Republ

i
cActNo.9285      Apr
il2,
2004 Whenev err
efferedtoint
hisAct ,t
heter
m" ADR
pr
actit
ioner
s"shallref
ert
oi ndiv
idual
sacti
ngas
ANACTTOI NSTITUTI
ONALIZETHEUSEOFAN mediator, concil
i
ator
, arbit
rator or neut
ral
ALTERNATIVEDISPUTERESOLUTI
ONSYSTEM I
N ev
aluator;
THEPHI LI
PPINESANDTOESTABLI SHTHEOFFI
CE
FORALTERNATIVEDISPUTERESOLUTI
ON,AND (c)"Authenticat
e"means t o sign,execute or
FOROTHERPURPOSES adoptasy mbol ,orencryptarecordi
nwhol eor
i
npar t,intendedtoi denti
tytheauthenticat
ing
Bei
tenactedbytheSenateandHouseof party and to adopt,acceptorest abl
ish the
Repr
esentati
vesofthePhil
i
ppi
neCongress authenti
cit
yofar ecordorterm;
Assembled:
(d) "Arbi
tr
ati
on" means a v olunt
ary dispute
CHAPTER1-GENERALPROVI
SIONS resolut
ion process i
n whi ch one or mor e
arbit
rat
ors,appoint
ed in accordance wi t
ht he
SECTION 1.
 Ti
tl
e. 
-Thi
sactshal
lbeknownast
he agreementoft hepart
ies,orrulespr omulgated
"Al
ter
nat
iveDisput
eResol
uti
onActof2004.
" pursuantt ot hi
s Act,resolve a di spute by
renderi
nganawar d;
SEC.2. Decl
  ar ationofPol icy . 
-itisher ebydecl ared
thepol i
cyoft heSt atet oact i
velypr omot epar ty (e)"Arbi
tr
ator
"meanst heper
sonappoint
edt o
autonomy i nt he r esolution ofdi sput es ort he renderan award,al
one orwi t
h ot
hers,ina
freedom of t he par ty t o make t hei
r own disput
et hatisthe subj
ectofan arbit
rat
ion
arrangement st or esolv et heirdisput es.Towar ds agreement;
thisend,t he St ate shal lencour age and act i
v ely
promot etheuseofAl ternat iveDisput eResol ution (f
)"Award"meansanypar
ti
alorf
inaldeci
sionby
(ADR)asani mpor tantmeanst oachi ev espeedy an arbit
rat
or in r
esol
vi
ng the issue i n a
andi mpar tialjust i
ceanddecl ogcour tdocket s.As contr
oversy
;
such,t heSt at eshal lprovidemeansf ort heuseof
ADR as an ef fi
cient t ool and an al ternat i
v e (g)"Commer cialArbit
rat
ion"An arbit
rat
ion is
procedur ef ort her esolutionofappr opr i
atecases. "commer ci
alifitcover
smat terar
isi
ngf r
om all
Likewi se,theSt ateshal lenl istactivepr i
v atesect or rel
ati
onshipsofacommer ci
alnatur
e,whet her
parti
ci pati
oni nt heset tlementofdi sput est hrough contr
actualornot;
ADR.Thi sActshal lbewi t
houtpr ej
udi cet ot he
adopt ionbyt heSupr emeCour tofanyADRsy st em, (h) " Conf idential i nformat ion" means any
suchasmedi ation,conci liation,arbitr
at i
on,orany i
nf ormat ion,r elati
v et ot hesubj ectofmedi at i
on
combi nati
on t hereof as a means of achi eving orar bi
tration,expr essl yintendedbyt hesour ce
speedy and ef fi
cientmeans ofr esolving cases not t o be di scl osed, or obt ained under
pendi ngbef oreal lcour tsi nt hePhi li
ppineswhi ch cir
cumst ancest hatwoul dcr eatear easonabl e
shallbegov ernedbysuchr ulesast heSupr eme expect ation on behal foft he sour ce t hatt he
Cour tmayappr ov efrom t i
met oti
me. i
nf ormat ion shal lnot be di sclosed.I t shal l
i
ncl ude( 1)communi cation,or alorwr itt
en, made
SEC.3.  Def init
ionofTer ms.  
-Forpur posesoft his i
n a di sput er esol ut i
on pr oceedi ngs,i ncluding
Act,thet er m: anymemor anda,not esorwor kpr oductoft he
neut ralpar tyornon- partypar ticipant ,asdef i
ned
(a)"Al ternat iveDi sput eResol utionSy stem"means i nt hi sAct ;(2)anor alorwr ittenst at ementmade
anypr ocessorpr ocedur eusedt or esolveadi sput e or whi ch occur s dur i
ng medi ation or f or
orcont rov ersy,ot hert han by adj udication ofa pur poses of consi der i
ng, conduct i
ng,
presiding j udge ofa cour toran of fcerofa par
i ti
cipating, i nitiati
ng, cont i
nuing of
gover nmentagency ,asdef inedi nt hisAct ,inwhi ch r econv eni ngmedi ationorr et ainingamedi ator;
aneut ralt hirdpar typar ti
ci pat est oassi sti nt he and ( 3) pl eadings, mot ions mani festations,
resolut i
on ofi ssues,whi ch i ncl udes ar bit
ration, witnessst at ement s, reportsf iledorsubmi ttedi n
medi at i
on,conci l
iation,ear ly neut ralev aluation, anar bi
trationorf orexper teval uation;
mini-trial,oranycombi nationt her eof ;
(i
)" Conv ent ionAwar d"meansaf oreignar bi t
ral
(b)" ADR Pr ovider "meansi nst itutionsorper sons aw a rdma de i
na Co nv enti
on S tate ;
accredi ted as medi ator, conci liator, ar bit
rator,
neutralev aluator,oranyper sonexer ci
singsi mi lar (j
)" Conv ent i
onSt ate"meansaSt atet hati sa
functions i n any Al ternative Di sput e Resol ution memberoft heNewYor kConv ention;
system.Thi si swi thoutpr ejudi cet ot her ightsoft he
parti
est ochoosenonaccr edi tedi ndiv i
dualst oact ( k)" Court"asr eferredt oinAr ticle6oft heModel
as medi ator, conci li
ator, ar bitrat or, or neut ral Lawshal l meanaRegi onalTr ialCour t;
evaluat oroft heirdi spute.
(l
)" Cour t-AnnexedMedi ation"meansanymedi at i
on Uni ted Nat ions Commi ssi on on I nter nat i
onal
processconduct edundert heauspi cesoft hecour t, TradeLawon21June1985;
aftersuchcour thasacqui red j ur isdictionoft he
disput e; (w)" New Yor kConv ent ion"meanst heUni ted
Nations Conv ention on t he Recogni tion and
(m)" Cour t-
Ref erred Medi at i
on"means medi at i
on Enf orcement of For eign Ar bi t
ral Awar ds
order edbyacour tt obeconduct edi naccor dance appr ov edi n1958andr at i
f i
edbyt hePhi l
ippine
witht heAgr eementoft hePar ti
eswhenasact ionis Senat eunderSenat eResol ut ionNo.71;
premat ur ely commenced i n v iolat i
on of such
agr eement ; (x)" Non- Conv ention Awar d"means a f oreign
arbit
ralawar dmadei naSt atewhi chi snota
(n) " Ear ly Neut ralEv aluat ion" means an ADR Conv ent i
onSt ate;
process wher ein par ties and t hei rl awy ers ar e
broughtt oget herear l
yinapr e-trial phaset opr esent ( y)"Non- Conv entionSt at e"meansaSt at et hati s
summar iesoft hei rcasesandr ecei v eanonbi nding notamemberoft heNewYor kConv ent ion.
assessmentbyanexper i
enced, neut ralper son, wi t
h
exper tisei nt hesubj ecti nt hesubst anceoft he ( z)" Non- Par ty Par ti
cipant "means a per son,
disput e; othert hanapar t
yormedi at or,whopar ticipates
i
namedi at i
onpr oceedi ngasawi t
ness, resour ce
(o)" Gov er nmentAgency "meansanygov ernment per sonorexper t;
ent i
ty ,of ficeorof fi
cer,ot hert hanacour t,thati s
vest edbyl awwi thquasi -
judi cial powert or esol veor ( aa) " Proceedi ng" means a j udici al
,
adjudi cat e di sput ei nv olvi
ng t he gov ernment ,i t
s admi nistrative,orot heradj udicativ e pr ocess,
agenci esandi nstrument ali
ties, orpr ivateper sons; i
ncludi ng r elated pr e-hear i
ng mot i
ons,
confer encesanddi scov ery;
(p)" Int ernat i
onalPar ty"shal lmeananent itywhose
placeofbusi nessi sout sidet hePhi l
ippines.I tshal l (bb)"Recor d"meansani nf ormat ionwr i
ttenona
not i ncl ude a domest i
c subsi diary of such t angiblemedi um orst or edi nanel ect ronicor
i
nt ernat ionalpar tyoracov ent ureri naj ointv enture ot hersi milarmedi um, r
et riev ablef orm; and
withapar t ywhi chhasi tspl aceofbusi nessi nt he
Phi l
ippi nes. (cc)"Rost er"meansal istofper sonsqual ifi
edt o
provideADRser vi
cesasneut r
alsort oser veas
Thet er mf oreignerar bitratorshal lmeanaper son ar bit
rat or
s.
whoi snotanat i
onal oft hePhi l
ippi nes.
SEC.4. El
  ect ronic Si gnat ures i n Gl obaland
(q)" Medi at i
on"meansav ol unt ar ypr ocessi nwhi ch E- Commer ce Act . - The pr ovisions of t he
a medi at or ,sel ected by t he di sput ing par t
ies, ElectronicSi gnat ur esinGl obalandE- Commer ce
facilitat es communi cat i
on and negot iation,and Act ,andi tsimpl ement ingRul esandRegul ations
assi stt hepar tiesi nreachi ngav olunt aryagr eement shal lappl yt opr oceedi ngcont empl atedi nt his
regar di ngadi sput e. Act.

(
r)"Mediat
or" means a per
son who conduct
s SEC. 5. Li
  abil
i
ty of ADR Pr ovi
der and
medi
ati
on; Practit
ioner
. - The ADR pr ovi
ders and
practi
ti
onersshal lhavethesamecivi
lli
abil
i
tyfor
(s) "Mediati
on Part
y" means a person who theAct sdonei nt heper
formanceofthenduties
part
ici
patesinamedi at
ionandwhoseconsenti
s ast hatofpubl i
cof fi
cer
saspr ov
idedinSecti
on
necessar
yt oresol
vet
hedisput
e; 38( 1),Chapt er9,Bookoft heAdmi nist
rat
ive
Codeof1987.
(t
)"Mediat
ion-
Arbi
tr
ati
on"orMed-Arbis a st
ep
di
sput
eresolut
ionpr
ocessi
nvol
vi
ngbot
hmediati
on SEC.6. Except
  i
ont ot heAppli
cat i
onoft hisAct .
 -
andar
bit
rat
ion; Thepr ovisionsoft hisActshal lnotappl yt o
resoluti
on orset tl
ementoft he f oll
owing:( a)
(u) "Mini
-Tri
al" means a st r
uctured dispute l
abordi sput escov eredbyPr esidentialDecr ee
resol
uti
onmet hodinwhichthemer i
tsofacasear e No.442,ot her wiseknownast heLaborCodeof
arguedbeforeapanelcompr isi
ngseni ordeci
sion the Phi lippi nes, as amended and i ts
makerswi t
horwi t
houtthepresenceofaneut ral Implement i
ngRul esandRegul ations; (b)thecivil
thi
rd person after which t
he par t
ies seek a statusofper sons;( c)thev al
idit
yofamar ri
age;
negoti
atedsett
lement; (d)any gr ound f orl egalsepar ation;( e)t he
j
ur i
sdicti
on ofcour ts;(f)futurel egit
ime;( g)
(
v)" Model Law" means the Model Law on cri
mi nall i
abi lity
;and ( h)those whi ch byl aw
I
nter
nat
ional
Commer ci
alAr
bit
rat
ionadopt
edbyt
he cannotbecompr omi sed.
 CHAPTER2-MEDI
ATI
ON be wai v
ed i
nar ecor
d,or orall
y dur
ing a
proceedi
ngbythemedi
atorandthemediati
on
SEC.7.Scope.
   -Theprov
isi
onsofthi
sChaptershal
l parti
es.
cover volunt
ary mediat
ion,whether ad hoc or
i
nstit
uti
onal,otherthan cour
t-
annexed.The ter
m A pri
vil
ege ar
ising f
rom the confident
iali
tyof
"mediat
ion'shall
incl
udeconci
l
iat
ion. i
nformati
on may l ikewi
se be wai ved by a
nonpart
y partici
pant ift he information is
SEC.8.  Appli
cationandI nter
pr etati
on. 
-Inapplyi
ng provi
dedbysuchnonpar t
yparti
cipant.
const ruing t he pr ovisions of t hi
s Chapt er,
consi derationmustbegi ventot heneedt opromot e Aper sonwhodiscl
osesconf identialinf
ormat ion
candor or par t
ies and medi ators through shallbepr ecl
udedf rom asserti
ngt hepr i
v i
lege
conf i
dent i
alit
yoft hemedi at
ionpr ocess,thepolicy underSect i
on9oft hisChaptertobardi sclosure
off ostering prompt ,economi cal,and ami cable oft her estofthei nformati
onnecessar yt oa
resolution of di sputes in accor dance wi t
ht he compl et
e underst
andi ng of t he pr eviously
principles of i ntegri
ty of det erminati
on by the disclosedinf
ormati
on.I fapersonsuf ferslossor
par ti
es,and t he policyt hatt he decision-
making damagesi naj udi
ci alproceeding agai nstt he
aut horit
yi nt hemedi at
ionpr ocessr estswiththe personwhomadet hedi scl
osure.
par ti
es.
A per son who di scloses or makes a
SEC.9. Conf
  ident
ial
i
tyofInformati
on. 
-Infor
mati
on representati
on abouta medi ation i
s precl
ude
obtainedthr
oughmedi at
ionpr oceedi
ngsshallbe from asser t
ingthepr
ivi
legeunderSect ion9,to
subjecttot
hefoll
owingpr
incipl
esandgui del
i
nes: theext entt hatthecommuni cati
on pr
ejudi
ces
anotherper son i
nthe pr oceeding and itis
(a)I
nformat
ionobt
ainedthr
oughmedi
ati
onshal
lbe necessar yfortheper
sonpr ejudicedtorespond
pri
vi
legedandconf
ident
ial
. tother epresent
ati
onofdisclosure.

(b)A par ty
,amedi ator,oranonpar typar ti pant SEC.11.
ci  Excepti
onst oPri
vil
ege. -
mayr efuset odi scloseandmaypr ev entanyot her
personfrom di sclosingamedi ati
oncommuni cation. (a)Thereisnopr iv
il
egeagainstdi scl
osur
eunder
Secti
on9i fmedi at
ioncommuni cati
onis:
(c)ConfidentialInformat i
onshallnotbesubj ectto
discovery and shal l be i nadmi ssible i f any ( 1)in an agr eementev i
denced by a r ecord
adv er
sari
al pr oceedi ng, whet her j udi
ci al or aut hent
icatedbyal lpar
ti
estot heagreement;
quasi-j
udici
al,Howev er,ev i
dence ori nfor mation
thatisotherwi seadmi ssibleorsubjectt odi scov er
y ( 2)avai
labletothepubl i
cort hatismadedur ing
doesnotbecomei nadmi ssi
bleorpr otectedf r
om asessionofamedi at
ionwhi chi sopen,ori s
discoverysolelybyr easonofi tsusei namedi at
ion. r equi
redbyl awtobeopen, tot hepubli
c;

(d)Insuchanadv ersari
alproceeding,thef ollowi ng (3)a t
hreatorstat
ementofa pl
an t oinf
li
ct
persons i nv
olv ed or pr ev i
ouslyi nvolved i n a bodi
l
yinjur
yorcommitacr
imeofvi
olence;
medi ati
on may not be compel l
ed t o di sclose
confidentialinformat i
onobt aineddur i
ngmedi ation: (4)i
nter
nat
ional
l
yusedtoplanacr i
me,att
empt
(1)thepar ti
est othedi spute;(2)themedi at oror tocommi t
,orcommitacr ime,orconcealan
medi ators;(3)t hecounself orthepar ties;(4)t he ongoi
ngcri
meorcri
minalact
ivi
ty;
nonpar ty parti
ci pants;(5)any per sons hired or
engaged i n connect i
on wi t
ht he medi ation as (5)soughtorof feredt oproveordi sproveabuse,
secretary,stenogr apher,clerkorassi stant;and( 6) neglect,abandonment ,or expl oitati
on in a
any ot her per son who obt ai
ns or possesses proceeding i n whi ch a publ ic agency i s
confidential informat i
on by r eason of hi s/her protecti
ngt hei nterestofani ndi
vidualpr ot
ected
profession. bylaw;butt hisexcept iondoesnotappl ywhere
achi l
dprot ecti
onmat t
erisr
ef er
redt omedi at
ion
(e)Theprot
ect
ionsofthi
sActshallcont
inuet
o byacour torapubl i
cagencypar t
icipatesinthe
appl
yevenofamediat
orisfoundt
ohavefail
edt
o chil
dpr otectionmedi at
ion;
acti
mpart
ial
l
y.
(6)soughtorof fered t
o proveordi sprovea
(
f)amedi at
ormaynotbecal ledtotest
if
ytoprovi
de clai
m orcompl ai
ntofpr of
essionalmisconduct
i
nformati
ongat heredinmediat
ion.Amediatorwho or mal pract
ice fi
led against mediat
or ina
i
swr ongful
lysubpoenaedshallber ei
mbursedthe proceeding;or
f
ullcostofhisattorney
'sf
eesandrelat
edexpenses.
(7)soughtoroffer
ed to pr ov
eordi sprovea
SEC.10. Wai
ver of Confi
denti
ali
ty.
 -A pri
vi
lege clai
m ofcomplai
ntofpr ofessi
onalmisconduct
ari
singf
rom t
heconfident
ial
it
yofi nf
ormat
ionmay ofmal pr
act
icefi
led againsta part
y,nonparty
part
ici
pant,orrepr
esentat
iveofapartybasedon (2)di
sclosur
et ot
hemediat
ionpar
ti
esanysuch
conductoccur
ri
ngduringamediat
ion. factknownorl ear
nedassoonasi spract
ical
befor
eacceptingamedi
ati
on.
(b)Ther eisnopr i
vil
egeunderSect ion9i facour tor
admi ni
strativ
e agency ,f i
nds,af tera hear ing in (b)Ifamedi ationlear
nsanyf actdescr
ibedin
camer a,t hatthe par t
yseeki ng di scoveryoft he paragr
aph( a)(1)ofthi
ssecti
onaf t
eraccepti
ng
proponentoft he evidence has shown t hatt he amedi at
ion,themedi atorshalldi
scl
osei tas
evidencei snotot herwiseav ai
lable,t hatthereisa soonaspr act
icable.
needf ort heevidencet hatsubst antiall
yout weighs
thei nterestin protecti
ng conf i
dent i
alit
y,and t he Attherequestofamedi at
ionpar
ty,anindi
vi
dual
medi at
ioncommuni cationissoughtorof feredin: who isr equested t
o ser
ve as mediatorshal
l
di
sclose his/herquali
fi
cati
ons to mediatea
(
1)acour
tpr
oceedi
ngi
nvol
vi
ngacr
imeorf
elony
;or di
spute.

(2)aproceedi
ngtoproveacl ai
m ordefensethat ThisActdoesnotr equirethatamedi atorshal
l
underthelaw issuff
ici
enttor ef
orm oravoida have speci
alquali
ficati
ons by backgr ound or
l
iabi
li
tyonacontr
actari
singoutoft
hemediati
on. professi
onunl
essthespeci alquali
ficati
onsofa
medi at
or are required i n t he medi at
ion
(c)A mediatormaynotbecompel ledtoprovi
de agreementorbyt
hemedi at
ionpar t
ies.
evi
denceofamedi at
ioncommuni
cat
ionort
est
if
yin
suchproceeding. SEC.14.  Part
icipat
ioninMedi ati
on. -Exceptas
otherwise prov i
ded inthis Act,a par ty may
(d)Ifamedi at
ioncommuni cat i
onisnotpr ivil
eged designateal awyerorany ot herper son t o
underanexcept i
oninsubsect ion(a)or( b)
,onlythe provideassistancei nt
hemedi ation.Alawy erof
porti
on oft hecommuni cati
on necessar yf orthe thi
sr ightshallbemadei nwr it
ingbyt hepar ty
appli
cat
ionoft heexcept i
onf ornondi sclosuremay waiving it.A wai verofpar t
icipati
on orl egal
beadmi tted.Theadmi ssionofpar ti
cul arev i
dence representati
onmayber esci
ndedatanyt i
me.
forthelimi t
edpur poseofanexcept iondoesnot
render that ev i
dence,or any ot her medi ati
on SEC.15.  Pl
aceofMedi ati
on. 
-Thepar ti
esar e
communi cation,admissibleforanyot herpur pose. freet oagr eeont hepl aceofmedi at i
on.Fai li
ng
suchagr eement ,thepl aceofmedi ationshal lbe
SEC.12. Pr
  ohi
bit
edMedi atorRepor t
s. 
-Amedi ator any pl ace conv eni entand appr opr i
at et o al l
maynotmakea r epor t,assessment ,ev al
uation, parti
es.
recommendat i
on,findi ng,orot hercommuni cation
regar di
ngamedi ationt oacour toragencyorot her SEC.16. Ef
  fectofAgr eementt oSubmi tDi spute
aut hori
tythatmakear ul
ingonadi sputethatist he to Medi ati
on Under I nstit
uti
onalRul es. 
-An
subj ectofamedi at
ion, except : agreementt osubmi tadi sputetomedi ationby
anyi nstit
utionshal lincludeanagr eementt obe
(a)Wher ethemediationoccur redorhast erminated, bound by t he i nternal medi ation and
orwher easettl
ementwasr eached. admi nistrat
ive pol i
cies of such i nst i
tuti
on.
Further,anagr eementt osubmi tadi sput et o
(b)Asper mitt
edt obedi sclosedunderSect ion13 medi ation underi nternati
onalmedi at ion r ul
e
oft hisChapter
. sh al
lb ed eeme d to i
nc l
udea n a gre eme ntt o
hav e such r ul
esgov ernt he medi ation oft he
SEC.13. Medi
  at
or'
s Di sclosur e and Conf l
ict of dispu t
ea ndf or t
h eme di
ator,thep a rt
ie s,their
Interest.
 -The medi at i
on shal lbe gui ded byt he respect i
vecounsel ,andnonpar t
ypar ticipantst o
foll
owi ngoperati
vepr inciples: abidebysuchr ules.

(
a)Beforeaccept
ingamedi
ati
on,anindi
vidualwho I
n case ofconfl
ictbet
ween t
he i
nst
it
uti
onal
i
srequestedt
oserveasamedi
atorshal
l: mediat
ionrul
esandtheprov
isi
onsoft
hisAct,
t
helatt
ershal
lpr
evai
l.
(1)makeani nquir
ythati sr easonableundert he
cir
cumst ances t o det
er minate whet hert here are SEC.17. Enf
  orcementofMedi at
ed Set
tlement
anyknownf actsthatar easonabl eindi
v i
dualwoul d Agreement .
 -Themediat
ionshallbeguidedby
considerl i
kel yto affectt he i mpar t
ial
it
y oft he thefol
lowingoperati
vepr
inci
ples:
mediat or
,includingaf inancialorper sonali nt
erest
i
nt heout comeoft hemedi ationandanyexi sti
ngor (a)Asettl
ementagreementf ol
lowingsuccessful
past r el
ationship wit
h a par t
y or f oreseeable mediati
onshallbepr eparedbyt heparti
eswi t
h
parti
cipantint hemediation;and theassi
stanceofthei
rr espect
ivecounsel
,ifany,
andbythemedi at
or.
The parti
es and t
heirr espect
ive counsel
s shall uni for mi tyi ni t sint er pret at ionandr esor tmaybe
endeavortomaket hetermsandcondi ti
onther
eof madet ot he  trav auxpr epar at ories andt her epor t
completeand makeadequat eprov i
sionsforthe oft heSecr etar yGener aloft heUni tedNat ions
conti
ngency of br each t o av oid confli
cti
ng Commi ssi ononI nt ernat ionalTr adeLaw dat ed
i
nterpr
etati
onsoft
heagr eement. Mar ch 25, 1985 ent itl
ed, " Int ernat ional
Commer cialAr bitrat i
on:Anal yt
icalComment ar y
(b)Thepar ti
esandt hei rrespect ivecounsel s,ifany , onDr af tTr adei dent i
fiedbyr ef erencenumber
shal lsignt heset tlementagr eement .Themedi ator A/ CN.9/ 264. "
shal lcer tifyt hathe/ sheexpl ai nedt hecont ent sof
the set tlementagr eementt ot he par t i
es i n a SEC.21.  Commer ci alAr bit rat i
on.  
-Anar bitration
l
anguageknownt ot hem. i
s" commer ci al"ifi tcov er smat tersar isingf rom
all relat ionshi psofacommer cial nat ure, whet her
(c)I fthepar tiessodesi r
e,t heymaydeposi tsuch cont ract ual or not . Rel ationshi ps of a
sett l
ementagr eementwi t
ht heappr opr i
at eCl er kof t ransact ions:any t rade t ransact i
on f or t he
aRegi onalTr i
alCour toft hepl acewher eoneoft he suppl y or exchange of goods or ser vices;
par ti
esr esides.Wher et her ei saneedt oenf orce dist ribut ionagr eement s;const ruct ionofwor ks;
theset tl
ementagr eement , apet iti
onmaybef i
ledby commer cialr epr esent at ionoragency ;fact or ing;
anyoft hepar tieswi t
ht hesamecour t,i nwhi ch l
easi ng, consul ti
ng; engi neer ing; l icensi ng;
case, t
hecour tshal lpr oceedsummar il
yt oheart he i
nv est ment ;f inanci ng;banki ng;i nsur ance;j oi nt
pet i
tion, i
naccor dancewi thsuchr ulesofpr ocedur e vent ur eandot herf or msofi ndust ri
al orbusi ness
asmaybepr omul gat edbyt heSupr emeCour t. cooper at ion; car r
iageofgoodsorpassenger sby
air, sea, rail orr oad.
(d) The par ti
es may agr ee i nt he set t
lement
agr eementt hatt hemedi at orshal lbecomeasol e SEC.22.  LegalRepr esent at i
on i nI nt ernat ional
arbitrator f or t he di sput e and shal lt reat t he Ar bitr ation.  - I n i nter nat i
onal ar bitration
sett l
ementagr eementasanar bitralawar dwhi ch conduct ed i nt hePhi l
ippi nes,apar tymaybe
shal lbesubj ectt oenf orcementunderRepubl icAct pr esent edbyanyper sonofhi schoi ce.  Pr ovided,
No.876,ot her wiseknownast heAr bitrationLaw, t hatsuchr epr esent at ive,unl essadmi ttedt ot he
not withst andi ngt hepr ovisionsofExecut i
veOr der pract iceofl aw i nt hePhi lippines,shal lnotbe
No.1008f ormedi at eddi sput eout sideoft heCI AC. aut hor i
zed t o appear as counsel i n any
Phi lippi necour t,oranyot herquasi -judi cialbody
CHAPTER3-OTHERADRFORMS whet herornotsuchappear ancei si nr el ati
ont o
thear bitrat i
oni nwhi chheappear s.
SEC.18.  Ref erralofDi sput et oot herADRFor ms.  
-
Thepar tiesmayagr eet or ef eroneormor eoral l SEC. 23.  Conf ident i
al of Ar bitration
i
ssuesar isingi nadi sput eordur ingi tspendencyt o Pr oceedi ngs.  - The ar bi tration pr oceedi ngs,
otherf ormsofADRsuchasbutnotl imi tedt o( a) i
ncl udi ngt her ecor ds,ev i
denceandt hear bitr al
theev aluat i
onofat hi rdper sonor( b)ami ni-tr
ial ,c) awar
( d, shal lbeconsi der edconf ident ialandshal l
medi ati
on- ar bitration, oracombi nat i
ont her eof . notbepubl ishedexcept( 1)wi tht heconsentof
the par ties,or( 2)f ort he l i
mi ted pur pose of
Forpur posesoft hi sAct ,t heuseofot herADR dis c l
o sin gt ot h ec o urt o f re levan t do c ume nt si n
formsshal lbegov er nedbyChapt er2oft hisAct caseswher er esor tt ot hecour ti sal l
owedher ei n.
exceptwher ei ti s combi ned wi th ar bitration i n Pr ov ided,howev er ,t hatt hecour tinwhi cht he
whi chcasei tshal llikewi sebegov er nedbyChapt er act ion ort heappeali spendi ng mayi ssuea
5oft hisAct . prot ect i
v eor dert opr ev entorpr ohi bitdi sclosur e
ofdocument sori nf ormat ioncont ai ningsecr et
CHAPTER4-I NTERNATI ONALCOMMERCI AL processes,dev elopment s,r esear ch and ot her
ARBI TRATI ON i
nf or mat i
onwher ei ti sshownt hatt heappl icant
shal lbemat er iallypr ejudi cedbyanaut hor ized
SEC. 19.  Adopt ion of t he Model Law on dis c l
o su re the re of.
Internat i
onalCommer cialAr bitrat i
on.  
-Int ernat ional
commer ci alar bitrat ion shal lbe gov erned byt he SEC.24. Ref
  er r
alt oAr bi trat ion. -Acour tbef or e
ModelLawonI nter nat ionalCommer cialAr bit
r ation whi chanact ioni sbr oughti namat terwhi chi s
(the" ModelLaw" )adopt edbyt heUni tedNat ions thes u b j
e ct ma tter of ana r bi
tra ti
o na g re eme n t
Commi ssi ononI nt ernat i
onal Tr adeLawonJune21, shal l
,i fatl eastonepar tysor equest snotl at er
1985 ( Uni t
ed Nat ions DocumentA/ 40/ 17)and t hatt hepr e-trialconf erence, orupont her equest
recommended appr ov ed on December11,1985, ofbot hpar tiest her eaf ter ,r efert hepar ti
est o
copyofwhi chi sher et oat tachedasAppendi x"A" . arbi trat i
on unl ess i tf inds t hatt he ar bitration
agr eement i s nul land v oid,i noper at ive or
SEC. 20.  I
nt er pret at i
on of Model Law.  - I n i
ncapabl eofbei ngper for med.
i
nt erpret i
ngt heModelLaw,r egar dshal lbehadt o
i
t s i nternat ional or igin and t o t he need f or
SEC.25.I
 nt
erpretati
onoft heAct. 
-Ininterpr
eti
ng (
i)t
opr
eventi
rr
epar
abl
elossori
njur
y:
theAct,
thecourtshallhavedueregardtothepoli
cy
ofthelaw i
nf av orofarbit
rat
ion.Whereact i
onis (i
i)t
opr ov
idesecur
it
yfort
heper
for
manceof
commencedbyoragai nstmulti
plepart
ies,oneor anyobl
i
gation;
moreofwhom ar eparti
eswhoar eboundbyt he
arbi
tr
ati
onagreemental thoughthecivi
lacti
onmay (
ii
i)t
opr
oduceorpr
eser
veanyev
idence;
or
conti
nueast ot hosewhoar enotboundbysuch
arbi
tr
ati
onagreement . (i
v)to compelany ot
herappr
opr
iat
e actor
omissi
on.
SEC. 26.  Meani ng of " Appoi nti
ng Aut hori
ty.".
 -
"Appoint i
ngAut hori
ty"asusedi nt heModelLaw (3)Theordergr
anti
ngprovi
sionalrel
iefmaybe
shallmeant heper sonori nst it
ut i
onnamedi nt he condi
ti
onedupontheprov
isi
onofsecur i
tyorany
arbit
rationagr eementast heappoi nti
ngaut hority; actoromissi
onspeci
fi
edint
heor der.
or the r egular arbit
rati
on ar bitr
ation i nstit
ution
underwhoser ulesthear bitrati
oni sagr eedt obe (4)Interi
m orpr ovi
sionalreli
efisrequestedby
conduct ed.Wher et he par ties hav e agr eed t o writt
en appl i
cati
on transmitt
ed by reasonable
submi ttheirdisputet oinst
itutionalar bit
rationr ul
es, meanst ot heCour torar bi
tralt
ri
bunalast he
and unl ess t hey hav e agr eed t o a di f
ferent casemaybeandt hepar t
yagainstwhom t he
procedur e,theyshal lbedeemedt ohav eagr eedt o rel
iefissought ,descri
binginappropriat
edet ai
l
procedur e undersuch ar bitration r ul
es f ort he thepr eci
ser eli
ef,thepar t
yagainstwhom t he
selecti
onandappoi ntmentofar bit
rators.Inadhoc rel
iefisrequested,t
hegr oundsforthereli
ef,
and
arbit
ration,thedef aultappoint mentofanar bit
rator evi
dencesuppor t
ingtherequest.
shallbe made byt he Nat ionalPr esidentoft he
Int
egrat edBaroft hePhi l
ippines( I
BP)orhi sdul y (
5)Theor
dershal
lbebi
ndi
ngupont
hepar
ti
es.
authorizedr epresentati
ve.
(6)Eit
herpartymayapplywiththeCour tf
or
SEC.27.  WhatFunct ions May be Per formed by assi
stance i
nI mpl
ementi
ng orenforci
ng an
Appointi
ngAut hori
ty. 
-Thef uncti
onsr ef
er r
edt oin i
nter
im measureor
deredbyanar
bit
ral
tri
bunal
.
Arti
cles11(3),11( 4),13(3)and14( 1)oft heModel
Lawshal lbeper formedbyt heAppoi nt
ingAut hori
ty, (7)Apar tywhodoesnotcompl ywi ththeorder
unlessthel at
t ershallf ailorrefuset oactwi t
hin shallbel i
ableforal ldamagesr esulti
ngf r
om
thi
rty(30)daysf rom receiptoft herequestinwhi ch noncompl i
ance,i ncluding all expenses,and
caset heapplicantmayr enew theappl i
cationwith reasonableattor
ney'sf ees,pai
dinobt ai
ningthe
theCour t
. order'
sjudici
alenforcement .

SEC.28.
 Gr
antofI
nter
im Measur
eofPr
otect
ion.
 - SEC.29. Fur
  therAut hor i
tyf orAr bitratort oGr ant
Interim Measur e of Pr otection. 
- Unl ess
(a) Iti s not i ncompat ible wi th an ar bitr
ation other wise agr eed by t he par ties,t he ar bitral
agreement f or a par ty t o r equest , bef ore tri
bunalmay ,att her equestofapar ty,or derany
constit
ut i
onoft het ribunal,from aCour tani nteri
m par ty t o t ake such i nter i
m measur es of
measur eofpr otectionandf ort heCour tt ogr ant prot ectionast hear bitralt r
ibunalmayconsi der
such measur e.Af terconst i
tuti
on oft he ar bitral necessar yinr espectoft hesubj ectmat teroft he
tri
bunalanddur ingar bit
ralpr oceedings,ar equest disput e f oll
owi ng t he r ules i n Sect ion 28,
for an i nt
erim measur e of pr otection or par agraph 2. Such i nterim measur es may
modi fi
cationthereof,maybemadewi tht hear bitral i
ncl udebutshal lnotbel i
mi tedt opr elimi nar y
tri
bunalort otheext entt hatt hear bit
raltri
bunalhas i
njuct iondi rect edagai nstapar ty,appoi nt ment
nopowert oactori sunabl et oactef fectively,the of r eceivers or det ent ion, pr eser vat i
on,
requestmaybemadewi tht heCour t.Thear bitral i
nspect ionofpr oper t
yt hati st hesubj ectoft he
tri
bunali s deemed const i
tuted when t he sol e disput ei narbitrat i
on.Ei t
herpar tymayappl ywi th
arbit
ratorort he t hird ar bit
ratorwho has been the Cour tf orassi stance i ni mpl ement ing or
nomi nated,has accept ed t he nomi nation and enf orcing ani nt eri
m measur esor dered byan
writ
ten communi cation ofsai d nomi nation and arbitral tr
ibunal .
acceptancehasbeenr eceivedbyt hepar tymaki ng
request. SEC.30.  Pl
aceofAr bitrat
ion.
 -Thepar ti
esar e
fr
eet oagr eeont hepl aceofar bi
trat
ion.Faili
ng
(
b)Thef oll
owi
ng rul
eson i
nter
im orpr
ovi
sional suchagr eement,thepl aceofar bi
tr
ati
onshal lbe
r
eli
efshal
lbeobser
ved: i
n Met r
o Manila,unl ess t he ar
bitr
alt r
ibunal,
havi
ngr egardtot heci rcumstancesoft hecase,
(1)Anypart
ymayrequestthatpr
ovi
sionr
eli
efbe i
ncludingt heconv enienceoft hepar t
iesshal l
grant
edagai
nstt
headv
ersepart
y: decideonadi f
ferentpl aceofarbit
rati
on.

(
2)Suchr
eli
efmaybegr
ant
ed:
Thear bitr
altri
bunalmay ,unlessother
wiseagr eed The Commi ssi
on shal lcontinue to exer ci
se
by the par t
ies,meetatany pl ace itconsiders origi
nal and excl usi
ve j urisdi
ction ov er
appropri
atef orconsultati
onamongi t
smember s, construct
iondisputesalthoughthear bit
rati
onis
forhearingwi t
nesses,expert
s,orthepart
ies,orfor "commer cial
"pursuanttoSecti
on21oft hisAct.
i
nspect i
onofgoods, otherproper
tyordocument s.
SEC. 36. Aut
  horit
yt o Act as Medi at
or or
SEC.31.  Languageoft heAr bit
rati
on. -Thepar ti
es Arbi
trator.
 -Bywr i
ttenagr eementoft heparti
es
aref reetoagr eeont hel anguageorl anguagest o toadi spute,anar bitr
atormayactasmedi at
or
beusedi nthear bi
tr
alpr oceedings.Fai l
ingsuch and a medi at ormay actas ar bi
trator
.The
agreement ,t he l anguage t o be used shal lbe part
iesmayal soagr eeinwr i
ti
ngthat ,f
oll
owing
Englishini nternationalarbitrat
ion,andEngl i
shor asuccessf ulmedi ation,themediatorshalli
ssue
Fi
lipi
nof ordomest icarbi
trati
on,unl esst hear bi
tral the settl
ementagr eementi nt he form ofan
tr
ibunalshal ldet ermine a di fferentoranot her arbi
tralaward.
l
anguage or l anguages t o be used i n t he
proceedings.Thi s agr eement or det ermination, SEC.37. Appoi
  ntmentofFor eign Ar bitr
ator.
 -
unlessot herwisespeci fi
edt herein,shal lappl yto The Constr
ucti
on I
ndust
ry Ar bit
rati
on
anywr i
tt
enst atementbyapar ty,anyhear i
ngand Commi ssi
on (CIAC)shallpromul gater ul
est o
anyawar d,deci sionorot hercommuni cationbyt he al
lowfortheappoi nt
mentofaf oreignar bi
trat
or
arbit
raltr
ibunal. orcoarbi
trat
ororchair
manofat ribunalaper son
whohasnotbeenpr evi
ousl
yaccreditedbyCI AC:
The arbitr
al tri
bunal may or der t hat any Provi
ded,That:
documentaryevi
denceshallbeaccompani edbya
tr
ansl
ati
oni nt
othelanguageorl anguagesagreed (a)t
hedi
sput
eisaconstruct
iondi
sput
einwhi
ch
uponbyt heparti
esordet ermi
nedi naccordance onepar
tyi
sanint
ernat
ionalpar
ty
wit
hparagraph1ofthi
ssection.
(b)theper
sont obeappoi
ntedagreedtoabi
de
CHAPTER5-DOMESTI
CARBI
TRATI
ON bythearbi
tr
ati
onrul
esandpoli
ciesofCI
AC;

SEC.32.  Law Gov er

ning Domest i
c Arbit
rati
on. 
- (c) he/she is ei
ther coar bi
trat
or upon t he
Domest i
car bi
trat
ionshallcont
inuet obegov erned nominationoftheinternati
onalparty;orhe/ she
byRepubl i
cActNo.876,ot her
wiseknownas" The i
s t he common choi ce of t he t wo
Arbi
trati
onLaw"asamendedbyt hi
sChapt er
.The CIAC-accredi
tedar
bitrator
sf ir
stappoi ntedone
ter
m " domestic arbit
rati
on"as used herein shal
l ofwhom wasnomi nat ed byt heinternati
onal
mean an ar bit
rati
on thatis noti nt
ernat
ionalas part
y;and
defi
nedinAr ti
cle(3)oftheModel Law.
(d)thefor
eignarbi
tr
atorshallbeofdif
fer
ent
SEC.33.  Appl
icabi
l
ityto Domest i
c Arbi
tr
ati
on. 
- nati
onal
i
tyfr
om t
heinter
nat
ionalpar
ty.
Arti
cle8,10,11,12,13,14,18and19and29t o32
oft heModelLaw and Sect ion 22 t
o 31 ofthe SEC. 38.  Appl
i
cabil
it
y t o Const ruct
ion
precedi
ng Chapt er 4 shallapplyto domest i
c Arbit
rati
on. 
-Theprovi
sionsofSect
ions17(d)of
arbi
trat
ion. Chapter2,andSect i
on28and29oft hi
sAct
shall apply to arbit
rati
on of construct
ion
CHAPTER6-ARBI
TRATI
ONOFCONSTRUCTI
ON disputescover
edbythisChapter
.
DI
SPUTES
SEC.39.  Courtt o Dismi ss Case I nvolv i
ng a
SEC. 34.Ar
  bit
rati
on of Construct
ion Di
sputes: Const r
uction Di spute. 
-A r egi onaltrialcour t
Governi
ng Law. -The arbi
tr
ati
on ofconst
ructi
on whichaconst ruct iondisput ei sf i
ledshal l
,upon
di
sputesshallbegovernedbyExecutiv
eOrderNo. becomi ng awar e,notl at ert han the pr etrial
1008,ot
herwiseknownast heConsti
tuti
onI
ndustry conference,thatt hepartieshadent eredi ntoan
Arbi
tr
ati
onLaw. arbi
trati
ont obeconduct edbyt heCIAC,unl ess
bothpar t
ies,assi stedbyt heirr especti
v ecounsel ,
SEC. 35.  Coverage of t he Law.  - Const r
ucti
on shallsubmi ttot her egionalt rialcourtawr i
tten
disputeswhi chfallwit
hintheor i
ginalandexcl usive agreementexcl usi vefort heCour t,r
at herthan
j
ur i
sdicti
onoft heConst ruct
ionIndustryAr bitr
ati
on theCIAC, toresol vethedi sput e.
Commi ssi
on( t
he" Commi ssi
on")shallincludethose
betweenoramongpar tiesto,orwhoar eot herwise CHAPTER7-JUDI
CIALREVI
EW OFARBI
TRAL
boundby ,anar bitr
ati
onagr eement ,dir
ect l
yorby AWARDS
refer
encewhet hersuchpar tiesar eprojectowner ,
contractor, subcont r
actor, quant it
y sur v
eyor, A.DOMESTI
CAWARDS
bondsman ori ssuerofan i nsurancepol icyi na
constructi
onpr oject
.
SEC.40.
 Conf
irmati
onofAward.
 -Theconf
ir
mati
on procedur
alr ules to be promulgated by the
ofadomest i
carbit
ralawar
dshallbegover
nedby Supreme Cour t.The Courtmay ,grounds of
Sect
ion23ofR.A.876. comityandr ecipr
oci
ty,r
ecognizeandenf orcea
nonconvent
ionawar dasaconv enti
onawar d.
Adomest i
car bi
tr
alawardwhenconf i
rmedshallbe
enforcedinthesamemannerasf inalandexecut
ory SEC.44. Forei
gn Arbitr
alAwar d NotFor ei
gn
decisionsoftheRegional
Tri
alCourt. Judgment. -A f or
eign arbi
tr
alawar d when
confi
rmedbyacour tofaf or
eigncountr
y,shall
The conf
irmati
on ofa domest i
c award shal
lbe berecognizedandenf or
cedasaf orei
gnarbit
ral
madebyt heregionalt
ri
alcour
tinaccordancewith awardandnotaj udgmentofaf or
eigncour
t.
theRulesofPr ocedur
etobepr omulgatedbyt he
Supr
emeCour t. Aforeignarbit
ralaward,whenconf
irmedbythe
r
egionalt r
ialcourt,shallbe enfor
ced as a
ACIACarbitr
alawardneednotbeconfi
rmedbythe f
oreignarbi
tralawardandnotasajudgmentofa
regi
onaltr
ialcourtto be execut
oryas pr
ovi
ded f
oreigncourt.
underE.
O.No.1008.
Af oreignarbit
ralaward,whenconf
ir
medbyt he
SEC.41. Vacat
  i
onAwar d. -A part
yt oadomest i
c regionaltr
ialcourt
,shal
lbeenfor
cedint
hesame
arbi
trat
ionmayquest iont hearbit
ralawardwiththe manneras f i
naland executor
y deci
sions of
appropri
ater egionaltri
alcour tinaccordancewith cour t
soflawoft hePhili
ppi
nes.
therulesofpr oceduret obepr omulgatedbyt he
SupremeCour tonlyont hosegroundsenumer ated SEC.45. Rej
  ecti
onofaFor ei
gnAr bitr
alAwar d.
 -
i
nSect ion25ofRepubl icActNo.876.Anyot her Apar tytoaf or
eignar bitr
ati
onpr oceedingmay
ground raised againstadomest i
car bit
ralaward oppose an appl icati
on f or recognition and
shallbedisregardedbyt her egi
onaltr
ialcour
t. enforcementoft hear bitr
alawardi naccordance
withthepr oceduralrulest obepr omul gatedby
B.FOREI
GNARBI
TRALAWARDS the Supr eme Cour t onl y on those gr ounds
enumer ated underAr ticl
eV oft heNew Yor k
SEC.42. Appl
i
cati
onoftheNew YorkConventi
on. 
- Convent i
on.Anyot hergr ound raised shallbe
The New Yor k Convent
ion shal
l gover
n t he disr
egardedbyt her egionaltr
ial
cour t.
recogni
ti
on and enf
orcementofar bi
tr
alawar ds
coveredbythesai
dConventi
on. SEC.46.Appealf
  rom CourtDecisionsonArbit
ral
Awards. 
-A deci sionofther egionaltri
alcourt
Ther ecognitionandenf orcementofsuchar bi
tral confi
rming,vacating,set
ti
ngasi de,modifyi
ngor
awar dsshal lbef il
ledwi thregionaltri
alcour tin corr
ecti
nganar bit
ralawardmaybeappeal edto
accor dance wi tht he r ul
es ofpr ocedur et o be the CourtofAppeal sin accordance withthe
promul gatedbyt heSupr emeCour t
.Saidpr ocedural rul
esofpr oceduret o bepromul gat
ed bythe
rulesshal lpr ovide thatt he par
tyr el
yi
ng on t he SupremeCour t.
awar dorappl yingf orit
senf or
cementshal lfil
ewi t
h
thecour ttheor i
ginaloraut henti
catedcopyoft he Thelosingpart
ywhoappeal sfrom thejudgment
awar dandt hear bitrat
ionagreement .I
ft heawar d ofthecour tconfir
minganar bit
ralawar dshall
oragr eementi snotmadei nanyoft heof fi
cial requi
red by t he appealant cour tt o post
l
anguages,t hepar tyshallsupplyadul ycer ti
fi
ed counterbondexecutedinfavoroft heprevai
li
ng
translati
ont her eofintoanyofsuchl anguages. party equaltot he amountoft he awar din
accordancewiththerul
est obepr omulgatedby
Theappl
icantshal
lestabli
sh t
hatthecount
ryin theSupr emeCourt.
whi
chfor
eignarbi
tr
ati
onawar dwasmadeisapar
ty
tot
heNewYor kConvent
ion. SEC.47.  VenueandJur i
sdi ction. -Proceedi
ngs
for r ecogniti
on and enf orcement of an
Ift he applicati
on forr ej
ection orsuspension of ar bit
rati
on agr eementorf orv acat i
on,setti
ng
enfor cementofan awar d has been made,t he aside,correcti
onormodi f
icat i
onofanar bit
ral
regionalt ri
alcour tmay ,ifi tconsi
dersi tproper, awar d,and any appl i
cat i
on wi th a courtf or
vacat eitsdecisionandmayal so,ontheapplication arbit
rati
onassi stanceandsuper vi
sionshallbe
oft hepar tyclai
mingr ecogniti
onorenforcementof deemed as speci alpr oceedi ngs and shal lbe
theawar d,or derthepar t
yt oprovi
deappr opriate fi
lled witht he regionalt r
ialcour t(i
)wher e
secur it
y. arbit
rati
onpr oceedingsar econduct ed;(
ii
)wher e
theassett obeat tachedorl eviedupon,ort he
SEC.43. Recogni
  t
ionandEnf or
cementofFor eign actt obeenj oinedi slocated;( i
ii)whereanyof
ArbitralAwar ds NotCov ered by the New Yor k thepar ti
est ot hedi sput er esi desorhashi s
Conv ention. 
-Ther ecogni
tionandenf orcementof pl aceofbusi ness;or(iv)int heNat i
onalJudi
cial
foreignar bi
tralawardsnotcov er
edbytheNewYor k CapitalRegion,attheopt ionoft heappl i
cant.
Conv ention shal lbe done i n accordance wi th
SEC.48. Not
  i
ce ofPr oceeding t o Part
ies. 
-Ina rul
es and r egulat
ions necessar
y f or the
speci
alproceedingf orrecognitionandenf orcement i
mpl ement
ati
on oft his Act.The committ
ee,
ofanarbitralawar d,theCour tshal lsendnot i
ceto composedofrepresentat
ivesf
rom:
the par
ties att heir address of r ecordi nt he
arbi
tr
ati
on,ori fanypar t
ycannotbeser vednot i
ce (
a)t
heDepar
tmentofJust
ice;
atsuchaddr ess,atsuchpar ty'
sl astknownaddr ess.
Thenoticeshal lbesentatl eastf ift
een( 15)days (
b)t
heDepar
tmentofTr
adeandI
ndust
ry;
befor
et hedat esetf ort hei niti
alhearingoft he
appli
cat
ion. (
c)the Depart
mentoft
he I
nter
iorand Local
Gov
ernment;
CHAPTER8-MI
SCELLANEOUSPROVI
SIONS
(d)thepresidentoft
heI
ntegr
atedBaroft
he
SEC.49. Off
iceforAlternat
iveDisput
eResol uti
on. 
- Phil
i
ppines;
There is her eby est abl
ished the Of f
ice f or
Alt
ernati
ve Dispute Resolution as an at tached (e) A represent
ati
ve f
rom t
he ar
bit
rat
ion
agencytot heDepar t
mentofJust i
ce( DOJ)whi ch prof
essi
on;and
shallhav e a Secret
ar i
att o be headed by an
executi
vedirector
.Theexecut i
vedir
ectorshal lbe (f
) A r epresent
ati
ve f
rom t
he medi
ati
on
appoint
edbyt hePresidentofthePhil
ippines. prof
essi
on;and

Theobj
ect
iveoft
heof
fi
cear
e: (
g)Ar
epr
esent
ati
vef
rom t
heADRor
gani
zat
ions

(
a)topr
omot e,dev
elopandexpandt
heuseofADR shal
lwi t
hinthree( 3)mont hsaft
erconv ening,
i
nthepr
ivat
eandpubl i
csect
ors;
and submitt he IRR tot he Joi
nt Congr
essional
Oversi
ghtCommi t
teef orrevi
ew andappr oval.
To assi
stthegov ernmentto monit
or ,studyand TheOv er
sightCommi t
teeshal
lbecomposedof
eval
uatetheusebythepubli
candthepr iv
atesect
or the chai
rman of t he Senate Committee on
of ADR,and r ecommend t o Congress needful Justi
ce and Human Ri ght
s,chair
man oft he
st
atutor
y changes t o dev
elop.Strengthen and House Commi t
tee on Just i
ce,and one ( 1)
i
mpr oveADR practi
cesi naccor
dancewi t
hwor l
d membereachf r
om t hemajori
tyandminor i
tyof
st
andards. bothHouses.

