Republic Act No.
7691             March 25, 1994 "(6) In all cases not within the exclusive jurisdiction of any
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"
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines
in Congress assembled:
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.
Section 2. Section 32 of the same law is hereby amended to read as follows:
"(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);
Section 3. Section 33 of the same law is hereby amended to read as follows:
"(5) In all actions involving the contract of marriage and
marital relations;
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)."
"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."
"Sec. 33. Jurisdiction of Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial
Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts in Civil Cases. –
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 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."
Section 5. After five (5) years from the effectivity of this Act, the jurisdictional
amounts mentioned in Sec. 19(3), (4), and (8); and Sec. 33(1) of Batas
Pambansa Blg. 129 as amended by this Act, shall be adjusted to Two
hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00). Five (5) years thereafter, such
jurisdictional amounts shall be adjusted further to Three hundred thousand
pesos (P300,000.00): Provided, however, That in the case of Metro Manila,
the abovementioned jurisdictional amounts shall be adjusted after five (5)
years from the effectivity of this Act to Four hundred thousand pesos
(P400,000.00).
Section 6. All laws, decrees, and orders inconsistent with the provisions of
this Act shall be considered amended or modified accordingly.
Section 7. The provisions of this Act shall apply to all civil cases that have
not yet reached the pre-trial stage. However, by agreement of all the parties,
civil cases cognizable by municipal and metropolitan courts by the provisions
of this Act may be transferred from the Regional Trial Courts to the latter.
The executive judge of the appropriate Regional Trial Courts shall define the
administrative procedure of transferring the cases affected by the redefinition
of jurisdiction to the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and
Municipal Circuit Trial Courts.
Section 8. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its publication
in the Official Gazette or in two (2) national newspapers of general
circulation.
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 Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals was established on February 1, 1936 by virtue of

Commonwealth Act No. 3 and is considered as the second highest tribunal in
the country. It is composed of one presiding justice and 68 associate justices,
all of which are appointed by the President from a shortlist submitted by the
Judicial and Bar Council. The associate justices shall have precedence
according to the dates (or order, in case of similar appointment dates) of their
respective appointments. The qualifications for the justices of the Supreme
Court also apply to members of the Court of Appeals.

The Court of Appeals’ principal mandate is to exercise appellate jurisdiction

on all cases not falling within the original and exclusive jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court. Its decisions are final except when appealed to the Supreme
Court on questions of law. The jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals are as
follows:

1. Original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus, prohibition,

certiorari, habeas corpus, and quo warranto, and auxiliary writs or
processes, whether or not in aid of its appellate jurisdiction;

2. Exclusive original jurisdiction over actions for annulment of

judgements of Regional Trial Courts; and

3. Exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all final judgements, resolutions,

orders or awards of Regional Trial Courts and quasi-judicial
agencies, instrumentalities, boards or commission.

The Court of Appeals shall also have the power to try cases and conduct
hearings, receive evidence and perform acts necessary to resolve factual
issues raised in cases falling within its original and appellate jurisdiction,
including the power to grant and conduct new trials or proceedings.

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 Supreme Court

Under Article VIII, §1, the judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme
Court and in such lower courts as may be provided by law. This power
includes the duty to settle actual controversies involving rights that are legally
demandable and enforceable and to determine if any branch or
instrumentality of government has acted with grave abuse of discretion
amounting to lack of excess of jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court has both original and appellate jurisdiction. It exercises
original jurisdiction (cases are directly filed with the SC in the first instance
without passing through any of the lower courts) over cases affecting
ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and over petitions for
certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto, and habeas corpus. (Art.
VIII, §5(1)). It also has original jurisdiction over writs of amparo, habeas data
and the environmental writ of kalikasan. It exercises appellate jurisdiction to
review, revise, reverse, modify, or affirm final judgments, and orders of the
lower courts in:

(a) All cases in which the constitutionality or validity of any treaty,

international or executive agreement, law, presidential decree, proclamation,
order, instruction, ordinance, or regulation is in question.

(b) All cases involving the legality of any tax, impost, assessment, or toll, or
any penalty imposed in relation thereto.

(c) All cases in which the jurisdiction of any lower court is in issue.

(d) All criminal cases in which the penalty imposed is reclusion perpetua or
higher.

(e) All cases in which only an error or question of law is involved. (Art. VIII,
§5(1), (2))

The Supreme Court has administrative supervision over all courts and court
personnel. (Article VIII, §6) It exercises this power through the Office of the
Court Administrator.