RA 3844 CHAPTER IX.&mdashCOURTS OF AGRARIAN RELATIONS

Section 141

SEC. 141. Creation.&mdashCourts of Agrarian Relations are hereby organized and established throughout the Philippines in conformity with the provisions of this Chapter.

Section 142

SEC. 142. Regional Districts.&mdashRegional districts for the Courts of Agrarian Relations in the Philippines are constituted as follows: The first Regional District shall consist of the provinces of Cagayan, Batanes, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya, with seat in Tuguegarao, Cagayan for Branch I and in Ilagan, Isabela for Branch II; The second Regional District, of the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, Mountain Province, La Union and the City of Baguio, with seat in Laoag, Ilocos Norte for Branch I and in San Fernando, La Union for Branch II; The third Regional District, of the provinces of Pangasinan and Zambales, and the City of Dagupan, with seat in Lingayen, Pangasinan for Branch I, in Tayug, Pangasinan for Branch II and in Iba, Zambales for Branch III; The fourth Regional District, of the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Tarlac, and Cabanatuan City, with seat in Cabanatuan City for Branch I, in Guimba, Nueva Ecija for Branch II, in Tarlac, Tarlac for Branch III and in Moncada, Tarlac for Branch IV; The fifth Regional District, of the provinces of Pampanga, Bataan and Bulacan, with seat in Malolos, Bulacan for Branch I, in San Fernando, Pampanga for Branch II, in Angeles, Pampanga for Branch III and in Balanga, Bataan for Branch IV; The sixth Regional District, of the City of Manila, Quezon City, Pasay City, the province of Rizal, the City of Cavite, the province of Cavite, the City of Tagaytay, Trece Martires City, and the province of Palawan, with seat in Manila for Branch I (Executive Judge), in Cavite City for Branch 11 and in Pasig, Rizal for Branch III; The seventh Regional District, of the province of Laguna, the City of San Pablo, the province of Batangas, the City of Lipa, and the provinces of Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro, with seat in Los Baños, Laguna for Branch I, in Batangas, Batangas for Branch II and in Mamburao, Mindoro Occidental for Branch III; The eighth Regional District, of the province of Quezon, the subprovince of Aurora, the City of Lucena, and the province of Camarines Norte, with seat in the City of Lucena for Branch I and in Daet, Camarines Norte for Branch II; The ninth Regional District, of the province of Camarines Sur, Naga City, Legazpi City and the provinces of Albay, Catanduanes, Sorsogon and Masbate, with seat in Naga City for Branch I, in Legazpi City for Branch II and in Sorsogon, Sorsogon for Branch III; The tenth Regional District, of the province of Capiz, Roxas City, the provinces of Aklan, Romblon, Marinduque and Iloilo, the City of Iloilo, and the province of Antique, with seat in the City of Iloilo for Branch I and in Roxas City for Branch II; The eleventh Regional District, of the province of Occidental Negros, the Cities of Bacolod and Silay, the province of Oriental Negros, Dumaguete City, and the subprovince of Siquijor, with seat in Bacolod City for Branch I, in Dumaguete City for Branch II and in San Carlos City for Branch III; The twelfth Regional District, of the province of Samar, the City of Calbayog, the province of Leyte, and the Cities of Ormoc and Tacloban, with seat in Catbalogan, Samar for Branch I and in Ormoc City for Branch II; The thirteenth Regional District, of the province of Cebu, the City of Cebu, and the province of Bohol, with seat in the City of Cebu for Branch I and in Tagbilaran, Bohol for Branch II; The fourteenth Regional District, of the provinces of Surigao and Agusan, Butuan City, the province of Oriental Misamis, Cagayan de Oro City, the provinces of Bukidnon, Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte, and the Cities of Iligan and Marawi, with seat in Cagayan de Oro City for Branch I and in Iligan City for Branch II; The fifteenth Regional District, of the province of Davao, the City of Davao, the provinces of Cotabato and Occidental Misamis, Ozamiz City, the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga City, Basilan City and the province of Sulu, with seat in the City of Davao for Branch I, Cotabato City for Branch II and Ozamiz City for Branch III.