SEC.50. Power
  sandFunct i
onsoft heOf f
icef
or TheJointOversi
ghtCommitt
eeshallbecome
Alt
ernati
ve Di
spute Resol
ution.
 -The Of fi
ce for funct
usof
fi
ciouponappr
oval
oftheI
RR.
Alt
ernati
ve Disput
e Resolution shall have t
he
fol
lowingpowersandfunct
ions: SEC. 53. Appl
  i
cabil
it
y of t he Kat ar
ungan
Pambar angay.
 -ThisActshallnotbeint
erpret
ed
(a)Tofor
mul at
est andar
dsforthetrai
ningoft
he torepeal,amendormodi fythejur
isdi
cti
onofthe
ADRpract
it
ionersandservi
ceprovi
der
s; Katarungan Pambar angayunderRepubl i
c Act
No. 7160, ot herwise known as t he Local
(b)Tocerti
fythatsuchADRpr act
it
ioner
sandADR GovernmentCodeof1991.
servi
ceprovi
dershav eundergonethepr of
essi
onal
trai
ningpr
ovi
dedbyt heoff
ice; SEC.54. Repeal
  ingCl ause. 
-Alllaws,decrees,
executi
veorders, r
ulesandr egul
ati
onswhichare
(c)Tocoordi
nat
ethedevelopment
,implement
ati
on, i
nconsistentwitht hepr ovi
sionsofthi
sActar e
monitor
ing,and ev
aluat
ion ofgov er
nmentADR her eby r epealed, amended or modi fi
ed
progr
ams; accordi
ngly.

(
d)Tochar
gef
eesf
ort
hei
rser
vices;
and SEC.55. Separabi
li
tyClause. 
-Iff oranyr eason
orreasons,anypor ti
onorpr ovisionoft hisAct
(e)Toperf
orm suchact
sasmaybenecessar
yto shal
lbehel dunconstit
uti
onalori nval
id,allot
her
carr
yint
oeffectt
hepr
ovi
sionsoft
hisAct
. part
sorpr ovi
sionsnotaf fected shallthereby
conti
nuet oremaininful
lforceandef fect.
SEC.51.
 Appropri
ati
ons. 
-Theamountnecessaryto
car
ryouttheprovi
sionsofthisActshal
lbei
ncluded SEC.56. Ef
  f
ect
ivi
ty.
 -Thi
sactshallt
akeeffect
i
nt he GeneralAppr opri
ati
ons Actoft he year fi
fteendays(15)afteri
tspubl
i
cati
oninatleast
fol
l
owingitsenactmentint
olawandt her
eaf
ter
. two ( 2) nati
onal newspapers of general
cir
culat
ion.
SEC. 52.I
 mplementi
ng Rules and Regulat
ions
(IRR)
. 
-Withi
none( 1)monthaf t
ert
heapprovalof
thisAct,t
hesecretar
yofj ust
iceshal
lconvenea
commi t
tee t
hatshallformulatethe appr
opri
ate
Republ
i
cActNo.8369      Oct
ober28,
1997 "TheSupremeCour tshallprovi
deacont i
nuing
educati
on progr
am on chi ld and fami
lylaws,
ANACTESTABLISHI
NGFAMI LYCOURTS, procedur
eandot herrel
ateddiscipl
i
nestojudges
GRANTINGTHEM EXCLUSI
VEORIGINAL andpersonnelofsuchcour t
s."
JURISDI
CTI
ONOVERCHI LDANDFAMI LYCASES,
AMENDINGBATASPAMBANSABI LANG129,AS Section 5.Jur
  i
sdi
cti
on of
fami
ly Court
s. 
-The
AMENDED,OTHERWISEKNOWNASACTOF1980, Fami l
y Courts shal
lhave excl
usive ori
ginal
APPROPRIATI
NGFUNDSTHEREFORANDFOR j
urisdict
ion t
o hearand deci
de the f
oll
owing
OTHERPURPOSES cases:

Beitenact
edbyt heSenateandHouseof a)Cr i
minalcaseswher eoneormor eoft he
Repr
esentati
vesofthePhil
ippi
nesi
nCongress accusedisbeloweighteen( 18)yearsofagebut
assembl
ed: notlessthannine(9)y earsofagebutnotl ess
thannine(9)yearsofageorwher eoneormor e
Secti
on 1.Ti
  t
le.
 -Thi
s Actshal
lbe known as ofthev i
cti
msi sa mi noratt het imeoft he
t "
he Fami
lyCourt
sActof1997"
. commi ssi
onoft heoff
ense:Pr ovided,Thati
fthe
minorisfoundguilt
y,thecour tshallpromul
gate
Section 2. 
StatementofNat i
onalPolicies.
 -The sentenceandascer t
ainanyci vi
lliabil
it
ywhich
Stat
e shal lpr ot
ectt he ri
ghts and promot ethe theaccusedmayhav ei ncurr
ed.
welf
ar eofchi l
dreni nkeepi
ngwi ththemandat eof
the Constitut
ion and the preceptsoft he Uni
ted The sent ence,howev
er,shallbe suspended
Nati
onsConv entionont herightsoftheChi l
d.The without need of appl i
cati
on pur suant t
o
Stat
eshal lpr ovidea sy st
em ofadj udicati
on f
or Ptesidenti
alDecr
eeNo.603,ot
herwiseknownas
youthfuloffenderswhi chtakesi nt
oaccountt hei
r the"ChildandYouthWelf
areCode";
peculiarci
rcumst ances.
b)Peti
ti
onsforguar
dianshi
p,custodyofchi
l
dren,
TheSt aterecognizest hesancti
tyoffamilyli
feand habeascor
pusinrel
ationtothelatt
er;
shallprotectandst rengthenthef ami
lyasabasi c
autonomous soci ali nsti
tut
ion.The cour ts shal
l c)Peti
ti
ons f
oradopt
ion ofchi
l
dren and t
he
preservet he sol i
darity of the famil
y,pr ovide rev
ocat
iont
hereof
;
proceduresf orther econcil
iati
onofspousesand
theami cableset
tlementoff amilycont
roversy. d) Compl ai
nts f or annulment of mar r
iage,
decl
arati
on ofnul li
ty ofmar r
iage and those
Section3. 
Establ
ishmentofFami l
yCourts.
 -There rel
ati
ngtomar it
alst atusandpropert
yrelati
ons
shallbe est abl
ished a Famil
y Cour tin every ofhusband and wi feort hoselivi
ng t
oget her
provinceandcityinthecount
ry.Incasewheret he underdifferentst atus and agreements,and
cit
yist hecapit
aloft hepr
ovi
nce,theFamil
yCour t peti
ti
onsf ordissolutionofconj
ugalpart
ner ship
shallbeestabli
shedi nthemunici
pali
tywhichhas ofgains;
thehighestpopulat
ion.
e)Pet
it
ionsf
orsuppor
tand/
oracknowl
edgment
;
Secti
on 4.
 Qual
ifi
cati
on and Traini
ng of Fami
ly
CourtJudges.
 -
 Sec.15 ofBatasPambansaBl g. f)Summar yj udi
ci
alproceedingsbroughtunder
129,asamended,i sherebyfurtheramended t
o the provi
sions of Executi
ve Order No.209,
readasfol
l
ows: otherwi
se known as t "
he Famil
yCode oft he
Phil
ippi
nes";
"Sec.15.( a) 
Quali
ficati
on.-No per son shal lbe
appoint
edRegi onalTr i
alJudgeorPr esidingJudge g)Pet i
ti
onsfordeclar
ationofst atusofchi l
dren
oft he FamilyCour tunless he i
s a nat ural-born asabandoned,dependentonegl ect
edchi ldr
en,
cit
izenoft hePhi l
ippines,atleastthirty-f
ive( 35) peti
ti
ons f or v ol
untary or i nvol
untar y
yearsofage,and,f oratleastten(10)y ears,has commi tment of chi l
dr en; t he suspensi on,
been engaged i nt he practi
ce of l aw i nt he ter
mi nati
on,orrest
orati
onofpar entalauthority
Phil
ippi
nes orhas hel d a public office int he andot hercasescognizabl eunderPr esi
dential
Phil
ippi
nesr equi
ri
ngadmi ssiontothepr acticeof DecreeNo.603,Execut i
v eOr derNo.56,( Series
l
awasi ndispensabl
er equisi
te. of1986) ,
andotherrel
atedl aws;

"(b) Traini
ng of Fami l
y Court Judges. - The h)Pet
it
ionsf
ort
heconst
it
uti
onoft
hef
ami
l
y
Pr esidingJudge,aswellasthecourtpersonnelof home;
theFami l
yCourt
s,shal
lundergotr
aini
ngandmust
hav et heexper i
enceand demonstrat
ed abil
it
yi n i
)Casesagainstmi
nor
scognizabl
eundert
he
deal i
ngwi thchi
ldandfamil
ycases. Danger
ousDr
ugsAct
,asamended;
j
)Vi ol
ati
onsofRepubl i
cActNo.7610,ot her
wise al
ternat
ivestodet entionandi nsti
tuti
onalcare
known as t "
he Speci
al Pr
otect
ion of Childr
en shal
lbemadeav ai
lablet otheaccusedi ncl
uding
Against Chi l
d Abuse, Expl oi
tat
ion and counsel
ing, recognizance, bai l
, communi t
y
Discri
minati
on Act,
" asamended byRepublicAct conti
nuum, or di versions f r
om t he just
ice
No.7658; and syst
em:Pr ov
ided,further,Thatthehumanr i
ghts
oftheaccusedar ef ull
yr espectedinamanner
k)Casesofdomest
icv
iol
enceagai
nst
: appropr
iatet
otheirwel l-
being.

1)Women -whi ch are acts ofgenderbased Sect ion 9.  Soci al Ser v i

ces and Counsel ing
vi
olence thatr esult
s,orar elikel
yt or esultin Division.  -Undert hegui danceof theDepar tment
physical
,sexualorpsy chol
ogicalharm orsuffer
ing ofSoci alWel f
ar eandDev elopment( DSWD) ,a
towomen;andot herf or
msofphy si
calabusesuch Soci alSer v i
cesandCounsel i
ngDi v ision( SSCD)
asbat t
eri
ngort hreat
sandcoer cionwhichv i
olat
ea shal lbeest ablishedi neachj udi ci
al regi onast he
woman' s personhood, i ntegri
ty and f reedom Supr emeCour tshal ldeem necessar ybasedon
mov ement;and thenumberofj uv enil
eandf ami lycasesexi sting
i
nsuchj ur isdict ion.Itshal lpr ovideappr opr i
at e
2)Chi ldren-whi chi ncl udet hecommi ssionofal l soci alser vicest oal ljuv eni l
eandf ami lycases
forms of abuse, negl ect , cruelty , expl oitation, f i
ledwi tht hecour tandr ecommendt hepr oper
violence, anddi scr i
mi nat ionandal lot hercondi t
ions soc iala ctio n.I ts halla lso d evelo p p ro g r
a ms,
prejudi cial tot heirdev elopment . formul ateuni for m pol iciesandpr ocedur es,and
prov idet echni calsuper v i
sionandmoni toringof
Ifanactconst it
utesacr imi naloffense, theaccused al lSSCDi ncoor di nati
onwi tht hej udge.
orbat terershal lbesubj ectt ocr imi nalpr oceedi ngs
andt hecor respondi ngpenal ti
es. Sect ion 10.  Soci al Ser v i
ces and Counsel ing
Division St aff.
 -The SSCD shal lhav e a st aff
Ifanyquest ioni nv olv inganyoft heabov emat ter s composedofqual i
fi
edsoci alwor ker sandot her
shoul dar iseasani nci denti nanycasependi ngi n per sonnel wi th academi c pr epar at ion i n
ther egul arcour ts, sai di nci dentshal lbedet ermi ned behav ioralsci encest o car ryoutt hedut i
es' of
i
nt hatcour t. conduct i
ng i nt ake assessment ,soci al case
studi es, casewor k and counsel ing, and
Sect ion6.  UseofI ncome.  -Al lFami lyCour tsshal l other soci alser v i
ces t hatmay be needed i n
beal lowedt heuseoft enpercent( 10%)oft hei r con n ec ti
o n w ith cases fil
e d w ith th e c ou rt
:
i
ncomeder ived f rom f il
ing and ot hercour tf ees Pr ov ided, howev er,Thati nadopt i
oncasesandi n
underRul e141oft heRul esofCour tf orr esear ch pet itionsf ordecl aration ofabandonment ,t he
and ot heroper at i
ng expenses i ncludi ng capi tal casest udiesmaybepr epar edbysoci alwor ker s
outlay :Pr ov ided,Thatt hi sbenef itshal llikewi sebe ofdul yl i
censedchi l
dcar i
ngorchi ldpl acement
enjoy edbyal lcour t
sofj ust ice. agenci es,ort he DSWD.When war rant ed,t he
divi
si onshal lr ecommend t hatt hecour tav ail
TheSupr emeCour tshal lpr omul gat et henecessar y i
tse lfo fc on sulta ti
ves e rviceso fp sy c h i
a t
rists,
guidel inest oef fectiv elyi mpl ementt hepr ovisions psy chol ogi sts,and ot herqual ifi
ed speci ali
st s
oft hisSec. pres e ntlye mp lo ye dino the r de partme n t so fth e
gov er nmenti nconnect ionwi thi tscases.
Sect ion7.  Speci alPr ov isionalRemedi es. -Incases
ofv iol ence among i mmedi at ef ami l
y member s Theposi tion ofSoci alWor kAdv isershal lbe
l
ivingi nt hesamedomi cileorhousehol d,theFami ly creat ed under t he Of fi
ce of t he Cour t
Cour tmayi ssue a r est raining or deragai nstt he Admi nistrat or,whoshal lmoni t
orandsuper v i
se
accusedofdef endantuponv eri
fiedappl icationby t heSSCDof t
heRegi onal TrialCour t.
thecompl ainantort hev ictimf orrelieff rom abuse.
Sect ion 11.  Alter native Soci al Ser v ices.  -I n
The cour tmayor dert he t empor arycust odyof accor dancewi thSec.17oft hisAct ,i nar eas
childreni nal lci vilact ionsf ort hei rcust ody .The wher enoFami lyCour thasbeenest abl ishedor
cour t may al so or der suppor t pendent e l ite, noRegi onalTr ialCour twasdesi gnat edbyt he
i
ncl udi ng deduct ion f rom t he sal ar yand use of Supr emeCour tduet ot hel imited numberof
conj ugalhome and ot herpr oper ti
es i n al lci v i
l cas es , the DS WD sha l
ld esign ate and assi gn
actionsf orsuppor t. qual ifi
ed,t rained,andDSWD accr edi tedsoci al
wor ker soft hel ocalgov er nmentuni tst ohandl e
Sect ion8.  Super visionofYout hDet ent i
onHomes.  - j
uv eni leandf ami lycasesf il
edi nt hedesi gnat ed
Thej udgeoft heFami l
yCour tshal lhav edi r ect Regi onal Tr i
al Cour toft hepl ace.
cont roland super vision oft he y out h det ent i
on
home whi ch t he l ocal gov er
nment uni t shal l Sect ion 12. Pr
  ivacy and Conf ident iality of
establ ish t o separ atet he y out h of fender sf rom Proceedi ngs.  
-Al lhear ingsandconci liat i
onof
adul t cr imi nals: Pr ov ided, howev er , That t hechi ldandf ami l
ycasesshal lbet reat edi na
mannerconsistentwiththepromotionofthechild'
s Secti
on 18.Separ
  abi
l
ityCl ause.
 -In case any
andthefamily'
sdignit
yandwor th,
andshal lr
espect provi
sionofthi
sActi sdeclaredunconsti
tut
ional
,
thei
rprivacy atallst ages oft he proceedi
ngs. theotherpr
ov i
sionsshall
remai nineff
ect.
Recordsoft hecasesshal lbedeal twithut most
confi
dent
iali
tyandt heidenti
tyofpar t
iesshallnot Sect
ion 19.
 Repeal
ing Cl
ause.
 -Al
lotherlaws,
bedivul
gedunl essnecessaryandwi thauthori
tyof decr
ees,executi
veor der
s,rul
esorregulat
ions
thej
udge. i
nconsi
stent herewit
h ar e her
eby repealed,
amendedormodi fi
edaccordi
ngl
y.
Section 13. Speci
  al Rul es of Procedure. - The
Supr emeCour tshallpr omulgatespecialr ulesof Secti
on 20. Ef
fect
ivi
ty.
 -Thi
s Act shallt
ake
procedur efort he t
ransferofcases t ot he new eff
ectfift
een(15)daysaft
eri
tspubl
icat
ioni
nat
court s duri
ng t he t
ransiti
on peri
od and f ort he l
eastt wo (2)nati
onalnewspaper
sofgener al
di
sposi tionoff amil
ycaseswi ththebesti nterests ci
rcul
ation.
oft hechi ld and thepr otecti
onoft hef ami lyas
pri
mar y considerati
on t aki
ng into account t he Appr
oved 
Oct
ober28,
1997.
United Nat i
onsConv ention on t
he Rightsoft he
Chil
d.

Secti
on14. Appeals.
 -Decisionsandorder
softhe
courtshal
lbeappeal edi nthesamemannerand
subj
ecttothesamecondi ti
onsasappealsfr
om t
he [REPUBLI CACTNO.7691]
ordi
naryRegionalTri
al Court
s. AN ACT EXPANDI NG THE JURI SDI CTI ON OF
THE METROPOLI TAN TRI AL COURTS,
Section15.Appr
  opri
ati
ons. 
-Theamountnecessar
y MUNI CIPAL TRI AL COURTS,AND MUNI CIPAL
to carryoutthe pr
ovisi
ons ofthi
s Actshallbe CIRCUI TTRI ALCOURTS,AMENDI NG FORTHE
i
ncludedi ntheGeneralAppropr
iat
ionsActofthe PURPOSE BATAS PAMBANSA, BLG. 129,
year foll
owing i
ni t
s enactment int
ol aw and OTHERWI SE KNOWN AS THE “ JUDI CIARY
thereaf
ter. REORGANI ZATI ONACTOF1980”
Be i tenact ed by t he Senat e and House of
Secti
on16.I
 mplementi
ngRul esandRegulat
ions.
 - Repr esent at ivesoft hePhi l
ippi nesi nCongr ess
TheSupremeCour t
,incoordi
nati
onwit
htheDSWD, assembl ed:
shal
lformul
atethenecessaryrul
esandregul
ati
ons SECTI ON1.Sect ion19ofBat asPambansaBl g.
for t
he eff
ecti
vei mplementati
on of t
he social 129, ot her wise known as t he “ Judi ciar y
aspectsoft
hisAct
. Reor ganizat i
onActof1980” ,isher ebyamended
tor eadasf ollows:
Section 17.  
Tr ansitor
y Pr ovi
sions. 
-Pendi ng t he “SEC.19.  Jur isdi ctioni nci v
ilcases.–Regi onal
establishmentofsuchFami lyCour t
s,theSupr eme TrialCour ts shal lexer cise excl usi ve or i
ginal
Cour tshalldesi gnatef r
om among t hebr anches j
ur isdict i
on.
oft
heRegi onalTr ialCourtatleastoneFami lyCour t “(1)I nal lci vilact ionsi nwhi cht hesubj ectoft he
i
n each oft he ci t
ies ofMani l
a,Quezon,Pasay , l
itigat ionisi ncapabl eofpecuni aryest i
mat ion;
Caloocan,Makat i
,Pasig,Mandal uyong,Munt inlupa, “(2)I nal lci v ilact ionswhi chi nv ol
v et het i
tlet o,
Laoag, Bagui o, Sant iago, Dagupan, Ol ongapo, orpossessi onof ,realpr oper ty,oranyi nterest
Cabanat uan,SanJose,Angel es,Cav i
te,Bat angas, ther ein,wher e t he assessed v alue of t he
Lucena,Naga,I r
iga,Legazpi,Roxas,Iloil
o,Bacol od, proper tyi nv olv ed exceeds Twent yt housand
Dumaguet e,Tacl oban,Cebu,Mandaue,Tagbi laran, pesos( P20, 000, 00)or ,forci vi
lact ionsi nMet ro
Surigao,But uan,Cagay andeOr o,Dav ao,Gener al Mani la, wher e such v alue exceeds Fi fty
Sant os,Or oquieta,Ozami s,Dipolog,Zamboanga, thousandpesos( P50, 000. 00)exceptact i
onsf or
Pagadi an,Ili
gan,andi nsuchot herpl acesast he forci bleent ryi ntoandunl awf uldet ainerofl ands
Supr emeCour tmaydeem necessar y
. orbui l
dings,or igi nalj urisdicti
onov erwhi chi s
conf er red upon t he Met ropolitan Tr ialCour ts,
Addit
ionalcasesotherthanthosepr
ovi
dedinSec.5 Muni cipalTr ialCour t
s,and Muni cipalCi r
cui t
maybeassi gnedtot heFami l
yCourt
swhent heir Trial Cour ts;
dockets permit:Provided,Thatsuch addi
tional “(3)I n al lact i
ons i n admi raltyand mar it
ime
casesshallnotbehear dont hesamedayf amily j
ur isdict i
onwher et hedemandorcl aim exceeds
casesareheard. Onehundr edt housandpesos( P100, 000. 00)or ,
i
nMet roMani la,wher esuchdemandorcl aim
In areas wher ethere ar
e no FamilyCour
ts,the exceeds Two hundr ed t housand pesos
casesr efer
red t
oi nSec.5 oft hisActshal
lbe (P200, 000. 00) ;
adjudicatedbytheRegionalTr
ialCourt
. “(4)I nal lmat tersofpr obat e,bot ht est ateand
i
nt est ate,wher et hegr ossv alueoft heest ate
exceeds One hundr ed t housand pesos
(P100, 000. 00)or ,inpr obat emat t
er si nMet ro
Mani l
a,wher e such gr oss v alue exceeds Two alleged:  Pr ov i
ded,That i nt er est,damages of
Hundr edt housandpesos( P200, 000. 00) ; what ev er ki nd, at tor ney ’s f ees, l itigat ion
“(5)I nal lact ionsi nv ol vingt hecont ractofmar riage expenses,and cost sshal lbei ncl uded i nt he
andmar i
tal r
elat i
ons; det er mi nat ionoft hef i
lingf ees:  Prov ided, fur t
her ,
“(6)I nal lcasesnotwi thint heexcl usi vej ur isdict i
on Thatwher et her ear esev er alcl ai msorcausesof
ofanycour t,t ribunal ,per sonorbodyexer cising act ionsbet weent hesameordi fferentpar ties,
j
ur i
sdi ct i
onofanycour t,t ribunal ,per sonorbody embodi edi nt hesamecompl aint,t heamountof
exer cisingj udicial orquasi -j
udi cial funct ions; thedemandshal lbet het ot alityoft hecl aimsi n
“(7)I n al lci vilact ions and speci alpr oceedi ngs allt hecausesofact i
on,i rr espect iv eofwhet her
fall
ingwi thint heexcl usiv eor i
gi nalj ur i
sdi ct i
onofa thecausesofact ionar oseoutoft hesameor
Juv eni l
eandDomest i
cRel at ionsCour tandoft he differ entt ransact ions;
Cour tofAgr arianRel ationsasnowpr ov i
dedbyl aw; “(2)Excl usi veor iginalj ur i
sdi ct i
onov ercasesof
and forci ble ent ryand unl awf uldet ai ner :
 Pr ov ided,
“(8)I n al lot hercases i n whi ch t he demand, Thatwhen,i nsuchcases,t hedef endantr ai ses
exclusi v eofi nt er est ,damagesofwhat ev erki nd, thequest i
onsofowner shi pi nhi spl eadi ngsand
attorney ’
sf ees, liti
gat ionexpenses, andcost sort he thequest ionofpossessi oncannotber esol ved
valueoft hepr oper t yi ncont rov ersyexceedsOne wi thoutdeci ding t he i ssue ofowner shi p,t he
hundr edt housandpesos( P100, 000. 00)or ,insuch i
ssue ofowner ship shal lbe r esol v ed onl yt o
othercasesi nMet ro Mani la,wher et hedemand det er mi net hei ssueofpossessi on; and
exclusi v e oft he abov ement i
oned i tems exceeds “(3)Excl usi ve or iginalj ur isdi ction i n al lci vi
l
TwoHundr edt housandpesos( P200, 000. 00) .
” act ionswhi chi nv olvet itlet o,orpossessi onof ,
SEC.2.Sect ion 32 oft he same l aw i s her eby realpr oper ty,oranyi nt er estt her einwher et he
amendedt or eadasf ollows: assessed v alue of t he pr oper ty or i nter est
“SEC.32.  Jur i
sdi ct ionofMet ropol i
tanTr ialCour t
s, ther eindoesnotexceedTwent ythousandpesos
Muni cipalTr i
alCour tsandMuni cipalCi rcui tTr i
al (P20, 000. 00)or ,inci vilact ionsi nMet roMani l
a,
Cour tsi nCr i
mi nalCases.–Excepti ncasesf alli
ng wher esuch assessed v aluedoesnotexceed
wi t
hint heexcl usi veor iginalj urisdi ctionofRegi onal Fiftyt housandpesos( P50, 000. 00)excl usi v eof
Trial Cour ts and of t he Sandi ganbay an, t he i
nt er est ,damagesofwhat ev erki nd,at torney ’s
Met ropol i
tan Tr ialCour ts,Muni cipalTr ialCour t
s, fees,l itigat i
on expenses and cost s: Pr ov ided,
andMuni cipal Ci rcui tTr ial Cour tsshal lexer cise: Thati ncasesofl andnotdecl aredf ort axat ion
“(1)Ex clusi veor iginalj ur i
sdi ctionov eral lv iolations pur poses,t hev alueofsuchpr oper tyshal lbe
ofci tyormuni ci palor di nancescommi t
tedwi thin det er mi ned by t he assessed v alue of t he
theirr espect ivet er ritor ial j
ur isdi ct i
on; and adj acentl ots.”
“(2)Excl usi veor igi nalj urisdi ct ionov eral lof fenses SEC 4.Sect ion34oft hesamel aw i sher eby
puni shabl ewi thi mpr i
sonmentnotexceedi ngsi x( 6) amendedt or eadasf ollows:
year si rrespect ive of t he amountof f ine,and “SEC.34.  Del egat ed Jur isdi ct i
on i n Cadast ral
regar dlessofot heri mposabl eaccessor yorot her and Land Regi st r
at ion Cases.– Met r
opol itan
penal ties,i ncludi ng t heci v i
ll i
abi li
tyar i
si ng f rom Trial Cour ts, Muni cipal Tr ial Cour ts, and
suchof fensesorpr edi cat edt her eon, irrespect i
v eof Muni ci palCi rcui tTr i
alCour tsmaybeassi gned
kind,nat ur e,v al ue oramountt her eof :Pr ov i
ded, byt heSupr emeCour tt o hearanddet er mi ne
howev er,Thati n of fenses i nv olving damage t o cadast ral orl andr egi strat ioncasescov er i
ngl ot s
proper tyt hrough cr imi nalnegl i
gence,t hey shal l wher et her eisnocont rov er syoropposi ti
on,or
hav eexcl usi veor iginal jur i
sdi ctiont her eof .” cont est edl ot swher et hev al ueofwhi chdoes
SEC.3.Sect ion 33 oft he same l aw i s her eby not exceed One hundr ed t housand pesos
amendedt or eadasf ollows: (P100, 000. 00) ,suchv al uet obeascer tainedby
“SEC.33.  Jur i
sdi ct ionofMet ropol i
tanTr ialCour t
s, theaf fidav itoft hecl aimantorbyagr eementof
Muni cipalTr i
alCour tsandMuni cipalCi rcui tTr i
al ther espect ivecl aimant si ft her ear emor et han
Cour tsi nCi vilCases.–Met ropol i
tanTr ialCour t
s, one,orf rom t hecor respondi ngt axdecl arat ion
Muni cipalTr ialCour ts,andMuni cipalCi rcui tTr i
al oft her ealpr oper t
y .Thei rdeci si onsi nt hese
Cour tsshal lexer ci se: casesshal lbeappeal abl ei nt hesamemanner
“(1)Ex clusi veor igi nalj urisdi ct ionov erci v ilact ions asdeci si onsoft heRegi onal Tr i
al Cour ts.”
and pr obat e pr oceedi ngs,t est at e and i ntest ate, SEC.5.Af terf ive( 5)y ear sf rom t heef fect i
vityof
i
ncl udi ng t he gr antof pr ov isionalr emedi es i n thisAct , thej ur i
sdi ctionalamount sment ionedi n
propercases,wher et he v alue oft he per sonal Sec.19( 3) ,(4) ,and( 8);andSec.33( 1)ofBat as
proper ty,est ate, oramountoft hedemanddoesnot Pambansa Bl g.129 asamended byt hisAct ,
exceedOnehundr edt housandpesos( P100, 000. 00) shal lbe adj ust ed t o Two hundr ed t housand
or,inMet roMani lawher esuchper sonalpr oper t
y, pesos( P200, 000. 00) .Fi ve( 5)y ear st her eaf ter,
estat e,oramountoft hedemanddoesnotexceed such j ur i
sdi ctionalamount sshal lbe adj ust ed
Two hundr ed t housand pesos ( P200, 000. 00), further t o Thr ee hundr ed t housand pesos
exclusi v eofi nt er est ,damagesofwhat ev erki nd, (P300, 000. 00) : Prov ided,howev er ,Thati nt he
attorney ’
sf ees,l itigat ionexpenses,andcost s,t he case of Met ro Mani la,t he abov ement ioned
amount of whi ch must be speci fically j
ur isdi ct i
onalamount s shal lbe adj ust ed af ter
fi
v e(5)y ear sf rom t heef fectivi
tyoft hisActt oFour uni
nter
rupt
ed.
 (asamendedby
 Exec.Or
derNo.
hundr edt housandpesos( P400, 000.00) . 33,
,Jul
y28,1986.)
SEC.6.Al llaws,decr ees,andor der si nconsi st ent
wi t
ht hepr ov i
sionsoft hisActshal lbeconsi der ed Section4. Exer
  ci
seofpower sandf uncti
ons. 
–
amendedormodi fiedaccor dingly
. The Cour tAppeal s shal lexercise its powers,
SEC.7.Thepr ov i
sionsoft hisActshal lappl yt oal l functions,and dut ies,through sev enteen (
17)
civilcasest hathav enoty etr eachedt hepr e-trial divi
sions,eachcomposedoft hree(3)member s.
stage.Howev er,byagr eementofal l
thepar t
ies, civ i
l TheCour tmaysi t enbanc  onlyfort hepurpose
cases cogni zabl e bymuni cipaland met ropol itan ofexer ci
singadmi nistrat
ive,cer
emoni al
,orother
cour ts by t he pr ov i
sions of t his Actmay be non-adjudicator
y f unct
ions.(
 as amended
transf erredf rom t heRegi onalTr i
alCour tst ot he by Exec.Or derNo.33, .
)
l
at t
er .The execut ivej udge of t he appr opr iate
Regi onalTr ialCour tsshal ldef i
net headmi nistrative Secti
on 5. Succession to Offi
ce ofPr esidi
ng
procedur eoft ransf erri
ngt hecasesaf fect edbyt he Justi
ce.– Incaseofav acancyi ntheabsenceof
redef init
ionofj urisdictiont ot heMet ropol it
anTr ial i
nabil
itytoper formt hepower s,functions,and
Cour ts, Muni cipalTr ialCour ts,andMuni cipalCi rcui t duti
esofhi soffice,
theassociateJusticewhoi s
Tr i
alCour ts. fi
rstin precedence shallperform hispower s,
SEC.8.Thi sActshal ltakeef f
ectf i
fteen( 15)day s funct
ions,and dut ies unti
lsuch di sabili
tyis
foll
owi ngi tspubl i
cat ionint he OfficialGazet te ori n remov ed, or anot her Presi
ding Just i
ce is
two( 2)nat ional newspaper sofgener alcirculat i
on. appointedandhasqual if
ied.
Appr ov ed,
Sect i
on 6. Who presides over sessi
on of a
divisi
on.– IfthePresidingJust
iceispresentin
anysessi onofadi visionoftheCour t
,heshal l
BATASPAMBANSABl
g.129 preside.Inhisabsence,t heAssoci
ateJust i
ce
attending such session who has precedence
ANACTREORGANI
ZINGTHEJUDI
CIARY, shal l
presi
de.
APPROPRI
ATI
NGFUNDSTHEREFOR,
ANDFOR
OTHERPURPOSES Sect
ion 7. Qual
  if
icat
ions. – The Pr esi
ding
Just
iceandtheAssoci at
eJusti
ceshallhavethe
PRELI
MINARYCHAPTER same qual i
fi
cati
ons as t hose provided in
Consti
tut
ionforJusti
ceoftheSupremeCour t
.
Sect
ion1.Ti
  t
le.
 –Thi
sActshallbeknownas"
The
Judi
ciar
yReorgani
zat
ionActof1980.
" Secti
on8. Groupi
ng ofDiv
isi
ons.– (Expr
essl
y
repeal
edby  
Secti
on4,Exec.OrderNo.33, 
Jul
y
Secti
on 2. Scope.
   – The r eor gani zat i
on her ein 28,1986.
)
provi
ded shal li ncl udet heCour tofAppeal s,t he
CourtofFi rstInst ance,t heCi rcui tCrimi nalCour ts, Section9.  Jur i
sdi ct i
on.–  TheCour tofAppeal s
theJuv enileand Domest i
cRel ationsCour t
s,t he shal lExer cise:
CourtsofAgr ar i
anRel ati
ons,t heCi tyCour t
s,t he
MunicipalCour ts, andt heMuni cipal CircuitCour ts. 1. Or i
ginal j urisdicti
on t o i ssue wr its
ofmandamus,
   prohi biti
on, cer
  tiorari, habeas
CHAPTERI corpus, and  quowar r
ant o, 
andauxi l
iarywr itsor
COURTOFAPPEALS processes,whet herornoti nai dofi tsappel l
at e
j
urisdiction;
Secti
on3.  Organi zat ion. –Ther ei sher ebycr eateda
CourtofAppeal swhi ch consi st sofa Pr esiding 2.Excl usiveor igi naljurisdi ctionov eract ionsf or
Justi
ceandf ift
yAssoci ateJust i
cewhoshal lbe annul ment of j udgement s of Regi onalTr i
al
appointedbyt hePr esidentoft hePhi lippines.The Cour ts; and
Presidi
ng Just ice shal lbe so desi gnat ed i n his
appointment ,andt heAssoci ateJust iceshal lhav e 3.Excl usi veappel latej ur i
sdi ctionov eral lfinal
precedence accor ding t o t he dat es of t hei r j
udgement s,r esol ut i
ons,or der s orawar ds of
respecti
ve appoi ntment s, or when t he Regi onal Trial Cour tsandquasi -j
udicial agenci es,
appointment soft woormor eoft hem shal lbeart he inst r
ument aliti
es, boar ds or commi ssion,
samedat e,accor di ngt otheor deri nwhi cht hei r i
ncluding t he Secur ities and Exchange
appointment swer ei ssuedbyt hePr esident .Any Commi ssi on,t he Soci alSecur i
tyCommi ssion,
memberwho i sr eappoi nted t ot he Cour taf ter t heEmpl oy eesCompensat ionCommi ssionand
renderi
ng ser vice i n any ot herposi ti
on i nt he t he Ci vilSer vice Commi ssion,Exceptt hose
governmentshal lr etai nthepr ecedencet owhi chhe f al
li
ng wi thi nt he appel latej urisdicti
on oft he
wasent it
ledunderhi sor i
ginalappoi ntment ,andhi s Supr eme Cour t i n accor dance wi th t he
servi
ce int he Cour tshal l,f oral li ntent s and Const i
tut i
on,t heLaborCodeoft hePhi lippines
purposes, be consi dered as cont inuous and underPr esi dent ialDecr eeNo.442,asamended,
theprov
isionsofthi
sAct,andofsubparagr
aph(1) eff
ect
ivefi
ft
een(15)daysaf
terr
eceiptt
her
eof,
ofthethir
dpar agr
aphandsubparagraph4oft he unl
essdir
ectedot
her
wisebyt
heSupremeCourt
.
four
thparagraphodSect
ion17oftheJudici
aryAct
of1948. CHAPTERI
I
REGI
ONALTRIALCOURTS
Thecour tofAppeal sshallhavet hepowert ot ry
casesandconducthear ings,recei
v eevi
denceand Secti
on 13.
 Creat
ion ofRegi
onalTrialCourts.
per f
orm any and al lacts necessaryt or esolve – There are hereby creat
ed thir
teen (13)
factualissues raised i
n cases falli
ng withi
ni ts RegionalTri
alCour ts,one foreach of the
originaland appel l
atejuri
sdicti
on,includi
ng the fol
lowingj
udici
alr
egions:
powert ogr antandconductnew t ri
alsorAppeal s
mustbecont inuousandmustbecompl etedwithin The FirstJudici
alRegi on,consisti
ng oft he
three (3)mont hs,unless extended byt he Chief prov
incesofAbr a,Benguet,I
locosNor t
e,I
locos
Just i
ce.(
 asamendedby  R.
A.No.7902. ) Sur, La Uni on, Mount ai
n Pr ovi
nce, and
Pangasinan,
andci t
iesofBaguio,Dagupan,
Laog
Section10. Pl
  aceofhol di
ngsessi ons.– TheCour t andSanCar l
os;
ofAppeal sshal lhaveitspermanentst ationint he
Cit
y ofMani la.Whenev erdemanded by publ i
c TheSecondJudici
alRegion,consi
sti
ngoft he
i
nterest,theSupr emeCour t,uponi t
sowni ni
ti
ative provi
nces of Bat anes, Cagayan, Ifugao,
oruponr ecommendat ionoft hePr esi
dingJust i
ce, Kali
nga-Apay
ao,
NuevaViscay
a,andQuiri
no;
may aut horize a divi
sion oft he Cour tt o hold
sessionsout sideMani la,peri
odicall
y,orf orsuch The Third Judi
cialRegi on,consisti
ng ofthe
peri
odsandatsuchpl acesast heSupr emeCour t prov
inces of Bat aan, Bul acan (except t
he
maydet ermine,f orthe purpose ofhear i
ng and munici
pali
ty of v alenzuela), Nueva Ecija,
decidingcases. Pampanga,Tar l
ac,andZambal es,andtheci
ti
es
ofAngeles,Cabanatuan,Ol ongapo,Pal
ayanand
Section 11.  Quor um –  A maj ority oft he act ual SanJose;
member soft heCour tshallconst i
tut
eaquor um f or
i
ts sessi on en banc.  Three member s shal l TheNat i
onalCapi t
alJudicialRegion,consisti
ng
constituteaquor um f ort hesessi onofadi v
ision. oft
heci t
iesofMani l
a,Quezon,Pasay ,Caloocan
Theunani mousv oteoft het hreemember sofa and Mandaluy ong,and t he muni cipal
it
ies of
divi
sionshal lbenecessar yfort hepr onouncement Navot
as,Mal abon,San Juan,Makat i
,Pasi g,
ofa deci si on off inalresolut ion,whi ch shallbe Pat
eros,Taguig,Mar i
kina,Parañaque,LasPi ñas,
reachedi nconsul tati
onbef or et hewr iti
ngoft he Munti
nlupa,andVal enzuel
a;
opini
onbyanymember softhedi visi
on.I nt heevent
thatthet hreemember sdonotr eachaunani mous TheFour th JudicialRegi on,consi sti
ng oft he
vote,thePr esidingJust i
ceshal lrequestt heRaf f l
e prov i
nces of Bat angas, Cav ite, Laguna,
Commi tteeoft heCour tfort hedesi gnat i
onoft wo Mar induque, Mi ndor o Occi dental, Mi ndoro
additi
onalJust ice t o sittempor ar
ily wi tht hem, Oriental,Palawan,Quezon,Ri zal( exceptt he
formingaspeci aldi vi
sionoff ivemember sandt he ci
tiesand muni ci pali
tiesembr aced wi t
hint he
concur renceofamaj orit
yofsuchdi visionshal lbe Nat i
onalCapi t
alJudi cialRegion0,Rombl on,and
necessar yf ort hepr onouncementofadeci si
onor Aur ora,andtheci t i
esofBat angas,Cav i
te,Li
pa,
fi
nalr esol ution.Thedesi gnat ionofsuchaddi ti
onal Lucena,Puer toPr incessa,SanPabl o,Tagay t
ay,
Justi
ceshal lbemadest r
ictl
ybyr affl
e. andTr eceMarti
res;

Amont hf orreconsiderati
onofitsdeci
sionorf i
nal The Fift
h Judici
alRegion,consisti
ng oft he
resol
ution shallbe r esolved bythe Courtwithin prov
incesofAl bay,Camari
nesSur ,Camarines
ninet
y( 90)day sf r
om t het i
mei ti
ssubmi tt
edf or Nort
e,Cat anduanes,Masbate,and Sorsogon,
resol
ution, and no second mot i
on f or andtheciti
esofLegaspi
,NagaandI r
iga;
reconsi
der ati
on f r
om t he same party shallbe
entert
ainment .(
 asamendedbyExec.Or derNo.33, The Sixt
h Judi
cialRegi
on,consisti
ng ofthe
July28, 1986.) provi
nces ofAklan,Anti
que,Capiz,Il
oil
o,La
Calot
a,Roxas,San Carl
os,and Sil
ay,and t
he
Secti
on12. I
 nternalRules.–  Thecour tenbanc 
  i
s subprovi
nceofGuimar
as;
author
izedtopr omul gater ulesoror dersgov erni
ng
theconsti
tut
ionoft hedivisionsandt heassi gnment TheSev ent
hJudicialRegi
on,consist
ingoft he
ofAppel l
ate Justicest her eto,thedi str
ibuti
on of prov
incesofBohol,Cebu,Negr osOrient
al,and
cases, and ot her mat ters pertaining t o the Si
quij
or,andtheci ti
esofBais,Canlaon,Cebu,
operat
ionsoft heCour tofi t
sdi vi
sions.Copi esof Danao, Dumaguet e, Lapu-
lapu, Mandaue,
suchr ul
esand or dersshal lbef urnished byt he Tagbil
aran,
andToledo,
SupremeCour t,whi ch rulesand or dersshal lbe
The Ei ghth Judi cialRegi on,consi sting of t he Agoo,Br anch XXXI I
IatBauang,and Br anch
prov i
ncesorEast ernSamar ,Ley te,Nor thern,Samar , XXXIVatBal aoan;
Sout hernLey te,Or moc, andTacl oban:
Twobr anches( BranchesXXXVandXXXVI )for
The Ni nth Judi cial Region,consi sting of t he t heprovinceofMount ainprov ince,wi t
hseatsat
prov i
ncesofBasi l
an,Sul u,Tawi -Tawi ,Zamboanga Bont oc;and
del Sur,andt heci tiesofDapi tan,Di polog, Pagadian,
andZamboanga; Twenty-onebr anches( BranchesXXXVI ItoLVII
)
forthepr ovinceofPangasi nanandt hecit
iesof
The Tent h Judi cialRegi on,consi sting of t he dagupan and san Car l
os,Br anchesXXXVI Ito
prov i
ncesofAgusan delNor te,Agusan delSur , XXXIXwi thseat satLi ngay en,Br anchesXLt o
Buki dnon,Cami gui n,Mi sami sOcci dent al
,Mi samis XLI V atdagupan,Br anches XLV t o XLIX at
Oriental,andSur igaodelNor t
e,andt heci tiesof Ur daneta,Br anchLatVi l
lasis,Br anchesLIand
Butuan, Cagay an de Or o, Gi ngoog, Ozami s, LIIatTay ug,Br anchLI IIatRosal aes,Branches
Oroqui eta,Surigao, andTangub; LIVandLVatAl aminos, andBr anchLVIandLVI I
atsanCar l
os.
The El ev ent
h Judi ci
alRegi on,consi st i
ngnoft he
prov i
ncesofDav aodel Norte, Dav aoOr ient al
,Davao ( b)Thirty-t
wo Regi onalTr ialJudges shal lbe
delSur ,SouthCot abato,andSur igaodelSur ,and commi ssionedf ort heSecondJudi ci
alregi
on.
theci t
iesofDav ao, andGener alSant os; and Thereshal lbe:

The Twelfth Judi

cialRegion,consist
ing oft
he Twelve br
anches (
Branches Ito XII
)fort he
prov
inces of Lanao delNor t
e,Lanao delSur, pr
ovinceofCagayan,BranchesItoVwithseats
Maguindanao,Nort
hCot abato,andSult
anKudar
at, atTuguegarao,Branches VIt o X atApar r
i,
andthecit
iesofCotabat
o, I
li
gan,andMarawi. Br
anchXIatTuao,andBr anchXIIatSanchez
Mir
a;
Incaseoft ransferorr edi
str
ibutionoftheprovi
nces,
subprovinces,ci t
ies ormuni cipal
i
ties compri
sing One br
anch (
Branch XII
I)fort
he pr
ovi
nce of
theregionsest ablishedbyl aw ofpur posesoft he Bat
anes,wi
thseatatBasco;
administrat
ivef ield organi
zat ion oft he v
arious
departmentsandagenci esoft hegovernment,the Twobr anches(BranchesXIV andXV)forthe
composi ti
on of t he j udicial regions her ei
n provi
nce ofIfugao,Branch XI
V wit
h seatat
consti
tutedshall bedeemedmodi fi
edaccordi
ngly . Lagawe,andBranchXVatPotia;

Sect
ion14.
 Regi
onalTr
ialCour
ts. Ninebranches( BranchesXVIt oXXIV)forthe
provi
nceofI sabela,BranchesXVItoXVIIIwith
(a) Fif
ty-
seven Regi
onalTri
alJudges shallbe seatsatI
lagan,BranchesXI XandXXatcauayan,
commi ssi
onedfortheFir
stJudi
cialRegi
on.Ther
e BranchXXIatSant iago,BranchXXI
IatCabagan,
shal
l be. Branch XXII
IatRoxas,and Br anch XXIV at
Echague;
Twobranches(
BranchesII
IansII
)fort
hepr
ovi
nce
ofAbr
a,wit
hseatsatBangued; Twobr anches(BranchesXXVandXXVI )f
orthe
provi
nce ofkalinga-Apayao,Branch XXV wi
th
Ei
ghtbranches(
BranchesII
ItoX)f ortheprovi
nce seatatTabuk,andBr anchXXVIatLuna;
ofBenguetandt
hecit
yofBaguio,BranchesII
ItoVI
I
wit
hseatsatBagui
oCi t
y,andBranchesVIIIt
oXat Fourbranches(Br
anchesXXVIItoXXX)forthe
LaTri
nidad; prov
inceofNuev aVizcay
a,BranchesXXVIIto
XXIXwithseatsatBayombong,andBr
anchXXX
Ninebranches(BranchesXIt
oXI X)f
ortheprovi
nce atBambang;
ofIl
ocosNor teandt heci
tyofLaoag,BranchesXI
toXVIwi t
hseat satLaoagCity
,BranchesXVIIand Twobranches(
BranchesXXXIandXXXI
I)f
orthe
XVII
IatBatac,andBranchXIXatBangui; pr
ovi
nceofQuir
ino,wit
hseat
satCabarr
ogui
s.

