan is the present anti-graft court in the country (Article XI Section 4). The Shari’a
Courts are equivalent to the Municipal Circuit Trial Courts. They were established in certain
municipalities in Mindanao where the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines is being
enforced.
 The Court of Tax Appeals is a special court mandated to address the appeals involving internal
revenue tax and customs cases.
 UNIVERSITY OF CAGAYAN VALLEY
BALZAIN CAMPUS, TUGUEGARAO CITY

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL “Kasama mo sa Iyong mga Pangarap

 PART 2. LEARNING TASK/S

Instruction: Compare and contrast the powers of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the
Philippine Government. Using the Venn Diagram below, first, identify the exclusive powers of A the
executive branch, B the legislative branch and C the judicial branch of the government. Next, identify the
powers that both A and B, B and C and C and A are responsible for. Finally, identify that power that is
common to all three branches of the government.

Compare and Contrast

PREPARED BY:

ELIZA-MAE B. LANGUIAN
SUBJECT FOCAL PERSON