FURTHER AMENDING THE JUDICIARY ACT OF 1948, REPUBLIC ACT NO. 296, AS AMENDED, BY INCREASING THE NUMBER OF ASSOCIATE JUSTICES OF THE COURT OF APPEALS TO FORTY-FOUR.

• Number: Presidential Decree No. 1482
• Sections: 6

Preamble

WHEREAS, the dockets of the Court of Appeals are clogged and

the increasing number of cases now before it will clog its dockets further

unless remedial measures are taken;

WHEREAS, justice is unduly delayed tantamount to its denial

to parties whose cases have long been pending before the Court of Appeals;

WHEREAS, apart from other remedial measures which the

Supreme Court in the exercise of its administrative authority over courts may

devise, it becomes imperative to increase the number of Justices of the Court of

Appeals.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the

Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution of the

Philippines, do hereby decree as follows:

Section 1

SECTION 1. Chapter III, Section 24 of Republic Act No. 296,

as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SECTION 24. The Court of Appeals.—The Court of

Appeals of the Philippines shall consist of a Presiding Justice and forty-four

Associate Justices who shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines.

The Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals shall be so designated in his

commission, and the other Justices of the Court shall have precedence according

to the date 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 of the Philippines. Provided,

however, That a member of the Court of Appeals appointed to any other

branch of the government shall receive as compensation from that branch not less

than his compensation in the Court of Appeals. Any such member who is

reappointed to that Court after rendering service in any other branch of the

government shall retain the precedence to which he is entitled under his

original appointment and his service in the Court shall, to all intents and

purpose, be considered as continuous and uninterrupted.

The Court of Appeals shall, as a body sit in banc but it may sit in

fifteen divisions of three justices each. The fifteen divisions may sit at the

same time."

Section 2

SECTION 2. The first paragraph of Section 33 of the same Act

is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SECTION 33. Quorum of the Court.—Twenty-four

Justices of the Court of Appeals shall constitute a quorum for its sessions

in banc; and three Justices shall constitute a quorum for the sessions

of a division. In the absence of a quorum, the Court or the division shall stand

ipso facto adjourned until such time as the requisite number shall be

present, and a memorandum showing this fact shall be inserted by the clerk in

the minutes of the Court. The affirmative vote of twenty-four Justices is

necessary to pass a resolution of the Court in banc. The unanimous vote

of the three Justices of a division shall be necessary for the pronouncement of

a judgment. In the event that the three Justices do not reach a unanimous vote,

the Presiding Justice shall designate two Justices from among the other members

of the Court to sit temporarily with them, forming a division of five Justices,

and the concurrence of a majority of such division shall be necessary for the

pronouncement of a judgment."

Section 3

SECTION 3. Section 37 of the same Act is hereby amended to

read as follows:

"SECTION 37. Appointment by Court of Appeals of deputy

clerks of court and other officers.—The Court may appoint fifteen deputy

clerks of court who shall have the same qualifications as those of the clerk of

the Court of Appeals, and other officers in such number, and such compensation

as now, and may be hereafter, authorized."

Section 4

SECTION 4. The sum of Two Million Pesos is hereby

appropriated, out of any funds in the National Treasury not otherwise

appropriated, for the salaries and allowances of the additional Justices as well

as those of the complementary officers and personnel during the current calendar

year, whose positions are hereby created, and for such other expenses necessary

to provide them with offices and equipment.

Section 5

SECTION 5. This decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 10th day of June in the year of Our Lord,

nineteen hundred and seventy-eight.

(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS

President of the

Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) JACOBO C. CLAVE

Presidential Executive

Assistant