Sixbranches(BrachesXXtoXXV)f ortheprov
ince (c)Seventy-f
iveRegi
onalTri
aljudgesshallbe
ofIlocosSur,BranchesXXandXXIwi thseat
sat commi ssi
oned forthe Thi
rd Judici
alRegion.
Vigan,Branch XXIIatNarvacan,Branch XXI
IIat Thereshallbe:
Candon,BranchXXI VatCabugao,andBranchXXV
atTagudin; Fi
v ebranches(BranchesItoV)fortheprovi
nce
ofBataan,BranchesItoII
Iwit
hseatsatBalanga,
Ninebranches(
BranchesXXVIt oXXXI V)f
orthe Branch IV at Mar ivel
es,and Branch V at
prov
inceofLaUnion,BranchesXXVIt oXXXwith Dinal
upihan;
seat
satSanFernando,BranchesXXXIandXXXI
Iat
Seventeenbranches(BranchesVItoXXII)forthe Fourteenbranches( BranchesIt oXIV)f orthe
provi
nce ofBul acan (
exceptthe muni
cipal
it
yof provi
nceofBat angasandt hecit
iesofLipaand
Valuenzuel
a),
withseatsatMalol
os; Batangas,Br anches It o VIwi th seats at
BatangasCity,BranchVatLemer y,Br
anchesVI
Ei
ghteenbr anches(Br
anchesXXI IItoXL)f orthe toVIIIatTanuan,Br anchesIXt oXIatBal ayan,
provi
nce of Nuev a Ecija and t he ci ti
es of BranchesXIIandXI IIatLipa,andBranchXI Vat
Cabanatuan,SanJoseandPal ayan,BranchesXXI I
I Nasugbu;
toXXX wi thseatsatCabanat uanCity,Br anches
XXXItoXXXI I
IatGui
mba, Br
anchesXXXI Vt oXXXVI Ninebr anches( BranchesXV t o XXI I
I)f ort he
atGapan,BranchXXXVIIatSto.Domingo, Branches province ofCav ite and t he ci t
ies ofCav ite,
XXXVIIIandXXXI XatSanJose,andBr anchXLat Tagay tayand Tr ece Mat i
res,Br anch XV wi th
Palay
an. seatatNai c,Br anches XVI IatCav i
te Ci ty,
BranchXVI IIatTagay atayCi ty,Br anchXI X at
Twent y-
twobr anches( BranchesXLIt oLXI I
)f orthe Bacoor ,Br anchesXXt oXXI IatImus, andBr anch
provi
nce ofPampanga and t he ci t
yofAngel es, XXIIIatTr eceMar ti
res;
BranchesXLIt oXLVI IIwithseat satSanFer nando,
BranchesXLI Xt oLIIIatGuagua,Br anchesLI Vand Four teenbr anches( BranchesXXI Vt oXXXVI I)
LV atMacabebe,and Br anches LVIt o LXI Iat f orthepr ov i
nceofLagunaandt heci tyofSan
AngelesCi t
y ; Pablo,Br anchesXXVI IIatSt a.Cr uz,Br anches
XXIXt oXXXI IatSanPabl eCi t
y, BranchXXXI IIat
Six branches ( Branches LXI IIto LXVI II
)f ort he Si ni
loan,and Br anches XXXI V t o XXXVIat
provi
nceofTar l
ac,Br anchesLXVIatCapas, Branch Cal amba;
LXVIIatPani qui,andBr anchLXVI IIatCami l
ing;and
Onebr anch( BranchXXXVI II)forthepr ovinceof
Sevenbr anches( BranchesLXI Xt oLXXV)f orthe Mar i
nduque, withseatatBoac;
provi
nceofZambal esand t heci tyofOl ongapo,
Branches LXI Xt o LXXIwi t
h seat s atI ba and Fi vebr anches( Br anchesXXXI Xt oXLI II)fort he
BranchesLXXI ItoLXXVatOl ongapoCi t
y provinceofMi ndor oOriental,BranchesXXXI Xt o
XLwi t
hseat satCal apan,Br anchesXLIandXLI I
(d)Onehundr edsev enty -
two( 172)Regi onalTr ial atPinamal ayan,andBr anchXLI IatRoxas;
Judges shal lbe commi ssioned fort he Nat i
onal
CapitalJudicialRegion.Ther eshallbe: Threebr anches( BranchesXLVI ItoXLVI )fort he
province ofMi ndoro Occi dental,Br anch XLI V
Fif
ty-
fivebranches( Branches1t o55)f ortheCi tyof wi thseatatMambur ao,andBr anchesXLVand
Manila,witseat sthereat ; XLVIatSanJose;

Thi
rty
-two br
anches (
Branches 76 t
o 107) f
or Si
x branches (
Branches XLVI
It o LI
I)f
ort he
QuezonCit
y,wi
thseat
sthereat
; pr
ovince ofPalawan and the cit
y ofPuerto
Pr
incesa,wit
hseatsatPuert
oPrincesaCi
ty;
Twel
vebranches(Branches108t
o119)f
orPasay
Ci
ty,
wit
hseatsthereat
; Thir
teenbranches(BranchesLI
IIt
oLXV)f orthe
provi
nce ofQuezon and t he ci
ty ofLucena,
Twel
ve branches (
Branches 120 t
o 131) f
or BranchesLIIItoLXwi thseatsatLucenaCi ty
,
Cal
oocanCit
y,wit
hseat
st her
eat
; BranchesLXIandLXI IatGumaca,Br anchLXII
I
atCalauag,BranchLXIVatMauban,andBr anch
Fi
fty-eightbranches( Br
anches56t o74and132t o LXVatI nf
anta;
170)f ort heMuni ci
pali
ti
esofNav ot
as,Malabon,
San Juan,Madal uyong,Makat i
,Pasi g,Pateros, Onebranchj
(BranchLXVI)f
ort
hepr
ovi
nceof
Tagui g, Mar i
kina, Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Aur
ora,
withseatatBal
er;
Munt inlupa;Branches67t o71and151t o168at
Pasig;and Br anches 72 to 74,169 and 170 at Fourt
eenbr anches(Br anchesLXVI ItoLXXX)for
Malabon; and the prov
ince ofRi zalexceptt he cit
ies and
munici
pali
ties embr aced wi thi
nt he Nati
onal
Thr
eebr anches(
Branches75,171and172)f ort
he Capit
alJudi ci
alRegion,Br anchesLXVI ItoLXX
munici
pali
tyofValenzuela,wit
hseatsther
eat.(
As wit
h seats atBi nangonan,Br anches LXXIt o
amendedbyEONo.33, July30,1986.
) LXXIVatAnt i
pol
o,Br anchesLXXVt oLXXVIIat
SanMat eo,andBr anchesLXXVI IItoLXXX at
(e) Ei
hty
-two Regional Tri
al Judges shall be Morong;and
commissionedf
ortheFourthJudici
alRegi
on.There
shal
lbe: Twobr anches(BranchesLXXXIandLXXXI I
)for
the pr
ovince ofRombl on,Branch LXXXIwith
seatatRomblon,andBr anchLXXXI
IatOdiongan.
(f
) Fif
ty-
fi
ve Regi
onal Tr
ial Judges shal
l be (h)Fort
y-si
x RegionalTr
ialJudges shal
lbe
commissi
onedfort
heFift
hJudicialRegi
on.Ther
e commissi
onedf ortheSev
enthJudici
alRegi
on.
shal
lbe: Ther
eshallbe:

Ei
ghteen br
anches (Br
anches Ito XVI I
I)forthe Fourbranches(BranchesIt
oIV)forthepr
ovi
nce
prov
inceofAlbayandthecityofLegaspi,Br
anches ofBoholandt hecit
yofTagbil
aran,wit
hseat
sat
ItoXwithseatsatLegaspiCit
y,BranchesXItoXIV Tagbi
laranCit
y ;
atLi
gao,andBranchesXVtoXVI I
IatTabaco;
Twenty -
fi
vebranches( BranchesVt oXXI
X)f or
Nineteenbranches( BranchesXIXtoXXXVI I
)forthe thepr ovi
nceofCebuand t heci t
iesofCebu,
provinceofCamar i
nesSurandt heciti
esofNaga Danao, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Tol edo,
andI ri
ga,BranchesXIXt oXXVII
IwithseatsatNaga BranchesV to XXI V withseat satCebuCi t
y,
City,Branch XXI X atLi bmanan,Branch XXX at BranchXXVatDanaoCi t
y,BranchXXVIatArgao,
Tigaon, Br
achesXXXIt oXXXI I
IatPil
i,
andBr anches BranchXXVIIatLapu- LapuCity,Br
anchXXVIIIat
XXXI VtoXXXVI IatI
rigaCi t
y; MandaueCi t
y,andBr anchXXI XatToledoCi
ty;

Fourbranches(
BranchesXXXVII
ItoXLII)forthe Si
xteenbranches( Br
anchesXXXt oXLV)forthe
prov
inceofCamari
nesNort
e,wi
thseatatDaet; pr
ov i
nceofNegr osOrientaland t
heciti
esof
Dumaguete,BaisandCanl aon,Br
anchesXXXt o
Two br
anches (Br
anches XLI
Iand XLI
I)fort
he XLI
Vwi t
hseat satDumaguet eCi
ty,andBranch
pr
ovi
nceofCatanduanes,
withseat
satVi
rac; XLVatBaisCity;and

Seven br
anches (Branches XLI
Vt o L)f orthe Onebranch(Br
anchXLVI)fort
hepr
ovi
nceof
provi
nceofMasbate,BranchesXLIVtoXLVIIIwi
th Si
qui
j
or,wit
hseatatLar
ena.
seatsatMasbate,BranchXLIXatCat ai
ngan,and
BranchLatSanJacinto;and (i
)Thir
ty-
threeRegi
onalTr
ialJudgesshal lbe
commissi
oned fort
heEighth Judi
cialRegion.
Fi
vebr anches(BranchesLIt
oLV)f ort
heprovi
nce Ther
eshallbe:
ofSor sogon,Branches LIto LI
IIwit
h seat
s at
Sorsogon,BranchLVIatGubat,andBranchLVat Fi
vebr anches(Br
anchesItoV)fortheprovi
nce
I
rosin. ofEasternSamar,Br
anchesIandIIwit
hseatsat
Borongan,Branch I
IIatGuiuan,Branch I
V at
(g) Si
xty
-thr
ee Regi
onalTri
alJudges shallbe Dol
or es,andBr
anchVatOras;
commissionedf
ortheSixt
hJudi
cialRegi
on.Ther
e
shal
lbe: Thir
teenbr anches( Br anchesVIt oXVI I
I)fort he
provinceofLey te,t hesub- provinceofBi lir
an,
Ninebr anches( Br anchesIt oI X)f ortheprovinceof andt hecitiesofOr mocandTacl oban,Br anches
Aklan, withseat satKal i
bo; VIandI Xwi thseat satTacl obanCi ty ,BranchX
atAbuy og,Br anchXIatCal ubi
an,Br anchXI Iat
Fourbr anches( Br anchesXt oXI I
I)forthepr ovnce Or
i mocCi ty,Br anchXI I
IatCar i
gar a,Br anchXI V
ofAnt ique,Br anchesXt oXIIwi t
hseat satSanJose, atBay bay,Br anchXVatBur auen,Br anchXVIat
andBr anchXI IIandCul asi; Naval ,Branch XVI IatPal ompon,and Br anch
XVIIIatHilongos;
Eighrbr anches ( Branches XI Vt o XXI )fort he
provinceofCapi zandt hecityofRoxas,Br anches Fi vebr anches( BranchesXI Xt oXXI II
)f ort he
XIVt oXI Xwi thseat satRoxasCi tyandBr anches pr ovinceofNor ther nSamar ,BranchesXI Xand
XXandXXIatMambusao; XXwi thseat satCat arman,Br anchesXXIand
XXIIatLaoang, andBr anchXXI I
IatAl len;
Eighteenbr anches( BranchesXXI ItoXXXI X)forthe
provinceofI l
oilo,thesubpr ovi
nceofGui maras,and Thr eebr anches( BranchesXXI VtoXXVI )fort he
theci t
yofI loil
o, withseat satIloiloCi t
y;and provinceofSout her nLey te,BranchesXXI Vand
XXVwi thseat satMaasi n,andBr anchXXVIat
Twent y -f
ourbr anches( BranchesXLt oLXIII
)forthe SanJuan; and
provinceofNegr osOcci dental,and t hecitiesof
Bacol od,Bago,Cadi z,LaCar lota,San Car losand Sev enbr anches( BranchesXXVI It oXXXI I
I)for
Sil
ay ,Br anchXLwi thseatatSi l
ayCi t
y,Branches t hepr ovi
nceofSamarandt hecityofCal bayog,
XLIt oLI VatBacol odCi ty,BranchesLVandLVIat Br anches XXVI It o XXI X wi th seat s at
Himamay l
an,Br anchesLVI ItoLI XatKabankal an, Catbalogan,Br anch XXX atBasey ,Br anches
BranchLXI IatBagoCi ty,andBr anchLXI IatLa XXXIandXXXI IatCal bayogCi ty,andBr anch
CarlotaCi ty. XXXI I
IatCal biga.
(j
)Twent y
-fourRegionalTri
alJudges shallbe (l
)Twenty-
nineRegionalTri
alJudgesshallbe
commissi
onedf ort
heNi nt
hJudi
cialRegi
on.Ther
e commissi
onedfortheElevent
hJudici
alRegion.
shal
lbe: Ther
eshallbe

Twobranches(Br
anchesIandII
)fort
hepr
ovi
nceof Fourbr
anches(BranchesItoIV)fort
hepr
ov i
nce
Basi
l
an,withseat
satIsabel
a; ofDavaodelNorte,BranchesIandIIwi
thseats
atTagum,BranchIIIatNabuntur
an,andBranch
Twobranches(Br
anchesI
IIandI
V)fortheprovi
nce IVatPanabo;
ofSul
u,BranchII
Iwit
hseatatJolo,andBranchIV
atPar
ang; Three br
anches (
Branches V to VII
)f orthe
provi
nceofDavaoOr i
ental
,BranchesVandVI
One branch (Branch V) for t
he pr
ovi
nce of withseat
satMatiandBranchVIIatBanganga;
Tawi
-Tawi,wi
thseatatBongao;
Fourteenbranches(BranchesVIIItoXXI)f
ort
he
Si
xbr anches(BranchesVIt
oXI )fort
hepr ov
inceof provinceofDav aodelSurandt hecit
yofDavao,
ZamboangadelNor t
e,andthecit
iesofDipol
ogand BranchesVI I
ItoXVI IwithseatsatDav aoCit
y,
Dapitan,Br
anchesVIt oXseatsatDipol
ogCi t
y,and BranchesXVI I
IandXI XatDi gos,BranchXXat
BranchXIatSindangan;and Malinta,andBranchXXIaBansal an;

Thir
teenbranches(BranchesXI ItoXXI V)fort he FiveBranches(BranchesXXI ItoXXVI)f orthe
provi
nceofZamboangadelSurandt hecit
iesof provi
nce ofSout h Cotabato and the cit
y of
PagadianandZamboangaBr anchesXI ItoXVIIwith GeneralSantos,BranchesXXI Iand XXIIIwi t
h
seatsatZamboangaCi t
y,Branches,XVI I
ItoXXIIat seatsatGeneralSantosCit
y,BranchesXXIVand
PagadianCit
y,BranchXXIIIatMol av
e,andBr anch XXVatKor onadal,andBranchXXVIatSur al
lah;
XXIVatIpi
l. and

(k) Thir
ty-
two RegionalTri
alJudges shallbe Threebranches(
BranchesXXVI
ItoXXIX)fort
he
commi ssi
onedfortheTent
hJudi
cialRegi
on.Ther
e provi
nceofSur i
gaodelSur,Br
anchXXVI Iwit
h
shal
lbe: seatatTandag,Br anchXXVII
IatLianga,and
BranchXXIXatBisl
i
g.
Fi
vebr anches(BranchesItoV)fortheprovi
nceof
AgusandelNor teandt heci
tyofBut
uan,wit
hseats (m) Twent
y RegionalTr
ialJudges shal
lbe
atButuanCity; commissi
onedf ort
heTwelf
thJudici
alRegi
on.
Ther
eshallbe:
Two br anches (
Branches VIand VI I
)f or the
prov
inceofAgusandelSur ,BranchesVIwi thseat Seven branches (Br
anches Ito VI
I)forthe
atProsperi
dadandBranchVIIwithseatatBayugan; provi
nceofLanaodel Nort
eandtheci
tyofI
li
gan,
BranchesIt oVIwi t
hseat satI
li
ganCity
,and
Fourbranches(BranchesVI
IIt
oXI)fort
heprovi
nce BranchVIIatTubod;
ofBuki dnon,Branches VI
IIto X wit
h seat
s at
MalaybalayandBranchXIatManal
oForti
ch; Five branches ( Branches VI IIt o XII)fort he
provinceofLanaodelSurandt heci tyofMarawi,
Fi
v ebr anches( BranchesXIItoXI )f orthepr ov nce Br
i anchesVI IIt
oXwi thseat satMar awiCity,and
ofMi sami sOcci dentalandtheci tiesofOr oquieta, BranchesXIandXI IatMal abang;
Ozami s, andTangub, BranchesXI ItoXI Vwi thseats
atOr oqui etaCi ty,BranchXV atOzami sCi ty,and Thr eebr anches( Br anchesXI I
It o XV)fort he
BranchXVIatTangubCi ty; province of Magui ndanao and t he cit
y of
Cotabat o,Br anchesXI IIandXI V wi thseatsat
El
ev enbr anches( Br
anchesXVI It oXXVI I)f orthe Cot abat oCi ty,
andBr anchXVatMaganoy ;
province ofMi sami s Ori
entaland t he ci t
ies of
Cagay andeOr oandGi ngoog,BranchesXVI ItoXXV Thr eebr anches( BranchesXVIt oXVI I
I)f
ort he
withseat satCagay andeOr oCi ty ,BranchXXVIat pr ovince ofNor th Cot abato,Br anch XVIwi th
Medi na, andBr anchXXVI IatGingoogCi ty; seatatKabacan,Br anchXVI IatKi dapawan,and
BranchXVI IIatMi ssay ap; and
One br anch ( Br anch XXVIII
)f ort he province of
Cami guin, wit
hseatatMambaj ao; and Twobr anches( BranchesXI X andXX)f ort he
provinceofSul t
anKudar at
,BranchXI X,wit
hseat
Fourbr anches( BranchesXXI Xt o XXXI I)fort he atI sulan, andBr anchXXatTacur ong.
province ofSur igao delNor te and t he Ci t
y of
Surigao,Br anches XXI X and XXX wi t
h seat s at Sect ion15.  Qualifi
cat ions. –Noper sonsshallbe
Surigao Ci ty,Br anch XXXIatDapa,and Br anch appoi nt
edRegi onalTr i
alJudgeunl esshei sa
XXXI IatDi nagat, Di
nagatIsl
and. natural-
bor nci t
izenoft hePhilippines,atleast
thi
rt
y -
fi
v eyearsofage,andf oratleastteny ears, (2)Inal lcivi
lacti
onswhi chinvolv
et het i
tl
et o, or
hasbeen engaged i nt hepracti
ceofl aw i
nt he possessi on of ,realpr oper
ty,orany i nter est
Phil
ippines orhas hel d a publ
ic off
ice i
nt he therein,wher e the assessed v alue of t he
Phil
ippinesrequir
ingadmissi
ont othepr act
iceof proper tyi nvolv
ed exceeds Twent yt housand
l
awasani ndispensabl
erequi
sit
e. pesos( P20,000.00)orf orci
v i
lactionsinMet ro
Mani la,wher e such the value exceeds Fi f t
y
Sect i
on16. Ti
  meanddur ationofsessi ons.
 – The thousandpesos( 50,
000.00)exceptact ionsf or
ti
meanddur ati
onofdailysessi onsoft heRegional forcibleent r
yintoandunl awfuldetaineroflands
TrialCour tsshal lbedeter minedbyt heSupr eme orbui l
dings,originalj
ur i
sdi
cti
onov erwhi chi s
Cour tPr
:
  ovided,however,Thatal lmot i
ons,except confer r
ed upon Met ropol
it
an Tr ial Cour ts,
thoser equiringimmediateact ion,shallbehear din Muni cipalTr ialCour t
s,and Muni cipalCi rcui t
theaf ternoonofev er
yFr iday,unl essitfall
sona TrialCour ts;
holiday,inwhi chcase,thehear i
ngshal lbeheldon
the af ter
noon oft he nextsucceedi ng business (3)I n allactions i
n admir
alt
y and mari
ti
me
day :
 Provided,furt
her,
Thatt heSupr emeCour tmay, j
urisdicti
onwher ehedemandorcl ai
m exceeds
forgood r easons,f i
x a dif f
erentmot i
on dayi n Onehundr edthousandpesos(P100,
000.
00)or,
specifiedar eas i
nMet r
oMani la,wheresuchdemandorcl ai
m
exceeds Two hundr ed thousand pesos
Sect ion 17.  Appointment and assi gnment of (200,000.00)
;
Regi onalTr i
alJudges. –Ev er
yRegi onalTr i
alJudge
shal lbeappoi ntedtoar egionwhi chshal lbehi s (4)Inal lmat t
ersofprobate,botht est
ateand
permanentst at i
on,andhi sappoi nt
mentshal lstate i
ntestate,wher ethegrossv alueoft heest
ate
thebr anchoft hecour tandt heseatt her eoft o exceeds One hundr ed t housand pesos
whi chheshal lbeor i
ginallyassi gned.Howev er,the (P100,000.00)or,inprobatemat ter
si nMetro
Supr emeCour tmayassi gnt empor aril
yaRegi onal Manila,wher esuchgr ossv alueexceedsTwo
TrialJudget oanotherr egionaspubl i
cinterestmay hundredt housandpesos(200,000.
00);
requi re,pr ovi
dedt hatsucht empor aryassi gnment
shal lnotl astlongerthansi x(6)mont hswi thoutt he (
5) I
n al
lacti
ons inv
olv
ing the cont
ractof
consentoft heRegi onal TrialJudgeconcer ned. mar
ri
ageandmari
tal
rel
ati
ons;

A RegionalTrialJudgemaybeassi gned bythe (6) In al l cases not withi

n the exclusi
ve
SupremeCour ttoanybr anchorcityormuni ci
pal
it
y j
urisdi
ctionofanycour t
,tr
ibunal
,per
sonorbody
withi
nt he same r egion as publi
ci nter
estmay exerci
sing jurisdi
cti
on orany court,tr
ibunal,
requi
re,andsuchassi gnmentshallnotbedeemed person or body exer cisi
ng judici
al or
an assignment t o anot her st
ation within t
he quasi-
judici
al f
uncti
ons;
meaningofthissection.
(7)Inallci
vilact
ionsandspecialproceedi
ngs
Sect i
on18. Aut
  horityt odefi
net errit
oryappur tenant fal
li
ngwithi
ntheexclusi
veor
igi
naljur
isdi
cti
onof
toeachbr anch.  
–TheSupr emeCour tshal ldefine aJuv eni
l
eandDomest i
cRel
ati
onsCour tandof
thet erri
tor yov erwhi chabr anchoft heRegi onal the Courts of Agrari
an Rel
ations as now
TrialCour tshallexer ciseit
saut hority
.Thet er r
it
or y provi
dedbylaw;and
thusdef inedshal lbedeemedt obet het errit
orial
area oft he br anch concer ned f orpur poses of (8)In allot hercases i n which the demand,
determi ningt hev enueofal lsui t
s,pr oceedi ngsor excl
usiveofi nterest,damagesofwhat everkind,
actions,whet her ci v i
lor cr iminal ,as wel las att
orney '
sfees,lit
igationexpenses,andcost sor
determi ning t he Met r
opolitan Tr i
al Cour ts, thevalueoft hepr oper t
yincont r
oversyexceeds
Muni cipalTr ialCour ts,andMuni cipalCi rcuitTr ial Onehundr edt housandpesos( 100,000.00)or,i
n
Cour t
sov erthesai dbr anchmayexer ciseappel l
ate suchot herabov ement ionedit
emsexceedsTwo
j
urisdiction.The powerher ein gr anted shal lbe hundred t housand pesos ( 200,000.
00).( as
exercisedwi thav iew t omaki ngt hecour t
sr eadily amendedbyR. A.No.7691* )
accessi bletot hepeopl eofthedi fferentpar tsoft he
regionandmaki ngt heattendanceofl it
igant sand Section 20.Jur
  isdi
ction i n cri
minalcases.  –
witnessesasi nexpensi veaspossi ble. RegionalTrialCour ts shallexercise exclusi
ve
ori
ginaljuri
sdicti
on in al lcriminalcases not
Secti
on19. Jur
isdi
cti
onincivi
lcases.
 – Regi
onal withinthe exclusiv
ej uri
sdict
ion ofanycour t,
Tri
al Court
s shall exer
cise excl
usi
ve or i
ginal tri
bunalorbody ,exceptt hosenowf all
ingunder
j
uri
sdict
ion: theexclusi
veandconcur rentjur
isdicti
onoft he
Sandiganbayan whi ch shal l her eaft
er be
(
1)I nallci
vi
lacti
onsinwhicht hesubj
ectoft
he exclusi
vel
ytakencogni zanceofbyt helatter
.
l
i
tigati
onisi
ncapabl
eofpecuni
aryest
imati
on;
Sect
ion 21.
 Ori
ginalj
uri
sdi
cti
on i
n othercases. 
– cit
ies and/
or municipal
i
ties as ar
e gr
ouped
Regi
onal Trial Cour
ts shall exer
cise ori
ginal toget
herpursuantt
olaw.
j
uri
sdict
ion:
Section26. Qual
  if
icat
ions.
 –Noper sonshal lbe
(
1)Int heissuanceofwrit
sofcerti
orar
i,pr
ohi
bit
ion, appoi ntedj udgeofaMet ropolitanTr ialCour t,
mandamus,quo war r
anto,habeas corpus and Muni cipalTr ialCour t
,orMuni cipalCi r
cui tTrial
i
njuncti
onwhi chmaybeenf orcedinanypar tof Courtunl esshei sanat ural-
bor ncitizenoft he
t
heirrespecti
veregi
ons;and Phil
ippi nes,atl east30y earsofage,and,f orat
l
east f i
vey ears,has been engaged i nt he
(2)I
n act
ions af
fect
ing ambassador
s and ot
her practiceofl aw int hePhil
ippines,orhashel da
publ
i
cmini
stersandconsuls. publi
c of fi
ce i n the Phi lippines r equiri
ng
admi ssion t o t he practi
ce of l aw as an
Secti
on22.  Appellatejuri
sdicti
on. – Regi onalTr ial i
ndispensabl er equisi
te.
Courtsshallexerciseappel latejuri
sdictionov eral l
cases deci ded by Met ropoli
tan Tr ial Cour ts, Sect
ion 27.
 Metropoli
tan Tri
alCourts ofthe
MunicipalTr i
alCour ts,andMuni ci
palCi rcui
tTr ial Nati
onalCapitalRegion. 
– There shallbe a
Courtsint heirr espectivet er
ri
tori
alj ur i
sdict
ions. Metr
opoli
tanTr i
alCour ti
ntheNat i
onalCapi
tal
Suchcasesshal lbedeci dedont hebasi soft he Regi
on,tobeknownast heMetropol
it
anTrial
enti
rerecordoft hepr oceedingshadi nthecour tof CourtofMetr
oMani la,whi
chshallbecomposed
ori
ginandsuchmemor andaand/ orbr iefsasmay ofei
ghty-
two(82)branches.Ther
eshallbe:
be submi t
ted byt he parti
es orr equired byt he
RegionalTrialCour t
s.Thedeci sionoft heRegi onal Thi
rt
ybranches(BranchesItoXXX)f
ort
heci
ty
Tri
alCour tsinsuchcasesshal lbeappeal ableby ofMani
l
awi thseat
st her
eat
;
peti
ti
onf orrevi
ewt othe
Thi
rteenbr
anches(
BranchesXXXIt
oXLI
II
)for
Cour
tofAppealswhichmaygi veitduecourseonly QuezonCit
ywit
hseat
sthereat
;
whenthepeti
ti
onshows primafacie 
thatthelower
cour
thascommi t
tedanerroroffactorlawthatwil
l Fi
ve branches (
Branches XLIVt
o XLVI
II
)for
warr
antarev
ersalormodif
icati
onoft hedeci
sionor PasayCit
ywi t
hseatsther
eat;
j
udgmentsoughttoberev
iewed.
Fi
ve branches (
Branches XLIX t
o LI
II
)for
Section 23. Speci
  al j
urisdi
ction to try speci al Cal
oocanCitywi
thseatsther
eat
;
cases. –TheSupr emeCour tmaydesignatecer tain
branchesoft heRegi onalTr i
alCourtst o handl e Onebranch(
BranchLI
V)f
orNav
otaswi
thseat
exclusiv
elycr i
minalcases,j uvenil
eanddomest ic t
hereat
;
rel
ationscases,agr ar
iancases,ur banl
andr eform
caseswhi chdonotf allundert hejur
isdi
ctionof Two br
anches (
Branches LV and LVI
)for
quasi-j
udicialbodies and agencies,and/orsuch Mal
abonwit
hseat
sthereat
;
otherspeci alcases as t he Supreme Courtmay
determinei ntheinter
estofaspeedyandef ficient Twobranches(BranchesLVI
IandLVI
II
)forSan
admi ni
strati
onofjusti
ce. Juanwi
thseatsthereat
;

Secti
on24. Speci
  alRul
esofPr ocedure. 
–Whenev er Two branches (
Branches LI
X and LX) f
or
aRegi onalTri
alCourttakescogni zanceofj uveni
le Mandal
uyongwit
hseatsther
eat;
anddomest icrelat
ioncasesand/ oragrariancases,
the specialrul
es ofpr ocedure applicable under Sev
enbranches(Br
anchesLXIand LXVI
I)f
or
presentlawst osuchcasesshal lcontinuet obe Makat
iwi
thseat
sther
eat;
appli
ed,unlesssubsequentl
yamendedbyl aworby
rul
esofcour tpromulgat
edbyt heSupr emeCour t
. Fi
ve br
anches (Branches LXVI
IIt
o LXXI
I)f
or
Pasi
gwithseat
st hereat
;
CHAPTERI
II
METROPOLI
TANTRIALCOURTS,
MUNICIPAL Onebranch(
BranchLXXI
II
)forPat
eroswi
thseat
TRI
ALCOURTS,ANDMUNICI
PALCIRCUI
TTRIAL t
hereat
;
COURTS
Onebranch(
BranchLXXI
V)f
orTagui
gwi
thseat
Secti
on 25.  Establ
ishment of Met ropolit
an Tr i
al t
hereat
;
Courts,MunicipalTrialCourt
sandMuni cipalCi
rcuit
Tri
al Cour t
s. – Ther e shal l be cr eated a Twobranches(Br
anchesLXXVandLXXVI
)for
Metropolit
anTr ialCourtineachmet ropoli
tanarea Mar
iki
nawithseat
sther
eat
;
est
abl i
shedbyl aw,aMuni ci
palTrialCour tineach
oftheot hercit
iesormuni ci
pali
ti
es,andaMuni cipal Twobranches(Br
anchesLXXVIIandLXXVI
II
)for
Cir
cuitTr i
alCour tineachci r
cuitcompr isingsuch Par
añaquewithseat
sther
eat;
Onebranch(
BranchLXXI
X)f
orLasPi
ñaswi
thseat Sev
enbr
anchesf
orBacol
odCi
ty;
t
hereat
;
Twobr
anchesf
orDumaguet
eCi
ty;
Onebranch(
BranchLXXX)f
orMunt
inl
upawi
thseat
t
hereat
; Twobr
anchesf
orTacl
obanCi
ty;

Two branches (
Branches LXXXIand LXXXI
I)f
or Ei
ghtbr
anchesf
orCebuCi
ty;
Val
enzuelawit
hseatsther
eat;
Thr
eebr
anchesf
orMandaueCi
ty;
Section28. Ot
herMetropoli
tanTrialCour t
s. 
–The
SupremeCour tshallconsti
tuteMet ropoli
tanTrial Twobr
anchesf
orTagbi
l
aranCi
ty;
Courtsinsuchothermet r
opolit
anareasasmaybe
establi
shed by l
aw whose t erri
tor
ialj ur
isdi
cti
on Twobr
anchesf
orSur
igaoCi
ty;
shall be co- ext
ensi
ve wi t
h t he ci ti
es and
muni ci
pali
ti
escompri
singthemet r
opol i
tanarea. Twobr
anchesf
orBut
uanCi
ty;

EveryMet ropol i
tanTr ialJudgeshal lbeappoi nted Fi
vebr
anchesf
orCagay
andeOr
oCi
ty;
toamet ropolitanar eawhi chshal l
behi sper manent
stati
onandhi sappoi ntmentshal lst at
ebr anchof Sev
enbr
anchesf
orDav
aoCi
ty;
thecourtandt heseatt hereoftowhi chheshal lbe
origi
nal
lyassi gned.AMet ropol
it
anTr i
alJudgemay Thr
eebr
anchesf
orGener
alSant
osCi
ty;
beassignedbyt heSupr emeCour ttoanybr anch
withi
n said met ropol i
tan ar ea as the interestof Twobr
anchesf
orOr
oqui
etaCi
ty;
j
ust i
cemayr equi re,andsuchassi gnmentshal lnot
bedeemedanassi gnmentt oanotherst ati
onwi thi
n Thr
eebr
anchesf
orOzami
sCi
ty;
themeani ngoft hissect i
on.
Twobr
anchesf
orDi
pol
ogCi
ty;
Secti
on 29.Muni
  ci
palTr i
alCourtsin ci
ti
es.
 –I n
ever
y city which does not f orm part of a Fourbr
anchesf
orZamboangaCi
ty;
metropol
it
anarea,thereshal
lbeaMuni ci
palTri
al
Court wit
h one br anch,except as hereunder Twobr
anchesf
orPagadi
anCi
ty;
and
prov
ided:
Twobr
anchesf
orI
li
ganCi
ty.
Twobr
anchesf
orLaoagCi
ty;
Sect
ion30. Muni
  ci
palTrialCourt
s. –Ineachof
Fourbr
anchesf
orBagui
oCi
ty; themunicipal
it
iesthatarenotcompr i
sedwi t
hin
amet r
opolit
anareaandamuni ci
palci
rcui
tthere
Thr
eebr
anchesf
orDagupanCi
ty; shal
lbeaMuni ci
palTri
alCourtwhichshallhave
onebranch,exceptashereunderprovi
ded:
Fi
vebr
anchesf
orOl
ongapoCi
ty;
Twobr
anchesf
orSanFer
nando,
LaUni
on;
Thr
eebr
anchesf
orCabanat
uanCi
ty;
Fourbr
anchesf
orTuguegar
ao;
Twobr
anchesf
orSanJoseCi
ty;
Threebranchesf
orLal
l
o,andt
wobr
anchesf
or
Thr
eebr
anchesf
orAngel
esCi
ty; Aparr
i,bot
hofCagay
an;

Twobr
anchesf
orCav
iteCi
ty; Twobr
anchesf
orSant
iago,
Isabel
a;

Twobr
anchesf
orBat
angasCi
ty; Two br
ancheseach forMalol
os,Mey
cauay
an
andBul
acan,al
lofBul
acanPr
ovi
nce;
Twobr
anchesf
orLucenaCi
ty;
Four branches for San Fer
nando and t
wo
Thr
eebr
anchesf
orNagaCi
ty; branchesforGuagua,
bothofPampanga;

Twobr
anchesf
orI
ri
gaCi
ty; Twobr
anchesf
orTar
lac,
Tar
lac;

Thr
eebr
anchesf
orLegaspi
Cit
y; Twobr
anchesf
orSanPedr
o,Laguna;
and

Twobr
anchesf
orRoxasCi
ty; Twobrancheseachf
orAnt
ipol
oandBi
nangonan,
bot
hinRizal
.
Fourbr
anchesf
orI
loi
l
oCi
ty;
Sect i
on 31. Muni
  cipalCi rcuitTr i
alCour t.
 – Ther e propercases,wher et hev alueoft heper sonal
shallbeaMuni cipalCi rcuitTr i
alCour tineachar ea proper ty,estate,oramountoft hedemanddoes
definedasamuni cipalci r
cuit,compr isingoneor not exceed One hundr ed t housand pesos
mor eci ti
esand/ oroneormor emuni cipal ities.The (P100, 000.00)or ,inMet roMani l
awher esuch
muni cipal i
ti
es compr ising muni cipalci rcui t
s as per sonalpr opert
y ,est ate,oramountoft he
organi zed under Admi nistrati
ve Or der No. 33, demand does not exceed Two hundr ed
i
ssued onJune13,1978 byt heSupr emeCour t thousand pesos ( P200, 000. 00) excl usiv
e of
pursuantt oPr esident i
alDecr eeNo.537, ar eher eby i
nt er estdamagesofwhat ev erkind,at torney '
s
const itutedasmuni ci
palci rcuit
sf orpur posesof fees,l i
ti
gationexpenses,andcost s,t heamount
the est abli
shmentoft he Muni cipalCi rcui tTr ial ofwhi chmustbespeci ficallyal l
eged:Pr ovided,
Cour ts,andt heappoi nt mentt heretoofMuni ci
pal Thatwher et herear esev eralcl aimsorcausesof
CircuitTr i
alJudges:  Pr ovided,howev er,Thatt he act i
onbet weent hesameordi fferentpar ti
es,
Supr emeCour tmay ,ast heinterestsofj ust icemay embodi edi nthesamecompl aint,theamountof
require,f urtherr eor gani zet hesai dcour tst aking thedemandshal lbet het ot al
ityoft hecl ai
msi n
i
ntoaccountwor kload,geogr aphicall ocat ion,and allt hecausesofact i
on,i rrespect i
v eofwhet her
suchot herf act orsaswi l
lcont r
ibut et oar ati
onal thecausesofact ionar oseoutoft hesameor
all
ocat ion t her eof ,pur suantt ot he pr ov isions of differ enttransactions;
President i
al Decr ee No. 537 whi ch shal l be
applicabl einsof arast heyar enoti nconsi st entwi th (2)Exclusi
veorigi
naljurisdi
cti
onov ercasesof
thi
sAct . for
cibleentryandunl awf uldetai
ner:Provided,
Thatwhen,i nsuchcases,t hedefendantr aises
Every Municipal Ci
rcui
t Tri
al Judge shal
l be thequestionofowner shipinhispleadingsand
appoint
edtoamuni ci
palci
rcui
twhichshal
lbehis thequest i
onofpossessi oncannotber esol ved
off
ici
alstat
ion. withoutdecidi
ng the issue ofowner ship,t he
i
ssue ofowner ship shallbe resolved onlyt o
The Supr
eme Courtshal
ldetermi
ne the ci
ty or determinethei
ssueofpossessi on.
munici
pal
it
ywheretheMunici
palCi
rcui
tTr
ialCourt
shal
lhol
dsessi
ons. (3)Excl usive or i
ginalj uri
sdi ction in allci vil
actionswhi chi nvolveti
tlet o,orpossessi onof ,
Sect i
on32.  Juri
sdi ctionofMet ropol i
tanTr ialCour ts, realpr operty ,oranyi nterestt hereinwher et he
Muni cipalTr i
alCour tsandMuni cipalCi rcuitTr ial assessed v alue of t he pr oper ty or interest
Cour tsi ncr iminalcases.  
–Excepti ncasesf alng t
l
i hereindoesnotexceedTwent yt housandpesos
withint heexcl usi veor iginaljuri
sdi ctionofRegi onal ( P20, 000. 00)or ,incivi
lact ionsi nMet roMani la,
Trial Cour ts and of t he Sandi ganbay an, t he wher esuch assessed v aluedoesnotexceed
Met ropolitan Tr ialCour ts,Muni cipalTr ialCour ts, Fif
tyt housandpesos( P50, 000. 00)exclusiveof
andMuni cipalCi rcuitTrialCour tsshal l
exer ci
se: i
nter est ,damagesofwhat ev erki nd,attorney '
s
fees, liti
gat i
on expenses and
(1)Excl usiv eor i
gi naljurisdicti
onov eral lv i
olatons cost
i s:Pr
  ovided,  That value of such pr oper ty
ofci tyormuni cipalor dinancescommi tt
edwi thin sha l
l be d etermi n edby t
h ea sse s sedval
u eof the
theirrespect i
vet erri
torial j
uri
sdiction; and adjacentl ots. (asamendedbyR. A.No.7691)

(2)Ex clusi
v eori
ginalj uri
sdi cti
onov eral Sect
lof f i
on 34.
enses Del
  egat ed j uri
sdiction i n cadast ral
punishablewi t
himpr isonmentnotexceedi andl
ngsix(andr
6) egistrat i
oncases.  –Met ropolitanTr i
al
yearsi r
respecti
ve of t he amountof f iCour t
ne,ands,Muni cipalTr ialCour ts,and Muni cipal
regardlessofot heri mposabl eaccessor Cir
yorotcuitTr
her i
alCour ts maybe assi gned byt he
penalti
es,i ncl
uding theci vill i
abili
tyarisiSupr
ng fremeCour
om tt ohearanddet ermi necadast ral
suchof fensesorpr edicat edt hereon, i
rr orl
espect i
vandr
eof egistrationcasescov eringl otswher e
kind,nat ure,value,oramountt hereof:
  t
Prher
ovie i
ded,s no cont r ov ersy or opposi ti
on, or
howev er, 
Thati n offenses i nv olv
i cont
ng damage t est
oed l otst he wher ethe v alue ofwhi ch
propertyt hrough cr i
mi nalnegl i
gence t doesnotexceedOnehundr
hey shal l edt housandpesos
have excl usive original j urisdict
ion ther(P100,
eof.
 ( 000.
as 00),suchv aluetobeascer tainedby
amendedbyR. A,No.7691) theaf fidav i
toft hecl aimantorbyagr eementof
ther espect i
vecl aimant siftherear emor et han
Sect
ion33.
 Jurisdi
cti
onofMetropol
it
anTr
ialCour
ts, one,orf rom t hecor r espondingt axdecl ar ati
on
Munici
palTrialCourtsandMuni ci
palCi
rcui
tTral oft
i her ealpr oper t
y .Thei rdeci sionsi nt hese
Cour
tsinci vi
lcases. – Met
ropol
it
anTri
alCourts, casesshal lbeappeal ablei nthesamemanner
Munici
palTrialCourts,andMunici
palCi
rcui
tTral asdeci
i sionsoft heRegi onalTr i
alCour t
s.(
 as
Cour
tsshal
l exerci
se: amendedbyR. A.No.7691)

(1)Excl
usiv
eoriginalj
uri
sdi
cti
onov erci
vi
lactons Sect
i ion 35.
 Special jur
isdi
cti
on in certai
n
and probat
e proceedi
ngs,testat
e and int
est
ate, cases.
 –I
nthea bsenceof al
ltheRegi
onalTri
al
i
ncludi
ng the grantof provi
sionalremedi n Judgesi
es i naprovinceorci ty
,anyMet r
opol
it
an
Tri
alJudge,MunicipalTri
alJudge,MunicipalCircuit prov
isi
onsofthi
sAct
,andbysuchr ulesast
he
Tri
alJudgemayhearanddeci depeti
ti
onsf orawr it SupremeCour
tmayhereaf
terpr
escr
ibe.
ofhabeascor
  pus orapplicat
ionsforbailincri
mi nal
cases inthe province orcitywher et he absent (2)Al lpr ocesses issued byt he Metr
opoli
tan
RegionalTr
ial
Judgessi t
. Tri
al Cour ts, Muni ci
pal Trial Courts and
Muni cipalCi r
cuitTrialCourt
s,i ncasesfall
ing
Sect i
on 36.  Summar y pr ocedur es i n speci al wit
hint heirjuri
sdict
ion,maybeser vedanywhere
cases. –InMet ropol i
tanTr i
alCour tsandMuni ci
pal i
nt he Phi li
ppines wi t
hout the necessi
ty of
TrialCour ts wi th at l east t wo br anches,t he cert
ificationbyt heJudgeoft heRegionalTrial
Supr eme Cour t may desi gnate one or mor e Court.
branchest hereoft ot ryexcl usivelyf orcibleent ry
and unl awful det ainer cases, t hose i nv olv
ing CHAPTERI
V
violati
ons oft raffi
cl aws,r ules and r egul ati
ons, GENERALPROVI
SIONS
violati
onsoft her entall aw,andsuchot hercases
requiri
ng summar y disposition as t he Supr eme Secti
on 39. Appeals. – The per i
od forappeal
Cour tmaydet er mine.The Supr eme Cour tshal l fr
om f i
nal or der s, r esol
utions, awar ds,
adoptspeci alr ules orpr ocedur es appl i
cabl et o j
udgments, ordecisionsofanycour tinal lcases
suchcasesi nor dertoachi eveanexpedi tiousand shal
lbe f i
fteen (15)day s counted f rom t he
i
nexpensi vedetermi nationther eofwi thoutr egar dto noti
ce of t he fi
nalor der,resoluti
on,awar d,
technicalrules.Such si mpl if
ied pr ocedur es may j
udgment,ordeci si onappeal edf rom: Prov i
ded
prov i
dethataf fidavit
sandcount er-affidavitsmay however, That in  habeas cor pus cases, t he
beadmi t
tedi nlieuofor alt esti
monyandt hatt he peri
odforappealshal lbef ort
y-ei
ght( 48)hour s
periodsforfi
lingpleadi ngsshal lbenon- extendi ble. fr
om thenot i
ceoft hejudgmentappeal edf rom.

Section37. Pr
  el
iminaryinvest i
gati
on.  
– Judgesof Nor ecordonappealshal lberequiredtot
akean
Met r
opoli
tan Tr i
alCour ts,exceptt hose int he appeal.Inlieuthereof,t
heent i
r erecor
dshallbe
NationalCapitalRegion,ofMuni cipalTrialCourts, tr
ansmi tt
ed wi th allt he pages pr ominentl
y
and Muni ci
palCi rcui
t TrialCour ts shallhav e number edconsecut ivel
y,togetherwithanindex
authori
tyt o conductpr eli
mi naryi nvest
igati
on of ofthecont entsthereof.
cri
mesal legedtohav ebeencommi tt
edwi t
hintheir
respecti
ve t erri
tor
ial j ur
isdicti
ons whi ch ar e Thissecti
onshallnotapplyinappeal
sinspecial
cognizabl
ebyt heRegi onalTrialCour t
s. proceedi
ngsandi nothercaseswherei
nmultipl
e
appealsareal
lowedunderappl i
cablepr
ovi
sions
Thepr el
iminar
yinvest i
gationshal lbeconduct edin oftheRulesofCourt.
accordance wi th t he pr ocedur e pr escri
bed i n
Section 1,par agraphs ( a),( b),( c),and ( d),of Section 40. Form of deci sion in appeal ed
Presidential Decr ee No. 911: Provided, cases. 
–Ev erydeci si
onoff inalr
esoluti
onofa
howev er
, 
Thatifaftert hepr eli
mi naryi nvestigati
on courti n appeal ed cases shall clearly and
theJudgef i
ndsa primaf acie case, heshal lforward dist
inctl
y statet he fi
ndi
ngs off actand t he
therecor dsofthecaset ot hePr ovincial/Cit
yFi scal conclusionsofl aw onwhi chitisbased,whi ch
forthef il
ingofthecor respondi ngi nformat i
onwi t
h may be cont ained int he decisi
on or f inal
thepr opercourt
. resolut
ionitself
,oradopt edbyr eferencef r
om
those set f ort
h i n the decisi
on,or der
,or
Nowar rantofar r
estshallbei ssuedbytheJudgein resolut
ionappeal edfr
om.
connectionwi thanycr i
mi nalcompl ai
ntfi
ledwi t
h
him forpr eli
minaryinvestigati
on,unlessafteran
Secti
on 41. Salari
es. –I ntermediate Appel
late
examinat i
on i n wr i
ti
ng and under oat h orJusti
ces,Regi onalTr ialJudges,Met r
opol
itan
aff
ir
mat ionoft hecompl ainantandhi switnesses,
Tri
al Judges, Muni ci
pal Tr i
al Judges, and
hefindst hataprobabl
ecauseexi st
s. MunicipalCir
cuitTr i
alJudgesshal lrecei
vesuch
compensat i
on and al l
owances as may be
Any warrant of ar
rest i
ssued i n accordance aut hori
zedbyt hePr esidentalongt heguidel
i
nes
herewi
thmaybeservedanywhereinthePhil
ippines. setf or
thi n Lett
erofI mplementation No.93
pursuantto Pr esidentialDecr ee No.985,as
Secti
on38.Judgment
  sandprocesses.
 – amendedbyPr esidenti
al DecreeNo.1597.

(1)Alljudgmentsdeterminingthemer itsofcases Section42. Longev it

ypay. 
–Amont hlyl
ongevity
shal
lbei nwr i
ti
ng,st
atingclearl
yt hefactsandt he payequi valentto5% oft hemonthlybasicpay
l
awonwhi chtheywer ebased,signedbyt heJudge shallbepai dtot heJust i
cesandJudgesoft he
andf i
ledwi t
ht heClerkofCour t
.Suchj udgment courts herein created foreach fi
vey ears of
shal
lbeappeal abl
et otheRegi onalTrialCourtsin continuous,ef f
icient,and merit
ori
ous servi
ce
accordancewi t
hthepr ocedurenow pr escri
bedby rendered int he judici
ary;
 Pr
ovi
ded,
 Thatin no
l
awf orappealstotheCour tofFir
stInstance,bythe caseshal lt hetot alsal
aryofeachJust iceor
Judgeconcer ned,aft
erthislongev i
typayi sadded, Section47.  Repealingcl ause. – Theprovisi
ons
exceedt hesalaryoftheJust iceorJudgenexti n ofRepubl i
cActNo.296, otherwiseknownast he
rank. JudiciaryActof1948,asamended,ofRepubl i
c
ActNo.5179asamended, oftheRulesofCour t,
Section43.St
  affi
ngpat t
ern. 
–TheSupr emeCour t andofal lot herstatutes,lett
ersofi nst
ructi
ons
shallsubmittothePresident,withi
nthirt
y( 30)days andgener alor derorpar tsthereof,i
nconsist
ent
from thedateoftheeffecti
vi
tyoft hi
sAct ,astaff
ing witht he prov isi
ons of t his Actar e hereby
patternforallcourtsconstit
utedpur suantt ot s r
hi epealedoraccor dingl
ymodi f
ied.
Actwhi chshallbet hebasi soft heimpl ementing
ordert obeissuedbyt hePr esidentinaccor dance Section48.  Dat eofEf fecti
vit
y. 
–Thi sActshal l
wi t
htheimmedi at
elysucceedingsect i
on. takeef fectimmedi atel
y .

Sect ion44.  Transit

orypr ov i
sions.  –Thepr ovisions Appr
oved:
August14,
1981
oft his Actshal lbe i mmedi atelycar ri
ed outi n
accor dancewi thanExecut iveOr dert obei ssuedby
thePr esi dent.TheCour tofAppeal s,t heCour tsof
FirstI nst ance,t he Ci r
cui tCr imi nalCour ts,t he Foot
not
es
Juv eni leandDomest i
cRel ationsCour ts,t
heCour t
s
ofAgr ar ianRel ati
ons,theCi tyCour ts,theMuni cipal *
Otherpr
ovi
sionsoft
heAct
:
Cour t
s,and t he Muni cipalCi rcui tCour ts shal l
cont inuet of unctionaspr esent lyconst i
tutedand "Secti
on. 5. Af ter f i
ve(5) y ear
s f rom t he
organi zed, unt i
l t he compl et i
on of t he effecti
vi
tyoft hi
sAct ,thejurisdicti
onalamount s
reor gani zationpr ovi
dedi nt hisActasdecl ar edby ment i
onedi nSec.19( 3),(4),and( 8);andSec.
the Pr esident.Upon such decl ar ati
on,t he sai d 33(1)ofBat asPambansaBl g.129asamended
cour ts shal lbe deemed aut omat icallyabol ished byt hisAct ,shallbeadj ustedt oTwohundr ed
and t hei ncumbent st hereofshal lceaset o hol d thousand pesos ( P200,000.00) .five(5)y ears
office.Thecasespendi ngi nt heol dCour tsshal lbe thereaft
er ,suchj uri
sdicti
onalamount sshal lbe
transf er r
edt ot heappr opr iateCour tsconst i
tuted adjusted f ur t
hert o Thr ee hundr ed t housand
pur suantt ot hisAct,t oget herwi tht heper ti
nent pesos( P300, 000.00):Pr
  ovi
ded,howev er, 
Thati n
funct ions,r ecords,equi pment ,pr oper t
y and t he thecaseofMet roMani la,theabov ement i
oned
necessar yper sonnel. j
urisdict
ionalamount s shallbe adj usted after
fi
ve( 5)y ear sf r
om t heef f
ect i
vityofthisActof
The appl i
cable appr opri
ati
ons shal
llikewi
se be Fourhundr edt housandpesos( P400,000.00).
tr
ansferred t
ot heappr opri
atecourtsconstit
uted
pursuanttot hisAct ,tobeaugment edasmaybe Sect i
on.7.Thepr ov i
sionsoft hisActshal lappl y
necessary f rom t he f unds for organi
zati
onal toal lciv i
lcasest hathav enoty etr eachedt he
changesaspr ovi
dedi nBat asPambansaBl g.80. pre-tri
alst age.Howev er,byagr eementofal lthe
Saidf unding shallthereafterbe i
ncl
uded int he parties,civ i
lcasescogni zablebymuni cipaland
annual GeneralAppropriat
ionsAct. met ropol i
tancour tsbyt hepr ov isionsoft hi sAct
may be t ransferred f rom t he Regi onalTr ial
Sect ion45.  Shar i
'
aCour t
s. – Shar i'
aCour tstobe Cour tstot helatter.Theexecut ivejudgeoft he
const itut edaspr ov idedf orinPr esident i
alDecr ee appr opriateRegi onalTr i
alCour tshal ldef i
net he
No.1083,ot her wiseknownast he" CodeofMusl im admi nistrativ
e pr ocedur e of t ransferring t he
Per sonalLawsoft hePhi li
ppines,"shal lbei ncl
uded casesaf fectedbyt her edef i
nitionofj uri
sdi ct
ion
i
nt hef undi ngappr opr iat i
onssopr ov i
dedi nt hi
sAct. tot heMet ropolit
anTr ialCour ts,Muni cipalTr ial
Cour t,andMuni cipal Circui
tTr ial Court."
Sect ion 46.  Gr atuity of j udges and per sonnel
separ at ed f rom of fi
ce.  
– Al lmember s of t he *Criminalcasesf alli
ngwi t
hint hej uri
sdictionof
j
udi ciar yandsubor dinat eempl oy eeswhoshal lbe Fami lyCour t
s( establ i
shedbyt heFami lyCour ts
separ at ed f rom of fice by r eason of t he Act of 1997 [ R. A. No. 8369] ) hav e been
reor gani zat ionaut hor izedher ein,shal lbegr anteda t r
ansf erred f r
om Met ropolitan t ri
al Cour ts,
grat uityatar ateequi valentt oonemont h'ssalary Muni cipal Tri
alCour ts,
forev eryy earofcont i
nuousser v i
cer ender edinany
branch oft he gov ernmentorequi valentnear est Muni cipalt ri
alCour tin Cities,Muni ci
palTr ial
fract i
ont her eoff av orabl et othem ont hebasi sof Cour ts and Muni cipalCi rcuitTr i
alCour tst o
the hi ghestsal aryr eceived:Pr
  ov i
ded, Thatsuch Regi onalt ri
alCour t
sunderA. M.No.99- 1- 13-
SC
memberoft hej udiciar yorempl oy eeshal lhavet he effectiveMar ch1, 1999.
optiont or et i
reundert heJudi ciaryRet irementLaw
orgener alr et irementl aw,i fhehasmetorsat i
sfied
ther equi r ement st her efor.
PRESIDENTI
ALDECREENo.1606December10, subject t o t he same i nhi
bit
ions and
1978 disqual
ifi
cati
ons,andenjoythesamer etirement
andot herbenefi
tsast hosepr ovi
dedf orunder
REVI
SINGPRESI
DENTIALDECREENO.1486 exist
ing laws of the Presiding Justice and
CREATINGASPECIALCOURTTOBEKNOWNAS AssociateJusti
cesoftheCour tofAppeal s.
"
SANDIGANBAYAN"ANDFOROTHERPURPOSES
Whenev erthesalar i
esoft hePresidingJusti
ce
WHEREAS,t he new Const i
tut
ion declar
es thata and the Associat e Justi
ces ofthe Cour tof
publi
coffi
cei sapublictr
ustandor dainsthatpubl
ic Appeals ar e increased, such incr eases i
n
off
icer
sandempl oyeesshallservewiththehighest sal
ari
esshal lbe cor r
espondi
nglyext ended t
o
degree of r esponsibi
l
ity
,i ntegr
ity
,l oyalt
y and andenj oyedbyt hePr esi
dingJusticeandt he
eff
ici
encyandshal lremainatallti
mesaccount able AssociateJust
icesoft heSandiganbay an.
tothepeople;
Theyshal lholdof f
iceunt ilt
heyr eacht heageof
WHEREAS,t oat taint hehi ghestnor msofof f
icial 65y earsorbecomei ncapaci tatedt odi schar ge
conductr equi redofpubl i
cof ficersandempl oyees, t hedut iesoft hei roff
ice.
Section 5,Ar ti
cle XI IIoft he New Const it
ution
providesf ort hecr eat ionofaspeci alcour tt obe Sect i
on 2. Of
  ficialSt at ion;Pl ace of Hol ding
knownasSandi ganbay an; Sessi ons. The Sandi ganbay an shal lhav ei ts
principalof fi
cei nt heMet ro Mani l
aar eaand
NOW,THEREFORE,I ,FERDI NAND E.MARCOS, shal lhol d sessi ons t her eatf ort he t ri
aland
Presidentoft hePhi l
ippi nes,byv i
rt
ueoft hepower s det ermination of al l cases f i
led wi t
h i t
i
nmev est edbyt heConst it
ut i
on,doher ebyor der irrespect i
veoft hepl acewher et heymayhav e
anddecr eeasf oll
ows: arisen;Pr ovi
ded,howev er,t hatt he Pr esiding
Just i
cemayaut hor i
zeanydi visionordi visions
Section 1. Sandi ganbay an; composi ton; ofcour
i ttohol dsessi onsatanyt imeandpl ace
quali
f i
cat i
ons;t enur e;r emov alandcomposi ti
on. A out si
deMet r
oMani l
at ohearanddeci decases
specialcour t ,oft hesamel evelast heCour tof emanat ing from any oft he exi sting j udicial
Appeal sandpossessi ngal lthei nherentpower sof di stri
cts. Whenev er necessar y, the
a cour t of j ustice, t o be known as t he Sandi ganbay anmayr equi ret heser vi
cesoft he
Sandi ganbay ani sher ebycr eat edcomposedofa per sonnelandt heuseoft hef acili
tiesofany
PresidingJust i
ceandei ghtAssoci ateJust ceswho agencyoft
i he Gov ernment ,nat i
onalorl ocal,
shallbeappoi ntedbyt hePr esident. i
ncl uding t he cour ts off i
rsti nst ance oft he
prov i
ncewher eanyoft hedi v i
si onsi shol ding
Noper sonshal lbeappoi nt
edPr esidingJust ceor sessi
i on,andt hoseper sonnelofsuchagenci es
Associ at eJust i
ceoft heSandi ganbay an;unl esshe orcour tsshal lbesubj ectt ot heor der soft he
i
sanat ural-bor nci ti
zenoft hePhi l
i
ppi nes,atl east Sandi ganbay an.
40y ear sofageandf oratl eastt eny ear shasbeen
ajudgeofacour tofr ecor dorbeenengagedi nt he Sect i
on3. Di
  visionsoft heCour ts;Quor um.  The
practiceofl awi nt hePhi li
ppinesorhashel dof f
ice Sandi ganbay an shal lsi ti nt hree di visions of
requiringadmi ssiont ot hebarasapr e- requisitefor t hreeJust i
ceseach.Thet hreedi v i
sionsmaysi t
alikeper iod. att hesamet ime.