Section 143

SEC. 143. Judges of Agrarian Relations.&mdashThe judicial function of the Courts of Agrarian Relations shall be vested in an Executive Judge and the Regional District Judges, who shall be appointed from time to time, depending on the need for their services, by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments: Provided, however, That the Executive Judge and the eight Associate Judges, at the time of the approval of this Code, of the Court of Agrarian Relations established and organized under Republic Act Numbered Twelve hundred and sixty-seven, shall continue as Agrarian Judges without need of new appointments by the President of the Philippines and new confirmation of the Commission on Appointments: Provided, further, That upon the approval of this Code, the said Executive Judge shall continue as such with authority to exercise the usual administrative functions over the Court of Agrarian Relations not incompatible with the provisions of this Chapter and shall have his office in Manila without prejudice to his holding court in any district where the requirements of the service so warrant, and the eight Associate Judges shall be assigned as Regional District Judges by the Executive Judge to any of the regional districts as constituted in the preceding Section.

Section 144

SEC. 144. Qualifications of Judges; Tenure of Office; Compensation.&mdashNo person shall be appointed as Executive Judge or Regional District Judge unless he has been a citizen of the Philippines for ten years and has practiced law in the Philippines for a period of not less than ten years or has held during a like period, within the Philippines, an office requiring admission to the practice of law in the Philippines as an indispensable requisite. Regional District Judges shall be appointed to serve during good behavior, until they reach the age of seventy years or become incapacitated to discharge the duties of their office, unless sooner removed in accordance with law. The judges may be suspended or removed in the same manner and upon the same grounds as judges of the Court of First Instance. The Executive Judge shall receive an annual compensation which shall be equal to that allowed or may hereafter be allowed for judges of the Court of First Instance and the Regional District Judges shall receive an annual compensation of one thousand pesos less than that of the Executive Judge.

Section 145

SEC. 145. Leave Privileges; Traveling Expenses.&mdashJudges of the Courts of Agrarian Relations shall be entitled to the same retirement and leave privileges now granted or may hereafter be granted to judges of the Court of First Instance. They shall be entitled to traveling expenses when performing their duties outside official stations.

Section 146

SEC. 146. Vacation of Courts of Agrarian Relations.&mdashThe yearly vacation of Courts of Agrarian Relations shall begin with the first of April and close with the first of June of each year.

Section 147

SEC. 147. Assignment of Judges to Vacation Duty.&mdashDuring the month of January of each year the Executive Judge shall issue an order naming the judges who are to remain on duty during the court vacation of that year; and, consistently with the requirements of the judicial service, the assignment shall be so made that no judge shall be assigned to vacation duty, unless upon his own request, with greater frequency than once in two years. Such order shall specify, in the case of each judge assigned to vacation duty, the territory over which in addition to his own district his authority as vacation judge shall extend. The Executive Judge may from time to time modify his order assigning the judges to vacation duty as newly arising conditions or emergencies may require. A judge assigned to vacation duty shall not ordinarily be required to hold court during such vacation; but the Executive Judge may, when in his judgment the emergency shall require, direct any judge assigned to vacation duty to hold during the vacation a special term of court in any district.

Section 148

SEC. 148. Judges of Regional Districts.&mdashFour judges shall be commissioned for each of the fourth and fifth Regional Districts; three judges shall be commissioned for each of the third, sixth, seventh, ninth, eleventh and fifteenth Regional Districts; and two judges for each of the other Regional Districts.

Section 149

SEC. 149. Oath of Office.&mdashBefore entering upon the discharge of the duties of their office, the judges shall take and subscribe to an oath of office in accordance with the provisions of Section twenty-three of the Revised Administrative Code.

