Article 74p. 74

SPECIAL RULES OF PROCEDURE SUPPLEMENT TO THE RULES OF COURT

Section 42. Longevity pay. – A monthly longevity pay

equivalent to 5% of the monthly basic pay shall be paid

to the Justices and Judges of the courts herein created

for

each

five

years

of

continuous,

efficient,

and

meritorious service rendered in the judiciary; Provided,

That in no case shall the total salary of each Justice or

Judge concerned, after this longevity pay is added,

exceed the salary of the Justice or Judge next in rank.

Section 43. Staffing pattern. – The Supreme Court shall

submit to the President, within thirty (30) days from the

date of the effectivity of this Act, a staffing pattern for

all courts constituted pursuant to this Act which shall

be the basis of the implementing order to be issued by

the President in accordance with the immediately

succeeding section.

Section 44. Transitory provisions. – The provisions of

this Act shall be immediately carried out in accordance

with an Executive Order to be issued by the President.

The Court of Appeals, the Courts of First Instance, the

Circuit Criminal Courts, the Juvenile and Domestic

Relations Courts, the Courts of Agrarian Relations, the

City Courts, the Municipal Courts, and the Municipal

Circuit Courts shall continue to function as presently

constituted and organized, until the completion of the

reorganization provided in this Act as declared by the

President. Upon such declaration, the said courts shall

be

deemed

automatically

abolished

and

the

incumbents thereof shall cease to hold office. The cases

pending in the old Courts shall be transferred to the

appropriate Courts constituted pursuant to this Act,

together

with

the

pertinent

functions,

records,

equipment, property and the necessary personnel.

The

applicable

appropriations

shall

likewise

be

transferred

to

the

appropriate

courts

constituted

pursuant to this Act, to be augmented as may be

necessary from the funds for organizational changes as

provided in Batas Pambansa Blg. 80. Said funding shall

thereafter

be

included

in

the

annual

General

Appropriations Act.

Section 45. Shari'a Courts. – Shari'a Courts to be

constituted as provided for in Presidential Decree No.

1083, otherwise known as the "Code of Muslim Personal

Laws of the Philippines," shall be included in the

funding appropriations so provided in this Act.

Section

46.

Gratuity

of

judges

and

personnel

separated from office. – All members of the judiciary

and subordinate employees who shall be separated

from office by reason of the reorganization authorized

herein, shall be granted a gratuity at a rate equivalent

to one month's salary for every year of continuous

service rendered in any branch of the government or

equivalent nearest fraction thereof favorable to them

on the basis of the highest salary received: Provided,

That such member of the judiciary or employee shall

have

the

option

to

retire

under

the

Judiciary

Retirement Law or general retirement law, if he has

met or satisfied the requirements therefor.

Section

47.

Repealing clause. – The provisions of

Republic Act No. 296, otherwise known as the Judiciary

Act of 1948, as amended, of Republic Act No. 5179 as

amended, of the Rules of Court, and of all other

statutes, letters of instructions and general order or

parts thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this

Act are hereby repealed or accordingly modified.

Section 48. Date of Effectivity. – This Act shall take

effect immediately.

Approved: August 14, 1981

Footnotes

*Other provisions of the Act:

Section. 5. After five(5) years from the effectivity of this

Act, the jurisdictional amounts mentioned in Sec. 19(3),

(4), and (8); and Sec. 33(1) of Batas Pambansa Blg. 129 as

amended by this Act, shall be adjusted to Two hundred

thousand pesos (P200,000.00). five (5) years thereafter,

such jurisdictional amounts shall be adjusted further to

Three

hundred

thousand

pesos

(P300,000.00):

Provided, however, That in the case of Metro Manila, the

abovementioned

jurisdictional

amounts

shall

be

adjusted after five (5) years from the effectivity of this

Act of Four hundred thousand pesos (P400,000.00).

Section. 7. The provisions of this Act shall apply to all

civil cases that have not yet reached the pre-trial stage.

However, by agreement of all the parties, civil cases

cognizable by municipal and metropolitan courts by

the provisions of this Act may be transferred from the

Regional Trial Courts to the latter. The executive judge

of the appropriate Regional Trial Court shall define the

administrative

procedure

of

transferring

the

cases

affected

by

the

redefinition

of

jurisdiction

to the

Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Court, and

Municipal Circuit Trial Court.

*Criminal cases falling within the jurisdiction of Family

Courts (established by the Family Courts Act of 1997

[R.A.

No.

8369])

have

been

transferred

from

Metropolitan trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts,

Municipal trial Court in Cities, Municipal Trial Courts and

Municipal Circuit Trial Courts to Regional trial Courts

under A.M. No. 99-1-13-SC effective March 1, 1999.

PD No 1606 | An Act Establishing the

Sandiganbayan

As amended by PD Nos 1629, 1860, 1861; EO No 101, s. of

1986, 184, s. of 1987; RA Nos 7975, 8249, 10660

December 10, 1978

REVISING PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1486

CREATING A SPECIAL COURT TO BE KNOWN AS

"SANDIGANBAYAN" AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

WHEREAS, the new Constitution declares that a public

office is a public trust and ordains that public officers

and employees shall serve with the highest degree of

responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency and shall

remain at all times accountable to the people;

WHEREAS,

to attain the highest norms of official

conduct required of public officers and employees,

Section 5, Article XIII of the New Constitution provides

for the creation of a special court to be known as

Sandiganbayan;

NOW,

THEREFORE,

I,

FERDINAND

E.

MARCOS,

President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers in

me vested by the Constitution, do hereby order and

decree as follows:

Section 1. Sandiganbayan; composition; qualifications;

tenure;

removal

and

composition.

Sandiganbayan;

Composition,

Qualifications;

Tenure;

Removal

and

Compensation. - A special court, of the same level as

the Court of Appeals and possessing all the inherent

powers of a court of justice, to be known as the

Sandiganbayan

is

hereby

created

composed

of

a

presiding justice and fourteen associate justices who

shall be appointed by the President. (as amended by

RA No 8249)

No person shall be appointed Presiding Justice or

Associate Justice of the Sandiganbayan; unless he is a

natural-born citizen of the Philippines, at least 40 years

of age and for at least ten years has been a judge of a

court of record or been engaged in the practice of law

in the Philippines or has held office requiring admission

to the bar as a pre-requisite for a like period.

The Presiding Justice shall be so designated in his

commission

and

the

other

Justices

shall

have

precedence according to the dates of their respective

commissions, or, when the commissions of two or more

of them shall bear the same date, according to the

order in which their commissions have been issued by

the President.

The Presiding Justice and the Associate Justices shall

not be removed from office except on impeachment

© Compiled By RGL

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