ThePr esidi
ngJusti
ceshal lbesodesi gnatedinhis Three Just i
ces shallconst it
ute a quor um for
commi ssion and the otherJust ices shal
lhav e session i n div
isi
on;Pr ovi
ded,t hatwhen t he
precedence accordi ng to t he dates of t heir requiredquor um cannotbehadduet othelegal
respectiv
ecommi ssions,or,whenthecommi ssions disqualif
icat
ion or t empor ary disabil
it
y of a
oftwoormor eoft hem shallbearthesamedat e, Just i
ceorofav acancyoccur ri
ngt herein,t
he
accordingtot heorderinwhi chtheircommissions Presidentshal l
,upon r ecommendat ion ofthe
havebeeni ssuedbyt hePresident
. PresidingJust i
ce,desi gnateanyJust iceofthe
Cour tofAppeal sorJudgeoft heCour tofFirst
ThePr esi
dingJust
iceandt heAssociat
eJustices Instanceoroft heCi rcuitCri
minalCour tofthe
shal
lnot be r emov ed fr
om of f
ice except on j
udicialdi str
ictconcer ned to sitt emporari
ly
i
mpeachmentupont hegroundsandinthemanner therein.
provi
dedforinSecti
ons2,3and4ofAr ti
cleXI
IIof
the1973Consti
tuti
on. Secti
on4. Juri
sdi
cti
on. 
TheSandi
ganbay
anshal
l
havejur
isdict
ionover
:
The Presi
ding Justi
ce shal
lr ecei
ve an annual
compensati
onofP60, 000.00andeachAssoci ate (a)Viol
ati
ons ofRepublic ActNo.3019,as
Justi
ceP55,000.
00whi chshallnotbedimini
shed amended,otherwi
se,known as the Ant
i-
Graf
t
duri
ngthei
rcontinuanceinoff
ice.Theyshal
lhav e andCorruptPr
acti
cesAct,andRepubl
icActNo.
thesamerank,pri
vil
egesandotheremoluments,be 1379;
(b) Cri
mes commi t
ted by public of
fi
cers and Exceptedfr
om theforegoi
ngpr ov
isi
ons,during
employees i ncl
udi
ng t hose empl oyed i n marti
allaw,ar
ecriminalcasesagainstoff
icers
government
-owned or control
led corporat
ions, andmember softhear medforcesintheactive
embracedinTi t
leVI
IoftheRev isedPenalCode, servi
ce.
whethersimpleorcomplexed withothercri
mes;
and Section 5.  Pr
oceedi
ngs,how conduct ed;v otes
required. 
The unani mous v ote of t he t hree
(c)Othercri
mesorof f
ensescommi t
tedbypubli
c j
usticesi nadi v
isi
onshal lbenecessar yfort he
offi
cersoremployees,i
ncludi
ngthoseempl oyedi
n pronouncementofaj udgment.I ntheev entthat
government-
owned orcont rol
led cor
porat
ions,i
n thethr eejusti
cesdonotr eachaunani mousv ote,
rel
ati
ontotheirof
fi
ce. thePr esi
dingJudgeshal ldesignatetwoot her
j
usticesf rom amongt hemember soft heCour t
Thejurisdicti
onhereinconferredshallbeorigi
nal tositt empor ari
lywit
ht hem,f ormingadi v
ision
andexcl usiv
ei ft
heof f
ensechargedi spuni
shable of fivej usti
ces,and t he concur r
ence of a
byapenal t
yhigherthanpri
sioncorrecci
onal
,orits major i
t yofsuchdi vi
sionshallbenecessar yf or
equi
valent,exceptas her ein prov
ided;in other render i
ngj udgment.
off
enses,i tshallbeconcur rentwiththeregular
court
s. Secti
on6.  Maximum peri
odf ortermi nati
onof
cases. 
Asf araspracti
cable,thetrialofcases
In case pr i
vat
e indivi
duals are char ged as beforet he Sandi
ganbayan once commenced
co-
principal
s,accompli
cesoraccessor i
eswi t
ht he shallbe continuos unt
ilterminated and t he
publi
c of fi
cers or empl oyees i
ncludi
ng t hose j
udgmentshal lbe render
ed wi t
hint hr
ee (3)
employ ed in government -
owned or cont roll
ed mont hsfrom thedatethecasewassubmi t
ted
corporati
ons,theyshallbet r
iedj
ointl
ywi t
hsai d fordecisi
on.
publi
cof fi
cer
sandempl oyees.
Section 7. For
m,f i
nali
ty and enf
orcementof
Whereanaccusedi stri
edforanyoft heabov e decisions.
 Deci
sions and finalor
ders of t
he
off
enses and t he evi
dence is i
nsuffici
ent to Sandiganbay anshallcont
aincompletefi
ndi
ngs
est
ablishtheoff
ensechar
ged,hemaynev erthel
ess offact sonalli
ssuesproperl
yrai
sedbefor
eit
.
beconv i
ctedandsent
encedfort
heoffensepr oved,
i
ncludedinthatwhi
chischar
ged. Apetiti
onf orreconsi
derati
onofanyf i
nalorder
ordecisionmay befi
ledwi t
hin(
15)day sfrom
Anypr ov i
sionofl aw ort heRul esofCour tt ot he promulgati
on ornot ice ofthe f
inalorderor
cont rarynot wi thst andi ng,t hecr i
mi nalact ionand j
udgment ,andsuchpet it
ionforr
econsider
ation
thecor respondi ngci vilact ionf ort her ecov eryof shal
lbe deci ded wit
hint hi
rt
y(30)day sfrom
civill i
abi li
tyar i
si ngf rom t heof fensechar gedshal l submissionthereon.
atal lt i
mesbesi mul taneousl yinst itutedwi th,and
j
oi nt l
ydet ermi nedi nt hesamepr oceedi ngby ,t he Decisi
onsandf i
nalorder sshal lbesubjectt o
Sandi ganbay an,t he f il
ing oft he cr iminalact ion revi
ew on cer ti
orar
ibyt he Supreme Cour tin
bei ngdeemedt onecessar i
lycar rywi thi tthef i
ling accordancewi thRule45oft heRulesofCour t
.
oft heci vilact i
on,andnor ightt or eser vet hef i
ling TheSupr emeCour tshal ldecideanycaseon
of such act i
on shal lbe r ecogni zed;Pr ov ided, appealpr omptlyandwi t
houtt henecessi t
yof
howev er ,t hat ,i n cases wi thin t he excl usive placi
ngitupont heregul arcalendar.Whenev er
,
j
ur isdi ctionoft heSandi ganbay an,wher et heci vi
l i
nanycasedeci ded,thedeat hpenaltyshallhave
act ionhadt her eforebeenf il
edsepar at elywi t
ha beenimposed, therecor dsshallbeforwardedt o
regul arcour tbutj udgmentt hereinhasnoty etbeen theSupr emeCour t
,whet hertheaccusedshal l
render edandt hecr imi nalcasei sher eaf terf iled haveappeal edornot ,forr evi
ew andj udgment,
wi t
ht heSandi ganbay an,sai dci vilact ionshal lbe aslawandj ust
iceshalldictat
e.
transf erredt ot heSandi ganbay anf orconsol i
dat ion
and j ointdet ermi nat i
on wi tht he cr i
mi nalact i
on, Fi
nal j udgment
s and or der
s of t he
other wi se,t hecr i
mi nalact ion mayno l ongerbe Sandi
ganbayanshal
lbeexecut
edandenf
orced
fi
led wi t
h t he Sandi ganbay an, i ts excl usive i
nthemannerprovi
dedbyl
aw.
j
ur isdi ctionov ert hesamenot withstandi ng, butmay
bef il
edandpr osecut edonl yi nther egul arcour t
sof Secti
on8. Tr
  ansferofcases.
 Asoft hedateof
compet entj ur isdiction;Pr ov i
ded,f urther ,t hat,i n the ef f
ecti
vit
y of t his decree, any case
cases wi thint he concur rentj uri
sdi ction oft he cogni
zable by t he Sandi
ganbayan withi
nits
Sandi ganbay anandt her egul arcour t
s,wher eei ther excl
usivejur
isdict
ionwherenoneoftheaccused
thecr imi nalorci vi
lact ioni sf ir
stf il
ed wi tht he hasbeenar raignedshallbetransf
erredtothe
regul arcour ts,t hecor respondi ngci vilorcr iminal Sandiganbayan.
act ion,ast hecasemaybe,shal lonl ybef i
ledwi th
ther egul arcour tsofcompet entj uri
sdi ction. Secti
on 9.
 Rul
e-maki
ng Power
. 
The
Sandiganbay
an shall have t
he power to
promulgat
eitsownrulesofpr
ocedur
eand,pending af
fect
edt
her
eby
,shal
lcont
inuei
nful
lfor
ceand
suchpromulgati
on,t
heRulesofCourtshal
lgovern ef
fect
.
i
tsproceedi
ngs.
Secti
on 16.  Repealing Cl ause.
 This Decree
Secti
on 10. Aut
  hori
ty over internal aff
airs. 
The herebyr epeal
sPr esidenti
alDecreeNo.1486and
Sandiganbayan shal
ladmi nist
eri ts own internal allot herpr ovi
sions ofl aw,Gener alOrders,
aff
airsand mayadoptsuch r ulesgov er
ning t he President i
alDecr ees,Letters of Inst
ruct
ions,
consti
tuti
onofitsdivi
sions,theallocat
ionofcases rul
esorr egul
ati
onsi nconsi
stentherewit
h.
among t hem,the rotati
on ofj usti
ces and ot her
mattersrel
ati
ngtoitsbusiness. Secti
on 17.
 Eff
ect
ivi
ty.
 Thi
s Decr
ee shal
ltake
eff
ectimmediat
ely
.
Section 11. Proceedi
ng f ree of char ge.
 Al
l
proceedings in t he Sandi
ganbayan shall be Done i
nthe Ci
tyofMani la,t
his10th dayof
conductedatnocostt othecomplai
nantand/
orhis December
,inthe yearofOurLor d,ninet
een
witnesses. hundr
edandsev
enty
-eight
.

No cr i
mi nalinfor
mat ion orcompl aintshallbe
entert
ainedbyt heSandi ganbayanexceptupona
certi
fi
cati
onbyt heInvestigati
ngProsecut
orofthe RULESOFTHESANDI
GANBAYAN
exist
enceofapr i
maf aci
ecaset obedet er
mined
aft
er a pr el
i
minaryi nvesti
gati
on conduct
ed in Pursuantt
ot heprov i
sionsofSecti
on5ofArt
icl
e
accordancewi thapplicablelawsandappr ovedby XII
Ioft heConst it
ution oft hePhil
i
ppi
nes,as
theChiefSpecialProsecut or
. i
mpl ementedbyPr esident
ialDecr
eeNo.1606,
the Sandi ganbayan her eby adopts and
Section 12.
 Admini
strativ
e per
sonnel.
 The promulgat
est hef oll
owi ngrulest
ogovernthe
Sandiganbayan shallreelect and appoi
nt such conductofit
sbusiness.
personnelasitmaydeem necessar ytodischarge
i
tsf unct
ionsunderthi
sDecr eeincludi
ngaCl er
kof RULEI
Cour tandthree(3)Deput yClerksofCour twho TI
TLEANDCONSTRUCTI
ON
shallbemember softheBar .
Secti
on1. Ti
  tl
eoft
heRules.
 TheseRul
esshall
The Clerk of Cour t shal
l hav
e an annual be known and cited as t
he Rules of t
he
compensati
onofP36,000.
00andtheDeput
yCl
erks Sandiganbayan.
ofCour
t,P30,000.
00.
Section 2.Const
  ruct
ion. 
These Rul es shal
lbe
All ot her subordinat
e empl oy
ees of t he l
iberall
y const
rued i n ordert o promotet hei
r
Sandiganbayanshallbegovernedbyt hepr
ov i
sions objecti
vesandt oachieveaj ust,expedi
ti
ousand
of the Ci v
il Ser
vice Law; Pr ovi
ded, t
hat t he i
nexpensi v
edet erminati
onofev er
yact i
onand
Sandiganbayanmay ,byr
esoluti
onenbanc,r emov e proceedingbeforetheSandi ganbayan.
anyofthem forcause.
RULEI
I
Secti
on 13. Repor
  t t o t he Pr esi
dent
. 
The
Sandiganbayanshallsubmi
tanannualr
eportt
othe CONTROLOFFUNCTI
ONSANDSUCCESSI
ON
Presi
dent,includi
ng alldi
sbursement
s offunds
entr
ustedt oit
,withi
nt womonthsfr
om theendof Section 1.  Excl
usive Cont rol.
 Except as
theFiscalYear
. otherwise provi
ded by t he Const i
tuti
on and
Presidenti
al Decr ee No. 1606, t he
Secti
on 14. Fundi
  ng. 
Ther
ei sher ebyi mmedi at
el y Sandiganbayan shallhav e excl
usive contr
ol,
appropriated the sum of Fi v e Mi ll
ion Pesos di
rect i
on and super vi
sion of al l matt
ers
(P5,
000. 00) out of any funds i nt he National pertaini
ng to i t
s i nt
ernal affai
rs and t he
Treasuryt ocarryouttheprovisionsoft hi
sDecr ee operat i
onofi
tsbusiness.
and t hereafter t
o be included i nt he gener al
appropriati
ons act .The appr opr i
ati
ons f or t
he Section 2. Successi
  on inthe Of fi
ce of t he
Sandiganbay anshallbeaut omat icall
yr el
easedi n Presiding Justi
ce. 
In case ofv acancy i nt he
accordance wi th a schedule submi t
ted by the position of Pr esidi
ng Just ice of t he
Sandiganbay an. Sandi ganbayanorhi stemporaryincapaci tyto
exerciset hepower sandper f
ormt hedut iesof
Section 15.
 Separabi
li
ty ofPr ovi
sions. I
ff orany his of f
ice,the same shalldev olve upon t he
reason,anysect i
onorpr ov i
sionoft hisDecr eeis quali
f i
edmostseni orAssociateJust i
cesunt il
declared t
o be unconstitutionalori nval
id,other suchi ncapacit
yisremov edoranot herPr esidi
ng
sections or provisi
ons t hereof whi ch ar e not Justiceisappointedandhasdul yqual i
fi
ed.
 RULEI
II Secti
on1.  Distributi
onofCases.  
Al lcasesf i
led
withtheSandi ganbay anshallbeal lottedamong
COMPOSI
TIONOFDI
VISI
ONS thethreedi visionsf orhear i
nganddeci sionby
raff
let obeconduct edbyaRaf f
leCommi ttee
Secti
on 1. How Di
  v
isions Const it
uted.  The composedoft hePr esidi
ngJust iceandt hetwo
Sandiganbay an shal lconsi stof t hr
ee di v isions mostseni orAssoci ate Justi
ces av ail
able,on
whichshal lbeknownast heFi rstDivi
si on,Second such day s as mayher eafterbe f i
xed byt he
Divi
sion,and Thi rd Divi
sion,and shal leach be Presidi
ngJust icedependi ngupont heneedf or
composedofPr esidi
ngJust iceandt hef i
rstt wo suchr af
fletobemadei nv i
ewoft henumberof
Associ ateJust i
cesi ntheor derofpr ecedenceas casesf i
led,wi thnoticetot heinterest edparties
therespect i
v eChai r
men;t henextt hreeAssoci ate whomay ,iftheysodesi r
e, bepresentt herei
nby
Justi
ces i n t he or der of pr ecedence as t he themselvesort hroughcounsel .
respect i
ve seniormember s;and t he l astt hree
Associ ateJust i
cesi ntheor derofpr ecedenceas Sect ion2.  Consol idationofCases.  
Casesar i
sing
therespect i
v ejuniormember s.Howev er,unt ilthe from t hesamei ncidentonser i
esofi ncident s,or
enti
recompl ementoft heSandi ganbayanshal lhav e i
nv olv i
ng common quest i
onsoff actand l aw,
beenappoi nt edandqual ifi
ed,t hePr esidingj ust i
ce may ,i nt he di screti
on ofSandi ganbay an,be
andt het woAssoci ateJust icesf i
rstappoi ntedand consol i
dated i n onlyone di visi
on.Shoul dt he
quali
fiedshal lconsti
tutetheFi rstDivi
sion. propr ietyofsuchconsol i
dationappearupont he
fi
lingoft hecasesconcer nedandbef or et hey
Section 2. Vacancy
  ;How Fi ll
ed. In case ofany arer af f
led, allsuchcasesshal lbeconsi der edas
vacancyi nthecomposi tionofadi vision,whet her onecasef orpur posesoft her affl
e;but ,shoul d
permanentort empor ary,t hePr esidingJust icemay the pr opriety ofsuch consol i
dation may be
designat eanAssoci ateJust iceoft heCour t,tobe affect eduponmot ionofani nterestedpar tyf i
led
determi nedbyst rictr ot ationont hebasi soft he wi t
ht hedi v i
siont akingcogni zanceoft hecase
reverseor derofpr ecedence,t o sitasaspeci al tobeconsol i
dat edand,i fgr anted,consol idation
memberofsai d div i
sion wi th allt he r i
ghtsand shal lbemadei nt hedi vi
sionbef orewhi cht he
prerogat i
vesofar egul armemberofsai ddivisi
oni n case wi tht he l owestnumberi s pendi ng.I n
the t r
ialand det er mi nat ion of cases assi gned eithercase, t
hedi visioninwhi chconsol idat ionis
thereto,unlesstheoper ationoft heot herdiv i
sions effect edshal lbeent i
tl
edt obecr editedi nt he
oft heCour twil
lbepr ejudicedt hereby ,inwhi ch distributionofcaseswi t
ht hesamenumberof
case,t heprocedurepr ov idedi nSect i
on3,Rul eVI II cases t ransf erred t oi ttot he end t hatal l
oftheseRul esshall appl y. divisions shal l,as much as possi ble,r eceive
mor eorl esst hesamenumberofcasesf i
led
RULEI
V wi t
ht heSandi ganbay an.
FI
LINGOFCASES
Section 3. Assignment of Cases
Secti
on 1. Pr
  oceedi
ngs Fr ee of Char ge.
 Al
l Permanent .
 Casesassi gnedt oadi visi
onoft he
proceedi
ngsintheSandi
ganbayanbeconductedat Sandiganbay ani naccor dancewi tht heseRul es
nocosttothecomplai
nantand/orhi
swi
tnesses. shallremai nwi thsai ddi v i
sionnot withst anding
changes i nt he composi ti
on thereofand al l
Secti
on2. Pr
  el
iminaryI nv
estigat
ionNecessar y
. No mattersr aisedt hereinshal lbedeemedt obe
cri
minal i nformation or compl aint shall be submi tt
edf orconsi derat i
onandadj udi cat i
onby
entert
ainedbyt heSandi ganbayanexceptupona anyandal loft heJust iceswhoar emember sof
certi
fi
cati
onbyt hei nvestigat
ingPr osecut
oroft he thedi vi
sionaf or esaidatt het i
mesai dmat t
ers
exist
enceofapr imaf aci
ecaset obedet er
mi ned aretakenup,i rrespect i
v eofwhet hert heywer e
aft
er a pr el
iminaryi nvesti
gati
on conducted i n orwer enotmember soft hedi vi
sionatt het i
me
accordancewi thappl icablelawsandappr ovedby thecasewasf i
r stassi gnedt hereto:Pr ov i
ded,
theChiefSpecial Prosecut or
. howev er,Thatonl yJust iceswhoar emember s
ofthedi v i
sionatt het imeacasei ssubmi tted
Sect i
on3. WhereCasesFi l
ed. 
Allcasestobef iled fordecisionshal ltakepar tintheconsi derat i
on
witht he Sandiganbay an shallbe f i
led wit
ht he andadj udicat ionofsai dcase,unl essanysuch
Officeoft heClerkofCour toftheSandiganbay an membert hereaf terceasest obeamemberof
whichshal lbeopenf ort hepurposeofr eceiving theSandi ganbay anf oranyr easonwhat soev erin
compl aint
s,inf
or mation,mot i
onsandt helikefrom which case any Just ice chosen t of il
lt he
eightt otwelveo' cl
ocki nt hemor ni
ngandt welve vacancyi naccor dancewi tht hemannerpr ovided
thir
tyt of our-
thirty o'
clock inthe after
noon,on i
n Sect ion 2,Rul eI II,oft hese Rul es shal l
Monday sto Fridays,exceptonpubl icorspeci al part
icipateint heconsi der ationandadj udicat i
on
holi
day s. of sai d case; Pr ovided, l astl
y,t hat t he
Sandiganbay an en banc may ,forspeci alor
RULEV compel l
ing r easons,t ransf ercases f rom one
DI
STRI
BUTI
ONANDCONSOLI
DATI
ONOFCASES divi
sionther eoft oanot her .
 RULEVI Section 2.  Presidi
ng Officer.
 Sessions of t he
PROCESSES Sandi ganbay anenbancshal lbepr esidedbyt he
PresidingJust i
ce;whereassessi onsi ndivi
sion
Processesandwr itsoft heSandi ganbay anwhi chby shallbepr esi dedbyt herespect i
veChai rmanof
theirnat
ureorbypr ovi
sionofexi stingl awsort he eachdi vi
sion.I ntheabsenceoft hePr esi
ding
RulesofCour taret obei ssuedundert hesi gnat ure Justiceort heChai r
manofadi visi
on,ast he
ofaJudgeoraJust i
ceshal lbesi gned byt he casemaybe,t heAssoci ateJust i
ceat tending
Chairmanoft hedi vi
sionconcer ned:Pr ov i
ded,That thesessi onenbancori ndivisionwhoi sfir
stin
i
ft hereisan ur gentnecessi tyf ort he issuance theor derofpr ecedenceand abl et o preside,
thereofbeforet hecasei sr aff
ledt oadi vi
sion,t he shalldoso.
sameshal lbesi gnedbyt hePr esi dingJust i
ce.I n
the absence of t he Pr esidi
ng Just i
ce or t he Sect i
on3. Quor
  um.  
FiveJust
icesshal lconst i
tute
Chairmanaf or esaid,thepr ocessorwr itshal lbe a quor um f orsessi ons en banc,and t hree
signed by t he seni orAssoci ate Just i
ce i nt he Just i
cesf orsessionsi ndivi
sion:Pr ovided,That
Sandiganbayan or i n the di v i
sions concer ned, whenaquor um and/ orthevotesr equiredf ora
respecti
vel
y.Al lotherpr ocessesorwr i
tsi ssued resoluti
on ordeci si
on oft he Sandi ganbay an,
uponaut horityoft heSandi ganbay anoradi vision eitheren banc ori n divi
sion,ort he trialor
thereofshallbesi gnedbyt heCl erkofCour tor ,in hear i
ngofcasescannotbehadduet ot hel egal
hisabsence,byt heDeput yCl erkofCour toft he disqualif
icati
on or t emporary disabi l
it
y of a
divi
sionconcer ned. Just i
ceorofav acancyoccurringt herein,t he
Presidentshal l
,upon r ecommendat ion oft he
RULEVII PresidingJust i
ce,desi gnateanyJust iceoft he
BAIL Cour tofAppeal s,Judgeoft heCour tofFi rst
Instanceoroft heCi rcui
tCriminalCour ttosi t
Sect i
on 1. How Amount Fi
  xed; Appr ov al
. 
The tempor aril
ytherein.
amountofbai lto be post ed i n cases i nthe
Sandi ganbayanshal lbef i
xedbyt heChai rmanof Sect i
on4.  PlaceofHol dingSessi ons. Sessi ons
thedi vi
sionther eoftowhi cht heyar eassi gned;and oft heSandi ganbay an,whet herenbancori n
suchbai lmaybeappr ovedbyanyJust i
ceoft he division, shal lbehel di nt hepl aceofi t
spr i
nci pal
Sandi ganbayan,butpr eferablybyaJust i
ceoft he officei nt heMet ropolit
anMani laar eawher ei t
divisi
onconcer ned:Pr ovided,howev er,Thatwher e shal lt ryanddet ermi neal lcasesf il
edwi thi t
the accused i s arrested,det ai
ned orot her wi
se i
rrespect iveoft hepl acewher et heymayhav e
placedi ncust odyout sidet heMet ropolitanMani l
a arisen:Pr ovided,howev er,Thatt he Pr esiding
area,anyj udgeoft heCour tofFi rstI nstanceor Just icemayaut horizeanydi v i
sionordi visions
CircuitCriminalCour tmayacceptandappr ovethe oft heCour tt ohol dsessi onsatanyt imeand
bailforhisappear ancebef oret hediv i
siont owhi ch placeout sideMet ropolitanMani lat ohearand
hiscasei sassi gned and r eleasehi m,and shal l deci de cases emanat i
ng t her efrom.Fort hi
s
i
nf ormt hedivisionissuingt heor derofar restofhis pur pose and whenev er necessar y, t he
action,forwardingt heretothepaper si nthiscase. Sandi ganbay anmayr equi retheser vi
cesoft he
per sonnelandt heuseoft hef acili
tiesofany
Sect ion2.  Condi ti
onoft heBai l. 
Thecondi tonof agencyoft
i he Gov ernment ,nat i
onalorl ocal,
thebai li
st hatt heaccusedshal l appearandanswer i ncl udi ngt heCour tsofFi rstI nstanceorCi rcuit
thecompl aintori nformat i
oni nt hedi vi
sionoft he Cr imi nalCour toft hepr ov i
nceorci tywher eany
Sandi ganbay an t o whi ch i t i s assi gned or oft hedi v isi
onsi shol dingsessi on,andt hose
transf erred f ort r
ialand submi thi msel ftot he per sonnelofsuchagenci esorcour t
sshal lbe
order sandpr ocessest hereofand,af t
erconv i
ct ion, subj ectt ot heor dersoft heSandi ganbay an.
i
ft hecasei sappeal edtot heSupr emeCour t,that
hewi llsur renderhi msel ffort heexecut ionofsuch Sect i
on5.  TimeofHol di ngSessi ons. Sessi ons
j
udgmentast heSupr emeCour tmayr ender;or,that, oft heSandi ganbay anenbancmaybecal ledat
i
ncaset hecausei st obet r
iedanew orr emanded any t ime by t he Pr esiding Just ice oratt he
foranewt rial,hewi l
lappeari nt hedi visi
ont owhi ch inst ance at l east f ive Associ at e Just i
ces.
i
tmaybe r emanded and submi thimsel ftot he Sessi onsf ort het ri
alofcasescogni zablebyi t
order sandpr ocessest hereof . shal lbehel donsuchday sandatsucht imesas
thedi visionst hereofmay ,byor derandupon
RULEVI II not i
cet ot hepar ti
esconcer ned, fi
x.
SESSIONSANDTRI AL
Sect i
on 6. Pre-tr
ial I nquest .
 After t he
Sect ion1. How Sessi
  onsHel d. 
TheSandi ganbay an ar rai gnmentofanaccusedwhopl eadsnotgui lt
y,
shal lforadmi nistr
ativepur poses,si tenbanc;and, t hedi visionconcer nedshal l
,wi t
houtpr ejudicet o
fort het rialanddet erminat i
onofcases,si tint hree t he i nv ocat ion by t he accused of hi s
divisionsoft hr eeJust i
ceseach.Thet hreedivi
si ons co ns tit
u tion al rights, di
re ctt h ep ro secu t
ora nd
maysi tatt hesamet ime. theaccusedandhi scounselt oappearbef ore
anyoftheJust
icest
her
eoff
ora conf
erencet
o Sect ion 1. Vot
  es Necessar y t o Deci de. The
consi
der
; unani mousv oteoft hr eeJust icesi nadi vi
sion
shal lbe necessar yf or t he r endi t
ion of a
(a)Admi ssi onsoff act saboutwhi cht her ecanbe j udgmentoror der .Int heev entt hatt het hr ee
nodi sput e; Just icesdo notr eachaunani mousv ot e,the
Presi dingJust i
ceshal ldesi gnat edbyr afflet wo
(b)Mar kingf ori dent ificationofdocument ar yorr eal Just icesf r om amongt heot hermember soft he
evidenceoft hepar ties; S and igan ba ya n t
o sitt e mp ora ril
y w ith t
he m
formi ngaspeci aldi visionoff i
v eJust ices,and
(c)Wai v erofobj ect i
onst oadmi ssi bilit
yofev idence; t hev oteofamaj or i
tyofsuchspeci aldi vi
sion
shal lbe necessar yf or t he r endi t
ion of a
(d) Pr ocedur e on obj ect ions wher et her e ar e j
udgmentoror der.
mul t
iplecounsel ;
Sect ion 2.  Pr ocedur ei n Deci ding Cases.  The
(e) Or der of pr esent ation of ev idence and concl usi onsofadi v isionoft heSandi ganbay an
argument swher et her ear emul tipleaccused; i
nanycasesubmi ttedt oitf ordeci sionshal lbe
reached i n consul tation bef or et he case i s
(f)Or derofcr oss- exami nat ion wher et her e ar e assi gned t o a Just ice f ort he wr i
ting oft he
mul t
ipleaccused; and opini onoft hedi vision.AnyJust i
cedi ssent i
ng
from aj udgmentshal lstat et her easonsf orhi s
(g)Suchot hermat teraswi l
lpr omot eaf airand d i
ss ent.
expedi ti
oust ermi nat ionoft het rial.
Sect ion 3.  Maxi mum Per i
od t o Deci de
Aftert hepr e-tri
ali nquest ,apr e-trialor dershal lbe Cases.  
Thej udgmentorf inalor derofadi vi
sion
i
ssued by t he Associ ate Just i
ce pr esidi ng t he oft heSandi ganbay anshal lber ender edwi thin
confer encer ecitingt heact ionsand/ orpr oceedi ngs t hree( 3)mont hsf rom t hedat et hecasewas
takent her eat ,t headmi ssi onsoff actsmade,t he submi ttedf ordeci sion.
document s and r ealev i
dence mar ked,and t he
agreementent er edi nt obyt hepar tiesast oanyof Sect ion4.  For m ofj udgmentandf i
nalor derofa
themat ter st akenupt her ein.Suchor dershal lli
mi t d i
vision oft he S a nd i
g anb ay a n sh allc ont ain
theissuesf ort rialt ot hosenotdi sposedofbyt he compl etef i
ndi ngsoff actandast atementoft he
admi ssionsoragr eement soft hepar ti
esandwhen l
a wo na l
lis su es prop e r
lyra i
s edb efore it.
entered shal lbl ind t he par ti
es and cont rolt he
courseoft heact i
ondur ingt het rial,onappeal ,and RULEXI
i
npost -
conv i
ct i
onpr oceedi ngs,unl essmodi fiedby PROMULGATI ONOFJUDGMENT
the di visi on concer ned bef or et rialt o pr event
mani festi nj ust i
ce. Aj udgmentofadi v i
si onoft heSandi ganbay an
shal lbepr omul gatedbyr eadi ngt hej udgmentor
RULEI X sent encei nt hepr esenceoft heaccusedandany
MOTI ONS Just iceoft hedi vi
sionwhi chr ender edt hesame:
Prov ided,That ,i ft he accused i sconf ined or
Section 1.  Mot ion Day . The f irst hour s of t he det ai nedi napl aceout sideMet ropol it
anMani l
a
mor ningsessi onoft hedi vi
si onsev er yFr idayshal l o rof thec ity o r prov i
n ceinw hic ha ny divis iono f
bedev ot edt ot hehear i
ngofmot ions,unl ess,upon t heSandi ganbay ani ssi tt
ingatt het imeofsuch
mot ion ofan i nt er est ed par ty and f orspeci al p r
omu lg ation , t
h e judg me n t ma y, upon
reasons,t hedi visionconcer nedshal lf i
xanot her del egat ion by t he di vision concer ned be
dayf ort hehear ingofanypar ticul armot ion. promul gat edbyanyj udgeoft heCour tofFi rst
Instance or Ci r
cui t Cr imi nal Cour t hav i
ng
Section2.  Resol ut iononI nt erlocut or yorI ncident al j
ur i
sdi ction ov ert he pl ace ofconf i
nementor
Mot i
ons.  Rul i
ngsonal lwr ittenmot ionssubmi t
ted det ent ion, i n whi ch ev ent t he Cour t so
tot heSandi ganbay anoranydi v i
si ont her eoff or promul gat ingt hej udgmentshal lhav eaut hor i
ty
resolutionshal lber eachedi nconsul tationamong toa c cep ta n da ppro ve t
h ea p pe a lbo nd .
the Just i
ces par tici pat i
ng i nt he consi derat i
on
thereof :Pr ov ided,howev er ,Thatr uli
ngs on or al RULEXI I
mot ionsoronobj ect ionsmadei nt hecour seoft he PETI TIONFORRECONSI DERATI ON
tri
alorhear i
ng shal lbe handed down by t he
Chair manoft hedi v i
si onconcer ned. Wi t
hi nf ifteen( 15)day sf rom t hepr omul gat i
on
ornot i
ce ofa j udgmentorf inalor derofa
RULEX division of t he Sandi ganbay an,unl ess sai d
JUDGMENT j
udgment or or der had i n t he meant i
me
other wise at tained f inali
ty ,a pet i
tion f ort he
reconsi der at iont her eofmaybef i
ledupont he
grounds, in t he form and subj ect t o the circlesasi tsmar gin,withthei nscri
ption, r
unning
requi
rements,formot i
onsfornew tri
alincriminal from l ef
tt or i
ght ,ont heuppermar ginoft he
casesunderRul e121oft heRulesofCour t,and wor d" Sandiganbay an"andont helowermar gi n
suchpetit
ionf orreconsi
derat
ionshal
lbedeci ded oft hewor ds" Republ ikangPi lipi
nas" ;with16
withi
nthi
rt
y( 30day sfr
om submissi
onthereof. star s,r epresent i
ng t he exi sti
ng 16 j udicial
distr i
cts,immedi atelyal ongt heout eredgeof
RULEXI
II thei nnercircl
e;andwi thadesi gnatt hecent er
REVI
EW OFJUDGMENTSANDFI
NALORDERS ofat ri
angle,withat ri
sect edar eacomposedof
thenat i
onalcol orsofwhi teoni t
supperpar t
,
Secti
on1. Met
  hodofRev iew. 
A par
tymayappeal blueont hel eftandr edont her ight,wi t
ht he
fr
om aj udgmentorf inalorderofadivisi
onofthe wor ds " KATAPATAN" on t he r ight si de,
Sandiganbayanbyf il
ingwiththeSupremeCour ta "KAPANAGUTAN" on t he l eft si de, and
peti
ti
onf orcerti
orar
iinaccordancewithRule45of "KARANGALAN"on t he base;a st ari n each
RulesofCour tandbyser vi
ngacopyt hereoft
othe cor ner of t he t riangle r epresenting Luzon,
Sandiganbayan. Visay asandMi ndanao;andabol oi nsi
det he
tri
angl eonwhi chi ssuper imposedabal ance.
Whenever,i
nanycasedeci ded,thedeat hpenalt
y
shal
lhave been imposed,the records shallbe RULEXVII
for
warded tot he Supr
eme Cour t,whet her t
he SEPARABILI
TYCLAUSE
accusedshal
lhaveappealedornot,forreviewand
j
udgment,aslawandjust
iceshall
dictat
e. If,foranyreason,anysect
ionorprovi
sionof
theseRulesshallbehel
dtobeunconsti
tuti
onal
Sect i
on 2. Bai
  lPending Appeal .
 An accused who orinvali
d,noothersect
ionorpr
ovi
sionthereof
hasbeenr eleasedonbai lshallnotcommi ttedto shallbeeff
ectedther
eby
.
j
ailuponconv i
ctionpendingt heexpi rati
onoft he
periodf orappealorpendi nganappealseasonabl y RULEXVIII
taken, except when t he penal t
y i mposed i s EFFECTI
VITY
recl
usi on per petua ordeat h,in whi ch case,t he
accusedmayf ort
hwithbecommi t
tedt ojailaft
er TheRul
esshal
ltakeef
fectuponappr
oval
.
promul gationoft hesentence.Thedi v i
sionoft he
Sandi ganbay anconcer ned,howev er,may ,forgood Done inthe Ci
tyofManila,t
his10th dayof
cause,cancelt hebondori ncreaset heamountof January,inthe y
earof OurLor d,ninet
een
bailandcommi ttheaccusedi ntocust odypendi ng hundredandsev
enty
-ni
ne.
appeal ,unlesshegi vesbaili
nt heincreasedamount .
The sur ely shal lalso be r esponsi blef or the
surrenderort heaccusedaf terjudgmentshal lhave
becomef i
nal.

RULEXI
V PRESI
DENTI
ALDECREENo.1083
PUBLI
CATIONOFDECI
SIONS
ADECREETOORDAI NANDPROMULGATEA
Wi t
ht heconsentoft herespect i
vewr it
ersthereof, CODERECOGNI ZINGTHESYSTEM OFFI LIPINO
the deci sions of t he Sandi ganbay an may be MUSLI M LAWS, CODI FYI
NGMUSLI M PERSONAL
publ i
shedi nt heOf fi
cialGazet t
ei nthel anguagein LAWS, ANDPROVI DINGFORI TS
whi chtheyhav ebeenor i
ginallywr i
tt
en.Thesy l
labi ADMI NISTRATI ONANDFOROTHERPURPOSES
fort hedeci sionsshal lbepr eparedbyt heCl erkof
Cour tinconsul tat
ionwi thwr i
tersthereof. WHEREAS, pur suanttothespi ri
toft hepr ovision
oft heConst i
tuti
on oft hePhi l
ippinest hat ,in
RULEXV ordert opromot etheadv ancementandef fect i
ve
APPLI CABI LI
TYOFTHERULESOFCOURT partici
pation of t he Nat i
onal Cul tur al
Communi tiesi nthebui l
dingoft heNewSoci ety,
Exceptas ot herwise her ein provided oras may t heSt ateshal lconsidertheircustoms, tr
adi t
ions,
hereaf t
erbemodi fi
ed f r
om t i
met ot imebyt he bel i
ef s and i nterestsint he formul at
ion and
Sandi ganbay an and i nsofar as pr act
icable,the impl ement ationofi tspolici
es;
Rules ofCour tshal lgov ern proceedings i nthe
Sandi ganbay an. WHEREAS,I slamicl aw and i t
s pr i
nciples of
equityandj ustice,towhi cht heFili
pinoMusl i
m
RULEXVI communi tiesadher e,prov i
deanessent ialbasi s
SEALOFTHESANDI GANBAYAN fort hefullerdev elopmentofsai dcommuni t
ies
i
nr elati
ont ot hesear chforhar moniousr elati
ons
Thesealoft heSandi ganbay anshallbeofst andard ofal lsegment soft heFi
lipinonationt oenhance
size,circulari nform,consi sti
ngoft woconcent ri
c nat ionaluni ty;
WHEREAS,theenfor
cement,wit
ht hefullsancti
on (3) The prov
isi
ons of t
his Code shal
l be
oftheStat
e,oft helegalsy
stem oft heFi l
ipi
no appl
icabl
eonlytoMusli
msandnot hi
ngher ei
n
Musli
msshallr
edoundtotheatt
ainmentofamor e shal
lbeconstr
uedtooper
atetothepr
ejudi
ceof
or
deredl
i
feamongstthem; anon-Musli
m.

WHEREAS,i tist he intense desire oft he New Ar

ti
cle4.
 Const
ruct
ionandi
nter
pret
ati
on.
Societ
y t o strengthen al lt he ethno-l
inguist
ic
communi ti
esinthePhi l
ippineswithi
nthecont extof (1)I
ntheconstr
ucti
onandinter
pret
ati
onoft hi
s
thei
rrespecti
veway sofl i
feinordertobringabouta CodeandotherMusli
mlaws,t
hecourtshall
take
cumulati
ver esultsatisfyi
ng the requir
ement s of i
nto consi
derat
ion the pr
imary sources of
nati
onalsoli
dari
tyandsoci al j
usti
ce; Musli
mlaw.

NOW,THEREFORE,I ,FERDI NAND E.MARCOS, (2)Standardtreat

isesandworksonMusl i
ml aw
Presi
dentoft he Republ
ic oft he Phi
li
ppi
nes,by and juri
sprudence shallbe given persuasiv
e
vi
rtue of t he powers v ested in me by t he weightintheinter
pretat
ionofMusli
ml aw.
Consti
tuti
onoft hePhili
ppines,do herebyor dai
n
and promul gat
et he "Code ofMusl i
m Per sonal Arti
cle5. ProofofMusl i
ml aw and' ada.
 Muslim
Lawsoft hePhili
ppi
nes"aspar toft helaw ofthe l
awand' adanotembodi edinthisCodeshal lbe
l
andher ebydecree: proveninev i
denceasaf act.No' adawhi chis
contrar
yt ot heConstituti
onoft hePhili
ppines,
BOOKONE thi
sCode, Musli
ml aw,publi
cor der,publ
icpoli
cy
GENERALPROVI
SIONS orpubli
ci nter
estshall
begi venanyl egal
effect.

TI
TLEI Ar
ti
cle6.
 Conf
li
cti
nIsl
ami
cschool
sofl
aw.
TI
TLEANDPURPOSESOFCODE
(1)Shoul dt here be any conf
li
ctamong t he
Ar
ti
cle1.
 Ti
tl
e. 
Thi
sdecr eeshal
lbeknownast he ort
hodox ( Sunni) Muslim schools of law
"
CodeofMusli
m PersonalLawsoft
hePhi
li
ppi
nes." (Madhahib),thatwhi chisinconsonancewi th
theConst i
tutionoft hePhi l
i
ppi
nes,thisCode,
Art
icle2. PurposeofCode.  PursuanttoSect i
on11 publ i
cor der,publ i
cpolicyand publi
cint
erest
ofAr t
icl
eXVoft heConst it
ut i
onoft hePhili
ppines, shallbegivenef f
ect.
whichpr ov i
dest hat" TheSt ateshallconsiderthe
customs, tradit
ions,beli
efsandi nt
erest
sofnat i
onal ( 2) The Musl i
m school s of l
aw shall
,f or
cul
tural communi t
ies in t he f ormulat
ion and pur posesoft hisCode,betheHanfi,
theHanbali
,
i
mpl ement ationofstatepolicies,
"thi
sCode: theMal i
kiandt heShafi
'i
.

(a)Recogni
zesthelegalsystem oftheMusli
msi n Ar
ti
cle7.
 Defi
niti
onoft
erms.
 Unl
esst
hecont
ext
thePhil
ippi
nesaspar tofthel aw oft
helandand ot
her
wiseprovides:
seekstomakeIslamicinst
it
utionsmoreef
fect
ive;
(a)"AgamaAr bit
rat
ionCouncil"meansabody
(
b)Codi
fi
esMusl
i
m per
sonal
laws;
and composedoft heChai r
manandar epresent
ativ
e
ofeachoft heparti
est oconsti
tut
eacounci lto
(c)Provi
des f
oran eff
ect
ive admini
str
ati
on and takeallnecessar
yst epsforresol
v i
ngconf l
ict
s
enfor
cement of Musl
i
m per sonallaws among betweenthem.
Musli
ms.
(
b)"
Ada"meanscust
omar
ylaw.
TITLEI
I.
CONSTRUCTI
ONOFCODEANDDEFI
NITI
ONOF (c) "Gener
al Regi st
er" means t he General
TERMS Regist
erofmar ri
ages,divorces,revocat
ion of
div
orces,conversi
onandsuchot herdeedsor
Ar
ti
cle3.
 Conf
li
ctofpr
ovi
sions. i
nstruments keptbyt he Regist
rarundert his
Code.
(1)I
ncaseofconf
li
ctbet
weenanyprov
isionofthi
s
Codeandlawsofgeneralappl
i
cati
on,theformer (d) "I
hram" si
gni
fi
es the st
ate of ri
tual
shal
lpr
evai
l
. consecr
ati
onofapersonwhi
l
eonpil
gri
mageto
Mecca.
(2)Shouldtheconfli
ctbebet weenanyprovi
sionof
thi
s Code and speci allaws or laws of local (
e)"
Madhhab"(pl
ural
,Madhahib)meansanyof
appli
cati
on,thel
attershallbeliber
all
yconst
ruedin t
hef
ouror
thodox(Sunni
)schoolsofMusl
i
mlaw.
ordertocar
ryoutthef ormer.
(
f)"
Mont
h"meansaper
iodoft
hir
tyday
s.
(g)"Musl
im"is a person who t
est
if
ies tothe thereshal
lbenot ransmissi
onofr ight
sfrom
oneness of God and t he Pr
ophethood of one tothe ot
her.Howev er,t
he successi
onal
MuhammadandprofessesIsl
am. ri
ghts ofthei
rrespecti
ve hei
rs shallnotbe
affect
ed.
(h) "Musl
im Law" (Shar
i'
a) r
efers t
o allthe
ordi
nancesandregul
ati
onsgoverni
ngMuslimsas TI
TLEI
I
foundpri
nci
pal
l
yintheQur'
anandtheHadit
h. MARRI
AGEANDDIVORCE

(i
)"Musli
m PersonalLaw"i ncl
udesal ll
awsrel
ati
ng Chapt erOne
to personal st atus, mar ri
age and di v
orce, APPLI CABILITYCLAUSE
matri
monialandf ami lyr el
ati
ons,successi
onand
i
nheri
tance, and pr oper ty relat
ions between Ar ti
cle13.Appl
  ication.
spousesasprovidedf ori nthisCode.
(1)Thepr ovi
sionsoft hisTitl
eshallapplyto
BOOKTWO mar r
iageanddi vorcewher einbot
hpar t
iesare
PERSONSANDFAMI LYRELATI ONS Muslims,orwher einonl ythemalepartyisa
Muslim and t he mar riage i
s solemni
zed in
TITLEI accordancewithMusl i
ml aworthi
sCodei nany
CIVILPERSONALI TY( SHAKHSI YAHMADANI YA) partofthePhil
i
ppines.

Art
icl
e8. Legalcapacity
. Juridi
calcapacity
,whichi
s (2)I
ncaseofmar ri
agebet
weenaMusli
m anda
thefi
tnesst obet hesubj ectofl egalrel
ati
ons,i
s non-Musli
m,sol
emnizednoti
naccor
dancewit
h
i
nherentinev erynat uralper sonandi sl ostonl
y Muslimlaw orthi
sCode,theCi
vi
lCodeofthe
thr
oughdeat h.Capacityt oact ,whichisthepower Phil
i
ppinesshal
lappl
y.
todoactswi thlegaleffect,isacquiredandmaybe
l
ost. (3)Subj ecttot hepr ovi
sionsoft heprecedi ng
paragraphs,t heessent i
alr equisi
tesand l egal
Ar ti
cle 9.Rest
  ri
cti
ons on capacity.
 The fol
lowing i
mpedi ment st omar ri
age,divorce,pater
nityand
circumst ances,among ot hers,modi fy or li
mit fi
li
ati
on,guar di
anshi p and cust odyofmi nor s,
capaci t
yt oact:age,i
nsanit
y, i
mbecil
ity
,thestateof suppor tandmai ntenance,cl aimsf orcustomar y
bei ng deaf-mute,the condi t
ion ofdeat h-
ill
ness dower( mahr),betrot hal
,breachofcont ractt o
(mar ad-ul-
maut )
, penalt
y, pr odi
galit
y, absence, mar r
y , solemnizat ion and r egist
rat
ion of
fami l
y r elat
ions, ali
enage, i nsolvency, and mar r
iage and di vor ce,rights and obligati
ons
trusteeship. The consequences of t hese betweenhusband and wi fepar entalauthority,
circumst ancesaregovernedbyt hi
sCodeandot her andt hepr operl
yrelat i
onsbet weenhusbandand
Islamicl awsand,inasuppl et
orymanner ,byother wifeshal lbegov er nedbyt hisCodeandot her
l
aws. appli
cabl eMusliml aws.

Arti
cle 10. Per
  sonality, how acqui r
ed.  
Bir
th ChapterTwo
determines per sonality
;butt he conceived chi l
d
shallbeconsi deredbor nf oral lpurposest hatare MARRI AGE( NIKAH)
favorabletoi t,pr ovidedi tbebor nal i
ve,howev er,
bri
efly,att het imei ti scompl et el
ydel i
veredf r
om Secti
on1. Requi
  sit
esofMar ri
age
themot her'swomb.
Art
icl
e14.  Nature. 
Mar r
iagei snotonl ya civil
Arti
cle11. Ext
  inctionofper sonal it
y. contr
actbuta soci alinsti
tuti
on.I t
s nat ure,
consequences and i ncidents are governed by
(1)Ci vi
lper sonalityisext inguishedbydeat h.The t hi
sCodeand t heShar i
'
aand notsubj ectto
eff
ectofdeat hupont herightsandobl i
gati
onsofa st i
pulat
ion,exceptthatthemar ri
agesettl
ement s
deceasedper soni sdet ermi nedbyt hisCode,by mayt oacer tai
next entfixthepropertyrelati
ons
contract,andbywi l
l
. ofthespouses.