Section 150

SEC. 150. Division of Business Between Branches.&mdashAll business appertaining to the Courts of Agrarian Relations of each Regional District shall be equitably distributed among the judges of the branches in such manner as shall be agreed upon by the judges themselves. Should the judges fail to agree on the distribution of business, then the Executive Judge shall make the distribution.

Judges' Certification as to Work Completed.

Section 151

SEC. 151. Judges' Certification as to Work Completed.— The judges of the Courts of Agrarian Relations shall certify at the end of each month that all petitions and motions in all cases pending decision or resolution for a period of thirty days from submission by the parties have been determined and decided before the date of the making of the certificate. No leave shall be granted and no salary shall be paid without such certificate.

Section 152

SEC. 152. Official Station of Regional District Judges.&mdashWithin thirty days after the approval of this Code, the Executive Judge shall issue an order designating the official station of the judges of the branches of each of the Regional Districts.

Section 153

SEC. 153. Time and Place of Molding Court.&mdashSessions of the Court shall be convened on all working days when there are cases ready for trial or other court business to be dispatched. The hours for the daily session of the Court shall be from nine to twelve in the morning, and from three to five in the afternoon, except on Saturdays, when a morning session only shall be required; but the judge may extend the hours of session whenever in his judgment it is proper to do so. The judge, in his discretion, may order that but one session per day shall be held instead of two, at such hours as he may deem expedient for the convenience both of the Court and of the public; but the number of hours that the Court shall be in session per day shall be not less than five. Sessions of the Court shall be held at the places of the official station of the respective judges: Provided, however, That whenever necessary in the interest of speedy and inexpensive justice and litigation, a judge shall hold court in the municipality where the subject matter of the dispute is located, utilizing the sala of the local justice of the peace court for this purpose. A brief monthly report which shall be submitted within the first five days of the succeeding month showing the number and nature of the cases tried in his sala, the place of hearing in each case, the progress of the litigation with corresponding dates and the disposition made thereon shall be rendered by every judge under his signature and copies thereof shall be furnished the Executive Judge, who shall compile and report in an appropriate form the decisions promulgated in important cases. A judge who fails or neglects to make his report shall, upon first offense, be liable to warning by the Executive Judge, and upon repeated failure or neglect may be suspended or removed from office.

Section 154

SEC. 154. Jurisdiction of the Court.&mdashThe Court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over: (1)All cases or actions involving matters, controversies, disputes, or money claims arising from agrarian relations: Provided, however, That all cases still pending in the Court of Agrarian Relations, established under Republic Act Numbered Twelve hundred and sixty-seven, at the time of the effectivity of this Code, shall be transferred to and continued in the respective Courts of Agrarian Relations within whose district the sites of the cases are located; (2)All cases or actions involving violations of Chapters I and II of this Code and Republic Act Numbered Eight hundred and nine; and (3)Expropriations to be instituted by the Land Authority : Provided, however, That expropriation proceedings instituted by the Land Tenure Administration pending in the Court of First Instance at the time of the effectivity of this Code shall be transferred to and continued in the respective Courts of Agrarian Relations within whose district the subject matter or property is located.

Section 155

SEC. 155. Powers of the Court; Rules of Procedure.&mdashThe Courts of Agrarian Relations shall have all the powers and prerogatives inherent in or belonging to the Court of First Instance. The Courts of Agrarian Relations shall be governed by the Rules of Court: Provided, That in the hearing, investigation and determination of any question or controversy pending before them, the Courts without impairing substantial rights, shall not be bound strictly by the technical rules of evidence, and procedure, except in expropriation cases.

Section 156

SEC. 156. Appeals.&mdashAppeals from an order or decision of the Courts of Agrarian Relations may be taken to the Court of Appeals on questions of fact and of fact and law or to the Supreme Court on pure questions of law, as the case may be, in accordance with rules governing appeals from the Court of First Instance as provided in the Rules of Court.