(2)Afteran absence ofseven year

s,itbei ng Arti
cle 15.
 Essenti
al requi
sites.
 No marri
age
unknownwhetherornottheabsent
eestil
lli
ves,he contr
actshallbeperfect
edunl essthefol
l
owing
shal
lbepresumeddead. essenti
alr
equisi
tesarecompiledwi t
h:

Arti
cle12. Si
mul t
aneousdeat
h. 
If
,asbet weentwo (
a)Legal
capaci
tyoft
hecont
ract
ingpar
ti
es;
ormor eper sonswhoar ecall
edt osucceedeach
other,t
hereisadoubtast owhi
chofthem diedf
irst
, (
b)Mut
ual
consentoft
hepar
ti
esf
reel
ygi
ven;
whoev erall
egesthedeathofonepr i
ortotheother
shallprovethesame;i nt
heabsenceofsuchproof, (
c)Of fer(
ij
ab)and accept
ance (
qabul
)duly
i
tispr esumedt hattheydi
edatthesamet imeand wi
tnessedbyatleastt
wocompet entper
sons
af
tertheproperguardi
an i
n mar
ri
age(
wal
i
)has Arti
cle20.Speci
  f
icat
ionofdower .
 Theamount
gi
venhisconsent
;and or value of dower may be f i
xed by t he
contr
acti
ng par ti
es ( marh-musamma) bef ore,
(
d)St i
pulat
ion ofcust
omary dower(mahr
)dul
y duri
ng,orafterthecelebr
at i
onoft hemar r
iage.If
wi
tnessedbytwocompetentper
sons. theamountort hev aluethereofhasnotbeenso
fi
xed,apr operdower( mahr -mithl
)shall
,upon
Ar
ti
cle16.
 Capaci
tyt
ocont
ractmar
ri
age. peti
ti
onoft hewi fe,bedet erminedbyt hecour t
accordi
ngtot hesocialstandingoftheparties.
(1)AnyMuslim mal eatleastfi
ft
eeny ear
sofage
andanyMusl i
mf emaleoft heageofpuber t
yor Arti
cle 21.Pay
  mentofdower .
 Subjectt othe
upwardsandnotsuf f
eri
ngf rom anyimpedi
ment sti
pulati
onoft heparti
es,thedowermaybef ull
y
underthe pr
ovisi
onsoft hisCode maycont r
act orpar ti
all
y paid before,duri
ng,oraf terthe
marri
age.A f
emal eispr esumedtohav eatt
ained marriage.Thepr oper
tyorestateoft hehusband
puber
tyuponreachingtheageoffif
teen. shallbeliabl
ef ortheunpaiddower ,oranypart
ther
eof .
(2)Howev er
,theShari'
aDi st
ri
ctCour tmay,upon
peti
ti
onofapr operwali
,orderthesolemni
zati
onof Arti
cle22. Breachofcont ract.
 Anyper sonwho
themar r
iageofaf emalewho t houghlessthan has entered i nto a cont r
act to mar ry but
fi
ft
een butnotbel ow twelvey ears ofage,has subsequently r efuses wi t
hout r easonabl e
att
ainedpubert
y. groundtomar rytheotherpartywhoiswi l
li
ngt o
perform the same shal lpay t he latter the
(3)Mar riaget hroughawal ibyami norbel ow t expenses i
he ncurred forthe preparat
ion oft he
prescr i
bedagesshal lber egar dedasbet rothalandmar ri
ageandsuchdamagesasmaybegr anted
maybeannul l
edupont hepet it
ionofei therpar byt
t
y hecourt.
withinf oury ear saf terat tai ningt heageofpuber ty,
prov idednov olunt arycohabi tationhast akenpl ace Sect ion2.  Pr ohibi t
edMar r
iages
andt hewal iwhocont ract edt hemar ri
agewasot her
thant hef atherorpat er nal gr andf ather . Ar t
icle 23.  Bases ofpr ohibi
tion. No mar r
iage
may be cont racted by par ti
es wi t
hin the
Article17. Mar
  ri
agecer emony .
 Nopar ticularf orm prohi biteddegr ees:
ofmar riagecer emonyi sr equi r
edbutt hei j
aband
thegabuli nmar riageshal lbedecl aredpubl iclyin ( a)Ofconsangui nity;
the pr esence of t he per son sol emni zing t he
mar riage and t wo compet ent wi tnesses. Thi s ( b)Ofaf finity; and
decl arationshal lbesetf or thi nani nst rumenti n
tri
plicat e,si gned ormar ked by t he cont r
act i
ng ( c)Off ost er age.
partiesand sai d wi tnesses,and at test ed byt he
personsol emni zingt hemar riage.Onecopyshal lbe Ar t
icle 24. Pr
  ohibition by consangui nity
givent ot hecont ractingpar tiesandanot hersentt o ( tahrimj bi n-nasab) . No mar r
iage shal l be
theCi rcuitRegi strarbyt hesol emni zingof fi
cerwho cont ract edbet ween:
shal lkeept het hird.
(a)Ascendant sanddescendant sofanydegr ee;
Article 18. Aut hor ity to solemni ze
mar riage.  Mar ri
agemaybesol emni zed: (b) Br ot her s and si st
er s,whet her germane,
consangui neorut erine;and
(a)Byt hepr operwal i oft hewomant obewedded;
(c)Br ot her sorsi stersand t heirdescendant s
(b)Uponaut hor i
tyoft hepr operwal i
,byanyper son wi t
hint het hirdci vildegr ee.
whoi scompet entunderMusl iml aw t osol emni ze
mar riage; or Ar t
icle 25. Prohi bit
ion by affi
nity
(tahrim- bi ll
-musahar a) .
 (
1)Nomar riageshallbe
(c)Byt hej udgeoft heShar i
'a Dist ri
ctCour tof cont ract edbet ween:
Shar i'
aCi r
cuitCour toranyper sondesi gnatedby
thej udge,shoul dt hepr operwal ir ef usewi thout ( a)Any oft he spouses and t hei rrespectiv
e
j
ust ifiabler eason, toaut hor izet hesol emni zati
on. affi
nalr el ativesi nt heascendi ngl ineandi nthe
collater al li
newi thint hethirddegr ee;
Article 19. Pl
  ace ofsol emni zat ion. Mar r i
age shal l
besol emni zedpubl i
cl yi nanymosque, of fi
ceoft he ( b) St epf at her and st epdaught er when t he
Shar i'
aj udge,of fice of t he Di stri
ct or Ci rcuit mar riagebet weent hef ormerandt hemot herof
Regi st r
ar ,residenceoft hebr ideorherwal i
,orat t hel atterhasbeenconsummat ed;
anyot hersui t
abl eplaceagr eeduponbyt hepar t
ies.
(c)Stepmotherand st
epson when t
he marri
age havemarriedanotherper
sonwhodivor
cesher
betweenthefor
merandt hef
atheroft
helat
terhas aft
erconsummat i
onoftheint
erv
eni
ngmarri
age
beenconsummat ed;
and andtheexpir
ati
onofthe'i
dda.

(d) St
epson or st epdaught er and the wi dow, (2)No sol emnizing off
icershal
lperfor
m t he
widowerordi
v or
ceeoft heirrespecti
veascendants. subsequent mar r
iage ment i
oned i n t he
precedingparagraphunlesshehasascer t
ained
(2)Theprohibit
ionundert hi
sar t
icleappli
esev en thattherewasnocol l
usi
onamongt hepar
ti
es.
aft
erthedissoluti
onoft hemar r
iagecreati
ngt he
aff
inal
rel
ati
onship. Secti
on4. Bat
  i
landFasiMar ri
ages

Art
icl
e 26.  Pr
ohibi
ti
on due t
o f
ost
erage Art
icle 31. Bat
  il marr
iages. 
The f
oll
owi
ng
(t
ahri
m-bi
r-
rada'
a). marriages shal
l be v
oid ( bati
l
)fr
om the
beginning:
(1)Nopersonmayval
idl
ycontractmarr
iagewi
th
anywoman who br
eastf
ed hi
m f oratl
eastfi
ve (a)Thosecont
ract
edcont
rar
ytoAr
ti
cles23,24,
ti
meswit
hintwoy
ear
safterhi
sbirt
h. 25and26;

(2)The prohibi
tion on mar ri
age by r
eason of ( b)Those contr
acted in contr
avention ofthe
consangui
nit
y shalll i
kewise applyto persons pr ohi
bit
ionagai
nstunlawfulconj
unction;and
rel
ated by fost
erage wit
hint he same degrees,
subj
ecttoexcepti
onrecognizedbyMusli
ml aw. (c)Thosecontr
actedbypar t
iesoneorbot hof
whom havebeenfoundgui l
tyofhavingkill
edthe
Secti
on3.SubsequentMar
  r
iages spouseofeit
herofthem.

Arti
cle27.Byahusband.
   Notwit
hst
andingtherul
e Art
icl
e 32. Fasi
  d marri
ages.
 The foll
owing
ofIslamiclaw permi
tt
ingaMusl imtohav emore marri
agesshallbei
rr
egul
ar( f
asid)f
rom thei
r
thanonewi febutonewi f
eunlesshecandealwi t
h per
formance:
them withequalcompanionshipandjustt
reat
ment
asenj oi
nedbyIslami
cl aw andonlyinexcepti
onal (
a)Thosecont
ract
edwi
thaf
emal
eobser
ving
cases. '
i
dda;

Arti
cle 28.Bywi
  dow. No wi dow shallcont r
acta (
b)Thosecont
ract
edcont
rar
ytoAr
ti
cle30;
subsequentmar r
iageunlessshehasobser vedan
'
iddaoff ourmont hsandt enday scountedfrom the (
c)Thosewher ei
nt heconsentofeitherpart
yis
dateoft hedeathofherhusband.I fatthatt
imet he vi
ti
atedbyv i
olence,int
imi
dation,f
raud,decei
tor
widow i s pregnant,she may r emarry withina misr
epresent
at i
on;
reasonabletimeaf terdelivery.Insuchcase,she
shallpr
oducet hecorrespondingdeat hcert
if
icate. (d)Thosecontr
actedbyapartyi
nacondit
ionof
death-
il
lness(
marad-ul
-maul
t)wi
thoutt
hesame
Ar
ti
cle29.
 Bydi
vor
cee. beingconsummated;

(1) No woman shal l contract a subsequent (

e)Thosecont
ract
edbyapar
tyi
nast
ateof
marri
ageunlessshehasobser vedan'iddaofthr
ee i
hram;
and
monthlycoursescount
edfrom thedat eofdiv
orce.
Howev er
,ifshe is pr
egnantatt he ti
me ofthe (
f)Mixedmar
ri
agesnotal
l
owedunderI
slami
c
div
orce,shemayremarryonlyafterdel
i
v er
y. l
aw.

(
2)Shouldar epudi
atedwomanandherhusband Arti
cle33. Val
  idati
onofi r
regul
armarri
ages.
 (
1)
r
econcil
eduringher' idda,heshallhav
eabet ter I
rregularmar r
iagesmaybemader egul
arbya
r
ighttot ake herback wi thoutneed ofa new newmar r
iagecontracti
nthefol
lowi
ngcases:
marr
iagecontract
.
(
a)Thoser
efer
redtoinAr
ticl
e32(
a),af
tert
he
(3)Wher eiti
sindubit
ablethatthemar r
iagehasnot i
mpedi
menthasbeenr
emoved;
beenconsummat edwhent hedi v
orcewasaf fect
ed,
no'i
ddashal lberequi
red. (b)Those referr
ed toin Arti
cle 32(b)
,upon
compli
ancewi t
htherequi
rementofArticl
e30;
Arti
cle30.Mar
  r
iageaft
erthreetalaq.
(c)Thosereferr
edtoi nArti
cle32(c),af
tert
he
(1)Wher eawi fehasbeent hr
icerepudiat
ed( t
alaq causesvi
ti
ati
ngconsenthaveceased;
bainl ubr
a)on t hree di
ff
erentoccasi ons byher
husband,hecannotr emarryherunl esssheshal l
(d)Thoserefer
redt
oinAr
ti
cle32(
d),i
ncaset
he (3)Thewi femay ,withherhusband' sconsent ,
part
yrecov
ers. exerci
seanypr ofessionoroccupationorengage
i
nl awfulbusi ness whi ch isin keeping with
(
e)Thoseref
err
edtoinArt
icl
e32(e)
,whent
hepar
ty Isl
amic modest y and vir
tue.Howev er
,i fthe
i
snolongeri
nastat
eofihram;and husband r efuses t o gi
ve his consenton t he
ground thathi si ncome is suffi
cientfort he
(f
) Those ref
err
ed to i
n Arti
cle 32(
f), af
ter familyaccor ding toi tssocialstanding orhis
conv
ersi
on toaf ai
tht
hatcoul
d havemadet he opposit
ion i s based on ser i
ous and v ali
d
marr
iageval
i
d. grounds,t he mat tershal lbe referr
ed tot he
AgamaAr bit
rationCounci l
.
(2)Theeffect
softhenewmar riageundert
hefi
rst
paragr
aph shallretr
oact to t he dat
e of t
he (4)Thewi f
eshallhav
ether
ightt
odemandt
he
celebr
ati
onofthei
rr
egularmarr
iage. sati
sfact
ionofhermahr.

Sect
ion5.
 Ri
ght
sandObl
i
gat
ionsBet
weenSpouses (5)Unlessother
wisestipulatedinthemar r
iage
sett
lements,the wifer etain ownership and
Ar
ti
cle34.
 Mut
ualr
ight
sandobl
i
gat
ions. admi ni
str
ati
onofherexclusiv
epropert
y .

(
1)Thehusbandandt hewi f
ear eobli
gedt oli
ve (
6)Thewif
eshal
lbeenti
tl
edt
oanequalandj
ust
t
ogether
,observ
emut ualrespectandfidel
i
ty,and t
reat
mentbyt
hehusband.
r
endermutualhelpandsupportinaccor
dancewith
t
hisCode. Sect
ion6.
 Pr
oper
tyRel
ati
onsBet
weenSpouses

(2)Whenoneoft hespousesnegl ect shisorher Arti

cle37.
 Howgover
ned.
 Theproper
tyr
elati
ons
duties t
ot he conjugaluni on orbr ings danger
, betweenhusbandandwif
eshallbegovernedin
dishonorormat erialinjury upon t
he ot her,the thefoll
owi
ngorder
:
i
njuredpartymaypet i
ti
ont hecourtf orrel
ief.The
cour tmaycounseltheof fendertocompl ywithhis (a)Bycont
ractbefore oratt
he t
ime oft
he
orherdut i
es,andt akesuchmeasur esasmaybe cel
ebr
ati
onofmarr
iage;
proper.
(
b)Byt
hepr
ovi
si
onsoft
hisCode;
and
(3)Thehusband and t
hewif
eshallinher
itf
rom
eachot
heri
naccordancewi
tht
hisCode. (
c)Bycust
om.

(4)Thehusbandandthewif
eshal
lhavet
her
ightt
o Arti
cle 38.  Regime of pr opert
yr el
ations. 
The
divor
cei
naccordancewit
hthi
sCode. propertyr elati
onsbet weent hespouses,i nt he
absenceofanyst i
pulati
ont othecont raryint he
Art
icl
e 35. Ri
  ght
s and obl igati
ons of t he mar r
iageset t
lement soranyot hercont ract
,shal l
husband.
 Thehusbandshal
lfi
xther esi
denceofthe be gov erned by t he regime of compl ete
famil
y.Thecourtmayexemptt hewi fefrom l
ivi
ng separationofpr opertyinaccor dancewi t
ht his
wit
hherhusbandonanyoft hefoll
owinggrounds: Codeand, inasuppl etor
ymanner ,bythegener al
pri
nciplesofI slamicl aw andt heCi vilCodeof
(
a)Herdowerisnotsat
isf
iedi
naccor
dancewi
th thePhilippines.
t
hest
ipul
ati
ons;
or
Arti
cle 39.  St
ipulati
on i n t he mar r
iage
(b)Theconj
ugaldwel
li
ngisnotinkeepingwit
hher settl
ements. 
Every st i
pulat
ion int he mar r
iage
soci
alst
andi
ngoris,f
oranyreason,notsaf
efort
he settl
ements or cont ract refer
red t o in the
membersofthefamil
yorherproper
ty. precedi
ngar t
icl
eshal lbev oidandwi thoutef
fect
whatsoever,shouldt hemar riagenot akepl
ace.
Ar
ti
cle36.
 Ri
ght
sandobl
i
gat
ionsoft
hewi
fe. Howev er
,stipul
ationst hatdonotdependupon
thecontr
actofmar ri
ageshal lbev al
i
d.
(1)Thewi feshal
lduti
ful
l
ymanaget heaffai
rsoft
he
household.Shemaypur chasethi
ngsnecessaryforArti
cle40. Ant
e-nupt
ialpropert
y .
 Thewi f
eshall
themai ntenanceoft hefamil
y,andt hehusband notl ose ownershi
p and admi nist
rati
on ofall
shallbeboundt orei
mbursetheexpenses,i
fhehas properti
esbroughtbyhert othemar r
iageint
he
notdeli
veredthepropersum. absence of any wr i
tt
en agr eement t o t
he
contrary
,andshemaydi sposeoft hesameby
(2)Thewifecannot
,wi
thoutthehusband' , deedorot
sconsent herwiseevenwi t
houtt heconsentof
acquir
eanypropert
ybygratui
tousti
tl
e,exceptfr
om herhusband.
herrel
ati
veswhoar ewit
hintheprohibi
teddegrees
i
nmar ri
age.
Art
icl
e41.Excl
  usi
veproper
tyofeachspouse.
 The the exhausti
on of al
l possi
ble means of
fol
lowi
ngshallbet heexcl
usi
veproper
tyofei
ther reconci
li
ati
onbet
weenthespouses.Itmaybe
spouse: effect
edby:

(a)Proper
ti
es br
oughtt
othe mar
ri
age by t
he (
a)Repudi
ati
on oft
he wi
fe by t
he husband
husbandorthewi
fe; (
tal
aq)
;

(b)Alli
ncomeder i
vedbyeitherspousef
rom any (
b)Vowofcont
inencebyt
hehusband(
il
a);
employment
,occupati
onort
rade;
(c)Inj
uri
ous assani
l
ati
on oft
he wi
fe by t
he
(c)Any money orpropert
y acquir
ed by ei
ther husband(zi
har
);
spousedur
ingmar
ri
agebylucrat
ivet
it
le;
(
d)Act
sofi
mpr
ecat
ion(
li
'
an)
;
(d)Thedower(mahr
)oft
hewi
feandnupt
ialgi
ft
sto
eachspouse; (
e)Redempt
ionbyt
hewi
fe(
khul
'
);

(e)Pr opert
ies acqui
red by ri
ghtofredempt i
on, (f)Exercisebythewi f
eoft hedel
egat
edr
ightt
o
purchaseorexchangeoft heexcl
usi
vepropert
yof r epudiate(taf
wld);
or
eit
her;and
(g)Judicialdecr
ee(faskh).
(f) Allf r
uits of properti
es in t
he foregoi
ng
paragraphs. Arti
cle46. Di
  vor
cebyt al
aq.

Arti
cle 42. Owner
ship and admi nistr
ati
on. Each (1)A div
or cebyt alaqmaybeaf f
ect edbythe
spouseshal lown,possess,administ
er,enjoyand husband in a singler epudiati
on ofhi s wife
disposeofhi sorherownexcl usi
v eestateev en duri
ng hernon- menst rualper iod ( t
uhr)within
withoutthe consentoft he other
.Howev er,the which he has tot all
y abst ained f rom carnal
courtmay ,uponpeti
ti
onofei t
herspouse,gr antto rel
ati
onwi thher.Anynumberofr epudi
ati
ons
theothertheadmini
str
ati
onofsuchpr operty
. madedur ingonet uhrshal lconst i
tuteonlyone
repudi
ati
onandshal lbecomei rrevocableafter
Arti
cle43.
 Househol
dpr oper
ty.
 Househol
dpropert
y theexpi
rationoft
hepr escri
bed' idda.
whichcustomaril
ypertainstoori susedbyeit
her
spouseshallbepr i
maf aci
epr esumedtobet he (2)Ahusbandwhor epudiat eshiswi fe, eit
herf or
propert
yofsaidspouse. thef ir
storsecondt i
me,shal lhav et her ightt o
takeherback( ruju)wi thint hepr escr ibed' idda
Arti
cle44. Ri
  ghtt osueandbesued.  Thewi femay , byresumpt ionofcohabi tationwi t
houtneedofa
i
ndependent lyoft hehusband, sueorbesuedi nthe newcont ractofmar ri
age.Shoul dhef ailtodoso,
fol
lowingcases: ther epudi ationshal lbecomei r
r evocabl e( Talaq
bainsugr a).
(a)Whent hel i
tigationisbet weenhusbandandwi f
e;
Arti
cle 47.  Divorce by I l
a. Wher e a husband
(b)Ifthesui tconcer nsherexcl usi
v eproperty
; makes a v ow t o abst ainf rom any car nal
rel
ations( il
a)wi t
hhi swi feandkeepssuchi laf or
(c)Ift helitigationi sincident alt oherpr of
ession, aper iodofnotl esst hanf ourmont hs,shemay
occupat i
onorbusi ness; begr ant edadecr eeofdi vorcebyt hecour taf ter
duenot iceandhear ing.
(d)Ifthel it
igationconcer nst heexcl usi
v eproperty
oft hehusband,t headmi nistrat
ionofwhi chhas Ar ti
cle48.  Divorcebyzi har. Wher et hehusband
beent ransfer r
edt oher ;or has injuriou slyas similat
e d( zihar)h is wi f
et oany
ofhisr elativeswi thint hepr ohibiteddegr eesof
(e) Such ot her appr opriate cases as may be mar r
iage, theyshal lmut uallyrefrainf rom hav i
ng
fol
lowedbyt hegener alpr i
nci pl
esofI sl
amicl aw carnalr elationunt i
lheshal lhav eper formedt he
andot herlaws. prescribedexpi ation.Thewi femayaskt hecour t
to r equi re her husband t o per form t he
Chapt erThr ee expiationort o pronounce t he a r egul art alaq
DIVORCE( TALAQ) shoul d he f ailorr efuse t o do so,wi thout
prej
udi ce t o her r i
ght of seeki ng ot her
Section1. Nat ureandFor m appropr iater emedi es.

Arti
cle 45.Def
  i
nit
ion and for
ms.
 Divor
ce i
sthe Arti
cle49. Di
vorcebyli
'an.
 Wherethehusband
for
mal di ssol
uti
on of t he mar
riage bond in accuseshiswi f
eincour
tofadulter
y,adecr
eeof
accordancewiththisCodetobegr
ant edonl
yaf
ter perpetualdiv
orcemaybegr ant
edbyt hecour
t
afterduehear ingandaf tert hepar ti
esshal lhav e (c)Compel s hert o dispose ofherexcl usi
ve
performedt hepr escr i
bedact sofi mpr ecat i
on( li
'
an). propertyorpr events herf r
om exer cisi
ng her
l
egal r
ight
sov eri t
;
Articl
e 50.  Divorce by khul '
. The wi fe may ,af ter
hav i
ngof feredt or eturnorr enounceherdowerort o (d)Obst r
uct s heri nt he obser vance ofher
payanyot herl awf ulconsi der ationf orherr elease r el
igi
ouspract i
ces; or
(khul'
)from t hemar riagebond, petiti
ont hecour tfor
divorce.Thecour tshal l
,inmer itoriouscasesand ( e)Doesnott reatherj ust
lyandequi tablyas
after f ixing t he consi der ation, i ssue t he enj oi
nedbyI slami claw.
correspondi ngdecr ee.
Arti
cle 54. Effects of i rr
evocable t alaq or
Articl
e51. Di
  v
or cebyt afwid. Ift hehusband has f askh.
 Atalaqorf askh,assoonasi tbecomes
delegated( t
afwi d)t ot hewi fet her ightt oef fecta irrevocabl
e,shal lhavethef oll
owi ngeffects:
tal
aqatt het imeoft hecel ebrat ionoft hemar ri
age
ort hereafter,shemayr epudi at et hemar r
iageand ( a)Themar riagebondshal lbesev eredandt he
ther epudiationwoul dhav et hesameef fectasi fit spouses may cont ract anot her mar ri
age in
wer epronouncedbyt hehusbandhi msel f
. accordancewi ththisCode;

Art
icl
e52.Di
  vor
cebyf askh.
 Thecour
tmay,upon (
b)Thespousesshal
lloset
hei
rmut
ualr
ight
sof
pet
iti
onofthewi f
e,decreeadivor
cebyf
askhon i
nher
it
ance;
anyofthef
oll
owinggrounds:
(
c)Thecustodyofchi
ldrenshal
lbedetermi
ned
(a)Neglectorf
ail
ureofthehusband t
o prov
ide i
naccor
dancewithArt
icl
e78ofthiscode;
suppor
tf ort
hefamil
yforatl
eastsi
xconsecuti
ve
months; (d)Thewifeshal
lbeent i
tl
edtorecoverfr
om the
husbandherwholedoweri ncaset hetal
aqhas
(b)Conv
ict
ionoft
hehusbandbyf i
nalj
udgment beenaffectedaftertheconsummat ionoft he
sent
enci
nghimtoimpr
isonmentf
oratleastone marri
age,orone-halfther
eofifeff
ectedbefore
year
; i
tsconsummat i
on;

(c)Fail
ureofthehusbandt
oper
for
mf orsi
xmonths (e)Thehusbandshal
lnotbedischargedfrom
withoutreasonabl
ecausehismari
talobl
i
gat
ionin hisobli
gat
iont
ogi
vesuppor
tinaccordancewit
h
accordancewiththi
scode; Arti
cle67;
and

(
d)I
mpot
encyoft
hehusband; (
f)Theconj ugalpar
tner
ship,i
fsti
pulat
edint he
marri
age settl
ements,shallbe di
ssolved and
(e)Insani
tyoraf f
li
cti
onoft hehusband wi
than l
iqui
dated.
i
ncurable disease whi ch woul d make t he
conti
nuanceoft hemar r
iagerel
ati
onshi
pinj
uri
ous Arti
cle55. Ef
fectsofot herkindsofdivor
ce. 
The
tothefamil
y; provisi
onsoft hear t
icleimmedi at
elyprecedi
ng
shallapplytothedissolution,ofmarri
agebyila,
(
f)Unusualcr
uelt
yoft
hehusbandasdef
inedunder zi
har ,l
i'
anandkhul '
,subj ecttotheef f
ectsof
t
henextsucceedi
ngar
ti
cl
e;or compl i
ancewi t
ht herequirementsoftheIsl
amic
l
awr elati
vetosuchdi vorces.
(
g)Anyothercauser ecognizedunderMusl imlaw
f
orthedi
ssolut
ionofmar r
iagebyf askhei
theratt
he Sect
ion2.
 '
I
dda
i
nst
anceofthewifeorthepr operwali.
Art
icl
e56. '
 I
ddadef i
ned.
 '
I
ddaistheperiodof
Arti
cle 53.Faskh on t
  he ground of unusual waiti
ngprescri
bedforawomanwhosemar r
iage
cruel
ty.
 Adecreeoffaskhonthegr oundofunusual hasbeendi ssol
vedbydeat horbydivor
cet he
cruel
tymaybegr ant
edbyt hecourtuponpeti
ti
onof complet
ionofwhi chshal
lenabl
ehert
ocontract
thewifeift
hehusband: anewmar riage.

(
a)Habitual
l
y assaults her or makes her l
i
fe Ar
ti
cle57.
 Per
iod.
miserabl
ebycr uelconductevenifthi
sdoesnot
r
esultinphysi
cali
njur
y; (1)Ev
erywifeshal
lbeobl
i
gedt
oobser
ve'
i
dda
asfol
lows:
(
b)Associat
eswit
hpersonsofil
l
-reput
eorl
eadsan
i
nfamouslif
eorat
temptstof
orcet hewi
fet
oli
vean (a)I
ncaseofdi ssolut
ionofmar ri
agebydeath,
i
mmor al
li
fe; fourmonths and ten days counted f
rom t
he
deathofherhusband;
(b)Incaseoft erminationofmar r
iagebydi vorce, (c)Toshar einthel egiti
mat e( f
urud)andot her
forthreemont hlycour ses;or successionalrightswhi cht hi sCoder ecogni
zes
i
nhi sfavor.
(c)In case ofa pr egnantwomen,f ora per i
od
extendingunti
l herdel i
very. Arti
cle 63. Acknowl edgment by
fat
her. Acknowledgment( igr a)ofachi l
dbyt he
(2)Shoul dt he husband di e whil
et he wi
fei s f at
hershal lestabli
shpat er nityandconf erupon
observ i
ng'i
ddaf ordivorce,anot
her'i
ddaf ordeath eacht her i
ghtinheritfrom t heot herexclusi
vely
shallbeobser ved in accordancewi t
h paragraph in accor dance wi th Ar t
icle 94,pr ovi
ded t he
1(a). fol
lowingcondi ti
onsar ecompl i
edwith:

TI
TLEI
II (a)Theacknowledgmentismanif
estedbyt he
PATERNI
TYANDFILI
ATI
ON fat
her'
saccept
anceinpubl
ict
hatheisthef
ather
ofthechi
l
dwhodoesnoti mpugnit
;and
Art
icl
e58.Legi
  t
imacy,how establ
ished. 
Legi
ti
macy
off i
l
iat
ion i
s establ
ished by evidence ofv ali
d (
b)Therel
ati
onsdoesnotappeari
mpossi
bleby
marri
agebetweenthef at
herandt hemot heratthe r
easonofdi
spar
it
yinage.
ti
meoftheconceptionofthechil
d.
Arti
cle 64.
 Adopt
ion.
 No adopti
on i
n anyform
Ar
ti
cle59.
 Legi
ti
mat
echi
l
dren. shallconferupon anyper son t
hestatusand
ri
ghtsofal egi
ti
matechi l
dunderMusl i
ml aw,
(1)Childr
enconcei
vedinlawfulwedl
ockshallbe exceptthatsai
dpersonmayr ecei
veagif
t(hi
ba).
presumed t o be legi
ti
mate. Whoever cl
aims
i
llegi
ti
macyoforimpugnssuchfil
i
ati
onmustprove TITLEI
V
hisall
egati
on. SUPPORT(NAFAQA)

(2)Chi ldren bor

n aft
ersixmont hsf ol
l
owi ng t
he Arti
cle 65. Suppor
  t defined.  
Support( nafaqa)
consummat i
onofmar r
iageorwi thtwoy earsafter i
ncludes ev eryt
hing thati si ndi
spensablef or
thedi ssoluti
onofthemar riageshal lbepr esumed sustenance, dwel l
i
ng, cl othing and medi cal
to be l egi
ti
mate.Againstt his presumpt i
on no att
endanceaccor di
ngt ot hesoci alst
andingof
evi
denceshal lbeadmi tt
edot herthanthatoft he theper sonobl i
gedtogi vei t,andt heeducation
physical i mpossi
bil
i
ty of access bet ween t he oftheper sonent i
tl
edt ot hesuppor tunt i
lhe
parentsatoraboutt het i
meoft heconcept i
onof compl eteshi seducat ion,t rai
ning,orv ocation
thechi l
d. evenbey ondt heageofmaj orit
y .

Arti
cle60. Chi
  ldrenofsubsequentmar ri
age. 
Should Art
icl
e66. Amount.
 Theamountofsupportshal
l
themar r
iagebedi ssolvedandt hewi f
econt r
acts beinproport
iontot
her esourcesoft
hegi
verand
anothermar r
iageaf t
ert heexpi rati
onofher' IDDA, tot
heneedsoft hereci
pient.
the chi l
d bor n wit hi
n six mont hs f rom t he
dissolut
ionoft hepri
ormar riageshal lbepresumed Ar
ti
cle67.
 Suppor
tforwi
feandi
nfant
.
tohav ebeenconcei vedduringt heformermar riage,
andi fbornther eaf
ter
, duri
ngt helater. (1)Thewi f
eshallbeent i
tl
edt osupportduring
themar r
iage.I
ncasesofdi vorce,(
tal
aq),her
Arti
cle61.Pr
  egnancyaf t
erdissolut
ion. 
If
,afterthe ri
ghtshallbeextendedupt ot heexpir
ati
onof
dissol
uti
onofmar riage,t
hewifebeli
ev esthatsheis the'i
dda.However,i
ncaset hewi fei
spregnant
pregnantbyherf or merhusband,sheshal l,wit
hin atthe time oft he separati
on,she shallbe
thir
tydaysfrom thet i
meshebecameawar eofher enti
tl
edtosupportunti
ldeli
very.
pregnancy,not
if
yt heformerhusbandorhi sheirsof
thatfact.Thehusbandorhi shei r
smayaskt he (2)Anydivor
cednursi
ngmot herwhoconti
nues
courttotakemeasur estopreventasi mulati
onof tobreast
feedherchil
df ortwoy ear
sshallbe
birt
h. enti
tl
edtosuppor
tunti
ltheti
meofweaning.

Art
icl
e62. Ri
ght
soflegit
imat
echi
l
d. 
Alegi
ti
mat
e Arti
cle 68.
 Supportbetween ascendants and
chi
ldshal
lhavet
her
ight
: descendants.
 Theascendant
sanddescendant s
shallbeobl i
gedt osupporteachot heri
nt he
(
a)Tobeart
hesur
namesoft
hef
atherandoft
he orderinwhi chtheyarecal l
edto succeedby
mot
her
; i
ntestacytheper sonwhohasar ighttoclai
m
support.
(b)Tor ecei
vesupportfr
om thefat
heror,i
nhi s
defaul
t,fr
om hishei
rsinaccor
dancewit
hArti
cles Ar
ti
cle69.
 Pay
ment
.
65and68; and
(
1)Theobl i
gati
ontosuppor tshallbedemandable thatther i
ght
soft hechildrenar
erespect
ed,and
f
rom t he t i
me t he r eci
pient needs it for theirduti
escompl iedwith,andshal
lpart
icul
arl
y
mai
ntenance,butitshallnotbepai dexceptf
rom by pr ecept and exampl e,imbue them with
t
hedateiti
sextraj
udici
all
ydemanded. rel
igiousandci vi
cat tachmentt otheidealof
permanentwor ldpeace.
(2)Paymentshallbemadedail
y,weekl
yormont hl
y
i
nadv ance,andwhent hereci
pientdi
es,hi
shei r
s Art
icle74.Ef
  fect
suponpersonofchi
l
dren.
 The
shal
lnotbeobligedtoret
urnwhathehadr ecei
ved parents hav e, with respect to t hei
r
i
nadv ance. unemancipatedchil
dren:

(
3)I
fthereci
pienti
sthewife,
therul
eest
abl
i
shedin (a)Thedutytosuppor
tthem,hav ethem intheir
t
heforegoi
ngpar agr
aphshallappl
yeventhough company,educat
eandi nst
ructthem inkeeping
t
hemarri
ageisdissol
ved. withthei
rmeans and r epresentt hem in all
acti
onswhichshallredound tot heirbenefi
ts;
Art
icl
e 70. Ext
  ingui
shment of suppor
t.
 The and
obl
igat
iont
osupportshal
lcease:
(
b)Thepowertocor
rect
,di
sci
pli
ne,andpuni
sh
(
a)Upont
hedeat
hoft
her
eci
pient
; t
hem moder
atel
y.

(b)Whent her esour

cesoftheobli
gorhavebeenso Ar
ti
cle75.
 Ef
fect
suponpr
oper
tyofchi
l
dren.
reducedt hathecannotgi vethesupportwithout
neglect
inghi sownneedandt hoseofhi sfamil
y, (1)Thef ather,orinhi sabsencet hemot her,
exceptthatinthecaseofthespouses,t
hehusband, shallbethel egaladmini
str
atoroft hepropert
y
thoughneedy ,isobl
igedt
osupportthewif
e;or oft he chil
d underpar ent
alaut hori
ty.Ifthe
propert
yiswor thmorethanfi
vethousandpesos,
(c)When the recipi
entcommi t
s any actwhich thefatherorthemot hershal
lgiveabondt obe
woul
d giver i
se to disqual
i
ficat
ion t
oi nher
itor approvedbythecour t
.
deni
alofsupportunderMusli
ml aw.
(
2)Thecourtmayappoi
ntaguar
dian(
wasi)in
TI
TLEV t
he absence of one who is nat
ural or
PARENTALAUTHORI
TY t
est
amentary
.

Chapt
erOne Arti
cle 76.
 Parental authori
ty
NATUREANDEFFECTS non-t
ransfer
able. 
Parentalauthori
tycanneither
be r enounced nor t ransf
erred except as
Ar
ti
cle71.
 Whoexer
cises. other
wisepr ovi
dedint hisCodeandt hegeneral
pri
ncipl
esofI sl
amiclaw.
(1)Thef atherandt hemot hershal ljoi ntl
yexer ci se
j
ustand r easonabl epar ent alaut hor i
tyand f ul fl Ar
i
l t
icle77.  Extingui shmentofpar entalaut hority.
theirr esponsi bil
i
ty ov er t hei rl egi timat e and
acknowl edgedchi l
dren.I ncaseofdi sagr eement , (1)Par ent alaut hor it
yterminatesupont hedeat h
thefather 'sdeci si
onshal lprev ailunl esst hereisa oft hepar ent sort hechil
d,oruponemanci pation.
j
udicialor dertot hecont rary.
(2)Subj ectt oAr ti
cle78,t hewi dowedmot her
(2)The mot hershal lexer cise par ent alaut hor i
ty whocont ract sasubsequentmar r
iageshal llose
overherchi l
dr enbor noutofwedl ock,butt hecour t par ent alaut hor ityandcust odyov erallchi ldren
may ,whent hebesti nt erestsoft hechi ldrenso byt hed ec eas ed husband, unl
e sst hes ec ond
requir
e,appoi ntagener al guardi an. husbandi sr elatedt othem withint hepr ohibited
degr eesofconsangui nit
y.
Arti
cle72.  Dutyt oparent s.
(3)Thecour tmaydepr iveaper sonofpar ent al
(1)Chi l
dr enshal lrespect ,rev ere,and obeyt heir aut hor it
yorsuspendt heexer ci
set her
eofi fhe
parents al way s unless t he lattercastt hem i nt o t reats hi s chi ldren with excessive har shness,
disbeli
ef. gives t hen cor rupt i
ng ori mmor alor der s and
counsel ,orabandonst hem.
(2)Gr andpar ent sar el ikewi seent i
tledt or espect
and rever ence,and shal lbeconsul ted whenev er ChapterTwo
practi
cabl e byal lmember soft he f ami l
yon al l CUSTODYANDGUARDI ANSHI P
i
mpor tantquest ions.
Ar t
icle78.  Careandcust ody .
Arti
cle73. Dut
  ytochi ldren.  
Ev erypar entandev ery
personexer cisingpar ent alaut hor ityshal lseet oi t
(1)Thecar eandcust odyofchi l
drenbel ow seven Article 82. Duties of Di str
ict Registrar. 
Every
years ofage whose par ents are divorced shall DistrictRegistrarshallexerci
sesuper vi
sionov er
belong tot hemot heror ,inherabsence,t othe CircuitRegi strarsi n ev
eryShar i'
a Di str
ict.He
mat er
nalgr andmot her,thepat ernalgrandmot her, shal l
,inadditiont oanent rybook,keepandbi nd
thesisterandaunt s.Intheirdefault
,itshalldevolv
e copi es of cer ti
fi
cates of Mar riage,Di v
orce,
upont hef atherandt henear estpaternalrelat
ives. Rev ocationofDi vorce,andConv ersionsentt o
Themi norabov eseveny earsofagebutbel owthe him byt heCi rcuitRegistr
arsinsepar ategener al
ageofpuber tymaychooset hepar entwi t
hwhom registers.Heshal lsendcopi esinaccor dance
hewant stost ay. withAct .No.3753,asamended,t ot heof fi
ceof
theCi vilRegistrar-
General.
(2)Theunmar ri
eddaughterwhohasr eachedt he
ageofpuber t
yshallst
aywi t
ht hef ather
;theson, Ar ticl
e 83. Duti
es of Ci r
cui
t Registr
ar.
 Every
undert hesameci r
cumstances,shallstaywi ththe Circui
tRegistr
arshal l
:
mot her.
(a)Fil
eev er
ycertifi
cateofmarri
age(whichshall
Arti
cle 79. Guar
  di
an for mar r
iage ( wal i
).
 The specifythe nature and amountoft he dower
fol
lowing personsshal
lhav eaut hori
tyt o actas agr eedupon, )divorceorrevocati
onofdi vorce
guardian for marri
age (wali
)i n t he or der of and conv ersi
on and such ot her document s
precedence: presentedtohimf orregi
str
ati
on;

(
a)Fat
her (b)Compilesaidcer
ti
fi
cat
esmont hl
y,pr
epare
andsendanyinfor
mati
onrequi
redofhi
m bythe
(
b)Pat
ernal
grandf
ather
; Dist
ri
ctRegi
str
ar;

(
c)Br
otherandot
herpat
ernal
rel
ati
ves; (
c)Regi
sterconv
ersi
onsi
nvol
vi
ngI
slam;

(
d)Pat
ernal
grandf
ather
'sexecut
orornomi
nee;
or (d)Issuecert
if
iedtr
anscript
sorcopiesofany
cert
ifi
cat
e or document r egi
ster
ed upon
(
e)Thecour
t. paymentoftherequi
redfees;

Arti
cle 80.Guar
  di
an of mi nor
's propert
y. 
The (
e)SendtotheDistr
ictRegi
str
ardur
ingthefi
rst
fol
lowingpersonsshal
lexer
ciseguardianshi
pov er t
endaysofeachmont hacopyoft heent
ri
es
theproper
tyofminorsi
ntheorderofprecedence: madedur
ingtheprevi
ousmonth;

(
a)Fat
her
; (f
)Index the same foreasy r
efer
ence and
i
denti
fi
cat
ionincaseanyi
nfor
mati
onisrequi
red;
(
b)Fat
her
'sexecut
orornomi
nee; and

(
c)Pat
ernal
grandf
ather
; (
g)Admini
steroat
hs,f
reeofchar
ge,f
orci
vi
l
r
egi
str
ypur
poses.
(
d)Pat
ernal
grandf
ather
'snomi
nee;
or
Arti
cle 84. Cancel
  lati
on or Cor r
ect ion of
(
e)Thecour
t. Entry.
 Anyentryint heDi stri
ctorCi rcui tRegist
er
may ,upon v erif
ied pet i
tion ofanyi nter
ested
TI
TLEVI party,becor rected upon or deroft heShar i'
a
CI
VILREGI
STRY Distr
ictCourt,subj ectt ot hepr ov i
sionsoft he
RulesofCour t.Ev eryRegi strarshal lbeci vi
ll
y
Chapt
erOne responsibl
e f or any unaut hori
zed al terati
on
REGI
STRYOFMARRIAGE,DI
VORCEAND made i nthe r egistryt o anyper son suf feri
ng
CONVERSIONS damage t hereby.Howev er,the Regi str
armay
exempthi msel ffrom suchl i
abili
tyi fhepr oves
Arti
cle81.  Di
stri
ctRegi str
ar.
 TheCl erkofCour tof thathehast akenev eryreasonabl eprecaut ionto
theShar i'aDi str
ictCour tshall
,inaddi ti
ont ohis preventtheunlawf ul al
terati
on.
regular functi
ons,act as Di str
ict Regi str
ar of
Musl i
m Mar r
iages, Di vorces, Rev ocati
ons of Art
icl
e 85. Regi
  stration of r evocati
on of
Divorces,and Conv ersions wi t
hint he terri
tor
ial di
vorce. 
Withi
nsev enday saft
erther ev
ocation
j
urisdict
ionofsai dcour t.TheCl erkofCour tofthe ofadi v
orcebyr uju',thehusbandshall,withthe
Shari'
aCi rcui
tCour tshallactasCi rcuitRegistr
arof wif
e'swr i
tt
enconsent ,fi
leastat
ementt her
eof
Musl i
m Mar r
iages, Di vorces, Rev ocati
ons of wit
ht heCircuitRegi strari
nwhoser ecordsthat
Divorces,andConv er
sionswi t
hinhisj uri
sdict
ion. di
vorcewaspr eviousl yenter
ed.
Art
icle86. Legalef fect sofr egistr
ati
on. Thebooks Art
icl
e93.Di
  squal
i
ficat
ionstosuccessi
on.
 The
maki ng up t he r egistry of mar r
iage,di vorce, fol
l
owingshal
lbedisquali
fi
edt
osucceed:
rev
ocat i
on ofdi vor ce,conv ersion,and al lother
document sr elat
ing t her eto shallbe consi dered (a)Thosewhohaveint
enti
onal
lycauseddi
rect
ly
publicdocument sandshal lbepr i
maf acieevidence orindi
rect
lyt
hedeat
hofthedecedent;
oft hefactst herei
ncont ai
ned.Howev er,nothing
hereinprovidedshal laff ectt heintri
nsicv al
i
dityor (
b)Thosewhohav ecommi t
tedanyot heract
i
nvalidi
tyoft heact sr egistered. whi
chconstit
utesagr ounddi squal
i
ficati
ont o
i
nher
entunderIsl
ami
claw; and
Arti
cle87. Appli
cabili
tyofot herci
vi
lregist
rylaw. 
To
theext entnoti nconsistentwiththepr ovi
sionsof (
c)Thosewhoar esosi
tuat
edt
hatt
heycannot
this Code,t he provisi
ons ofot herr egi
str
yl aws i
nher
itunderI
slamicl
aw.
governingotherci v
ilregi
strarsshal
lbeobser vedby
distr
ictorcir
cuitregistr
ars. Art
icle 94. Successi
on f rom acknowledging
person. 
Without prejudi
ce to the order of
Chapt
erTwo successionofheirs,mutualri
ght
sofinheri
tance
OTHERACTSAFFECTI
NGCIVI
LSTATUS shallobt
ain:

Arti
cle88.Wher
  eregister
ed.
 Allotheracts,event
s, (a)Betweent heacknowledgi
ngf
atherandt
he
or judici
al decr
ees af f
ecti
ng ci vi
l status not acknowledgedchi
ld;and
mentioned i
n ChapterOneoft hisTi t
leshallbe
recor
dedi ntheexisti
ngcivi
lregistr
yoft hecityor (b)Betweentheki
nsmanacknowledgedt
hrough
municipal
it
yinaccordancewit
hspeci all
aws. anotherper
sonandtheacknowl
edger.

BOOKTHREE Art
icl
e 95.Successi
  on by i
llegi
ti
mat e chi
l
d. A
SUCCESSI
ON chi
ldwhowast hecauseoft hemot her'
shaving
beendivor
cedbyli'
anshal
lhav emutualri
ght
sof
TI
TLEI successi
on only wit
h the mot her and her
GENERALPROVISI
ONS rel
ati
ves.

Arti
cle 89.
 Successi
on defi
ned.
 Successi
on isa Art
icl
e 96.
 Successi
on bet
ween di
vor
ced
modeofacqui sit
ionbyvi
rt
ueofwhi chtheestat
eof per
sons.
aper sonist r
ansmitt
edtohi sheirsorot her
sin
accordancewiththi
scode. (1)Thehusband who di v
orceshi swifeshall
havemut ualright
sofinheri
tancewithherwhile
Arti
cle 90.Successi
  onalri
ght s,when v ested.
 The sheisobser vingher'i
dda.Aftert
heexpir
ati
onof
ri
ghtst o succession aret r ansmitted fr
om t he the '
idda,t here shal
lbe no mut ualri
ghts of
momentoft hedeathofthedecedent .Ther i
ghtto successionbet weenthem.
succession of any hei r who pr edeceases the
decedentshal lnotbe t ransmi t
ted by r i
ghtof (2)Thehusbandwho,whi l
einacondi ti
onof
repr
esent at
iontohisownhei rs. death-i
ll
ness,divor
ceshi swifeshal
lnotinheri
t
from her,butsheshallhavetheri
ghttosucceed
Ar
ticle91.
 Requi
sit
esofsuccessi
on.
 Nosettl
ement him evenaftertheexpir
ati
onofher'i
dda.
oft he estat
e ofa deceased person shal
lbe
ef
fectedunless: Arti
cle 97.
 Succession by concei
ved chil
d. A
chil
dconceivedatt hetimeoft hedeathoft he
(
a)Thedeat
hoft
hedecedenti
sascer
tai
ned; decedentshallbeconsideredanheirprov
idedit
bebor nlat
eri naccordancewithArti
cle10;its
(b)Thesuccessori
sal
i
veatt
het
imeoft
hedeat
h corr
esponding shareshallber eserv
ed before
ofthedecedent
;and theestat
eisdistr
ibuted.

(
c)Thesuccessori
snotdi
squal
i
fiedt
oinher
it
. Arti
cle98.Successi
  onbyabsentee.
 Theshar
eof
anhei rwhoi smi ssi
ngorot herwi
seabsentat
Art
icle92. Inher
it
ance(Mirath). 
Thei nherit
anceofa thetimeoft hedeat hofthedecedentshallbe
personincludesallpropert
iesofanyki nd,mov able reser
v ed:
orimmov able,whet
herancest raloracqui redeither
by oner ous or gratui
tous t i
tle,as wel las al l (
a)Unt
ilher
eappear
sandcl
aimsi
t;
tr
ansmi ssibleri
ghtsandobl igationsatt het i
meof
hi
s deat h and those thataccr ue thereto before (
b)Unt
ilhei
spr
ovendead;
or
parti
ti
on.
(c)Unt
ilthelapseoft
eny earsaft
erwhichhe
shal
lberesumeddeadbydecreeoft
hecourt
.
Art
icl
e 99. Or
derofsuccession.
 The hei
rs ofa Arti
cle104.Test
  ament
arywagf . 
Anendowment
decedentshal
linher
iti
nthef
oll
owi
ngorder: forIslamic pur
poses t
ot ake effectafterthe
deathofthedonor(wagf-
bil
l-
wasiya)partakesof
(
a)Shar ers(ashab-
ul-
fur
ud)shal
lbe ent
it
led t
o thenatureofatest
amentarydispositi
on.
f
ixedshares;
Arti
cle105.Capaci
  t
ytomakeawi l
l.
 Anyper
son
(
b)Resi
duar
ies(
ashab-
ul-
mir
ath)shal
lbeent
it
ledt
o ofsoundanddi sposingmindandwhoi snot
t
heresi
due; expressl
yprohibi
tedbyIsl
amicl
awmaymakea
wil
l.Persons ofeithersexunderthe age of
(c)Inthe absence ofthe f
oregoing,t he dist
ant pubertycannotmakeawi l
l
.
kindr
ed (dhaw-
ul-
arham)who ar e blood relati
ves
butareneit
hershar
ersnorr
esiduari
es; and Ar
ti
cle106.
 Di
sposabl
ethi
rd.

(d)I n def
aul
toft he abov
e,the acknowledged (1)Thet estat
or,i
nhi swill
,cannotdisposeof
kinsman,univ
ersallegat
ee,ort
hepubl i
ct r
easury morethanone- t
hir
dofhisestate.Anybequestin
(bait
-ul
-mal
),i
nthatorder
. excessthereofshallnotbegi venef
fectunless
rat
if
iedbyt hehei r
s.Inanycase,t hebequest
Art
icl
e100.
 ModesofSuccessi
on.
 Successi
onmy mustbeaccept edbythelegatee.
be:
(2)Abequesttoanysharerorresi
duar
yshal
lnot
(
a)Bywi
l
l(wasi
ya)
; bev ali
dunlessrat
if
iedbyt het est
ator
'shei
rs
exist
ingatt
hetimeofhisdeath.
(
b)Byoper
ati
onoft
hisCode;
or
Arti
cle107.  Bequestbyoper ati
onofl aw.  Shoul
d
(
c)Bycombi
nat
ionofbot
h. thet est at
ordi ewithouthav i
ngmadeabequest
i
nf av orofanychi l
dofhi ssonwhopr edeceased
TITLEI
I him,orwhosi multaneousl ydieswit hhi m,such
TESTAMENTARYSUCCESSI
ON chil
dshal lbeent i
tledtoone- thirdoft heshar e
thatwoul dhav eper tainedt ot hef atheri fhe
Chapt
erOne were al ive.The par ent or spouse,who i s
WILLS otherwi sedi squal
ifi
edt oi nher
iti
nv iewofAr ti
cle
93( c), shallbeenti
tledt oone-thi
r dofwhatheor
Arti
cle 101. Wi
  ll defi
ned. 
A wi l
l( wasiya) is a she woul d hav e r eceived wi thout such
declarati
onwher ebyaper sonispermi t
ted,wit
hthe qualificati
on.
formalit
ies pr escri
bed by l aw,t o control t
he
disposit
ion af ter his death of not mor et han Arti
cle 108.Rev
  ocation of wi
ll
.
 Wi
llmay be
one-thir
d ofhi sest ate,iftherear eheirs,orthe expresslyori
mpl iedlyrev
okedbythetest
atorat
wholeofi t,
iftherear enoheirsordistantki
ndred. any t i
me bef ore his death.Any waiver or
rest
rict
ionofthisrightshall
bevoi
d.
Ar
ti
cle102.
 For
mal
i
ties.
Arti
cle109.
 Parti
alinv al
i
dityofwill.
 Theinval
idi
ty
(1)Themakingofawi l
lisstr
ictl
yapersonalact
;it ofoneofsev eralpr ovi
sionsofawi l
lshallnot
cannotbel
eftinwhol
eori npartt
othediscr
eti
onof resul
tintheinvali
dit
yoft heot her
s,unlessitisto
a thir
d person or accompl i
shed t
hrough the bepr esumedt hatt het estat
orwoul dnothav e
i
nstrument
ali
tyofanagent. madesuchot herpr ovi
sionsi fthef i
rstinval
id
provi
sionhadnotbeenmade.
(2)Awi l
lmaybedecl aredorallyorinwriti
ngina
mannert hatshows clearl
yt he int
ent
ion oft he TITLEI
II
test
atort
oexecuteitinthepresenceofal eastt
wo LEGALSUCCESSI
ON
competent,cr
edi
bleanddisi
nterest
edwitnesses.
Chapt
erOne
Ar
ti
cle103.
 Pr
oofofwi
l
l. SHARES

(1)Nonuncupati
vewil
lshal
lpassanypr opert
yof Art
icle 110.Who ar
  e sharers.
 The foll
owi
ng
thedecedentunl
essitisproved and all
owed i
n personsshallbeenti
tl
edtot hei nher
it
anceas
accor
dancewithasol
emnoathoraf f
ir
mat i
onofall sharerst
ot heext
entsetf
ort
hi nthesucceedi
ng
thewi
tnesseswhoatt
est
edtoit
sdeclarati
on. art
icl
es:

(2)Nowi l
lofanyotherkind,hol
ographi
corf or , (
mal a)Thehusband,t
hewi
fe;
shallpassanypr opert
yunl essitispr ov
ed and
all
owedinaccordancewiththisCode. (b)Thefather
,themot
her,t
hegr
andf
ather
,the
grandmother
;
(c)The daught
erand t
he son'
sdaught
eri
nthe moresonsofthedecedent,t
hel
att
ershal
lbe
dir
ectl
i
ne; ent
it
ledt
odoubl
etheshareoft
hef
ormer
.

(d)The fullsist
er,the consangui
ne si
ster
,the (2)Shoul dal one daught
eroft he decedent
uter
inesi
sterandtheuter
inebrot
her. surv
iv et ogetherwi t
h his son'
s daughter,the
two-thir
dsshar eshallbediv i
dedbetweent hem,
Arti
cle 111.Shar
  e of sur vi
ving husband.  
The one-halft her
eoft o pert
aint otheformerand
husbandsurvi
v i
ngtogetherwit
hal egit
imatechil
d one-sixt
hoft hel at
ter
.
orachi l
dofthedecedent'ssonshallbeentitl
edto
one-f
ourthoftheheredi
taryest
ate;shouldtherebe Art
icle118. Shareofson'sdaughter.
 Theson'
s
nosuchdescendant s,heshallinheritone-hal
fof daughtershall
,intheabsenceofanychi l
doft
he
theestat
e. decedent, be ent it
led to one-hal
f of the
heredit
aryestate.Twoormor edaughtersoft
he
Art
icle 112.Shar
  e of survi
ving wife.
 The wife decedent'
ssonshal lsharethetwo-t
hirdsoft
he
survivi
ngtoget
herwithalegit
imatechildorachi l
d estatepercapit
a.
ofthedecedent'ssonshallbeenti
tl
edt oone-ei
ght
oft heheredit
aryestat
e;intheabsenceofsuch Art
icle 119. Shar
  e of fullsi ster
. 
Should the
descendants,she shal
linheri
tone-fourth ofthe decedentl eaveneitherdescendant ,fat
her,nor
estate. ful
lbr other,t
hef ul
lsist
er,shal lbeentitl
edas
sharertot heextentofone-halfoftheheredit
ary
Art
icle 113.Shar
  e ofsur vivi
ng father. The f
ather estate.Two ormor efullsisters shal
linheri
t
succeedingtoget herwiththelegit
imat esonoft he two-thir
dsoft heestat
epercapi ta.
decedentorasonoft hedecedent '
ssonshal lbe
enti
tled,asshar er,toone- si
xthoft heher edit
ary Arti
cle120.Shar
  eofconsanguinesister.
 Should
estate.Thef atherwhosucceedst oget herwitha the decedent leave nei
ther descendent,f ul
l
l
egiti
mat edaught eroft hedecedentoradaught er brother,norful
lsister
,theconsangui nesister
oft he decedent 's son shallinheri
t ,as shar er
, shallbeent i
tl
ed to one-
halfoft heher edi
tary
one-sixt
hoft heinherit
ancewi t
houtpr ejudicetohis estate.Twoormor econsanguinesistersshall
shareasr esi
duary . i
nher i
ttwo-t
hir
dsoftheestatepercapita.

Arti
cle114. Shar
  eofsur viv
ingmot her. 
Themot her Arti
cle 121. Shar
  e of ut eri
ne br other or
succeeding assharert ogetherwithachi l
d ora sist
er .
 Theshar eofaut er i
nebr otherorsi st
er
chil
doft hedecedent'
sson,orwi tht woormor e shallbeone- sixthoftheher edi
taryestateshoul d
brot
hersorsi st
ersofthedecedent, shallbeenti
tled there be no sur vi
vi
ng descendant ,f ather,
toone- si
xthoft hehereditaryestate.Shoul dshe paternalgrandf ather
,orfullbrotherandsi sterof
survi
vewi thoutanysuchdescendantorwi thonl y thedecedent .Twoormor eut eri
nebr othersor
onebr otherorsist
er,sheshal li
nher i
tone-thi
rdof sist
er sshallinher i
tone-thirdoft heest ateper
theestate. capita.

Arti
cle 115. Shar e of pat er
nal gr andf ather. 
The Ar
ti
cle122.
 Par
ti
ci
pat
ionoff
ullbr
other
.
paternalgrandf athersucceedingt ogetherwi tht he
chil
doft hedecedentor ,indef aultther eof,withhi s (1) One or mor ef ul
lbr others and sist
ers
descendantsi nt hedir
ectmal el i
nehowev er,dist
ant , surv
ivingtogether,oroneormor econsanguine
shallbeentit
ledt oone-sixt
hoft heher editaryest ate. brot
her s or sist
ers survi
ving together,shal
l
Shoul dhesur v i
v ewithanyshar erot hert hant he part
icipat
eint heheredit
aryestate,abr ot
herto
brothersorsi st ersoft hedecedent ,heshal lbe i
nheritdoubl
et heshareofasi ster
.
enti
tledtoone- sixthwit
houtpr ejudicet ohi srightas
aresiduary
. (2)Thepr ovi
sionoft henextsucceedi ngar ti
cle
notwit
hstandi
ng,t hef ul
lbrothershall
,ifnothing
Arti
cle 116. Share ofpat ernalgr andmother.
 The i
sl ef
tforhim afterthedist
ributi
onofshar esand
paternalgrandmot hersucceedingi ndefaul
toft he he survi
ves wi th uteri
ne brothers,partici
pate
mot her,f
ather,ori nt
ermediategr andfat
heroft he withthelatt
eri nt heone-t
hi r
doft heher edit
ary
decedentshal lbeenti
tled,
asshar er,toone-
sixt
hof estat
epercapi ta.
theheredit
aryestate.
Arti
cle 123. Excl
usi
on among hei rs.
 The
Ar
ti
cle117.
 Shar
eofsur
viv
ingdaught
er. excl
usionofheirsfr
om thei
nheri
tanceshal
lbe
governedbyt
hef ol
l
owingrul
es:
(1)I
ft hedecedentl eavesnosonbutonedaught er
,
thelatt ershallbeent it
ledt oi nher
it,assharer, (a)I
nt he same l
i
ne,t
he rel
ati
ve near
esti
n
one-halfoft he heredi
tary estate.Two ormor e degr
eeexcl
udest
hemoreremote.
daught ers shal
lshar e equall
yt wo-thir
ds ther
eof
.
Shouldoneormor edaught erssur vi
vewi t
honeor
(
b)Full
-bloodr
elat
ivesex
cludet
heconsangui
neand Arti
cle 128. Pref
erence among
t
heuterine. resi
duari
es.
 Pr
eferenceamongr esi
duar
iesshal
l
begov er
nedbythef oll
owingrul
es:
(c)Whoev erisrelatedtot hedecedentthroughany
personshal lnoti nheri
twhi l
et helat
terislivi
ng, (a)The resi
duary nearerin degree shallbe
exceptinthecaseofamot herconcur
ri
ngwi t
hher pr efer
redt
othemorer emoteoft hesamecl ass.
chil
dren.
(b)The resi
duary withfull
-bl
ood relati
onship
(d)Heirswho,inapar ticul
arcase,donotsucceed shal lbepref
err
edtot hoseoft hehalf-bl
oodof
byr easonofdi squalif
icationonanygr oundshall thesamedegr eeofr el
ati
onshipint hesame
notexcludeothers. class.

Chapt
erTwo (c)Ther esi
duari
esoft hesamecl ass,degr
ee
RESI
DUARYHEIRS and blood relat
ionshi
p shall share equal
ly,
subj
ecttot heruleofthemal ehav ingashare
Arti
cle124. Resi
  duari
es. Anyresidueleftaf
tert he doubl
ethatofthef emal
einpropercases.
dist
ributi
on of t he shar es shallbe part
iti
oned
among t he r esi
duaries in accordance wi
tht he Arti
cle129.
 Reducti
onofshar es.
 I
fthet
otal
it
yof
foll
owingar t
icl
es.Anhei rmaysucceedasr esiduary allt
hesharesassi gnedtoeachoft hesharer
s
i
nhi sownr i
ght( asaba-
bi n-
nafs)
,inanother
'sright exceedsthewhol einheri
tance,t
hesharesshall
(asaba-bi
l-
ghair), or t ogether wi th anot her bereducedproporti
onatel
y.
(asaba-ma'al
-ghair)
.
Article 130. Rev
  ersion of r esidue.  
If
, af t
er
Art
icl
e 125.
 Resi
duar
ies i
nt hei
r own r
ight
. 
The distri
but i
ngt heportionsoft heshar ers,aresidue
fol
l
owingper
sonsareresi
duar
iesi
nthei
rownri
ght: i
sl eftint heinherit
anceandt her eisnosur vi
v i
ng
residuary hei r,the same shal lr evertini t
s
(
a)Maledescendantsofthedecedenti
nthedi
rect entiretytot heloneshar erortoal ltheshar ersin
l
i
ne,howev
er,di
stantindegr
ee; propor ti
ont ot heirrespect i
veshar es.Howev er,
thehusbandort hewi f
eshal lnotbeent i
tl
edt o
(
b)Mal
eascendant
soft hedecedenti
nthedi
rect anypar toft herevertedpor ti
onasl ongast here
l
i
ne,
howev
erdist
antindegr
ee; areot hershar ersordi stantki
ndr ed.

(c) Ful
l-
blood or consanguine brother
s of t
he Chapt
erThree
decedentand t heirmale descendants,howev
er, DI
STANTKI
NDRED( DHAW-UL-
ARHAM)
dist
antindegree;and
Ar
ti
cle 131.
 Relat
ives i
ncl
uded.
 Di
stantki
ndr
ed
(d)Ful
l-
bloodorconsangui
nepat er
naluncl
esoft
he i
ncl
udesthef ol
l
owing:
decedentand theirmal e descendant
s,however
dist
antindegr
ee. (
a)Thedaughter'
schil
drenandt hechil
drenof
t
heson'
sdaughterandthei
rdescendant
s;
Art
icle 126.Resi
  duar
ies in another
's r
ight
. 
The
fol
lowingpersonsshallsucceedasresi
duari
esin (b)Theexcl
udedgr
andf
atherandt
heexcl
uded
another'
sri
ght: grandmot
her
;

(a) Daughter
s sur
viv
ing wi
th t
he son of t
he (c)Thesist
er'
schil
dren,t
hebrother
'sdaught
ers,
decedent; the sons of the uteri
ne br
other,and their
descendant
s;and
(b) Son'
s daught
ers sur
viv
ing wi
th t
hei
r own
brot
hers; (
d)Thepaternalaunt
s,theuter
ineuncl
esand
t
hemater
nalauntsanduncl
es.
(
c)Ful
lsi
ster
ssur
viv
ingwi
tht
hei
rful
lbr
other
s;and
Arti
cle132. 
Extentanddi str
ibuti
onofshar es.In
(d) Consangui
ne sist
ers sur
viv
ing wi
th t
hei
r defaultofal
lsharer
sandr esiduar
ies,
thedistant
consangui
nebrot
her
s. kindr
edshallinheri
ttheent ir
eher edi
tar
yest at
e,
the same to be di str
ibuted among t hem i n
Arti
cle 127. Resi
duari
es toget
her with accordancewithArti
cles123and128.
another.
 Ful
l
-blood or consangui ne si sters,
survi
vingwithdaughtersofthedecedentorwit
ht he TI
TLEI
V
son'
sdaught ers,howev er
,dist
anti ndegreefrom SETTLEMENTANDPARTITI
ONOFESTATE
thedecedent,areresi
duari
estogetherwit
hanother.
Art
icl
e 133.Admi
  nist
rati
on. 
The administ
rat
ion
oftheest
ateofadecedentshal
l
,forpurposesof
sett
lement,vestattheti
meofhi sdeat
hint he ChapterOne
executorappoint
edinthewil
lor ,i
ntheabsence SHARI
'
ADI STRICTCOURTS
ther
eof,inhisheiroradmini
str
atortowhom the
courthasgrant
edlet
ter
sofadmini
str
ati
on. Art
icl
e138. Shari
'ajudi
cialdist
ri
cts.
 Fivespeci
al
j
udici
aldi
stri
cts,eachtohav eoneShar i
'aDist
ri
ct
Ar
ti
cle134.
 Gov
erni
ngschoolofl
aw. Court presided ov er by one j udge, are
const
it
utedasf oll
ows:
(1)Inev erypetit
ionforprobat
eofwi llorf orthe
sett
lementof t he est
ate of a descendent,al l (a)TheFir
stShar
i'
aDi
str
ictshal
lcompr
iset
he
matters r el
ati
ng t o t he appoi ntment of Provi
nceofSul
u;
admi ni
str
ator,powersanddut i
esofadmi nistrat
or
orexecutor,thecourtshal
ltakeint
oconsi derati
on (b)TheSecondShar
i'
aDi
str
ict
,thePr
ovi
nceof
theschool ofl
aw( madhhab)ofthedecedent. Tawi-
Tawi
;

(2)Ifthedecedent'
smadhhabi snotknown,t he (c)TheThi r
d Shari
'aDist
ri
ct,thePr ovi
nceof
Shafi
'ischoolofl aw may be giv
en preference Basi
lan,ZamboangadelNor teandZamboanga
toget
her with the speci
al r
ules of procedure delSur,andtheCit
iesofDipolog,Pagadi
anand
adoptedpursuantt
othi
sCode. Zamboanga;

Art
icle 135.Or
  derof pr
eference of cl
aims.
 The (d)TheFourt
hShari'
aDistri
ct,t
heprovi
ncesof
estateofadecedentshal
lbeappliedt
oclaimsand Lanao delNort
e and Lanao delSur,and t
he
chargesinthefoll
owi
ngorder
: Cit
iesofIl
i
ganandMarawi;and

(
a)unpai
dtaxes; (e)TheFi f
thShari
'aDi
str
ict
,theProvi
ncesof
Maguindanao, Nort
h Cotabato and Sult
an
(
b)r
easonabl
efuner
alexpenses; Kudarat
,andtheCit
yofCot
abato;

(c)theexpensesforprobat
e,admi
nist
rat
ionand Arti
cle139.
 Appoi
ntmentofjudges. 
Thejudicial
otherj
udi
cial
expenses; functi
onintheShar i
'
aDistri
ctCourtsshallbe
vestedinShari
'
aDistr
ictj
udgest obeappointed
(
d)t
hedebt
soft
hedecedent
; bythePresi
dentofthePhi
li
ppines.

(e)t
hel egaci
est
otheext
entoft
hedi
sposabl
e Art
icl
e 140. Qual
  if
icati
ons. 
No per son shallbe
one-
thi
rd; appointed Shar i
'
a Di stri
ct judge unl ess, in
addit
ion tot he quali
ficat
ions for judges of
(
f)t
hedi
str
ibut
ionofshar
esamonghei
rs;
and CourtsofFi rstInstancef i
xedi nt heJudi ci
ary
Law, he i s learned i n I sl
amic l aw and
(
g)unpai
ddower
. j
uri
spr udence.

Art
icl
e 136. Li
abil
i
ty ofhei r
s. 
The li
abil
i
ty ofthe Arti
cle141. Tenur
  e. Shar
i'
aDi st
rictjudgesshal l
hei
rsofadecedentf orthepay mentofthemat t
er'
s beappoi nt
edt oserv eduringgoodbehav ioruntil
debtsshallnotexceedt heheredi
taryestat
e.Each theyreacht heageofsi xty-f
iveyears,orbecome
hei
rshallbe l i
able onl
yf orthe paymentoft he i
ncapacitated to dischar
get hedut i
esoft hei
r
decedent
'sdebtinproporti
ontohisshare. offi
ce,unless soonerr emov ed fort he same
causesandi nt
hesamemannerpr ovidedbyl aw
BOOKFOUR forj
udgesofCour tsofFirstInst
ance.
ADJUDI
CATI
ONANDSETTLEMENTOFDISPUTES
ANDRENDI
TIONOFLEGALOPI
NIONS Art
icl
e 142.  Compensat i
on. 
Shari
'
a Di st
ri
ct
j
udgesshallreceiv
et hesamecompensat i
onand
TI
TLEI enj
oy the same pr i
vil
eges as the j
udges of
THESAHRI'
ACOURTS Court
sofFirstInstance.

Arti
cle137.  Creat
ion.
 Therear eherebycreat
edas Ar
ti
cle143.
 Or
igi
nalj
uri
sdi
cti
on.
part of t he judi
cialsy st
em,cour ts of l
imi
ted
j
urisdict
ion,t o be known r especti
vel
yas Shari'
a (1)TheShari
'aDi
str
ictCour
tshal
lhav
eexcl
usi
ve
Distr
ictCour t
s and Shari'
a CircuitCourt
s,which ori
ginal
jur
isdi
cti
onover:
shallexercisepower sandf unctionsinaccor
dance
withthisTitle. (
a)Al lcases i
nvol
vi
ng custody,guar
dianshi
p,
l
egit
imacy,pat
erni
tyandf i
l
iati
onarisi
ngunder
Shar
i'
acour
tsandt hepersonnelthereofshallbe t
hisCode;
subj
ectt
ot he admini
str
ati
ve superv
ision ofthe
Supr
emeCourt
.
<l(b) al l="" cases=""i nvolv
ing="" disposi ti
on,="
" same offi
cers and otherper
sonnelas t
hose
dist r
ibution="" and="" settl
ement ="" of=""t he="
" prov
idedbylawf orCourt
sofFi
rstI
nst
ance.
est ate="" deceased=" " musl ims,="" pr obat e="
"
wills,=""i ssuance=""l ett
ers="" admi nist
r ation="
" Theper ti
nentprov i
sionsoft heJudi ci
aryLaw
or=" "appoi ntment=""administr
ators=""execut ors="
" regar
ding t
he number , qual if
icat
ions,
regar dless="" nat ure="" aggr egate="" v alue="
" appointment,compensat ion,functi
ons,dut i
es
proper ty;=""<="
"p=""> andot hermattersr elati
vet otheper sonnelof
theCour t
sofFirstInst anceshallappl
yt othose
(c)Petit
ionsforthedecl ar
ation ofabsenceand oftheShari'
aDistr
ictCour ts.
death and forthe cancell
ati
on orcor r
ecti
on of
entr
iesintheMuslim Registr
iesmentionedinTi
tle Ar
ti
cle147.
 Per
manentst
ati
ons;
off
ices.
VIofBookTwooft hisCode;
(1)TheShar i
'
aDi st
ri
ctCourt
sshallhavethei
r
(d)Al
lacti
onsari
singfr
om customarycontract
sin respect
ivepermanentst
ati
onsinthef ol
l
owing
which t
heparti
esar eMuslims,iftheyhav enot places:
speci
fi
edwhichl
awshallgovernthei
rrel
ati
ons;and
(
a)Fi
rstShar
i'
aDistr
ict,Jolo,Sul
u;
(e) Al l peti
ti
ons f or mandamus, prohibi
ti
on,
i
njunct i
on,cert
ior
ari
,habeascorpus,andallother (
b)SecondShari
'
aDi str
ict,Bongao,
Tawi-
Tawi
;
auxil
iarywrit
sandpr ocessesi
naidofitsappel
late
j
urisdicti
on. (
c)Thi
rdShari
'aDist
rict
, ZamboangaCit
y;

(2) Concur
rent
ly wit
h exist
ing civ
ilcourt
s,t he (
d)Four
thShar
i'
aDi
str
ict
,Mar
awi
Cit
y;
Shari
'aDist
ri
ctCourtshal
lhaveorigi
nalj
uri
sdict
ion
over
: (
e)Fi
ft
hShar
i'
aDi
str
ict
,Cot
abat
oCi
ty;

(a)Peti
ti
onsbyMuslimsfort
heconst
it
uti
onofa (2)TheShar
i'
aDist
ri
ctCourtsmayholdsessi
ons
famil
yhome,changeofnameandcommi t
mentof anywher
ewithi
nthei
rrespecti
vedi
str
ict
s.
aninsaneper
sontoanasy
lum;
(3) The provinces, citi
es or munici
pal
ities
(b) All ot
her per sonal and real acti
ons not concerned shall provide such court
s wi th
mentionedinpar agraph1( d)wher ei
nthepar t
ies adequatecour
tof f
ice,suppli
esandequi
pmenti n
i
nvolvedareMusl i
msexceptt hoseforfor
cibl
eentry accordancewit
ht hepr ovi
sionsoftheJudi
ciary
andunl awf
uldet ai
ner,whichshallf al
lundert he Law.
excl
usive ori
ginalj uri
sdi
cti
on of t he Munici
pal
Cir
cuitCourt
;and Arti
cle 148. Speci
  al pr
ocedure.
 The Shar
i'
a
Dist
rictCourtsshal
lbegover
nedbysuchspecial
(c)Allspecialci
vilact
ions f
ori nt
erpleaderor rul
esofpr ocedur
east heSupremeCourtmay
decl
arat
oryreli
efwher
einthepart
iesareMusl ims promulgate.
orthe propert
yinvol
ved bel
ongs exclusiv
elyto
Musli
ms. Arti
cle 149. Appl
  i
cabi
li
ty of other laws. 
The
provi
sionsofal llawsr el
ativ
etotheCour tsof
Ar
ti
cle144.
 Appel
l
atej
uri
sdi
cti
on. Fi
rstI nstance shal
l,insofaras they ar
e not
i
nconsi st
entwi ththis Code,be appli
cabl
et o
(1)Shar
i'
a Dist
ri
ctCour ts shal
lhave appel
lat
e Shari
'aDistri
ctCourts.
j
uri
sdi
cti
onoverallcasestri
edintheShar
i'
aCir
cuit
Cour
tswit
hint
heirter
rit
ori
alj
uri
sdi
cti
on. Chapt
erTwo
SHARI
'
ACIRCUI
TCOURTS
(2)TheShar i'
aDi stri
ctCourtshalldecideeverycase
appeal edt oi tont hebasi soft heev i
denceand Ar ti
cle150.
 Whereestabl
ished.
recordst r
ansmi ttedaswel lassuchmemor anda,
briefsoror al argument sasthepar t
iesmaysubmi t. (1)Shari
'aCir
cui
tCour t
sshal lbeestablishedas
fol
lows:
Articl
e145.  Final i
tyofdeci si
on. Thedeci si
onsof
theShar i'
aDi strictCour t
swhet heronappealf rom (a)Si
xsuchcour t
sinthePr ovinceofSulu;
the Shar i
'
a Ci rcuitCour tornotshal lbe f inal
.
Not hi
ngher ei ncont ainedshallaf fecttheor i
ginal (b)Ei
ghtintheProvi
nceofTawi -Tawi
;
andappel lat
ej urisdi
ctionoftheSupr emeCour tas
prov i
dedi ntheConst i
tuti
on. (c)Ten in and forthe Pr ovinces ofBasilan,
ZamboangadelNor teandZamboangadelSur ,
Articl
e 146. Cl
  erks and ot her subor dinate and t he Cit
ies of Dipolog, Pagadi an, and
empl oy ees. 
Shar i
'a Distr
ictCourts shallhavet he Zamboanga;
(
d)TwelveinandfortheProvi
ncesofLanaodel (f
)Mai nt
enanceandsuppor
t,andconsol
ator
y
Nor
teandLanaodelSurandt
heCiti
esofI
li
ganand gi
fts,
(mut'
a);and
Mar
awi;
(g)Resti
tut
ionofmari
talr
ight
s.
(e)Fi
fteeninandfort
heProv
inceofMagui
ndanao,
NorthCotabatoandSult
anKudar
atandtheCit
yof ( 3) Allcases invol
vi
ng disput
es r
elat
ivet
o
Cotabato. communal proper
ti
es.

(2)Thet er
rit
ori
aljur
isdi
cti
onofeachofthe'Shar
i'
a Art
icl
e 156. Cl
  er
ks and ot
her subor
dinat
e
Cir
cuitCour t
sshallbefixedbytheSupremeCourt employees.
on the basis ofgeogr aphi
calconti
gui
ty ofthe
municipali
ti
es and ci t
ies concer
ned and thei
r (1)Shari
'
aCircuitCourt
sshallhavethesame
Muslim populat
ion. off
icer
sandot herper
sonnelasthoseprov
ided
bylawforMunici
palCi
rcui
tCourt
s.
Arti
cle 151.
 Appoi
ntmentofjudges.
 Each Shar
i'
a
Cir
cuitCourtshallbepresi
dedov erbyaShar i'
a (2)Thepertinentpr ovisi
onsoftheJudi ciaryLaw
Cir
cuitJudget obeappoint
edbyt hePresi
dentof regar
ding the number , qual if
ications,
thePhil
ippi
nes. appointment,compensat i
on,f uncti
ons,dut i
es
andot hermat ter srelat
ivetot heper sonnelof
Arti
cle 152. Qual
  i
fications.
 No per son shal l be theMuni ci
palCir cuitCourtsshallapplytot hose
appointedjudgeoft heShar i'
aCircuitCourtunless oftheShari'
aCi rcuitCourts.
hei sanat ur
al-
bor nci ti
zenoft hePhi li
ppines,at
l
eastt wenty-f
iveyear sofage,andhaspassedan Articl
e157.  Pl
aceofsessi ons;st
ati
ons.
 Shari
'a
exami nat
ion i n t he Shar i
'
a and I slamic Circui
tCour tmayhol dsessionanywherewi t
hin
j
urisprudence( f
iqh)t o begi venbyt heSupr eme theirrespectiv
ecircui
ts,buteachshallhav ea
Courtf oradmissiont ospecialmember shipint he pri
ncipalst ati
on t
o be fixed bythe Supreme
Phili
ppineBartopr acticeintheShari'
aCour t
s. Cour t
.

Arti
cle153. Tenur
  e.
 Shari'
aCi r
cui
tjudgesshallbe Articl
e 158. Speci
  al pr
ocedure.
 The Shar
i'
a
appoi ntedt oser v
edur inggoodbehav iorunti
lthey Circui
tCour t
sshallbegover
nedbysuchspecial
reach t he age of si xty
-fi
vey ears or become rul
esofpr ocedur
east heSupremeCourtmay
i
ncapaci tatedt odischarget heduti
esofthei
roffice, promul gat
e.
unlesssoonerr emov edf orthesamecausesandi n
thesamemannerpr ov i
dedbyl aw forjudgesof Article 159. Appl
icabili
ty of other laws. The
Muni cipal CircuitCourts. prov i
sions of alll aws r el
ati
vet o Muni cipal
CircuitCour t
sshal l
,tot heextentthattheyar e
Art
icle 154. Compensati
on.
 Shar
i'
a Circuitj
udges noti nconsist
entwi t
ht hisCode,beapplicableto
shallrecei
vet hesamecompensationandenjoythe theShar i'
aCircui
tCour ts.
same pr i
vi
leges as j
udges ofMuni cipalCi
rcui
t
Courts. TITLEII
THEAGAMAARBITRATIONCOUNCI
L
Art
icl
e155.
 Juri
sdi
cti
on.
 TheShari'
aCir
cuitCour
ts
shall
hav
eexclusi
veori
ginal
jur
isdi
cti
onover
; Arti
cle 160. Const
  it
uti
on.
 The Shari
'a Di
str
ict
Court or t he Shar
i'
a Cir
cuit Cour
t may,i n
(1) Al
l cases invol
vi
ng of
fenses def
ined and appropriat
e cases, const i
tut
e an Agama
puni
shedunderthisCode. Arbi
trationCouncilinthemannerspecifi
edi n
thi
sTi t
le.
(2) Allcivi
lacti
ons and pr
oceedi
ngs between
part
ieswhoar eMusli
msorhav ebeenmar r
iedin Ar
ti
cle161.
 Di
vor
cebyt
alagandt
afwi
d.
accordance wi
th Art
icl
e 13 inv
olv
ing di
sputes
rel
ati
ngt o: (1)AnyMusl im mal ewho haspr onounced a
tal
agshal l,wi t
houtdel ay,fi
l
ewi tht heCl erkof
(
a)Mar
ri
age; Courtoft heShar i
'
aCi rcui
tCour toft hepl ace
wher ehisfami lyresi
desawr i
tt
ennot i
ceofsuch
(
b)Di
vor
cer
ecogni
zedundert
hisCode; factand t he ci r
cumst ances attended thereto,
afterhavingser vedacopyt hereoft othewi fe
(
c)Bet
rot
hal
orbr
eachofcont
ractt
omar
ry; concerned.The t alag pronounced shal lnot
becomei r
rev ocableunt i
laft
ertheexpi r
ationof
(
d)Cust
omar
ydower(
mahr
); thepr escribed' i
dda.Thenot i
cef i
ledshal lbe
conclusive ev i
dence t hat talag has been
(e)Disposi
ti
onand di
str
ibut
ionofpr
oper
tyupon pronounced.
div
orce;
(2)Wi t
hinsev enday sfrom recei
ptofnot i
ce,the Ar
ti
cle166.
 Funct
ions.
ClerkofCour tshal lrequir
eeachoft hepar tiesto
nomi natear epresentative.The representati
ves (1)TheJurisconsultshall
,onthewr i
ttenr equest
shallbe appoi nted by t he Courtto const it
ute, ofanyi nterested part
y,hav etheaut horityto
togetherwi tht heCl erkofCour tasChai rman,an render l
egalopi nions,based on r ecogni zed
AgamaAr bi
trationCounci l
.TheAgamaAr bi
trati
on author
it
ies,regarding anyquest i
on r elat
ing to
Counci lshallsubmi tt otheCour tarepor tont he Muslim Law.Fort hispur pose,hemay ,ifhe
resul
toft hear bit
rati
on,ont hebasisofwhi chand deems i t necessary,consul t or ask f or a
suchot herevidenceasmaybeal l
owed,theCour t consensusoft he'ul
ama.
shallissuethecor respondingorder.
(2)TheJurisconsul
tshallconsi
derandacton
(3)Theprov
isi
onsoft hi
sarti
cleshal
lbeobser
ved ever
ysuchr equestunl
ess,i
nhisopini
onandfor
shoul
dthewifeexer
cisetaf
wid. goodreason,thequest
ionneednotbeanswer
ed.

Arti
cle 162. Subsequent mar
  ri
ages.  
Any Musl i
m (3)TheOf f
iceoft
heJuri
sconsul
tshal
lkeepa
husband desi ri
ng t o cont ract a subsequent compil
ati
onandcausethepubli
cat
ionofal
lhi
s
mar ri
ageshal l
,beforesodoi ng,f i
l
eawr it
tennot i
ce l
egalopi
nions.
thereofwi ththeCl erkofCour toftheShar i'
aCircui
t
Cour toft hepl acewher ehisf ami l
yr esides.Upon Arti
cle 167.  Compensati
on. 
Unt il ot herwi
se
receiptofsai dnot ice,theCl erkshal lserv eacopy provi
dedbyl aw,theJur
isconsultshal
lreceivean
thereoft ot hewi feorwi ves.Shoul danyoft hem annualcompensat ion offorty-ei
ghtt housand
object ,an Agama Ar bi
tr
at i
on Counci lshal lbe pesoswhi chshallnotbedi minisheddur i
nghis
const it
utedi naccor dancewi tht hepr ovisi
onsof term ofof
fice.
paragr aph( 2)ofthepr ecedingar t
icle.IftheAgama
Arbitrati
onCounci lfailstoobt ainthewi fe'sconsent Art
icle 168.
 Off
ice per
sonnel.
 The Jur
isconsul
t
tothepr oposedmar r
iage,theCour tshal l,
subjectto may ,i
naccor dancewi t
ht heCivi
lServiceLaw
Arti
cle27,deci dedwhet herornott osust ai
nher and subjecttot he approvalofthe Supreme
object i
on. Court,appoi
ntandfixthecompensat i
onofsuch
per
sonnel as may be necessar y for the
Arti
cle163. Of
  f
ensesagainstcustomar ylaw. The per
formanceofhi sfunct
ions.
Shari'
aCi r
cuitCourt,incasesinvol
v i
ng offenses
againstcustomaryl
awwhi chcanbeset t
ledwi t
hout BOOKFIVE
formaltri
al,may,atit
sdiscr
eti
on,dir
ectt heShari'
a MI
SCELLANEOUSANDTRANSI
TORY
ClerkofCour ttoconstit
uteacounci lofnotl ess PROVISI
ONS
thantwonormor ethanfourmember s,withhim as
chairman,tosett
lethecaseamicabl
y. TITLEI
MUSLI
M HOLIDAYS
TITLEI
II
JURI
SCONSULTINI
SLAMI
CLAW Art
icl
e 169. Of
fi
ci
al Musl im holi
days.
 The
fol
l
owingareher
ebyrecogni
zedasl
egalMusli
m
Ar
ti
cle164.
 Cr
eat
ionofof
fi
ceandappoi
ntment
. hol
idays:

(a)Thereshal
lbeaJurisconsultinIslami cl
aw,who (
a)'AmunJadi
d( New Year
),whi
chfal
lsont
he
shall be appoi
nted by t he Pr esi dent of the f
ir
stdayoft
hefi
rstl
unarmonthofMuharr
am;
Phili
ppi
nesand hold offi
ce fora t erm ofsev en
years,wit
houtprej
udi
cet or e-appoint ment
,unless (
b) Maul
id-
un-
Nabi( Bi
rt
hday of t
he Prophet
soonerr emoved forcause ori ncapaci t
ated to Muhammad),whi
chfall
sont hetwelf
thdayof
dischar
getheduti
esofhisoffice. t
hethi
rdl
unarmonthofRabi
-ul
-Awwal;

(b)TheOf fi
ceoftheJurisconsul
tshal
lbeunderthe (c)Lai
lat
ulIsr
aWalMi 'r
aj(NocturnalJour
ney
administr
ati
vesupervi
sionoft heSupr
emeCour tof and Ascensi
on ofthe ProphetMuhammad) ,
thePhi l
i
ppineswhichshal lalsofi
xitspermanent which f
all
son thetwenty-
sevent
h dayoft he
stat
ion,pref
erabl
yintheCi t
yofZamboanga. sevent
hlunarmont
hofRajab;

Arti
cle 165.Qual
  if
ications. 
No per son shal l be (d)'
Id-ul
-Fi
tr(Har
iRay aPausa),whi
chf al
lson
appointedJuri
sconsulti nIslamicLaw unl esshei s thef
irstdayofthetent
hlunarmonthofShawwal,
aciti
zenoft hePhi li
ppines,atl eastfort
yy earsof commemor at
ingtheendoft hefast
ingseason;
age,ofgoodmor alchar acterandpr oveni ntegri
ty, and
andanemi nentschol arint heQur'
anandHadi th
andinIslamicjur
isprudenceaswel laspr ofici
entin (e)'
Id-ul
-Adha(
Har
iRaj
aHaj
i),
whi
chfal
lsonthe
Arabic. tent
h dayoft he t
wel
ft
hlunarmonth ofDhu
1-Hi
jja.
Art
icl
e 170.
 Pr
ovi
nces and ci
ti
es wher
e of
fi
cial
l
y possessi
ont
her
eof
,ei
therper
sonal
l
yort
hrough
obser
ved. anagent.

(1)Musl i
m hol i
daysshallbeof f
ici
all
yobser vedin (3)The Shar i
'
a Ci
rcui
tCour tmay appointa
theProvincesofBasi l
an,Lanaodel Norte,Lanaodel trust
eeofacommunalpr opert
ywhenthereisa
Sur,Magui ndanao,NorthCot abato,Sul
tanKudar at, dispute as to i
ts custody
,possession,or
Sulu, Tawi -
Tawi, Zamboanga del Nor te and admi ni
str
ati
on.
ZamboangadelSur ,andint heCi t
iesofCot abato,
Il
igan,Mar awi,Pagadian,andZamboangaandi n TITLEI
II
such otherMusl i
m pr ov
incesand ci ti
esasmay CUSTOMARYCONTRACTS
hereaft
erbecr eated.
Arti
cle 175.How const
  rued.
 Any transacti
on
(2)Upon proclamati
on by the Presi
dentoft he wherebyoneper sondeliverstoanotheranyr eal
Phil
i
ppines,Musli
m holi
daysmayal sobeoffi
ciall
y estat
e,plantat
ion,or chardoranyf ruit
-beari
ng
observ
edinotherprovi
ncesandciti
es. propert
ybyv i
rtueofsanda,sanl a,ar i
ndao,or
si
mi l
arcustomar ycontract,shal
lbeconst rued
Art
icl
e 171.Dat
  es ofobservance. The dat
es of as a mor tgage ( ri
han) i n accor
dance wi t
h
Musli
m holi
daysshallbedeterminedbyt heOffi
ce Muslimlaw.
ofthePresi
dentoft hePhili
ppinesi naccor
dance
wit
htheMuslim LunarCal
endar(Hij
ra). TI
TLEIV
CONVERSI
ONS
Ar
ti
cle172.
 Obser
vanceofMusl
i
m empl
oyees.
Art
icl
e176.
 Ef
fectofr
egi
str
ati
onofconv
ersi
on
(1)AllMuslim gover
nmentof f
ici
alsandemployees toI
slam.
i
nplacesot herthanthoseenumeratedunderAr
ticl
e
170shallalsobeexcusedf r
om report
ingtooffi
ce (1)Regist
rati
on ofa person'
s conver
sion to
i
nor derthattheymaybeabl etoobser veMuslim I
slam shal
lconst
it
uteapr
imaf aci
eproofthathe
holi
days. prof
essesIsl
am.

(2) The Pr esi

dent of the Phi l
i
ppines may,by (
2) Whoev er di
sput
es the professi
on or
proclamation,requi
repri
v ateoffi
ces,agenci
esor r
enunci
ati
onofIsl
am byanypersonshallhav
e
establi
shment stoexcuset heirMusli
m employees t
heburdenofpr
ovi
ngthecont
rar
y.
from reporti
ngf orworkdur ingaMusl im hol
iday
wi t
houtreducti
oninthei
rusual compensat
ion. Arti
cle 177. Regul
  ati
on on conv ersi
on. No
conversionofami norbelowtheageofei ghteen
TI
TLEII yearsshallberegist
eredbytheDist
rictorCircui
t
COMMUNALPROPERTY Registrar wit
hout t he wr i
tt
en consent or
permissionoft hepar ent
sorguar dian,except
Art
icl
e 173.
 What const
it
ute.
 The f
oll
owi
ng ar
e whensuchmi norhasbeenemanci patedfrom
communalpr
opert
ies: paternalaut
horit
yinaccordancewit
hl aw.

(a) Customary heir

loom, whi
ch shallincl
ude Art
icl
e 178. Ef
  fectofconv ersion t oI sl
am on
art
if
acts and ancest
ralimpl
ements ort
hings of marriage. 
The conv ersi
on of non- Musli
m
cul
turalv al
ue handed down fr
om a common spousest oI sl
am shallhavet hel egaleffectof
ancestor
; rat
if
yingt hei
rmar r
iageasi fthesamehadbeen
perf
or medi naccordancewi tht heprov i
sionsof
(b)Ancestr
alpr opert
y,whi ch shal
lcompr ehend t hi
sCodeorMusl i
ml aw,pr ovidedt hatthereis
hal
lowedancestralpl
ot,ancest
ralshr
ine,
roy
al cour
t, no legali mpedimentt ot he mar riage under
andsimi
larpropert
ies;
and Musliml aw.

(
c)char
it
abl
etr
ustpr
oper
ty. Art
icl
e 179.Ef
  fectofchange ofr el
i
gion.
 The
changeofrel
igi
onbyaMusl im shal
l nothavethe
Ar
ti
cle174.
 Admi
nist
rat
ionordi
sposi
ti
on. eff
ectofexti
nguishinganyobligat
ionorl i
abil
it
y
whatsoev
erincurredpri
ort
osaidchange.
(1)Exceptas ot herwise pr
ovided i
nthis Code,
communal pr opert
y shal l be admini
ster
ed or TI
TLEV
disposedofinaccor dancewi t
hMuslimlaw,'ada, PENALPROVI
SIONS
andspecial
provisi
onsofl aw.
Chapt
erOne
(2)Anypr ovi
sionofexi
sti
nglaw tothecont
rary RULEOFBIGAMY
notwit
hst
anding,the t
rust
ee of any communal
proper
ty shal
lbe the per
son who isi nl
awful
Art
icle180. Law appli
cable.
 Theprovi
sionsoft he contr
acted under Musl
i
m law provi
ded t
he
RevisedPenalCoder elati
vetothecri
meofbi gamy spouses regi
stert
heirmut
ualdesir
et othi
s
shallnotapplytoaper sonmarri
edinaccor dance eff
ect.
wit
ht he provi
sions oft hi
s Code or,beforeits
eff
ectivi
ty,
underMusl i
ml aw. Art
icl
e187. Appl
  icabi
li
tyClause.
 TheCivi
lCode
ofthePhili
ppines,theRulesofCour tandot
her
Chapt
erTwo exi
sting laws, i nsof
ar as t hey are not
SPECI
FICOFFENSES i
nconsist
entwi tht heprovisi
onsoft hi
sCode,
shall
beappliedsuppletor
il
y.
Art
icle181. I
 l
l
egalsolemnizationofmar ri
age. Any
personwhoshal l,wit
houtaut hori
ty,solemnizeany Art
icl
e188. Separ
abil
i
tycl
ause.
 I
f,foranyreason,
mar r
iagepurport
edlyunderthisCode, orshalldoso anyarti
cleorprovi
si
onofthi
sCodei sheldt obe
i
namannercont rarytotheprov i
sionsthereof,shal
l i
nvali
d,t he same shal
lnotaf fectt he other
bepuni shedbyimpr i
sonmentofnotl esst hant wo art
icl
esorprovisi
onsher
eof.
mont hsbutnotmor ethant woy ears,oraf i
neof
notlesst hantwohundredpesosbutnotmor ethan Arti
cle 189.  Repeal
ing cl ause. All laws,
twothousandpesos, orboth,i
nt hediscreti
onoft he proclamations, executi
ve orders, rules and
court. regulat
ions,orany par tther
eof,i nconsi
stent
with pr ovi
sions of t hi
s Code ar e hereby
Arti
cle182. Mar
  riagebef oreexpi rat i
onof' i
dda.  
Anycorrespondinglymodifi
edorrepealed.
widow or di vor ced woman who,hav i
ng been
mar ri
ed underMusl im l aw orundert his code, Ar t
icle 190. Ef
  f
ecti
v i
ty. Thi s Code shal lt ake
contract sanot hermar riagebef or et heexpi rationof ef fecti mmedi ately
.
thepr escr ibed' i
ddashal lsuf fert hepenal tyofaf i
ne
notexceedi ngf i
v ehundr edpesos. DONE i nt he Ci tyofMani lat his 4t h dayof
Febr uar yi nt he y ear of Our Lor d nineteen
Arti
cle 183.  Of fenses r elat i
ve t o subsequent hundr edandsev enty -
sev en.
mar ri
age,di v or ce,and r evocat ion of di v orce.  
A
personwhof al lst ocompl ywi tht her equi rement s
ofAr ticles85,161,and162oft hi sCodeshal lbe
penalizedbyar rest omay ororaf ineofnotl esst han PRESI DENTI ALDECREENo.1508June11, 1978
twohundr edpesosbutnotmor et hant wot housand ( repeal edbyR. A.7160)
pesos, orbot h, int hedi scr etionoft hecour t.
ESTABLI SHI NGASYSTEM OFAMI CABLY
Arti
cle184. Fai
  lur et or epor tforr egi st r
at i
on.  Except SETTLI NGDI SPUTESATTHEBARANGAYLEVEL
aspr ov idedi nt hear ti
clei mmedi at elypr ecedi ng,a
person who knowi nglyf ail
st o per f
or m hi s dut y WHEREAS, t he per pet uat ion and of fi
cial
undert hisCodet or epor tforr egi strationanyf act r ecogni ti
on oft he t ime- honor ed t radit
ion of
concer ning t he ci v i
lst atus ofper sons shal lbe ami cabl yset tli
ng di sput es among f amilyand
punishedbyaf i
neofnotl esst hanonehundr ed bar angaymember satt hebar angayl ev elwit
hout
pesosbutnotmor ethanonet housandpesos. j
udi cialr esour ces woul d pr omot et he speedy
admi nistration ofj ust i
ce and i mplementt he
Arti
cle 185.  Negl ect of dut y by r egi strar s. 
Any const i
tutionalmandat et opr eserveanddev elop
dist
rictr egist rarorci rcui tr egi st r
arwho f ailst o Fi li
pinocul t
ureandt ost rengt henthef ami l
yasa
perform pr oper l
yhi sdut iesi naccor dancewi tht hi
s basi csoci alinstit
ution;
Codeshal lbepenal izedi naccor dancewi t
hSect i
on
18ofAct3753. WHEREAS,t hei ndiscrimi nat ef i
li
ngofcasesi n
the cour ts ofj ustice cont ributes heav i
ly and
TI TLEVI unjust ifi
abl yt othecongest ionofcour tdockets,
TRANSI TORYANDFI NALPROVI SI ONS thuscausi ng a det eriorat ion i nt hequal it
yof
j
ust ice;
Arti
cle186.  Eff ectofcodeonpastact s. (1)Act s
execut edpr iort ot heef fect i
v i
tyoft hisCodeshal l WHEREAS,i nor dert ohel pr eli
evet hecour tsof
begov ernedbyt hel awsi nf or ceatt het imeoft heir such docketcongest i
on and t herebyenhance
execut ion,andnot hingher einexceptasot her wise t hequal i
tyofj usti
cedi spensedbyt hecour ts,it
specificallypr ov ided,shal laf f
ectt heirv alidityor i sdeemeddesi rablet of ormal lyor ganizeand
l
egal i
tyoroper at et oex tingui shanyr i
ghtacqui red inst itutional i
ze a sy stem ofami cabl ysettli
ng
orli
abi li
tyi ncur redt hereby . disput esatt hebar angayl evel ;

(2)Amar r
iagecont
ractedbyaMuslim malepri
orto NOW,THEREFORE,I,FERDINAND E.MARCOS,
the ef
fecti
vit
y ofthis Code i
n accordance wi
th Pr
esi
dentofthe Phi
li
ppines,byvir
tue oft
he
non-
Musl i
m l aw shall be consi
dered as one
powersvestedinmebytheConst
it
uti
on,doher
eby b)OathandTer m ofOf fi
ce.Uponappoi ntment
,
orderanddecreet
hef
oll
owing: eachmembershal ltakeanoat hofoffi
cebefore
theBarangayCaptain.Heshal lholdoff
iceunti
l
Sect
ion1.
 LupongTagapay
apa December31oft hecalendaryearsubsequentto
the yearofhi s appointmentunl ess sooner
a) Creati
on.Ther eis her eby creat
ed i n each ter
minatedbyresignati
on,transferofr
esidence
barangay a body t o be known as Lupong orplaceofwor k,orwithdrawalofappointment
Tagapayapa (her
einaft
er referr
ed to as Lupon) bytheBarangayCapt ai
nwiththeconcurrenceof
composedoft heBarangayCapt ai
naschai r
man themajori
tyofallt
hemember softheLupon.
andnotlessthanten(10)normor ethant went
y(20)
member s,tobeconstit
utedev erytwoy earsi
nt he c)Vacancy,Lupon.Shoul dav acancyoccurin
fol
l
owi ngmanner: theLuponf oranycauset heBar angayCaptai
n
shallas soon as possi
ble appointa suit
abl
e
1.Anysui t
abl eper sonact uall
yr esi dingorwor kingrepl
acement.Theper sonappoi ntedshallhol
d
i
n t he bar angay , not ot her wise expr essl of
y fi
ceonl
yf ort
heunexpiredpor t
ionoftheterm
disqual ifi
ed by l aw, and t aki ng i nto account ofthememberwhom her epl
aces.
consi der ati
ons of i
ntegr i
ty , i mpar tialit
y,
i
ndependence ofmi nd,sense off airness,and d) Funct ions. The Lupon shal l exer ci
se
reput ation f or pr obity,i ncludi ng educat ional admi nist
ra t
ives u perv
is i
ono ver thec onci
liati
on
attainment ,maybeappoi ntedmember ; panels her einafterpr ovided f or.I tshal lmeet
regularl
yonceamont h( 1)topr ov i
deaf orum for
2.A not icet o const it
utet heLupon,whi chshal l theexchangeofi deasamongi t
smember sand
i
ncl udet henamesofpr oposedmember swhohav e t hepubl iconmat t
ersr elevantt ot heami cable
expr essed t hei r wi l
l
ingness t o ser v e,shal lbe set tl
ementofdi sputes;and( 2)t o enabl et he
prepar edbyt heBar angayCapt ainwi thint hirt
y( 30) v ari
ouspanel stoshar ewi thoneanot hert heir
day saf tert hisDecr eeshal lhav ebecomeef fective, obser v
ationandexper iencesi nef fectingspeedy
and t hereaf terwi thint he f i
rstt en ( 10)day s of r esoluti
onofdi sputes.
Januar yofev er
yot hery ear.Suchnot iceshal lbe
post ed i nt hr ee ( 3)conspi cuous pl aces i nt he e) Secr etary of t he Lupon. The Bar angay
barangaycont i
nuousl yf oraper iodofnotl esst han Secre t
ary sha l
lc oncurrentlytheS ecretary ofthe
three( 3)weeks; Lupon.Heshal lnotether esul t
soft hemedi ati
on
proceedingsbef oretheBar angayCapt ai
nand
3.TheBar angayCapt ain,takingi ntoconsi derat on shal
i lsubmi tar eportt hereont othepr operci t
y
anyopposi tiont ot hepr oposedappoi ntmentorany ormuni cipalcour t
.Heshal lal so recei v
eand
recommendat ion/sf orappoi ntmentasmayhav e keept her ecordsofpr oceedingssubmi t
tedt o
beenmadewi thint heper i
odofpost ing, shallwi t n hi
hi m byt hev ari
ousconci li
ationpanel s.Heshal l
ten( 10)day st hereaf t
er ,appointasmember sthose i ssuet hecer t
ifi
cationr eferredt oi nSect ion6
whom hedet erminest obesui tablet her efor; hereof.