Section 157

SEC. 157. Detail of Judges to Another District.&mdashWhenever any judge in any of the Court shall certify to the Executive Judge that the condition of the docket in his Court is such as to require the assistance of an additional judge, or when there is any vacancy in any Court, the Executive Judge may, in the interest of justice, with the approval of the Supreme Court, assign any judge of the Court of Agrarian Relations whose docket permits his temporary absence from said Court, to hold session in the Court needing such assistance or where such vacancy exists. Whenever a judge appointed or assigned in any branch of the Court shall leave his district by transfer or assignment to another Court of equal jurisdiction without having decided a case totally heard by him and which was duly argued or opportunity given for argument to the parties or their counsel, it shall be lawful for him to prepare and sign his decision in said case anywhere within the Philippines and send the same by registered mail to the clerk of court to be filed in the Court as of the date when the same was received by the clerk, in the same manner as if the judge had been present in the Court to direct the filing of the judgment: Provided, however, That if a case has been heard only in part, the Supreme Court, upon petition of any of the interested parties to the case and the recommendation of the respective district judge, may also authorize the judge who has partly heard the case to continue hearing and to decide said case notwithstanding his transfer or appointment to another court of equal jurisdiction.

Personnel of the Courts of Agrarian Relations.

Section 158

SEC. 158. Personnel of the Courts of Agrarian Relations.—(1) Court Commissioners; Qualifications and Compensation.&mdashThere shall be twenty-four Court Commissioners who shall receive an annual compensation of nine thousand pesos each and shall be appointed by the President with the consent of the Commission on Appointments. A Court Commissioner shall be a member of the Philippine Bar and must have been engaged in the practice of law for five years or must have held a position in the government requiring the qualifications of a lawyer for the same period. A Court Commissioner may be assigned by the Executive Judge to assist in the hearing and investigation of cases. Subject to the latter's direction and supervision, he may hear evidence for the Court on any disputed point or issue in any given case or cases and shall after said hearing submit a report of all the cases heard by him together with the records thereof within the period prescribed by the Court. During the hearing he may rule upon questions of pleading and procedure but not on the merits of the case. (2) Clerks of Court; Qualifications, Duties, Compensation and Bond.&mdashThere shall be as many Clerks of Court as there are judges, who shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments. Deputy Clerks of Court and such other employees as may be required shall be appointed by the Executive Judge, subject to Civil Service law, rules and regulations. No person shall be eligible for appointment as Clerk of Court unless he is duly authorized to practice law in the Philippines. Before entering upon the discharge of the duties of his office, he shall file a bond in the amount of ten thousand pesos in the same manner and form as required of the Clerk of the Supreme Court, such bond to be approved by, and filed with, the Treasurer of the Philippines and shall be subject to inspection by interested parties. The Clerk of Court shall require his deputy to give an adequate bond as security against loss by reason of his wrongdoing or gross negligence. The Clerks of Court shall each receive an annual compensation of seven thousand two hundred pesos. They shall exercise the same powers and perform the same duties on all matters within the jurisdiction of the Courts as those exercised by the Clerks of Court of the Courts of First Instance. Clerks of Courts and other subordinate employees of the Courts of Agrarian Relations shall, for administrative purposes, belong to the Department of Justice; but in the performance of their duties, they shall be subject to the supervision of the judges of the Court to which they respectively pertain. The Commissioners, otherwise known as Hearing Officers of the Court of Agrarian Relations, as well as the Clerks of Court at the time of the approval of this Code, shall continue as such without the need of new appointment by the President of the Philippines and new confirmation by the Commission on Appointments.

Section 159

SEC. 159. Appropriation.&mdashThere is hereby appropriated the sum of three million five hundred thousand pesos, or so much thereof as may be necessary, out of the unappropriated funds in the Philippine Treasury for expenses for courtrooms and court offices, including equipment for the Courts and their personnel, for salaries, and for other necessary expenses that may be incurred in carrying out the provisions of this Chapter. The amount appropriated shall be carried in succeeding appropriations for the Courts of Agrarian Relations.