4.Appointment
sshallbeinwr i
ti
ngsignedbythe f)Concil
iat
ionPanels.Thereshal
lbeconstitut
ed
BarangayCaptai
n and at
test
ed bythe Bar
angay foreach disputebr oughtbefor
et heLupon a
Secret
ary; conci
liat
ionpanelt obeknownasPangkatng
Tagapagkasundo ( herei
naft
er ref
erred t
o as
5.Theli
stofappoint
edmembersshallbepostedin Pangkat)consist
ingoft hree(3)member swho
thr
ee(3)conspicuouspl
acesint hebarangayfor shal
lbechosenbyagr eementofthepar t
iesto
theent
ir
edurati
onofthei
rter
m ofoff
ice; thedisputefrom thelistofmember shi
poft he
Lupon.
6.Whenusedher
ein:
Shouldt hepar t
iesf ailtoagree,theyshal l,i
nt he
Barangayr efers notonlyto barri
os which were presenceoft heBar angayCapt ainorSecr etary
,
declaredbarangaysbyv i
rt
ueofPr esi
dent
ialDecree maket hesel ectioni nthef ol
lowingmanner :one
No.557butal sotobarangaysotherwi
seknownas party,
det er
mi nedbyl ot,shal
lstri
keoutf rom the
ci
ti
z ensassembl i
espursuantt
oPr esi
dent
ialDecree l
istonename;t heot herpar t
yshal linturnst r
ike
No.86. outanot her;t
hepar tiesshallthereafterconti
nue
alt
ernatelytost rikeoutnamesunt ilthereshall
BarangayCapt ai
nr ef
erstotheBarangayCaptai
ns remainont hel istonl ybyf our( 4),three(3)of
ofthebar ri
oswhi chdeclar
edbarangaybyvirt
ueof whom shal lbet hemember soft hePangkat ,
and
President
ialDecreeNo.557andt otheChairmenof thefourth,tobedet erminedbyl ot,shallbet he
barangaysot herwiseknownasciti
zensassembli
es alt
ernate.
pursuanttoPr esi
dential
DecreeNo.86.
I
ntheeventanyoft
hefour(
4)r
emai
ningnames
i
s,forcausetobepasseduponsol
elybythe
BarangayCapt
ain,st
il
lobj
ect
edtobyanypart
y,the 2.Wher e one part
yi s a publi
c offi
cer or
procedur
eprovi
dedf ori
nparagr
aph(
g)hereunder employee, and t
he dispute rel
ates t
o the
shallbef
oll
owed. per
formanceofhisof
fici
alf
uncti
ons;

Shoul dt here be morethan one complainantor 3. Of f

enses punishable by i mpr
isonment
respondent ,eachsidetothedisputeshallchoose exceedi
ng30days,orafineexceedi
ngP200.00;
i
tsr epresentat
ivetosuchstr
iki
ng-
outprocess.
4.Off
enseswher
ether
eisnopr
ivat
eof
fended
The thr
ee (
3)member s shal
lel
ectfrom among par
ty;
themsel
vesthechai
rmanandt hesecr
etar
yofthe
Pangkat. 5.Such otherclasses ofdisputes whi
ch the
Pri
me Mi ni
stermayi nt he i
nterestofjusti
ce
Thesecr etaryofthePangkatshallkeepmi nutesof det
ermineuponrecommendat ionoftheMinist
er
i
ts pr oceedings att
ested by the chai rman and ofJust
iceandtheMi ni
sterofLocalGover
nment .
submi tacopyt her
eoftotheLuponSecr etar
yandt o
thepr operci t
yormuni ci
palcour t
.Heshal lissue Sect i
on 3. Venue. 
Disput esbet ween oramong
andcauset obeser vednoticestot hepar ti
esand personsact ual
lyresidi
ngi nt hesamebar angay
giv
ecer ti
fiedtruecopiesofanypubl i
cr ecordinhis shallbebr oughtf orami cableset tlementbef ore
custody thati s notby law ot herwise decl ar
ed the Lupon ofsai d bar angay .Those i nvolv
ing
confidenti
al. actualr esidentsofdi fferentbar angayswi t
hin
thesameci tyormuni cipali
tyshal lbebr ought
g)Vacancy,Pangkat
.AnyvacancyinthePangkat i
nnt hebarangaywher ether espondentoranyof
shallbefi
l
ledbytheBar
angayCaptai
nfrom among ther espondentsact uall
yr esides,att heel ect
ion
theothermembersoftheLupon,t
obedet ermi
ned oft hecompl ai
nant.Howev er,al
ldi sputeswhi ch
bylot. i
nv olved realpr opertyoranyi nterestt herei
n
shallbebr oughti nthebar angaywher et her eal
h)Successi on t
o orsubst it
uti
on f orBarangay proper t
yoranypar tt
hereofi ssituat ed.
Captai
n.Intheev enttheBar
angayCapt ai
nceases
toholdof f
iceori sunabletoper f
orm hi sduti
es TheLuponshal
lhav
enoaut
hor
it
yov
erdi
sput
es:
herei
n pr
ovi
ded, t
he order of
successi
on/subst
itut
iontohisposit
ionaspr ovi
ded 1.i nvol
vi
ng part
ies who actual
lyr esi
de in
bylawshallbefol
lowed. barangaysofdiff
erentcit
iesormuni ci
pal
it
ies,
exceptwheresuchbarangaysadj
oineachother;
i
)Char acterofOff
ice.Themember softheLupon and
shallbe deemed publi
c off
icer
s and persons i
n
author
ity,wit
hint
hemeani ngoftheRevisedPenal 2.i
nvolvi
ng realpr
oper
tyl
ocat
ed i
n di
ff
erent
Code. muni
cipal
it
ies.

j
)Char acterofSer v
ice.Themember softheLupon Obj ections t
ov enue shallbe rai
sed int he
orPangkatshall servewit
houtanycompensati
onor medi ati
on pr oceedings beforethe Bar angay
all
owancewhat soever.Suchservi
cebyanyLupon Capt ain as pr ovi
ded for i n Secti
on 4( b)
orPangkatmember ,whetherhebei n publ
icor her eunder;otherwise,thesameshallbedeemed
pri
vate employment ,shallbe deemed to be on wai ved.Anyl egalquest i
onwhi chmayconf r
ont
offi
cialt
imeandnosuchmembershal lsuff
erany theBar angayCapt aininresolvi
ngobjecti
onst o
diminuti
on in compensat i
on or all
owances by venueher ei
nr eferr
edt omaybesubmi tt
edt othe
reasonthereof. Mi nisterofJust i
cewhoser uli
ngther
eonshal lbe
binding.
k)Legaladv i
ce.The Bar angay Captain orany
memberoft heLuponorPangkatmay ,
whenev erhe Sect ion4.Pr
  ocedur ef orami cablesettlement .
deemsi tnecessar yintheexer ci
seofhi sfunct i
ons
undert his Decree,seek the adv i
ce oft he l egal a)Whomayi nit
iatepr oceedings.Anyi ndiv
idual
adviserofthepr ovi
ncial
/ci
ty/municipalgovernment . who has a cause ofact ion againstanot her
i
ndividual inv ol
ving any mat t
er wi t
hin t he
Section 2. Subj
  ect mat t
ers f or ami cabl e authori
tyoft heLuponaspr ovi
dedi nSect ion2
settl
ement .
 TheLuponofeachbar angayshal lhav e may compl ain or all
y or i n wr i
ti
ng,t o t he
authori
tyt o br i
ng togethert he parti
es act ually BarangayCapt ainoft hebar angayr eferredt oin
resi
ding int he same ci ty or muni cipal
ityf or Section3her eof.
amicableset t
lementofalldisputesexcept:
b)Medi ati
onbyBar angayCapt ai
n.Uponr eceipt
1.Wher e on par tyi sthe gov ernment ,orany oft hecompl aint,theBar angayCapt ain shall
,
subdivi
sionori nst
rumentali
tythereof; within the next wor ki
ng day summon t he
respondent/swi t
hnot i
cet ot hecompl ainant/s
forthem andtheirwitnessest oappearbeforehim dialectknownt othepar t
ies,si
gnedbythem and
foramedi ati
onoft heirconf l
i
cti
nginterests.I
fhe attested by t he Bar angay Captain or the
fai
lsinhiseffortwithi
nf i
fteen(15)day sfrom the Chai rmanoft hePangkat ,ast hecasemaybe.
fi
rstmeet i
ngoft hepar t
iesbeforehi m,heshal l Whent hepartiestot hedisputedonotuset he
fort
hwit
h seta dat ef ort he consti
tuti
on oft he samel anguage/dial
ect,thesettl
ementshallbe
Pangkati n accordance wi ththe pr ovi
sions of wr i
tteninthelanguages;dial
ectknowntothem.
Secti
on1oft hi
sDecr ee.
Secti
on6.  Conci li
ation,pr e-condi ti
ont ofil
ingof
c)Hear ingbef oret hePangkat .ThePangkatshal l complaint. 
No compl aint ,pet iti
on,act ion or
convene notl atert han t hree (3)day sf rom i t
s pr oceeding i nv ol
ving any mat t
er wi t
hint he
constit
ut i
on,on t he day and hoursetby t he aut hori
tyoft heLuponaspr ov i
dedi nSect ion2
BarangayCapt ain,t ohearbot hpar ti
esandt hei r hereofshallbef i
l
edori nst i
tutedi ncour torany
witnesses, si mpl i
fy i ssues, and expl ore al l othergov ernmentof f
icef oradj udicationunl ess
possibil
ities f or ami cable set t
lement . For t hi
s t herehasbeenaconf ront at i
onoft hepar ti
es
purpose,t hePangkatmayi ssuesummonsf ort he bef oretheLuponChai rmanort hePangkatand
personalappear ance of par ti
es and wi tnesses noconci li
ationorset tlementhasbeenr eached
beforeit. as certi
fied by t he Lupon Secr etary ort he
PangkatSecr etary,at test ed by t he Lupon or
Intheev entt hatthepar tymov est odisqualifyany PangkatChai rman,orunl esst heset tlementhas
memberoft hePangkatbyr easonofr el
ationshi p, beenr epudiat ed.Howev er,t hepar t
iesmaygo
bias, inter est or any ot her si mi l
ar gr ound/ s di r
ectl
yt othecour tint hef oll
owi ngcases:
discoveredaf t
erconst i
tuti
onoft hePangkat ,t he
mat t
ershal lber esolvedbyt heaf f
irmativ
ev oteof 1.Wher etheaccusedi sunderdet ent i
on;
themaj or i
tyoft hePangkatwhosedeci si
onshal lbe
fi
nal.Shoul ddi squalif
icati
onbedeci dedupon,t he 2.Wher eaper sonhasot herwi sebeendepr ived
procedur epr ovidedf orinpar agraph( g)ofSect ion1 ofper sonall i
ber t
ycal ling f orhabeas cor pus
shallbef ol l
owed. proceedings;

d)Sanct i
ons.Ref usalorwi ll
fulfai
lur eofanypar t
y 3.Actions coupl
ed wit
h prov
isionalremedi
es
or wi t
ness t o appear i n compl iance wi tht he such as pr el
iminar
yi nj
unct
ion, att
achment,
summonsi ssuedpur suantt othepr ecedingt wo( 2) deli
ver
y of per sonal pr
oper
ty and support
paragraphs may be puni shed by t he ci t
y or pendentel
it
e;and
municipalcour tasf ordi r
ectcont emptofcour t
upon appl ication f il
ed ther ewit
h by t he Lupon 4.Wheretheact
ionmayother
wisebebar
redby
Chairman,t hePangkatChai rman,orbyanyoft he theSt
atut
eofLimit
ati
ons.
parti
es.Fur ther ,such r efusalorwi l
lf
ulf ai
luret o
appearshal lbe r efl
ected int he r ecords oft he Section 7. Ar
bitrat i
on. Thepar tiesmay ,atany
LuponSecr etaryori nt hemi nutesoft hePangkat stageoft hepr oceedi ngs,agr eeinwr i
ti
ngthat
Secretary and shal lbar t he compl ainantf rom theyshal labidebyt hear bit
rati
onawar doft he
seeking judicialrecour sef ort hesamecauseof Barangay Capt ain or t he Pangkat . Such
acti
on, and t he r espondent,f rom f i
li
ng any agreementt oar bitratemaywi thinfive(5)days
countercl
aim ar ising out of or necessar il
y from t he datet hereof ,he repudiated forthe
connectedt her ewith. same gr ounds and i n accor dance wi t
ht he
procedur eprescr ibedi nSect i
on13her eof.The
Will
fulfai
lureorrefusalwit
houtjusti
fi
ablecauseon arbit
rationawar dshal lbemadeaf terthelapse
thepartofanyPangkatmembert oactassuch,as oftheper i
odf orr epudi at
ionandwi t
hinten(10)
determinedbyt hev ot
eofamaj orit
yofal lt
heother dayst hereaft
er.
member soft he Lupon,whose deci si
on ther
eon
shallbefinal
,shallr
esulti
nhisdisquali
fi
cati
onfrom Thearbitr
ationawar d shal
lbei nwriti
ng ina
publicoffi
ceint hecityormunicipal
it
yf oraperiod l
anguageordi alectknownt othepart
ies.When
ofoney ear. thepar
tiestot hedisputedonotuset hesame
l
anguage/dialect,theawar dshallbewr i
tt
enin
e) Ti me limit.The Pangkat shal larri
ve at a l
anguages/dialectsknownt othem.
settl
ement /r
esolut
ionoft hedisputewi t
hinfif
teen
(15)day sfrom thedayi tconvenesi naccordance Secti
on 8. Pr
  oceedings publ i
c; excepti
on. 
All
withpar agr
aph( c)hereof.Thi
sper i
odshall,atthe proceedi
ngsf orset tl
ementshallbepubl icand
discreti
onoft hePangkat,beextendibl
eforanother i
nformal,Provided,thattheBarangayCapt ai
nor
period which shallnotexceed f i
ft
een (15)day s thePangkat ,ast hecasemaybe,maymot u
exceptinclearlymeri
tori
ouscases. propiooruponr equestofapar tyexcludethe
publi
cf r
om t hepr oceedingsinthei nt
erestof
Sect
ion 5.
 For
m of set
tl
ement
. 
All amicabl
e pri
vacy,decencyorpubl i
cmor al
s.
set
tl
ement
sshallbei
nwri
ti
ng,i
nal anguageor
Secti
on9. Appear
  anceofpar t
iesinperson.  
Inall Communi tyDevelopmentmayseekcooper ati
on
otherproceedingsprovi
dedf orherei
n,thepar ti
es and coor di
nati
on f rom ot her depar t
ment s,
mustappeari npersonwithoutt heassist
anceof agencies orinst
rumentali
ti
es oft he National
counsel
/represent
ati
ve, with t he exception of Government;andsuchdepar t
ment s,agenciesor
minorsandi ncompetent
swhomaybeassi stedby i
nstrumental
it
iesar eherebydirectedtor ender
thei
rnextofkinwhoar enotlawy er
s. assi
stancewhenev ersorequested.

Sect
ion 10.
 Admi
ssions. 
Admissi
ons made int he (b) Without prejudi
ce to the provi
sions of
cour
seofanypr oceedingsforsett
lementmaybe Section(k)hereof,l
egalquest
ionsari
singinthe
admissi
blef
oranypurposeinanyotherproceedi
ng. admi ni
strat
ionandi mplement
ationofthislaws
shallbesubmi tt
edt otheMini
sterofJusti
cefor
Secti
on 11. Ef
  f
ect of ami cable settlement and resolut
ion.
arbi
trati
on awar d. The ami cabl
e set t
lementand
arbi
trati
onawar dshallhavet heforceandef fectof Secti
on17. Separ
abil
it
yClause.
 I
f,f
oranyreason,
af i
nalj udgmentofacour t,upont heexpirat
ionof anypr ov
isi
onoft hi
sDecreeshallbeheldtobe
ten ( 10) day sf rom t he date t hereof unless unconsti
tut
ionalorinval
id,no otherprovisi
on
repudiationoftheset tl
ementhasbeenmadeora hereofshal
lbeaffect
edthereby
.
peti
ti
onf ornull
i
ficati
onoftheawar dhasbeenf i
led
beforethepr opercityormuni ci
palcourt. Secti
on 18. Appr
  opri
ati
ons. To carry out the
purposes of t his Decree, there is hereby
Section12. Executi
on. 
Theamicablesettl
ementor appropri
ated the sum ofTwent y-
fi
ve Mi l
l
ion
arbit
rati
on awar d maybe enforced byexecuti
on Pesos( P25,
000,000.
00)from theGener alFunds
withi
none( 1)yearfr
om thedateofthesettl
ement. for t he cur r
ent y ear. Ther eaft
er, t he
Afterthelapseofsucht ime,
thesettl
ementmaybe appropri
ati
on f or such f unds as may be
enforcedbyact i
onintheappropri
atecit
y/munici
pal necessaryforthepurposeshal lbeprov i
dedfor
court. i
nt heGeneralAnnualAppropr i
ati
onActs.

Section13.  Repudi ation. Anypartyt ot hedi spute Secti

on 19.
 Ef
fect
ivi
ty.
 Thi
s Decree shallt
ake
may ,wi t
hint en ( 10) day sf rom t he date of eff
ectsi
x(6)monthsafteri
tspromulgati
on.
settl
ement ,repudi atet hesamebyf il
ingwi tht he
BarangayCapt ai
nast atementtothatef f
ectswor n DONEintheCityofMani
l
a,t
his11thdayofJune,
tobef orehim, wher et heconsentisv i
tiatedbyf r
aud, i
nt heyearofOurLord,ni
neteenhundredand
viol
enceori nti
mi dat ion.Suchr epudiationshallbe sev
enty
-eight
.
suffi
cientbasisf ort hei ssuanceoft hecer ti
fi
cation
forfiling a compl ai nt,pr ov
ided f
ori n Secti
on 6
hereof.
ADMI
NISTRATI
VECI
RCULARNO.09-
94June14,
Secti
on 14. Tr
  ansmittal of set tl
ement and 1994
arbi
trati
on awar dt o cour t
. 
The Secretary oft he
Luponshal ltransmitt heset t
lementofar bi t
rat
ion TO: THE COURT OF APPEALS,
awardt othelocalcityormuni cipalcourtwithi
nf i
ve SANDIGANBAYAN,REGIONAL TRI AL COURT,
(5)day sfrom thedat eoft heawar dorf r
om t he METROPOLITAN TRI
AL COURTS,
l
apse of t en-day per i
od f or repudiat
ing t he METROPOLITAN TRI
AL COURTS,MUNI CIPAL
sett
lementandshal lfurnishcopiesthereoftoeach TRI
AL COURTS,MUNI CIPAL CIRCUIT TRIAL
ofthepar ti
est ot heset tl
ementandt heBar angay COURT,ALLMEMBERSOFTHEGOVERNMENT
Captain. PROSECUTIONSERVI
CEANDALLMEMBERSOF
THEINTEGRATEDBAROFTHEPHI LI
PPINES
Secti
on 15. Power t
  o admini
ster oaths.
 The
BarangayCaptai
nandmembersofthePangkatare SUBJECT: GUIDELI
NES IN THE
hereby authori
zed to admini
ster oaths i n I
MPLEMENTATI ONOFREPUBLI CACTNO.7691.
connecti
on wi t
h any matt
er relat
ing to all ENTITLED " AN ACT EXPANDI NG THE
proceedi
ngsprovi
dedf
ori
nthi
sDecree. JURISDICTION OFTHEMETROPOLI TAN TRI
AL
COURTS, MUNI CI
PAL TRIAL COURTS AND
Sect
ion16.
 Admi
nist
rat
ion;
rul
esandr
egul
ati
ons. MUNI CI
PAL TRI AL COURTS AND MUNICI
PAL
CIRCUITTRI ALCOURTS,AMENDI NG FORTHE
(a) The Mi nister of Local Gov ernment and PURPOSE BATAS PAMBANSA BLG. 129,
Communi tyDev elopmentshallseetot heeffi
cient OTHERWI SE KNOWN AS THE ' JUDICI
ARY
i
mpl ementati
onandadmi ni
strat
ionoft hisDecree. REORGANI ZATIONACTOF1980. "
For this purpose,he shal lbe empower ed t o
promulgate r ules and r egul
ati
ons, upon FortheguidanceofthebenchandtheBar,t
he
consult
ati
on wi tht heMini
sterofJust ice.Int he fol
l
owi ngguidel
i
nesaret obefol
lowedinthe
process,the Mi nisterofLocalGov ernmentand i
mpl ement
ation of Republ
i
c Act No. 7691,
enti
tl
ed"AnActExpandi ngtheJur isdi
cti
onoft he Howev er,thisrul
edoesnotappl yt ooffenses
Metropol
i
tan Tri
alCourts,MunicipalTrialCourts, i
nv ol
vingdamaget opr oper
tythroughcr i
mi nal
andMunicipalCi
rcui
tTri
alCourt
s,Amendi ngf ort
he negli
gence whi ch ar e under the excl usiv
e
Purpose Batas Pambansa Blg.129,Ot herwi
se ori
ginaljurisdi
cti
on oft he Metropoli
tan Tr i
al
Known as t he '
Judi
ci
ary Reorganizat
ion Actof Courts,Muni ci
palTrialCourts,and Muni cipal
1980": Cir
cuitTrialCourt
s,i
rr
especti
veoft heamountof
theimposabl efi
ne.
1.Thenewj ur
isdict
ionoftheRegi onalTr
ialCourts,
Met ropoli
tan Tri
alCour ts,Muni ci
palTri
alCour ts, Mani
l
a,June14,
1994.
and Muni ci
palCi r
cuitTrialCour t
si n civ
iland
original cases, and i n cadast ral and l and (Sgd.)
 ANDRESR.NARVASA
registrat
ioncases,underSect ion19,32,33and34 ChiefJust
ice
ofB. P.Blg.129,asamendedbyR. A.No.7691.Was
effectiveonApr il15,1994,f i
fteen(15)daysaf t
er
the publ i
cati
on int he Mal ay
a and int he Ti
mes
Jour nalonMar ch30, 1994,pursuanttoSecti
on8of
theR. A.No.7691. REVI SEDRULESONSUMMARYPROCEDURE
RESOLUTI ONOFTHECOURT  ENBANC  DATED
2.Theexcl usi onoft het er m" damagesofwhat ev er OCTOBER15, 1991PROVI DINGFORTHE
kind"i ndet er mi ni ngt hej urisdictionalamountunder REVI SEDRULEONSUMMARYPROCEDUREFOR
Sect ion19( 8)andSect ion33( 1)ofB. P.Bl g.129, METROPOLI TANTRI ALCOURTS, MUNI CI PAL
asamendedbyR. A.No.7691,appl i
est o cases TRI ALCOURTSI NCI TIES, MUNI CIPALTRI AL
wher et hedamagesar emer elyi ncident alt oora COURTSANDMUNI CIPALCI RCUI TTRI AL
consequenceoft hemai ncauseofact ion.Howev er, COURTS.
i
ncaseswher et hecl ai mf ordamagesi st hemai n  
causeofact ion,oroneoft hecausesofact ion,t he  
amountofsuch cl ai m shal lbe consi der ed i n Pur suantt oSect ion36oft he  Judiciar y
deter mi ningt hej urisdi cti
onoft hecour t. Reor gani zationActof1980( B. PBl g.129)  andt o
achi ev eanexpedi ti
ousandi nexpensi v e
3.Thecr imi nalj ur i
sdi ctionoft heMet ropol itanTr ial det er mi nat ionoft hecasesr eferredt oher ei n,
Cour ts,Muni cipalTr ialCour t
s,andMuni cipalTr ial t heCour tResol vedt opr omul gat ethef ol lowi ng
Cour tsunderSect i
on32( 2)ofB. P.Bl g.129,as Rev isedRul eonSummar y
amendedbyR. A.No.7691,hasbeeni ncr easedt o Pr ocedur e:chanr obl esv i
rtual l
awl ibrar y
cov erof fensespuni shabl ewi thimpr isonmentnot
exceedi ngsi x( 6)y ear si rrespect iv eoft heamount I .
oft hef ine.Asaconsequence,t heRegi onalTr ial Appl icabi li
ty
Cour ts hav e no mor e or i
ginalj ur i
sdict i
on ov er Sect ion1.  
 Scope.—Thi sr uleshal l gov ernt he
offenses commi tt
ed by publ ic of ficer s and summar ypr ocedur ei nt heMet r
opol i
tanTr ial
empl oyees i nr elat i
on t ot hei rof fice,wher et he Cour ts, theMuni cipal Tr i
al Cour tsi nCi ties, the
offensei spuni shabl ebymor et hanf our( 4)y ear s Muni cipal Tr i
al Cour ts, andt heMuni cipal Circuit
andt wo( 2)mont hsupt osi x( 6)y ear s. Trial Cour t
si nt hef ollowi ngcasesf allingwi thi
n
theirj urisdict i
on:chanr obl esv i
rtuallawl ibr ary
4.Thepr ov isionsofSect ion32( 2)ofB. P.129as  
amendedbyR. A.No.7691,appl yonl yt oof fenses A.  Ci v i
lCases: chanr oblesv irtuallawl i
br ar y
puni shabl e byi mpr isonmentorf ine,orbot h,i n  
whi chcasest heamountoft hef i
nei sdi sr egar ded
i
ndet ermi ningt hej urisdict ionoft hecour t.Howev er, (1)  
Al lcasesoff orcibleent ryandunl awf ul
i
ncaseswher et heonl ypenal typr ov idedbyl awi sa det ai ner ,ir
respect iveoft heamountofdamages
fi
ne,t he amount t her eof shal ldet ermi ne t he orunpai dr entalssoughtt ober ecov ered.Wher e
j
ur i
sdi ction oft he cour ti n accor dance wi tht he at torney '
sf eesar eawar ded, thesameshal lnot
originalpr ov isionsofSect ion32( 2)ofB. P.Bl g.129 exceedt went ythousandpesos( P20, 000. 00) .
whi ch f ixed or iginalexcl usi vej ur i
sdi ction oft he ( 2)  
Al lot herci vilcases, exceptpr obat e
Met ropol itan Tr i
alCour ts,Muni cipalTr ialCour ts, pr oceedi ngs, wher et het otal amountoft he
and Muni cipalCi rcui tTr ialCour tsov erof fenses pl aintiff'
scl aim doesnotexceedt ent housand
puni shabl e wi thaf ine ofnotmor et han f our pesos( P10, 000. 00) ,excl usiveofi nter estand
thousandpesos.I ftheamountoft hef i
neexceeds cost s.chanr oblesv irt
ual l
awl ibrary chanr obl es
fourt housandpesos,t heRegi onalTr i
alCour tshal l v ir
tual l
awl ibrary
hav ej urisdi ct i
on,i ncludi ngof fensescommi ttedby  
publ i
cof fi
cer sandempl oy eesi nr elationt ot heir B.   
Cr imi nal Cases: chanr obl esv i
rtual l
awl ibrar y
office,wher et he amountoft he f i
ne does not  
exceedsi xt housandpesos.
(1)  
Vi olat i
onsoft raffi
cl aws, rulesand
regul at ions;  chanr oblesv irtual lawl ibr ary Sec.  6.  
 Effectoff ai l
ur et oanswer .—Shoul dt he
(2)  Vi ol at i
onsoft her ent al law;  chanr obl esv ir
t ual def endantf ailtoanswert hecompl aintwi thin
l
awl i
br ar y theper iodabov epr ov ided, t
hecour t ,
mot u
(3)  Vi ol at i
onsofmuni cipal orci ty propr io, oronmot ionoft hepl ai ntiff,shal l r
ender
ordi nances;  chanr obl esv i
r tual lawl ibr ary j
udgmentasmaybewar r
ant edbyt hef act s
(4)  Al lot hercr imi nal caseswher et hepenal ty all
egedi nt hecompl aintandl imi tedt owhati s
prescr ibedbyl awf ort heof f ensechar gedi s pray edf ort herei n: Pr ov ided, howev er ,thatt he
i
mpr i
sonmentnotexceedi ngsi xmont hs, oraf ine cour tmayi ni tsdi scr et i
onr educet heamountof
notexceedi ng( P1, 000. 00) ,orbot h, i
r respect i
veof damagesandat tor ney 'sf eescl ai medf orbei ng
otheri mposabl epenal t i
es, accessor yorot her wi se, excessi veorot her wi seunconsci onabl e.Thi si s
oroft heci v illiabi lit
yar isingt her ef r
om: Prov ided, withoutpr ejudi cet ot heappl icabi li
tyofSect i
on4,
howev er ,thati nof fensesi nv ol vingdamaget o Rul e15oft heRul esofCour t,ift her ear et woor
proper tyt hr oughcr imi nal negl igence, thisRul eshal l mor edef endant s.
gov er nwher et hei mposabl ef i
nedoesnotexceed Sec.  7.  
 Prel i
mi nar yconf erence; appear anceof
tent housandpesos( P10, 000. 00) . par ties.—Notl at ert hant hirt
y( 30)day saf tert he
Thi sRul eshal l notappl yt oaci vil casewher et he l
astansweri sf iled, apr elimi nar yconf erence
plaint iffscauseofact i
oni spl eadedi nt hesame shal l behel d.Ther ulesonpr e- trial inor dinar y
compl ai ntwi t
hanot hercauseofact i
onsubj ectt o casesshal l beappl icabl et ot hepr elimi nar y
theor dinar ypr ocedur e; nort oacr imi nal casewher e conf er enceunl essi nconsi stentwi tht he
theof fensechar gedi snecessar ilyr elat edt o prov isi onsoft hi sRul e.chanr obl esv ir
tual l
aw
anot hercr imi nal casesubj ectt ot heor dinar y l
ibrar y  chanr obl esv irtual lawl ibr ary
procedur e. chanr oblesv irtual lawl i
br ar y 
chanr obl es Thef ailureoft hepl aint if
ft oappeari nt he
virtual lawl ibr ar y prelimi nar yconf er enceshal l beacausef ort he
Sec.2.   Det er mi nat i
onofappl icabi l
ity.—Upont he dismi ssal ofhi scompl aint .Thedef endantwho
fi
lingofaci vilorcr i
mi nal act ion, thecour tshal l appear si nt heabsenceoft hepl ai ntiffshal l be
i
ssueanor derdecl aringwhet herornott hecase ent i
tledt ojudgmentonhi scount erclai mi n
shal l begov er nedbyt hisRul eApat ent lyer roneous accor dancewi thSect i
on6her eof .Al l
det er mi nat iont oav oi dt heappl icat ionoft heRul e cross- clai msshal l bedi smi ssed.
onSummar yPr ocedur ei sagr oundf ordi sciplinar y Ifasol edef endantshal l f
ai ltoappear ,the
act i
on. chanr obl esv i
rtual lawl ibr ar y 
chanr obl es plaint iffshal lbeent itledt oj udgmenti n
virtual lawl ibr ar y accor dancewi thSect i
on6her eof .Thi sRul e
II
. shal l notappl ywher eoneoft woormor e
Civ i
l Cases def endant ssuedunderacommoncauseof
Sec.  3.   Pleadi ngs.—  actionwhohadpl eadedacommondef ense
A.  Pl eadi ngsal lowed.—Theonl ypl eadi ngsal l
owed shal l appearatt hepr el i
mi nar yconf erence.
tobef iledar et hecompl aint s, compul sor y Sec.  8.  
 Recor dofpr el imi nar yconf erence.—
count er cl aimsandcr oss- cl ai ms' pleadedi nt he Wi thinf ive( 5)day saf tert het er mi nat ionoft he
answer ,andt heanswer st her et o. prelimi nar yconf er ence, thecour tshal lissuean
B.  Ver i
f icat i
ons.—Al lpl eadi ngsshal lbev erified. orderst at i
ngt hemat ter st akenupt her ein,
Sec.  4.   Dut yofcour t.—Af tert hecour tdet er mi nes i
ncl udi ngbutnotl imi ted
thatt hecasef al lsundersummar ypr ocedur e, i
t to:chanr oblesv i
r tual lawl i
br ary
may , from anexami nat ionoft heal l
egat ionst her ei
n (a)  Whet hert hepar tieshav ear r i
v edatan
andsuchev idenceasmaybeat tachedt heret o, ami cabl eset tlement ,andi fso, thet ermst her eof;
dismi sst hecaseout rightonanyoft hegr ounds (b)  Thest ipulat ionsoradmi ssi onsent er edi nt o
appar entt her ef rom f ort hedi smi ssal ofaci vil byt hepar t
ies; .
act i
on.I fnogr oundf ordi smi ssal i
sf oundi tshal l (c)  
Whet her ,ont hebasi soft hepl eadi ngsand
forthwi t hi ssuesummonswhi chshal lstat et hatt he thest ipul ationsandadmi ssi onsmadebyt he
summar ypr ocedur eundert hi sRul eshal lappl y . par ties, judgmentmayber ender edwi thoutt he
d-c chanr obl esv i
rtual lawl ibr ar y needoff urtherpr oceedi ngs, i
nwhi chev entt he
Sec.  5.   Answer .—Wi thint en( 10)day sf r
om j
udgmentshal lber ender edwi t hint hir ty( 30)
ser viceofsummons, thedef endantshal lfil
ehi s day sf rom i ssuanceoft heor der ;
answert ot hecompl aintandser v eacopyt her eof (d)  Acl earspeci ficat ionofmat erial fact swhi ch
ont hepl aint iff.Af fi
rmat i
v eandnegat ivedef enses remai ncont rov er ted; and   chanr obl esv irtual law
notpl eadedt her ei nshal lbedeemedwai ved, except l
ibrar y
forl ackofj ur isdi ct i
onov ert hesubj ectmat ter. (e)  Suchot hermat ter si nt endedt oexpedi tet he
Cross- clai msandcompul sor ycount erclaimsnot disposi t
ionoft hecase. chanr obl esv i
rtual law
asser tedi nt heanswershal lbeconsi der edbar red. l
ibrar y  chanr obl esv irtual lawl ibr ary
Theanswert ocount er claimsorcr oss- claimsshal l Sec.  9.  
 Submi ssi onofaf fi
dav itsandposi t
ion
bef i
ledandser v edwi t hint en( 10)day sf rom paper s.—Wi thi nt en( 10)day sf rom r ecei ptof
ser viceoft heansweri nwhi cht heyar e theor derment i
onedi nt henextpr ecedi ng
pleaded. chanr obl esv irtual lawl ibr ar y chanr obl es sect ion, thepar ti
esshal lsubmi tt heaf fidav it
sof
virtual lawl ibr ar y theirwi t
nessesandot herev i
denceont he
fact ual i
ssuesdef inedi nt heor der ,toget herwi t
h part i
es, f i
ndnocauseorgr oundt ohol dt he
theirposi tionpaper sset t
ingf or t
ht hel awandt he accusedf ort rial,itshal lor dert hedi smi ssal of
fact sr el i
eduponbyt hem. chanr obl esv irtual law thecase; other wi se, t hecour tshal l sett hecase
l
ibr ary  
chanr oblesv i
rt ual l
awl ibrar y forar r aignmentandt rial.
Sec.  10.   Rendi ti
onofj udgment .—Wi thint hirt y(30) Iftheaccusedi si ncust odyf ort hecr ime
day saf terr ecei ptoft hel astaf f i
dav itsandposi t
ion char ged, heshal l bei mmedi at elyar raignedand
paper s, ort heexpi rat ionoft heper iodf orf il
ingt he i
fheent er sapl eaofgui l
ty ,heshal lf orthwi thbe
same, thecour tshal lr enderj udgment . sent enced. chanr oblesv irtual law
Howev ershoul dt hecour tf i
ndi tnecessar yt ocl ar i
fy l
ibrar y  
chanr obl esv irtual lawl ibr ary
cer tainmat er i
al fact s, itmay , dur ingt hesai dper i
od, Sec.  14.   Pr elimi nar yconf er ence.—Bef ore
i
ssueanor derspeci f yingt hemat terst obecl ar i
fied, conduct i
ngt het rial,t hecour tshal l call the
andr equi ret hepar ti
est osubmi taf fidav itsorot her part i
est oapr elimi nar yconf er encedur ingwhi ch
ev i
denceont hesai dmat terswi thint en( 10)day s ast ipul at ionoff act smaybeent eredi nt o, ort he
from r ecei ptofsai dor der .Judgmentshal l be propr iet yofal lowi ngt heaccusedt oent erapl ea
render edwi thinf ifteen( 15)day saf tert her ecei ptof ofgui ltyt oal esserof f ensemaybeconsi der ed,
thel astcl ar i
f i
cat or yaf fidav i
ts, ort heexpi r ationof orsuchot hermat ter smaybet akenupt ocl arify
theper iodf orf il
ingt hesame. thei ssuesandt oensur easpeedydi sposi ti
onof
Thecour tshal lnotr esor ttot hecl ar ificat or y thecase. Howev er,noadmi ssi onbyt heaccused
procedur et ogai nt imef ort her endi ti
onoft he shal lbeusedagai nsthi m unl essr educedt o
j
udgment . writingandsi gnedbyt heaccusedandhi s
II
I. counsel .Ar ef usal orf ai l
ur et ost i
pul at eshal lnot
Cr i
mi nal Cases prejudi cet heaccused.
Sec.  11.   Howcommenced.—Thef ilingofcr imi nal Sec.  15.   Pr ocedur eoft r
ial .—Att het rial, the
casesf al li
ngwi thint hescopeoft hi sRul eshal lbe affidav itssubmi ttedbyt hepar ti
esshal l
eitherbycompl aintorbyi nfor mat ion: Pr ov ided, const itut et hedi rectt est imoni esoft he
howev er , thati nMet ropol i
tanMani l
aandi n witnesseswhoexecut edt hesame.Wi tnesses
Char teredCi ti
es.suchcasesshal lbecommenced whot est ifiedmaybesubj ect edt o
onlybyi nf ormat ion, exceptwhent heof fense cross- exami nat ion, redi rectorr e- cross
cannotbepr osecut eddeof icio.  
 chanr obl esv irtual exami nat ion.Shoul dt heaf fiantf ai ltot est i
f y,his
l
awl i
br ar y affidav itshal lnotbeconsi der edascompet ent
Thecompl ai ntori nfor mat i
onshal lbeaccompani ed evidencef ort hepar typr esent ingt heaf fidav i
t,
byt heaf fidav it
soft hecompl iantandofhi s butt headv er separ tymayut i
lizet hesamef or
wi t
nessesi nsuchnumberofcopi esast her ear e anyadmi ssi bl epur pose.
accusedpl ust wo( 2)copi esf ort hecour t'sf iles. I
f Excepti nr ebut tal orsur rebut tal ,nowi tnessshal l
thisr equi rementi snotcompl i
edwi thwi thinf ive( 5) beal lowedt ot est ifyunl esshi saf fidav itwas
day sf rom dat eoff il
ing, t
hecar emaybe prev iousl ysubmi ttedt ot hecour tinaccor dance
dismi ssed. chanr obl esv ir
tual l
awl ibr ar y chanr obl es withSect ion12her eof .
chanr obl esv i
r t
ual law
virtual lawl ibrary l
ibrar y  
chanr obl esv irtual lawl ibr ary
Sec.  12.   Dut yofcour t.—   chanr obl esv irtual law Howev er ,shoul dapar tydesi ret opr esent
l
ibr ary addi tional af fidav i
tsorcount er -affidav itsaspar t
(a)  Ifcommencedbycompl iant .—Ont hebasi sof ofhi sdi r ectev idence, heshal l somani fest
thecompl iantandt heaf fi
dav i
tsandot herev idence duringt hepr el i
mi nar yconf er ence, st atingt he
accompany i
ngt hesame, thecour tmaydi smi sst he purposet her eof . 
 Ifal lowedbyt hecour t,the
caseout rightf orbei ngpat ent lywi thoutbasi sor addi tional af fidav i
tsoft hepr osecut ionort he
mer i
tandor dert her el easeoft heamusedi fi n count er -af fidav i
tsoft hedef enseshal lbe
cust ody . submi ttedt ot hecour tandser v edont he
(b)  Ifcommencedbyi nf ormat ion.—Whent hecase adv er separ tynotl at ert hant hr ee( 3)day saf ter
i
scommencedbyi nfor mat ion, ori snotdi smi ssed thet er mi nat ionoft hepr elimi nar yconf er ence.I f
pur suantt ot henextpr ecedi ngpar agr aph, thecour t theaddi ti
onal af fidav i
t sar epr esent edbyt he
shal l i
ssueanor derwhi ch, t
oget herwi thcopi esof prosecut ion, t
heaccusedmayf i
lehi s
theaf fidav itsandot herev idencesubmi ttedbyt he count er -af fidav i
tsandser vet hesameont he
prosecut i
on, shal l requi ret heaccusedt osubmi this prosecut ionwi thint hr ee( 3)day sf rom such
count er -af fidav i
tandt heaf f
idav itsofhi swi t
nesses serv i
ce.
aswel l asanyev idencei nhi sbehal f,ser v i
ngcopi es Sec.  16.   Ar restofaccused.—Thecour tshal l
ther eofont hecompl ainantorpr osecut ornotl at er notor dert hear restoft heaccusedexceptf or
thant en( 10)day sf r
om r ecei ptofsai dor der .The fail
ur et oappearwhenev err equi red.Rel easeof
prosecut i
onmayf i
ler epl yaf fidav i
tswi thint en( 10) theper sonar rest edshal l eitherbeonbai l oron
day saf terr ecei ptoft hecount er-af fidav itsoft he recogni zancebyar esponsi bleci tizen
def ense. accept abl et ot hecour t.
Sec.  13.   Ar raignmentandt rial .—Shoul dt hecour t, Sec.  17.   Judgment .—Wher eat ri
al hasbeen
uponaconsi der at i
onoft hecompl ai ntor conduct ed, thecour tshal l promul gat et he
i
nf or mat ionandt heaf fidav i
tssubmi ttedbybot h j
udgmentnotl atert hant hi rty( 30)day saf tert he
termi nat i
onoft rial.chanr obl esv irtual l
aw providedforinasuppl et
orycapaci
tyinsofaras
l
ibrar y  chanr obl esv i
rt ual l
awl ibr ary theyarenotinconsistentherewi
th.
  chanr
obles
IV. vir
tuallawli
brary
COMMONPROVI SI ONS Sec. 23. 
 Ef
fecti
vit
y.—Thi srevi
sedRul eon
Sec.  18.   
Ref er ral toLupon.—Casesr equi ring Summar yProcedureshallbeeff
ectiveon
refer ral tot heLuponf orconci liat i
onundert he Nov ember15, 1991.chanrobl
esvir
tuallawli
brar
y
prov isi onsofPr esi dent ial Decr eeNo.1508wher e
ther ei snoshowi ngofcompl iancewi thsuch
requi rement ,shal l bedi smi ssedwi thoutpr ej udi ce
andmayber ev i
v edonl yaf tersuchr equi rement
shal l hav ebeencompl i
edwi th.  Thi spr ov isionshal l
notappl yt ocr imi nal caseswher et heaccusedwas A.
M.No.02-
11-
10-
SC      Mar
ch4,
2003
arrest edwi thoutawar rant .
chanr obl esv ir
tual law
l
ibrar y  chanr obl esv i
rt ual l
awl ibr ary RE:PROPOSEDRULEONDECLARATIONOF
Sec.  19.   
Pr ohi bit edpl eadi ngsandmot ions.—The ABSOLUTENULLI
TYOFVOI
DMARRI AGESAND
foll
owi ngpl eadi ngs, mot ionsorpet i
tionsshal l not ANNULMENTOFVOIDABLEMARRIAGES
beal lowedi nt hecasescov er edbyt his
Rul e: chanr obl esv irtual lawl ibr ar y RESOLUTION
(a)  Mot iont odi smi sst hecompl aintort oquasht he
compl aintori nf or mat ionexceptont hegr oundof      Actingonthelett
eroftheChairmanoft he
l
ackofj ur i
sdi ct i
onov ert hesubj ectmat ter, or Commi tt
eeonRev isi
onoft heRul esofCour t
fail
ur et ocompl ywi tht hepr ecedi ngsect i
on; submitti
ng forthi
s Court'
s considerati
on and
(b)  Mot ionf orabi ll ofpar ticul ar s; approvaltheProposedRul eonDecl arat
ionof
(c)  Mot ionf ornewt rial, orf orr econsi der at ionofa Absolute Nulli
ty of Voi d Mar r
iages and
j
udgment , orf oropeni ngoft r
ial ; AnnulmentofVoi dabl
e Mar r
iages,t he Cour
t
(d)  Pet itionf orr el i
eff rom j udgment ; ResolvedtoAPPROVEt hesame.
(e)  Mot ionf orext ensi onoft i
met of ilepl eadi ngs,
affidav it
soranyot herpaper ; 
chanr obl esv irtual law      TheRul eshalltakeeffectonMarch15,
l
ibrar y 2003fol
lowingitspubl
i
cationinanewspaperof
(f)
  Memor anda; gener
alcir
culat
ionnotl
aterthanMarch7,
2003
(g)  Pet itionf orcer ti
or ar i,mandamus, orpr ohi bition
agai nstanyi nt erlocut or yor deri ssuedbyt hecour t
;      Mar
ch4,
2003
(h)  Mot iont odecl ar et hedef endanti n
def aul t; 
chanr obl esv irtual l
awl ibrar y Davide,C.
J.Bell
osil
lo,Puno,Vit
ugMendoza,
(i
)  Di l
at or ymot i
onsf orpost ponement ; Panganiban,
Quisumbi ng,Sandoval
-Gutier
rez,
(j
)  Repl y; Carpio,
Austri
a-Marti
nez,CarpioMorales,Call
ejo,
(k)  Thi rdpar tycompl ai nt s; Sr.andAzcuna
(l
)  Inter vent ions. Ynares-
Santi
ago, onleave
Sec.  20.   
Af fidav i
t s.—Theaf fidav itsr equi r edt obe Corona,onoffi
ciall
eave
submi ttedundert hi sRul eshal lst at eonl yf act sof
directper sonal knowl edgeoft heaf fiant swhi char e RULEONDECLARATI
ONOFABSOLUTE
admi ssi bl ei nev i
dence, andshal lshowt hei r NULLI
TYOFVOIDMARIAGESANDANNULMENT
compet encet ot est i
f yt ot hemat ter sst atedt her ein. OFVOIDABLEMARRI
AGES
Av iol at i
onoft hi sr equi rementmaysubj ectt he
par tyort hecounsel whosubmi t st hesamet o Secti
on 1.  Scope - This Rul
e shall gover
n
disci pl i
nar yact ion, andshal l becauset oexpunge peti
ti
onsf ordecl arati
onofabsolutenull
i
tyof
thei nadmi ssi bl eaf fidav itorpor tiont her eoff rom voi
d mar riages and annul ment of voi
dabl
e
ther ecor d. chanr obl esv irtual lawl i
br ar y chanr obl es marri
ages under t he Famil
y Code of t e
virt
ual l
awl ibrar y Phil
i
ppines.
Sec.  21.   
Appeal .—Thej udgmentorf inal or der
shal l beappeal abl et ot heappr opr iater egional trial      TheRul
esofCour
tshal
lappl
ysuppl
etor
il
y.
cour twhi chshal l deci det hesamei naccor dance
withSect ion22of  Bat asPambansaBl g.129.The Sect
ion 2.
 Pet
it
ion fordecl
arat
ion ofabsol
ute
deci si onoft her egi onal trial cour ti nci vilcases nul
li
tyofvoidmarr
iages.
gov er nedbyt hi sRul e, incl udi ngf or ci bleent ryand
unlawf ul det ai ner , shal lbei mmedi at elyexecut or y, (a)Whomayf i
le.
 -Apet
it
ionfordecl
arat
ionof
withoutpr ej udi cet oaf urt herappeal thatmaybe absolut
enull
it
yofv oidmarri
agemaybef il
ed
takent her ef rom.   Sect i
on10ofRul e70shal l be solel
ybythehusbandort
hewife.(
n)
deemedr epeal ed.
Sec.  22.   
Appl icabi li
tyoft her egul arr ul es.—The (
b)Wher
etofi
l
e. 
-Thepet
it
ionshalbef
il
edi
n
regul arpr ocedur epr escr ibedi nt he  Rul esof t
heFami
l
yCour
t.
Cour t shal l appl yt ot hespeci al casesher ein
(c)Imprecri
pti
bil
i
tyofact
ionordefense. 
-AnAction (5)Theinjur
edpartywher
etheotherspousei s
ordefensef ort
hedeclar
at i
onofabsolutenul
l
ityof physi
call
y incapabl
e of consummat ing the
voidmar r
iageshall
notprescri
be. marri
agewi ththeotherandsuchi ncapabili
ty
conti
nuesandappear stobeincurable,withi
n
(d)Whatt oall
ege.  
-Apet i
ti
onunderArticl
e36of fi
veyearsaft
erthecel
ebr
ati
onofmarriage;and
Fami l
yCodeshal lspeciallyall
egetecompletefacts
showing t he ei ther or bot h parti
es wer e (6)Tei nj
uredpar t
ywheret heot
herpart
ywas
psychological
lyincapacitatedfrom complyi
ngwi th affl
ict
ed with asexuall
y-
tr
ansmissi
bledisease
theessent i
almaritalobl
igationsofmarri
agesatt he foundt obeseriousandappearst
obeincurable,
ti
meoft hecelebrationofmar ri
ageeveni fsuch within fi
ve y ears af
ter t
he celebr
ati
on of
i
ncapacity becomes mani f
est only after its mar ri
age.
celebrat
ion.
(
b)Wher
et ofi
l
e. 
-Thepet
it
ionshal
lbef
il
edi
n
     Thecompl etefact
sshouldall
eget hephy si
cal t
heFami
lyCour
t.
manifestat
ions, if any, as are i ndicati
ve of
psychologi
cal incapacit
y at the t i
me of t he Section4. Venue.
   
-ThePet iti
onshal lbef i
ledi n
cel
ebrationofthemar ri
agebutexpertopinionneed theFami lyCour toft heprov i
nceorci t
ywher e
notbeal l
eged. the pet i
ti
oner or t he respondent has been
resi
dingf oratleastsixmont hspriortot hedat e
Sect
ion 3.Pet
  it
ion f
or annul
ment of v
oidabl
e of f i
li
ng. Or i n t he case of non- resident
marr
iages.
 - respondent ,where he may be f ound int he
Phil
ippines,att
heel ecti
onoft hepet i
ti
oner.
(a)Whomayf i
le.
 -Thef
oll
owingper sonsmayf i
lea
peti
ti
onforannul
mentofv oidabl
emar r
iagebased Secti
on5.  Content
sandf orm ofpet
it
ion.
 -(1)
onanyofthegroundsunderarti
cle45oft heFamil
y The peti
tion shallall
ege t
he compl
etef acts
Codeandwithi
ntheperi
odher ei
nindicat
ed: consti
tut
ingt hecauseofact
ion.

(1)Thecont ractingpart
ywhosepar ent,
orguar dian, (2)Itshallstatet henamesand agesoft he
orper sonexer cisingsubst i
tut
epar entalauthority commonchi ldrenoft hepar t
iesandspeci
fyt
he
didnotgi vehisorherconsent ,withi
nf iveyear s regi
megov erni
ngt heirproper
tyrel
ati
ons,
aswell
afterattaini
ngt heageoft wenty-oneunl ess,after astheproperti
esinv ol
ved.
att
ai ni
ngt heageoft went y-
one,suchpar tyfreely
cohabitatedwi t
ht heotherashusbandorwi f
e;or      I fthereisnoadequat epr ovisi
oni na
thepar ent,guardianorper sonhav i
nglegalchar ge writ
ten agreement between the par ti
es,t he
oft hecont r
actingparty,atanyt imebef or
esuch peti
ti
onermayappl yf oraprovisionalorderfor
partyhasr eachedt heageoft wenty-
one; spousalsuppor t
,the cust
odyand suppor tof
common chi
ldr
en, vi
sit
ation r
ights,
(2)Thesanespousewhohadnoknowl edgeoft he administ
rat
ion of communi ty or conj ugal
other'
sinsani
ty;orby any r elati
ve,guar di
an,or proper
ty, and ot her mat ters si mi l
arl
y
personhavinglegalchargeoft heinsane,atany requi
ri
ngurgentacti
on.
ti
mebef orethedeat h ofeitherpar t
y;orbyt he
i
nsanespousedur ingt heal ucidint
erv aloraft
er (3) It must be veri
fi
ed and accompanied
regai
ningsani
ty,prov
idedthatt hepeti
tioner,aft
er cel
ebrati
onofmar r
iage.(b)Wher
et ofi
le.
-The
comingtoreason,hasnotfreelycohabitedwiththe peti
ti
onshall
befi
ledintheFami
lyCour
t.
otherashusbandorwife;
Section4. Venue.
   
-Thepet it
ionshallbef i
ledi n
(3)Thei nj
uredpar tywhoseconsentwasobt ained theFami lyCour toft heprov i
nceorci t
ywher e
byf raud,withi
nf iv
ey earsaft
erthediscoveryofthe the pet i
ti
oner or t he respondent has been
fraud,providedt hatsai dpar
ty,wit
hfullknowledge resi
dingf oratleastsixmont hspri
ort othedat e
oft hef actsconst i
tutingthefraud,hasnotf reel
y of fili
ng,or int he case of a non- resident
cohabi t
edwi ththeot herashusbandorwi f
e; respondent,wher e he may be f ound int he
Phil
ippinesattheel ect
ionofthepetit
ioner.
(4)Thei njuredpar t
ywhoseconsentwasobt ai
ned
byf orce,inti
mi dati
on,orundueinf
luence, wit
hinfi
ve Secti
on5.  Content
sandf orm ofpet
it
ion.
 -(1)
yearsf rom thet imetheforcei
ntimidat i
on,orundue The peti
tion shallall
ege t
he compl
etef acts
i
nf l
uencedi sappearedorceased,pr ov i
dedthatthe consti
tut
ingt hecauseofact
ion.
force,i ntimi dati
on,or undue i nfluence hav i
ng
disappear ed or ceased, sai d par t
y has not (2)itshallstatet henamesand agesoft he
thereafter f reel
y cohabited wit
h t he other as commonchi ldrenoft hepar t
iesandspeci
fyt
he
husbandorwi f
e; regi
megov erni
ngt heirproper
tyrel
ati
ons,
aswell
astheproperti
esinv ol
ved.
     Ifthereisnoadequat epr ovi
sioninawr itt
en the case may be r
aised as an af
fi
rmat
ive
agreementbetweent heparties,thepetit
ionermay defensei
nananswer
.
applyforapr ovisionalorderf orspousalsuppor t,
custodyandsuppor tofcommonchi ldr
en,visi
tati
on Secti
on8.Answer
  . 
-(1)Ther espondentshallfi
le
ri
ghts,admi ni
str
at i
on ofcommuni ty orconj ugal hisanswerwi t
hinf i
fteenday sf r
om serviceof
propert
y,and ot her matters similarl
yr equiri
ng summons,orwi thint hi
rtyday sfrom thel ast
urgentacti
on. i
ssue of publicati
on i n case of service of
summonsbypubl i
cation.Theanswermustbe
(3)itmustbe v erif
ied and accompanied by a veri
fi
edbyt her espondenthi mselfandnotby
cer
t i
fi
cat
ion against f orum shoppi ng. The counsel
orattorney-i
n-fact
.
ver
ifi
cati
on and certif
icati
on must be si gned
personal
lybymepeti
tioner.Nopeti
ti
onmaybef i
l
ed (2)I
ftherespondentfai
l
st ofi
leananswer,t
he
sol
elybycounsel
orthroughanat t
orney
-i
n-fact
. cour
tshal
lnotdeclar
ehim orheri
ndefaul
t.

     I fthepetit
ioneri
si naf oreigncount r
y ,the (3)Wherenoansweri sf i
ledori ft
heanswer
ver
ifi
cation and cer t
if
icati
on agai nst f orum doesnott enderanissue,thecourtshal
lor
der
shopping shall be authenticated by t he dul y the publ
i
c pr osecut
ortoi nv
esti
gat
e whet
her
authori
zed offi
ceroft he Phi l
i
ppi ne embassy or coll
usi
onexistsbetweentheparti
es.
l
egation,consulgeneral
,consulorv ice-consulor
consularagenti
nsaidcount r
y. Section 9.  I
nv estigat
ion r epor
t of publ i
c
prosecutor.
 -(1)Wi thi
nonemont haft
err eceipt
(4)i
tshallbefil
edinsixcopies.Thepetiti
onershal
l ofthecour torderment ionedi nparagr
aph( 3)of
serv
eacopyoft hepet i
ti
onont heOffi
ceoft he Section 8 abov e,t he publi
c prosecutorshal l
Soli
cit
orGener aland the Of f
ice oft he Cit
y or submi tarepor tt othecour tstati
ngwhet hert he
Provi
ncialProsecut
or,withinf i
ve daysf rom the parti
esar eincol lusionandser vecopiest hereof
dateofi t
sf i
l
ingandsubmi tt ot hecourtproofof ont hepar t
iesandt heirrespecti
vecounsel s,if
suchservicewit
hinthesameper iod. any.

     Fail
uretocompl ywi
thanyofthepr
eceding (2)Ifthepubli
cprosecut
orf i
ndst hatcollusi
on
requi
rements may be a ground f
orimmediate exi
sts,he shallstat
et he on t he fi
nding of
dismi
ssalofthepet
it
ion. coll
usi
onwi t
hintendaysfrom receiptofacopy
ofar eportThecour tshallsett herepor tf
or
Sect
ion 6.
 Summons. 
-The ser
vice ofsummons heari
ngandI fconvi
ncedt hatt
hepar ti
esar ein
shal
lbegov er
nedbyRule14oftheRulesofCour
t coll
usi
on,i
tshalldi
smissthepetit
ion.
andbythefoll
owi
ngrul
es:
(3)Ift he publi
c prosecut
orr epor
tst hatno
(1)Wheret her espondentcannotbel ocatedathis coll
usionexist
s,thecourtshal
lsetthecasef or
givenaddressorhi swher
eaboutsar eunknownand pre-
tri
al.Itshallbe t he duty oft he publ
ic
cannotbeascer tai
nedbydili
genti nqui
ry,servi
ceof prosecutort
oappearf ort
heStateatthepre-
tri
al.
summonsmay ,byleaveofcourt,beef fectedupon
him bypublicationonceaweekf ortwoconsecut i
ve Secti
on 10.Soci
  alwor ker.
 - The court may
weeksinanewspaperofgener alcircul
ationinthe requi
reasocialworkertoconductacasest udy
Phili
ppi
nesandi nsuchpl acesast hecour tmay and submitthecor r
esponding reportatleast
orderInaddi t
ion,acopyoft hesummonsshal lbe threedaysbeforethepr e-
tri
al.Thecourtmay
servedont herespondentathi slastknownaddr ess alsorequi
reacasest udyatanyst ageoft he
byr egi
steredmai loranyot hermeanst hecourt casewhenevernecessary.
maydeem suf f
icient.
Sect
ion11.
 Pr
e-t
ri
al.
 -
(2) The summons t o be published shall be
contai
nedinanor derofthecourtwiththefol
lowing (1)Pre-t
ri
almandat ory
. 
-Apr e-tr
ial
ismandat or
y.
data:(a)ti
tl
eoft hecase;( b)docketnumber ;(
c) Onmot i
onor  motupr opri
o, 
thecour tshallset
natureofthepetiti
on;(d)pri
ncipalgroundsoft he the pre-
tri
alaf t
ert he l
astpl eadi
ng has been
peti
ti
on and the r el
iefs pr
ayed f or
;and ( e)a servedandf i
led,oruponr eceiptofthereportof
dir
ecti
vefortherespondentt oanswerwi t
hinthirt
y thepubl i
cpr osecutorthatno col l
usionexists
daysfrom t
helastissueofpubli
cati
on. betweent heparti
es.

Secti
on 7. Mot
  ion to di smiss.
 - No motion to (2)Noti
ceofpre-
tr
ial
. 
-(a)Thenot
iceofpr
e-t
ri
al
di
smi ssthepetiti
onshal lbeall
owedexceptont he shal
lcontai
n:
ground ofl ack ofj ur
isdict
ion overthe subj
ect
mat t
erorov erthepar t
ies;provi
ded,however,t
hat (
1)t
hedat
eofpr
e-t
ri
alconf
erence;
and
anyot hergr
oundt hatmi ghtwarrantadismi
ssalof
(2)anor derdirect
ingthepar ti
estofi
l
eandser ve Sect
ion14.Pr
  e-
tr
ialconf
erence.
 -
Att
hepr
e-t
ri
al
theirrespecti
vepre-t
ri
albr i
efsinsuchmanneras conf
erence,
thecourt
:
shallensuretherecei
ptthereofbyt
headversepar
ty
atleastthreedaysbefor
et hedateofpr
e-t
ri
al. (a)Mayref
ert
hei ssuestoamedi
atorwhoshal
l
assi
stthepar
ti
esi nreachi
nganagreementon
(b)Thenot iceshallbeservedseparatel
yont he matter
snotpr
ohibit
edbylaw.
part
iesandt hei
rrespect
ivecounsel
saswel lason
the publ
ic prosecut
or.Itshallbe theirdutyto      Themedi
atorshallr
enderarepor
twithi
n
appearpersonall
yatthepre-
tr
ial
. onemonthfr
om r
efer
ralwhich,
forgoodr
easons,
thecour
tmayext
endf oraperi
odnotexceedi
ng
(c) Notice of pre-
tri
al shal l be sent to t he onemonth.
respondentevenifhefail
st ofi
leananswer .I
ncase
ofsummons bypubl i
cation and the respondent (b)Incasemedi at
ioni snotavai
l
edoforwher eit
fail
edtof i
l
ehi sanswer,not i
ceofpr e-
tr
ialshal
lbe fail
s,thecour tshal lproceedwi t
hthepr e-
tri
al
senttorespondentathislastknownaddr ess. conference,onwhi choccasionitshal
lconsider
the advisabil
it
yofr ecei
vi
ng experttest
imony
Secti
on12.Cont
  entsofpre-
tri
albr
ief
. 
-Thepr
e-t
ri
al andsuchot hermaker sasmayai dintheprompt
bri
efshal
lcont
ainthefol
lowing: disposit
ionoft hepetiti
on.

(a)Ast at
ementoft hewi l
lingnessoft hepar t
iest o Section15.  Pre-tri
alor der .
 -{a)Thepr oceedings
enteri ntoagr eementsasmaybeal lowedbyl aw, i
n t he pr e- t
rial shal l be r ecorded. Upon
i
ndi cati
ngt hedesiredt ermst her eof; terminationoft hepr e-tri
al,thecour tshal lI
ssue
apr e-tri
alor derwhi chshal lreciteindet ai
lthe
(b)Aconci sest at
ementoft heirrespect i
vecl aims mat t
er st akenupI nt heconf erence,theact i
on
togetherwi ththeappl i
cabl el awsandaut hori
ti
es; takent her eon,t heamendment sal l
owedont he
pleadings,and exceptas t ot he gr ound of
(c)Admi tt
ed f act
s and pr oposed st ipulatons of decl
i aration of nul lity or annul ment ,t he
facts,aswel last he di sput ed fact
ualand l egal agreement soradmi ssi onsmadebyt hepar ti
es
i
ssues; onanyoft hemat tersconsi dered,includingany
provisionalor dert hatmay be necessar y or
(d)Al lt he ev i
dence t o be pr esented,i ncludi ng agreeduponbyt hepar ti
es.
exper topinion,ifany ,brieflyst ati
ngordescr ibing
thenat ureandpur poset her eof ; (b)Shoul dt heact ionpr oceedt otri
al,theorder
shallcont ainar ecit
al oft hef ol
lowing;
(e)Thenumberandnamesoft hewi tnessesand
theirrespectiveaff
idav it
s; and (1)Fact sundi sputed,admi tt
ed,andt hosewhi ch
neednotbepr ovedsubj ectt oSect i
on16oft hi
s
(f)Suchot hermat tersast hecour tmayr equi
re. Rule;

     Fail
uretofi
lethepre-
tri
albri
efortocomply (
2)Fact
ual
andl
egal
issuest
obel
i
tigat
ed;
wit
hi tsrequi
red cont
ents shal
lhavet he same
eff
ectasfail
uretoappearatthepre-
tr
ialundert
he (
3)Evidence,i
ncl
udi
ngobject
sanddocuments,
succeedi
ngparagr
aphs. t
hathavebeenmarkedandwil
lbepr
esent
ed;

Section 13. Ef
fect of fai
luret o appear at t he (4)Namesofwitnesseswhowil
lbepr
esented
pre-t
rial
. 
-{ a) I
ft he petiti
oner f ai
l
st o appear andthei
rtest
imoni
esi nt
hefor
m ofaf
fidav
its;
personall
y,thecaseshal lbedi smissedunl esshis and
counseloradul yauthor
izedr epresentat
iveappears
i
n cour t and pr oves a v alid excuse f or the (
5)Schedul
eoft
hepr
esent
ati
onofev
idence.
non-appearanceofthepet i
ti
oner.
(c)The pr e-
tri
alor dershal lalso contai
na
(b)Ifther espondenthasf il
edhisanswerbutf ail
s dir
ectivetot hepublicpr osecut
ortoappearf or
toappear ,thecourtshal lproceedwiththepre-t
rial theSt ateandt akest epst opreventcoll
usi
on
andr equi
ret hepublicpr osecutort
oinvesti
gatethe between t he par ti
es at any st age of the
non-appear ance of t he respondentand submi t proceedingsandf abricat
ionorsuppr essi
onof
withinfi
fteenday st hereaft
erar eporttothecour t evidencedur i
ngt hetr
ialonthemer i
ts.
stati
ngwhet herhisnon- appearanceisduet oany
coll
usion bet ween t he par ti
es.Ift hereI s no (
d)The parli
esshallnotbe allowed t oraise
coll
usion, t he cour t shallr equi
re the publ i
c i
ssuesorpresentwi
tnessesandev idenceother
prosecutort oint
ervenef ortheStateduri
ngthetrial t
hanthosestat
edint
hepr e-
tr
ial
or der.
ont hemer itstoprev entsuppressi
onorf abr
icat
ion
ofev i
dence.
Theor
dershal
lcont
rolt
hetrialoft
hecase,unless provi
ded,thecasewil
lbeconsi
der
edsubmitt
ed
modi
fi
edbythecour
ttoprev
entmanifesti
njust
ice. fordeci
sion,
withorwi
thoutt
hememoranda.

(
e)Theparti
esshal
lhavef
ivedaysfr
om recei
ptof Section19. Deci
  sion.
 -(1)Ifthecourtrender sa
t
he pre-
tr
ial or
der t
o propose corr
ecti
ons or decision granti
ng thepet it
ion,itshalldecl ar
e
modi
fi
cat
ions. ther
ei nt hatthe decree ofabsol ute nulli
tyor
decreeofannul mentshal lbeissuedbyt hecour t
Sect
ion 16.  Pr
ohibi
ted compr omi
se. 
- The onlyaf t
ercompl iancewi t
hAr ticl
e50and51of
cour
t-shal
lnotal l
ow compromi
se on pr
ohi
bit
ed theFami l
yCodeasi mplement edundert heRule
matt
er s,
suchasthefol
lowi
ng: on Li quidati
on,Par ti
ti
on and Di st
ri
but i
on of
Proper t
ies.
(
a)Theci
vi
lst
atusofper
sons;
(2)Thepar ti
es,includingt heSolici
torGener al
(b) The vali
dit
y of a mar
ri
age or of a l
egal andt hepubl i
cpr osecut or
,shal
lbeser v
edwi th
separat
ion; copies of t he deci sion personally or by
register
edmai l.I
fther espondentsummonedby
(
c)Anygr
oundf
orl
egal
separ
ati
on; publ i
cati
onf ail
edt o appeari ntheact ion,the
dispositi
ve par t of t he decision shal l be
(
d)Fut
uresuppor
t; publ i
shed once i n a newspaper of gener al
circulat
ion.
(
e)Thej
uri
sdi
cti
onofcour
ts;
and
(3) The decisi
on becomes f inal upon the
(
f)Fut
urel
egi
ti
me. expir
ati
on off i
ft
een day sfr
om notice tothe
parti
es.Ent
ryofj udgmentshallbemadei fno
Secti
on 17. Tr
  i
al. 
-(1)The pr esi
ding judge shal
l mot i
onforr
econsiderat
ionornewtri
al,orappeal
personall
y conduct t he tri
alof t he case.No Isf i
led by any of t he part
ies the publi
c
del
egation of t he recept
ion of ev i
dence toa prosecut
or,ort
heSol i
cit
orGener
al.
commi ssioner shallbe al l
owed except as t o
mat t
ersinvolv
ingpropertyr
elati
onsofthespouses. (4)Upont hefinal
i
tyofthedecisi
on,t
hecour
t
shal
lforthwi
thi
ssuethecorr
espondi
ngdecr
eei
f
(2)Thegr oundsfordeclar
ati
onofabsolut
enulli
ty thepart
ieshavenoproper
ti
es.
orannulmentofmar r
iage mustbe proved.No
j
udgmentont hepleadi
ngs,summaryjudgment,or      Iftheparti
eshavepr oper
ti
es,thecour
t
confessi
onofjudgmentshallbeal
l
owed. shal
l obser
ve the procedure prescr
ibed i
n
Sect
ion21ofthi
sRule.
(3)Thecour tmayor dert heexcl usionf rom the
cour tr
oom ofal lper sons, incl
udingmember softhe      Theent r
yofj udgmentshallberegi ster
ed
press, whodonothav eadi r
ectinter estint hecase. i
nt he Civ
ilRegistrywher ethe mar r
iage was
Suchanor dermaybemadei fthecour tdetermines recorded and Int he Civ
ilRegistrywher ethe
ont her ecordthatr equiringapar tytot esti
fyi nopen Fami l
yCour t
'gr
anti
ngt hepeti
ti
onf ordeclarati
on
cour twouldnotenhancet heascer tainmentoft ruth; ofabsol ut
enul l
it
yorannul mentofmar riageis
woul d causet ot hepar t
ypsy chol ogi calhar m or l
ocat ed.
i
nabi li
ty t o ef fectively communi cat e due t o
embar r
assment ,f ear,ort imidi
ty;woul dv iolatethe Sect
ion20.
 Appeal
. 
-
ri
ghtofapar tytopr i
vacy ;orwoul dbeof fensiveto
decencyorpubl icmor als. (1)Pre-
conditi
on. 
-Noappealf r
om thedeci
sion
shallbeall
owedunl esstheappel
lanthasf
il
eda
(4)Nocopyshallbet akennoranyexami nationor mot i
onf orreconsider
ati
onornew t ri
alwit
hin
perusaloft
herecordsoft hecaseorpar t
st hereof fi
fteendaysfrom noti
ceofjudgment.
be made by any person othert han a party or
counselofapar
ty,exceptbyorderofthecourt. (2)Not iceofappeal . 
-Anaggr i
ev edpar tyorthe
SolicitorGener almayappealf rom t hedeci si
on
Section 18.Memor
  anda. -The cour tmayr equire byf ilingaNot iceofAppealwi thinfif
teenday s
the par t
ies and t he publ i
c pr osecut or,i n from not i
ce of deni al of t he mot ion f or
consul t
ati
onwi ththeOf fi
ceoft heSolicitorGener , r
al econsi derati
onornew t rial
.Theappel l
antshal l
tof i
l
et heirrespecti
vememor andasuppor toftheir se r
v ea copyo fthen oti
ceo fa ppealo n t
h e
clai
mswi thi
nf i
fteenday sfrom thedat et het r
ialis adv ersepar ti
es.
terminated.Itmayr equiretheOf f
iceoft heSol i
citor
Gener altofil
ei t
sownmemor andum i fthecasei s Sect ion21. Liquidat
ion,par t
it
ionanddi stributi
on,
of signifi
cant interest tot he St ate.No ot her cust ody ,suppor t of common chi l
dren and
pleadings orpaper s may be submi tted wi hout del
t iver yoft heirpresumpt i
vei eglti
mes.  
-Upon
l
eav eofcour t
.Af t
erthel apseoft heper i
odher ein entryoft hejudgmentgr anti
ngt hepet i
tion,or,in
case of appeal ,upon r eceiptof t he ent r
y of Secti
on24. Ef
  fectofdeathofaparty;dutyofthe
j
udgment of t he appellate cour t gr
ant i
ng the FamilyCour torAppellat
eCour t
. 
-(a)I ncasea
peti
ti
on,theFami lyCourt,onmot ionofei t
herparty, party di
es atany st age oft he proceedings
shallproceed witht he liqui
dation,partit
ion and beforetheent r
yofj udgment,thecour tshall
dist
ri
bution of the pr operti
es of t he spouses, orderthecasecl osedandt er
minated,wi t
hout
i
ncludingcustody,supportofcommonchi ldrenand prej
udice tot he sett
lementoft he est at
ei n
deli
veryoftheirpresumpt i
v elegit
imespur suantto properproceedingsintheregul
arcourts.
Arti
cles50and51oft heFami l
yCodeunl esssuch
mat t
ershadbeenadj udicatedi npr evi
ousj udi
cial (b)Ifthepar
tydiesaft
ertheentryofjudgmentof
proceedi
ngs. nulli
ty orannulment,the judgmentshal lbe
bindingupontheparti
esandt heirsuccessor
sin
Sect
ion22. I
ssuanceofDecreeofDecl
arat
ionof i
nt er
estintheset t
lementoft heest ateinthe
Absolut
eNulli
tyorAnnul
mentofMar
ri
age.
" (
a)The regularcour
ts.
cour
tshall
issuetheDecr
eeaf
ter;
Section 25.Ef
  f
ectl
vi
ty.
 -This Rul
e shal ltake
(1)Registr
ati
onoftheent r
yofj udgmentgr anti
ng eff
ect on Mar ch 15, 2003 f ollowing its
thepeti
tionfordecl
arati
onofnul l
ityorannulment publi
cationinanewspaperofgeneralci
rculat
ion
ofmarriageintheCi
vilRegi
str
ywher et hemarri
age notlaterthanMarch7,2003.
wascelebratedandi
nt heCivi
lRegistr
yoftheplace
wheretheFami l
yCourtisl
ocated;

(2) Registr
ation of the appr
oved parti
ti
on and
dist
ribut
ionoft hepropert
iesofthespouses,i
nthe
properRegisterofDeedswher et her
ealproper
ti
es A.
M.No.02-
11-
11-
SC      Mar
ch4,
2003
arelocated;and
RE:
PROPOSEDRULEONLEGALSEPARATI
ON
(
3) The del
i
very of t
he childr
en'
s presumpti
ve
l
egi
ti
mesincash,pr
opert
y,orsoundsecuri
ti
es. RESOLUTION

(b) The court shal

lquoteint he Decree the      Act i
ngonthelett
eroftheChai
rmanoft he
disposi
ti
ve por
ti
on ofthe j
udgmententer
ed and Commi tteeonRev i
sionoft heRulesofCour t
attacht
otheDecr eet
heappr
oveddeedofpart
it
ion. submitti
ng forthi
s Court'
s consi
derat
ion and
approvalthePr
oposedRuleonLegalSeparation,
     Excepti nthecaseofchi l
drenunderArti
cles theCourtResolv
edtoAPPROVEDt hesame.
36and53oft heFami lyCode,thecourtshal
lorder
theLocalCivilRegist
rartoissueanamendedbi rth      TheRul eshalltakeeffectonMarch15,
cert
if
icat
ei ndicat
ing the new ci
v i
lst
atus oft he 2003fol
lowingitspubl
i
cationinanewspaperof
chi
ldrenaff
ected. gener
alcir
culat
ionnotl
aterthanMarch7,
2003

Section 23.  Registrat

ion and publ i
cati
on of t he      Mar
ch4,
2003
decree; decreeasbestev i
dence. -(a)Theprevail
i
ng
partyshal lcauset her egi
strati
onoft heDecreei n DavideJr.C.J.,
Bell
osil
lo,Puno, Vi
tug,Mendoza,
theCi vi
lRegi st
r ywheret hemar ri
agewasr egi
ster
ed, Panganiban,Quisumbing, SandovalGuti
errez,
theCi v i
lRegi stryoft hepl acewher etheFami l
y Carpio,
Austria-
Marti
nez, Carpio-
Mor al
es,Call
ejo,
Courti ssi t
uat ed,andi ntheNat i
onalCensusand Sr.andAzcuna, JJ.
Stati
stics Of fi
ce.He shal lr eportt dt he court Ynares-
Santiago,onleave,
compl iancewi tht hi
sr equir
ementwi thi
nthirt
yday s Corona,off
icial
lyonleave.
from receiptoft hecopyoft heDecr ee.
RULEONLEGALSEPARATI
ON
(b)In case servi
ce ofsummons was made by
publicati
on,thepart
iesshallcausethepubl
i
cati
on Secti
on 1.Scope.
   
- Thi
s Rul
e shall gov
ern
oft he Decree once in a newspaperofgeneral peti
ti
onsforlegalsepar
ati
onundert
heFami l
y
cir
cul at
ion. CodeofthePhil
ippi
nes.

(c)Theregist
eredDecr eeshal
lbethebestev idence      TheRul
esofCour
tshal
lappl
ysuppl
etor
il
y.
to provet he declarati
on ofabsolute nulli
ty or
annulmentofmar r
iageandshallserv
easnot iceto Section2. Pet
  i
ti
on. 
-( a)
 Whomayandwhent o
thi
rd per sons concer ning the pr opert
ies of fi
le.
 -(1)Apet it
ionforlegalseparat
ionmaybe
peti
ti
onerandr espondentaswel lasthepr operti
es fi
ledonl ybythehusbandort hewif
e,asthecase
orpresumpt i
velegit
imesdeliv
eredtotheircommon maybewi thi
nf i
vey earsfr
om thet i
meoft he
chil
dren. occur r
enceofanyoft hefoll
owingcauses:
(a)Repeatedphy sicalvi
olenceorgrossl
yabusi
ve (4)Bef il
edi nsixcopies.Thepet it
ionershal l
,
conductdi
r ectedagainstthepeti
ti
oner
,acommon withinfi
veday sfrom suchf i
li
ng,f
urnishacopy
chil
d,orachildofthepetit
ioner
; of t he petit
ion to t he City or Pr ov
incial
Prosecutorandt hecredit
ors,i
fany,andsubmi t
(b)Physicalvi
olenceormoralpressur
etocompel tot hecour tproofofsuchser vi
cewi thi
nt he
the peti
tioner to change r
eli
gious or pol
i
tical sameper iod.
aff
il
iat
ion;
     Fai lureto complywi t
hthepreceding
(c)Att
emptofrespondenttocor r
uptorinducethe requi
rementsmaybeagr oundfori
mmedi ate
peti
ti
oner
,a common chi ld,ora chi l
d oft he dismi
ssalofthepet
iti
on.
peti
ti
oner
,toengagei nprosti
tut
ion,orconni
vance
i
nsuchcorrupt
ionorinducement; (c)Venue.
   
-The petit
ion shallbe fi
led i
nt he
Fami l
yCourtofthepr ovi
nceorci tywher ethe
(d)Finalj
udgmentsent
encingther
espondentto petit
ionerortherespondenthasbeenr esi
ding
i
mpr i
sonmentofmor et han si
xyear
s,ev en i
f foratleastsi
xmont hspri
ort othedateoff i
l
ing
pardoned; "orinThecaseofanon- resi
dentrespondent
,
wher ehemaybef oundint hePhili
ppi
nes,atthe
(
e)Drug addi
cti
on orhabi
tualal
cohol
i
sm oft
he elect
ionofthepet
iti
oner.
r
espondent
;
Sect
ion3.Summons.
   
-Theserv
iceofsummons
(
f)Lesbi
ani
sm orhomosexual
i
tyoft
her
espondent
; shal
lbegov ernedbyRule14oft heRulesof
Courtandbythefol
l
owingrul
es:
(g)Contract
ingbytherespondentofasubsequent
bigamous mar r
iage,whetherin oroutside the (a)Wher ether espondentcannotbel ocat
edat
Phili
ppi
nes; his given addr ess or his wher eabout s are
unknownandcannotbeascer tai
nedbydi li
gent
(
h)Sexual
inf
idel
i
tyorper
ver
sionoft
her
espondent
; i
nquiry,serv iceofsummonsmay ,byl eaveof
court,beeff ecteduponhi m bypubl icati
ononce
(
i) At
tempt on t
he l
i
fe of pet
it
ioner by t
he a week f or t wo consecut ive weeks i n a
r
espondent
;or newspaper of gener al circul
ation i n t he
Phil
ippinesandi nsuchpl aceast hecour tmay
(
j) Abandonment of peti
ti
oner by respondent order.Inaddi tion,acopyoft hesummonsshal l
wi
thoutj
usti
fi
abl
ecauseformorethanoney ear
. be ser ved on r espondentathi sl astknown
address by r egi st
ered mailorby any ot her
(b)
 Content
s and f
orm.
 -The pet
it
ion f
orl
egal meanst hecour tmaydeem suf fi
cient.
separat
ionshal
l
:
(b)The summons t o be publi
shed shallbe
(1)Al
l
egethecompl
etef
act
sconst
it
uti
ngt
hecause contai
ned i n an or deroft he courtwi ththe
ofact
ion. fol
lowingdat a;( 1)tit
leofthecase;( 2)docket
number ;(3)nat ureoft hepeti
ti
on;(4)pr i
nci
pal
(2)St atet he names and ages oft he common groundsoft hepet i
tionandtherel
iefsprayedfor
,
chil
drenoft hepar t
ies,speci
fyther egi megov erni
ng and (5)a di rectiv
ef orrespondentt o answer
thei
rpr opertyrelati
ons,t hepropertiesi nvol
ved,and withi
n t hir
ty day sf r
om t he last issue of
credi
tors, i
fany .Ifthereisnoadequat eprovisi
onin publi
cation.
a wr i
tten agr eement bet ween t he par t
ies,the
peti
ti
onermayappl yf ora pr ovisionalor derfor Section 4.
 Motion to Dismiss. 
-No mot ion to
spousalsuppor t,custodyandsuppor tofcommon dismissthepet it
ionshallbeal l
owedexcepton
chil
dren, v i
sitati
on r i
ghts, admi nist
rat
ion of the ground ofl ack ofj uri
sdict
ion overt he
communi tyorconj ugalproperty,andot hersimil
ar subjectmat terorov erthe par t
ies;pr
ov i
ded,
mat t
ersr equir
ingur gentaction, howev er
,t hatany ot her ground thatmi ght
warrantadi smissaloft hecasemayber ai
sed
(3)Bev eri
fiedandaccompani edbyacer tif
icat
ion asanaf fi
rmativ
edef enseinananswer .
against f orum shoppi ng. The v erif
ication and
certi
ficati
on mustbe per sonall
y signed by t he Secti
on5.Answer
  . 
-(a)Ther espondentshallfi
le
peti
tioner.No pet it
ion may be f i
led sol ely by hisanswerwithinfi
fteenday sf r
om receiptof
counselor t hr
ough an at t
orney-i
n-fact.I ft he summons,orwi t
hint hi
rtyday sfrom thel ast
peti
tionerisi naforei
gncount r
y,theverifi
cat i
onand i
ssue of publi
cati
on i n case of service of
certi
ficati
on agai nst forum shoppi ng shal l be summonsbypubl i
cation.Theanswermustbe
authent i
catedbyt hedul yauthori
zedof f
iceroft he veri
fi
ed by respondent himself and not by
Phil
ippine embassy orl egat
ion,consulgener al
, counsel
oratt
orney-i
n-fact
.
consulorv ice-
consulorconsul aragenti n said
count ry
(b)I
ftherespondentfai
lstofil
eananswer
,the (3)Not i
ce ofpr e-
tr
ialshallbe senttot he
cour
tshal
lnotdecl
arehi
mi ndef
ault
. respondentevenifhefail
stofil
eananswer.I n
case of summons by publ i
cati
on and t he
(c)Wherenoansweri sfi
led/ori
ftheanswerdoes respondentfail
edtof i
l
ehi sanswer,not
iceof
nottenderanissuethecourtshal
lordert
hepubli
c pre-t
ri
alshallbesenttorespondentathi
sl ast
prosecut
ortoinvesti
gat
ewhet hercoll
usi
onexi
sts knownaddr ess.
betweentheparti
es.
Secti
on 9.
 Contents of pre-
tr
ial br
ief
. 
- The
Secti
on 6. I
 nvesti
gation Repor t of Publ i
c pre-
tr
ial
bri
efshallcont
aint
hefoll
owing:
Prosecutor. 
-(a)Wi t
hinoneonemont hafterrecei
pt
ofthecour torderment ionedinpar
agr aph(c)ofthe (
1)Astatementofthewil
l
ingnessofthepar
ti
es
preceedi
ng sect i
on,t he publi
c prosecutorshal l t
oenterint
oagreementsasmaybeal l
owedby
submi tarepor ttothecour tonwhethert heparti
es l
aw,
indicat
ingt
hedesir
edtermsther
eof;
areincollusi
onandser v ecopi
esont heparti
esand
thei
rrespectivecounsel s,i
fany. (2)A concise stat
ementoft hei
rrespect
ive
clai
mst ogetherwit
hthe appl
i
cabl
elawsand
(b)Ifthe public prosecutorf i
nds t hatcollusi
on author
it
ies;
exi
sts,heshallstatethebasi sthereofinhi sr
epor t
.
Thepar t
iesshallfi
letheirrespectivecomment son (
3)Admi t
tedfact
sandproposedsti
pul
ati
onsof
thefi
ndingofcol l
usionwithintenday sfr
om receipt f
acts,aswellasthedi
sputedfact
ualandlegal
ofcopyoft hereport.Thecour tshal lsetthereport i
ssues;
forhearing and ifconv i
nced t hatpar ti
es arei n
coll
usi
on,-i
tshal
l di
smisst hepetiti
on. (4)Al
ltheevidencetobepresented,incl
udi
ng
exper
t opi
nion, if any
, bri
efl
y st ati
ng or
(c)Ifthepubl
icprosecutorrepor
tsthatnocol
lusi
on descr
ibi
ngt
henat ur
eandpur
posethereof;
exists,t
hecourtshal lsetthecasef orpr
e-t
rial
.It
shallbethedutyofthepubl icpr
osecutort
oappear (
5)Thenumberandnamesoft hewi
tnessesand
fortheStateatt
hepr e-t
ri
al. t
hei
rrespect
iveaf
fi
dav
its;
and

Section7.Soci
  alWorker. 
-Thecourtmayr equir
ea (
6)Suchot
hermat
ter
sast
hecour
tmayr
equi
re.
socialworkerto conducta case st udy and to
submi tt
hecorr
espondingrepor
tatleastthreedays      Fai lur
et ofil
et hepre-
tr
ialbri
efort o
beforethepre-
tri
al.Thecourtmayal sorequi
rea complywithit
srequir
edcontent
sshallhav
et he
case studyatanyst age ofthe case whenever sameeffectasfail
uretoappearatthepre-t
rial
necessary, undert
hesucceedingsecti
on.

Sect
ion8.
 Pr
e-t
ri
al.
 - Section 10. Ef
fectoff ai
l
ureto appearatt he
pre-t
rial
. -(1)Ift he peti
ti
onerf ai
lst o appear
(a)Pre-t
rialmandat ory.
-Apr e-
tri
alismandat or
y.On personally,thecaseshal lbedi smissedunl ess
mot i
on or mot
  u propr
io, 
the cour tshallsett he hiscounseloradul yauthori
zedr epresentati
ve
pre-t
ri
alaf t
ert helastpl
eadi nghasbeenser vedand appear sincour tandpr ovesav al
i
dexcusef or
fi
led,oruponr eceiptoft her eportofthepubl i
c thenon- appearanceofthepetit
ioner.
prosecutort hatno col lusion exists bet
ween t he
parti
esonadat enotear l
iert hansixmont hsfrom (2)Ifther espondentf i
ledhi sanswerbutf ai
l
st o
dateofthef il
ingoft hepetition. appear ,thecour tshallproceedwi ththepr e-t
rial
andr equi r
et hepubl i
cpr osecut ort oinv esti
gate
(b)Noti
ceofPre-
tr
ial
.-
(1)Thenot
iceofpr
e-t
ri
al the non- appear ance of t he r espondent and
shal
lcont
ain: submi twi thinfif
teenday sar eportt othecour t
stati
ngwhet herhisnon- appear ancei sduet o
(
a)t
hedat
eofpr
e-t
ri
alconf
erence;
and anycol lusionbet weent hepar t i
es/I fthereisno
coll
usion t he court shal lr equiret he publ i
c
(b)anor derdirect
ingthepar ti
estofi
l
eandser ve prosecut ort ointer
venef ort heSt atedur i
ngt he
theirrespecti
vepre-t
ri
albr i
efsinsuchmanneras tri
alon t he.meritsto pr eventsuppr ession or
shallensuretherecei
ptthereofbyt
headversepar
ty fabri
cat i
onofev i
dence.
atleastthreedaysbefor
et hedateofpr
e-t
ri
al.
Sect
ion11. Pre-
tr
ialconfer
ence. 
-Atthepr e-t
rial
(2)Thenot iceshallbeservedseparatel
yont he conf
erence,thecour tmayr ef
ertheissuest oa
part
iesandt hei
rrespect
ivecounsel
saswel lason mediatorwhoshal lassi
stt
hepar t
iesinreaching
the publ
ic prosecut
or.Itshallbe theirdutyto anagreementonmat ter
snotprohibi
tedbyl aw.
appearpersonall
yatthepre-
tr
ial
.
     Themedi
atorshal
lrenderarepor
twithi
n
onemonthf
rom r
efer
ralwhi
ch,forgoodr
easons,
thecour
tmayext
endf
oraper
iodnotexceedi
ng (2)The val
i
dit
y ofa mar
ri
age orofa l
egal
onemonth. separ
ati
on;

     Incasemedi at
ioni
snotavail
edoforwher ei t (
3)Anygr
oundl
orl
egal
separ
ati
on;
fai
ls,the cour tshallproceed wit
ht he pre-t
rial
conference,onwhi choccasi
onitshallconsiderthe (
4)Fut
uresuppor
t;
advisabil
i
tyofr eceiv
ingexper
ttesti
monyandsuch
othermat tersasmayai dinthepromptdi sposit
ion (
5)Thej
uri
sdi
cti
onofcour
ts;
and
ofthepet i
tion.
(
6)Fut
urel
egi
ti
me.
Secti
on12.  Pre-t
rialorder.
 -( a)Thepr oceedingsin
thepre-tr
ialshallber ecorded.Upont erminationof Secti
on14.  Tr
ial
. 
-(a)Thepresidingjudgeshall
thepre-tr
ial,thecour tshal lissueapr e-t
ri
alorder personall
yconductt he tri
aloft he case.No
whichshal lrecit
ei ndet ai
lthemat ter
st akenupi n del
egation oft he r
ecepti
on ofev i
dence toa
the conference,t he action t aken thereon,t he commi ssionershallbe all
owed exceptas t o
amendment sal l
owedont hepl eadings,and,except mat t
ersi nvol
v i
ng proper
tyr elati
ons of t he
as t o t he gr ound of l egal separ ati
on, the spouses.
agreement soradmi ssionsmadebyt hepar ti
eson
any of t he mat ter
s consi der
ed,i ncludi
ng any (b)Thegr oundsforlegalseparati
onmustbe
provi
sionalor derthatmaybenecessar yoragr eed proved.Nojudgmentonthepleadings,
summar
y
uponbyt hepar ti
es. j
udgment ,orconfessi
onofj udgmentshal
lbe
all
owed.
(b)Shoul
dtheacti
onpr
oceedtotr
ial
,theor
dershal
l
contai
nareci
taloft
hef
oll
owing: (c)Thecour tmayor dertheexcl usionf rom the
cour tr
oom ofal lpersons,includi
ngmember sof
(1)Fact
sundi
sputed,admitt
ed,and t
hosewhi
ch thepr ess,whodonothav eadi rectinterestin
neednotbeprov
edsubj ecttoSect
ion13ofthi
s thecase.Suchanor dermaybemadei fthe
Rule; cour tdet erminesont her ecordothatr equiri
nga
partyt ot estif
yi nopencour twoul dnotenhance
(
2)Fact
ual
andl
egal
issuest
obel
i
tigat
ed; theascer tainmentoft ruth;woul dcauset ot he
party psy chological har m or i nabilit
y t o
(3)Ev
idence,
includi
ngobj
ectsanddocument
s,t
hat effectivelycommuni cateduet oembar rassment,
havebeenmar kedandwil
lbepresent
ed; fear,ort imidity;woul dviolatethepar t
y'sr i
ghtto
pri
v acy; orwoul dbeof f
ensi vetodecency
(
4)Namesofwi t
nesseswhowi l
lbepresent
edand
t
hei
rtest
imoni
esinthefor
m ofaff
idav
its;
and (d)Nocopyshallbetakennoranyexami
nati
on
orperusaloft
her ecor
dsoft hecaseorpart
s
(
5)Schedul
eoft
hepr
esent
ati
onofev
idence. ther
eofbemadebyanyper sonothert
hana
part
yorcounselofapar ty
,exceptbyor
derof
     The pr e-t
ri
alor dershallalso containa thecourt
.
dir
ecti
vet othepublicprosecutortoappearf orthe
Stateandt akestepst opreventcoll
usionbet ween Section15.  Memor anda. -Thecourtmayr equir
e
thepartiesatanyst ageoft hepr oceedi
ngsand thepar t
iesandt hepubl icprosecutortofil
etheir
fabri
cat
ionorsuppr essionofev idenceduringt he respecti
v ememor andai nsupportoftheircl
aims
tri
alonthemer i
ts. withi
nf ifteen daysf rom t he datet he t
ri
alis
terminated.Noot herpl eadingsorpaper smay
(c)Thepar t
iesshallnotbeallowedtoraiseissues besubmi t
tedwithoutl eav eofcour t.Aft
erthe
orpresentwitnessesandev i
denceotherthanthose l
apseoft heper i
odher einpr ovi
ded,t
hecasewi ll
stat
edi nthepr e-
tri
alorder
.Theordershallcontr
ol beconsi deredsubmi t
tedf ordecision,withor
thetri
alofthecaseunl essmodifi
edbyt hecourtto withoutthememor anda.
preventmanifestinj
usti
ce.
Secti
on16.Deci
  sion.
 -(
a)Thecour
tshalldeny
(
d)Theparti
esshal
lhavef
ivedaysfr
om recei
ptof thepeti
ti
ononanyofthefol
l
owi
nggrounds:
t
he pre-
tr
ial or
der t
o propose corr
ecti
ons or
modi
fi
cat
ions. (1) The aggrieved party has condoned the
offenseoractcompl ai
nedoforhasconsent ed
Section 13.
 Prohibi
ted compromi
se.
 -The court tot he commi ssi
on of t he of
fense or act
shallnotall
ow compr omiseonprohi
bit
edmatt
ers, compl ai
nedof;
suchast hefoll
owing:
(2)Thereisconnivanceinthecommi ssi
onofthe
(1)Thecivi
lstatusofpersons; offense-
oractconst i
tuti
ngt hegr
oundf orl
egal
separati
on;
(3) Both par
ti
es hav
e gi
ven gr
ound f
or l
egal appell
atecourtgranti
ngt hepetit
ion,theFami l
y
separat
ion; Court,onmot ionofeitherparty,shallproceed
withtheliqui
dati
on,parti
ti
onanddi st
ribut
ionof
(
4)Ther
eiscoll
usi
onbetweenthepar
ti
est
oobt
ain theproperti
esofthespouses,includingcustody
t
hedecr
eeoflegal
separ
ati
on;or and suppor tofcommon chi ldren,undert he
Fami l
y Code unless such mat t
er s had been
(
5)Theact
ioni
sbar
redbypr
escr
ipt
ion. adjudi
catedinprevi
ousjudici
alproceedings.

(b)Ifthe courtr enders a deci

sion gr
ant
ing t
he Secti
on 19. I
 ssuance of Decree of Legal
peti
ti
on,itshalldeclarether
einthattheDecreeof Separat
ion.
 -(
a)Thecour tshal
li
ssuet
heDecr
ee
LegalSeparat
ionshal lbeissuedbyt hecourtonl
y ofLegalSeparati
onafter
:
aft
erf ul
lcompl iance withl i
qui
dati
on underthe
FamilyCode. (1)r
egistr
ati
onoftheentryofjudgmentgr ant
ing
the peti
ti
on torlegalseparati
on i
nt he Civi
l
     Howev er
,int heabsenceofanypr opert
y Regist
rywherethemar r
iagewascelebratedand
of.t
he parti
es,the courtshallfor
thwithissue a i
nt heCi v
ilRegi
strywheretheFami l
yCour tis
Decree of Legal Separ ati
on whi ch shall be l
ocated;and
regi
st er
edintheCi v
ilRegi
str
ywher ethemar ri
age
wasr ecor
dedandi nt heCivi
lRegistr
ywher ethe (2)regi
strat
ion ofthe approv
ed par
ti
ti
on and
Fami l
y Court granti
ng the legalseparati
on is dist
ri
buti
onoft hepropert
iesofthespouses,i
n
l
ocat ed. the pr
operRegi st
erofDeeds wher ethe real
proper
ti
esarelocated.
(
c)Thedeci
sionshal
ll
ikewi
sedecl
aret
hat
:
(b)The cour tshal
lquoteint he Decr
ee t
he
(1)Thespousesar
eenti
tl
edt
oliv
eseparatel
yfr
om dispositi
vepor
ti
onofthejudgmententer
edand
eachotherbutt
hemar
ri
agebondisnotsev
ered; attach tothe Decr
ee the appr
oved deed of
partit
ion.
(2)Theobligat
ionofmut
ualsuppor
tbet
weent
he
spousesceases;and Sect
ion20. Regi
str
ati
onandpublicat
ionoft he
Decree ofLegalSeparat
ion;decree as best
(3)The of fending spouse i
s disqual
if
ied f r
om evi
dence. 
-
i
nher i
ti
ng fr
om t heinnocentspousebyi ntest
ate
succession,
andpr ovi
sionsi
nfavoroftheof f
ending (a)Regi str
ationofdecr ee.-
Thepr evai
li
ngpar t
y
spousemadei nthewilloft
heinnocentspousear e shallcauset heregist r
ationoftheDecr eeint he
revokedbyoper ati
onoflaw. CivilRegistr
ywher et hemar ri
agewasr egister
ed,
i
nt he Ci v
ilRegistry oft he place wher et he
(d)Thepar t
ies,includingtheSol i
citorGeneraland Fami lyCour tis situated,and int he Nat i
onal
thepubli
cprosecut or,shall
beser vedwi t
hcopiesof CensusandSt at
isti
csOf fi
ce.Heshal lreportto
thedecisi
onper sonallyorbyr egisteredmail.I
fthe the cour t compl i
ance wi t
ht hisr equir
ement
respondentsummoned by publ ication f
ail
ed to withinthirt
yday sironr eceiptofthecopyoft he
appeari ntheact ion,t hedisposi tivepartoft he Decr ee.
decisi
on shal l also be publ ished once i n a
newspaperofgener alcir
culat
ion. (b)Publi
cat
ionofdecr ee.
--Incaseservi
ceof
summonswasmadebypubl icat
ion,t
hepart
ies
Sect
ion17.
 Appeal
. 
- shal
lcausethepubl
icat
ionoftheDecreeoncein
anewspaperofgeneral
circul
ati
on.
(a)Pre-
condit
ion.
 -No appealfrom the deci
sion
shal
lbeal l
owedunlesst heappell
anthasf il
eda (c)Bestev idence.
-Ther egi
ster
edDecr eeshall
motion f
or reconsi
derat
ion or new tr
ialwi thi
n be the best ev i
dence t o prove the legal
fi
ft
eendaysfrom not
iceofjudgment. separati
on oft he part
ies and shal
lser ve as
noti
cetot hi
rdpersonsconcerningthepropert
ies
(b)NoticeofAppeal  
-Anaggr i
evedpar tyort he ofpetit
ionerandrespondent.
Soli
ci
torGeneralmayappealfrom thedeci si
onby
fi
li
ngaNot i
ceofAppealwi t
hinfif
teenday sf r
om Secti
on21. Ef
fectofdeathofapar ty;
dutyoft he
noti
ceofdenialoft
hemot i
onforreconsider
ati
onor FamilyCourtorAppellateCourt. 
-(a)Incasea
new tr
ial.Theappel
lantshal
lserveacopyoft he party di
es atany stage ofme pr oceedings
noti
ceofappealupontheadversepart
ies. beforetheent r
yofj udgment ,thecour tshall
orderthecasecl osedandt er
mi nat
edwi thout
Section 18.
 Li
quidati
on,parti
ti
on and di st
ri
but
ion, prej
udice t
ot he sett
lementofest ate proper
custody,andsupportofmi norchi
ldren. 
-Uponentry proceedi
ngsintheregularcourt
s.
ofthejudgmentgr anti
ngt hepeti
tion,or,i
ncaseof
appeal,uponreceiptoftheentryofjudgmentofthe
(b)Ifthepar
tydiesaf t
ertheent
ryofjudgment
,the (e)I ncaseofpar agr aphs( b),(c),and( d) .ifthe
sameshal lbebi ndi
ngupont hepar t
iesandthei
r reconci l
edspouseschooset oadoptar egi meof
successorsinint er
estint he set
tl
ementoft he proper tyrelat i
onsdi f ferentf rom thatwhi cht hey
estateint
heregularcourt
s. hadpr iort ot hef il
i
ngoft hepet it
ionf orl egal
separ ation,t he spouses shal l compl y wi th
Section22.  Peti
ti
onf orr evocati
onofdonat ions. -(a) Sect i
on24her eof.
Wi t
hinf ive( 5)y earsf rom t hedat ethedeci sion
granting t he pet i
ti
on f or legalsepar ati
on has ( f)Thedecr eeofr econci li
ationshal lber ecor ded
become f inal,the i nnocentspouse may f i
lea i nt heCi vi
lRegi st
rieswher ethemar ri
ageandt he
petit
ionunderoat ht hesamepr oceedi
ngf orlegal Decr eehadbeenr egi stered.
separationt or evoket hedonat i
onsi nfavoroft he
offendingspouse. Sect i
on 24.  Revival of pr operty regi me or
adopt ionofanot her.
 -
(b)The r ev ocati
on of t he donat i
ons shal l be
recordedi nt heRegi st
erofDeedsofDeedsi nt he ( a)I ncaseofr econci li
at i
onunderSect ion23,
placeswher ethepr oper ti
esarelocated. par agraph ( c)abov e,t he par ti
es shal lf ilea
verifi
edmot ionf orr ev i
valofr egimeofpr oper t
y
(c)Ali
enat ions,liens,andencumbr ancesr egist
er ed r elati
onsort headopt i
onofanot herregi meof
i
ngoodf aith.beforet her ecordi
ngoft hepet i
ti
onf or pr oper tyr elationsi nt hesamepr oceedi ngf or
revocation i nthe r egistri
es ofpr opert
yshal lbe l egalsepar ationat t
achi ngt osai dmot iont hei
r
respected. agr eementf ort heappr ov aloft hecourt.

(d)
After the issuance of t he Decree of Legal (b)Theagr
eementwhichshal
lbev
eri
fi
edshal
l
Separat
ion,thei nnocentspousemayr evokethe speci
fyt
hefol
l
owing:
desi
gnat i
on of t he of fendi
ng spouse as a
benefi
ciaryin anyi nsurance pol
icyeven ifsuch (
1)The proper
ti
es to be cont
ri
but
ed t
othe
desi
gnat i
on be st i
pulat
ed as i rr
evocabl
e. The r
est
oredornewregi
me;
rev
ocationorchangeshal ltakeeff
ectuponwr i
tt
en
noti
fi
cationthereoftotheinsurer
. (2)Thosetoberet
ainedassepar
atepr
oper
ti
es
ofeachspouse;
and
Secti
on 23.
 Decree ofReconcili
ati
on. 
-(a)Ift he
spouseshadreconcil
ed,ajoi
ntmani f
estat
ionunder (3)Thenamesofallt
hei
rknowncr
edi
tor
s,t
hei
r
oath,
dulysi
gnedbyt hespouses,maybef i
ledinthe addresses,
andt
heamountsowi
ngt
oeach.
sameproceedingforlegal
separati
on.
(c)Thecr
edi
torsshal
lbefur
nishedwi
thcopi
es
(b) Ift he reconci
li
ati
on occurr
ed whi le the ofthemot
ionandtheagr
eement.
proceedi
ng forlegalseparat
ion i
s pending,the
courtshalli
mmediatel
yissueanorderterminat
ing (d)Thecour tshal
lrequi
ret
hespousestocause
theproceedi
ng. thepublicati
onoft hei
rver
if
iedmotionfortwo
consecutiveweeksi nanewspaperofgener al
(c)I
ft hereconci
l
iati
onoccur redaf t
ertherenditi
on cir
cul
ation.
oft he judgmentgr anti
ng t he peti
ti
on forl egal
separati
onbutbef or
et hei ssuanceoft heDecr ee, (e)Af t
erduehear ing,andthecour tdeci
dest o
thespousesshal lexpr essi ntheirmanifestati
on grantthemot ion,itshalli
ssueanor derdi
rect
ing
whetherornott heyagr ee torevivethe former thepar t
iestor ecor dtheor derint heproper
regi
meoft hei
rpropertyrelat
ionsorchooseanew registr
ies ofpr opertywithint hi
rt
yday sf r
om
regi
me. receiptofacopyoft heorderandsubmi tproof
ofcompl i
ancewi t
hinthesameper i
od.
     Thecourtshalli
mmediat
elyi
ssueaDecr eeof
Reconcil
iati
ondeclari
ngthatthelegalseparat
ion Section 25.Ef
  f
ecti
vi
ty.
 -This Rul
e shalltake
proceedi
ngi ssetasideandspeci
fyi
ngther egi
me eff
ect on Mar ch 15, 2003 foll
owing i t
s
ofpropertyrel
ati
onsunderwhi
chthespousesshall publi
cationinanewspaperofgeneralci
rcul
ati
on
becov er
ed. notlaterthanMarch7,2003.

(d)Ifthespousesr econci l
edaftert heissuanceof
theDecr ee,t hecour t,uponpr opermot i
on,shall
i
ssueadecr eeofr econci l
i
ati
ondecl ar
ingtherei
n
thattheDecr eei ssetasi debutt hesepar at
ionof
propertyandanyf orfeitureoftheshar eofthegui l
ty
spouse al r
eady ef fected subsists, unless the
spouseshav eagr eedt orevivetheirformerregi
me
ofpropertyrelat
ionsoradoptanewr egime.