San Beda College Alabang School of Law

A Written Report on Metropolitan Trial Courts in Practice Court 1

Submitted to The Honourable Judge Nerina Casandra N. Anastacio-Mendinueto

The Metropolitan Trial Court Defined.

The Batas Pambansa Blg. 129 known as "The Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980,
reorganized the Court of Appeals, the Court 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.
Stated under Chapter 3 of the law provides that:
x x x Section 25. Establishment of Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts and
Municipal Circuit Trial Courts. There shall be created a Metropolitan Trial Court in each
metropolitan area established by law, a Municipal Trial Court in each of the other cities or
municipalities, and a Municipal Circuit Trial Court in each circuit comprising such cities and/or
municipalities as are grouped together pursuant to law.
Section 27. Metropolitan Trial Courts of the National Capital Region. There shall be a
Metropolitan Trial Court in the National Capital Region, to be known as the Metropolitan Trial
Court of Metro Manila, which shall be composed of eighty-two (82) branches. There shall be:
Section 28. Other Metropolitan Trial Courts. The Supreme Court shall constitute Metropolitan
Trial Courts in such other metropolitan areas as may be established by law whose territorial
jurisdiction shall be co-extensive with the cities and municipalities comprising the metropolitan
area. x x x

Qualifications of a Judge in the Metropolitan Trial Court

A judge is a public officer, appointed to preside and to administer the law in a court of justice;
the chief member of a court, and charged with the control of proceedings and the decision of
questions of law or discretion. BP 129 provided for the qualifications of a judge to sit in the
MTC which are the following:
x x x Section 26. Qualifications. No person shall be appointed judge of a Metropolitan Trial
Court, Municipal Trial Court, or Municipal Circuit Trial Court unless he is a natural-born citizen
of the Philippines, at least 30 years of age, and, for at least five years, has been engaged in the

practice of law in the Philippines, or has held a public office in the Philippines requiring
admission to the practice of law as an indispensable requisite.
Every Metropolitan Trial Judge shall be appointed to a metropolitan area which shall be his
permanent station and his appointment shall state branch of the court and the seat thereof to
which he shall be originally assigned. A Metropolitan Trial Judge may be assigned by the
Supreme Court to any branch within said metropolitan area as the interest of justice may require,
and such assignment shall not be deemed an assignment to another station within the meaning of
this section. x x x

The Jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Trial Court

CIVIL CASES
1. The grant of provisional remedies in proper cases, and all probate proceedings, where the
value of personal property, estate or amount of demand does not exceed Php 200,000
exclusive of interest, damages, litigation and other expenses (in Metro Manila, the
amount should be Php 400,000.);
2. All cases of forcible entry and unlawful detainer;
3. All civil cases which involve title to or possession of real property or any interest therein
where the assessed value does not exceed Php 20,000 and in Metro Manila Php 50,000
exclusive of interest, damages, litigation and other expenses;
4. Civil cases under the rules on Summary Procedure;
5. Civil cases involving Small Claims;
6. Inclusion and exclusion of voters;
7. Petition for Habeas Corpus;
8. Other civil cases, except probate proceedings, where total amount of plaintiffs claim is
not exceeding Php 100,000 and in Metro Manila not exceeding Php 200,000 exclusive of
interests and costs;

MTC Practice Court 1

Perez, Francisco & Sapitula

9. May be assigned by the Supreme Court to hear cadastral or land registration cases where
there is no controversy or opposition over the land or in case of contested lands, the value
does not exceed Php 100,000.

CRIMINAL CASES
1. All offenses punishable by imprisonment not exceeding six years, regardless of the fine or
other imposable accessory or other penalties including the civil liability;
2. Where the only penalty is a fine of not more than Php 4,000;
3. Offenses involving damage to property through criminal negligence, the MTC has exclusive
original jurisdiction;
4. Those covered by the Rule on Summary Procedure;
5. Application for bail in criminal cases in the absence of RTC judges.

Actual Court Observation Applied.

In order to be able to observe actual court proceedings, a letter of intent is required by most
judges. Our group was able to observe both criminal and civil proceedings in the Muntinlupa
Metropolitan Trial Court. At around 8:30 in the morning, every Monday to Wednesday,
courtroom session begins with the presence of the Presiding Judge, Prosecutor, PAO Lawyer,
Branch Clerk of Court, Interpreter, Stenographer, Private Counsels, Witness,
Complainant/Plaintiff, and Accused/Respondent. In our observation, we noticed how the trial is
being conducted the demeanour of the people in the courtroom, documents presented, and how
orders are directed. In the MTC, there are certain cases, as cited above, heard by the judge which
must be under his or her jurisdiction in order to render a correct judgment. The courtroom
proceedings include arraignment and plea, pre-trial, marking of exhibits, cross-examination of
witness or judicial affidavit, trial, and rendering of judgment. By observing, we were able to
apply the rules taught in school in the actual setting which gave us a glimpse of the legal
profession.

Schedule of Hearings Compared.

Different court branches schedule different court calendars. In our observation, MTC Branch 80
has a schedule of hearings every Monday- Wednesday morning only while MTC Branch 80-A
observes the schedule of every Wednesday morning and afternoon session. It is noteworthy that
parties to the case must be notified in order to justly proceed to the hearing of the case;
otherwise, failure to notify would constitute a reschedule of the hearing.

MTC Practice Court 1

Perez, Francisco & Sapitula

Cases Heard Compared.

MTC Branch 80 does not combine criminal and civil cases in one court session. The branch
separates criminal from civil cases, the latter heard in the morning of Tuesday while the former
on Monday and Wednesday in the afternoon. On the other hand, MTC Branch 80-A combines
criminal and civil cases in one session but arranged in manner that civil cases are first heard
before the criminal cases. In both, arraignment is conducted first before other proceedings and
the last would be cross-examination because of its time-consuming nature.

Ambience in the MTC.

We have noticed that courtrooms can only accommodate a few because of the size of the room.
In MTC Muntinlupa, there is a bulk of cases heard every session which range from 45-65 cases
per session. We can infer it to the jurisdiction of the MTC over light felonies which are usually
and frequently committed by violators of the law and as well as common crimes involving
simple theft to robbery, falsification, damage to property, violation of BP 22, and alarms and
scandals.

Schedule of Cases in the Court Calendars.

During our court attendance, the following cases of Reckless Imprudence Resulting in Serious
Physical Injuries, Reckless Imprudence Resulting in Damage to Property, Reckless Imprudence
Resulting in Less Serious Physical Injuries, Falsification of Private Documents, Violation of BP
22, Theft, Estafa, Acts of Lasciviousness, Grave Threats, and Alarms and Scandals. Most of
these cases are subject to Mediation and Judicial Dispute Resolution before they go to trial of the
cases which judges of the other branch or a judge in the RTC is the mediator between the parties.
In case there is no compromise agreement that can be had, the parties can now continue to
proceed with trial.

Counsels During the Hearing.

It is only in a criminal case that the presence of the public prosecutor is required. Private
prosecutors, in order to be authorized to represent client in a case, must secure an oral or written
authorization from the public prosecutor agreeing that the former may proceed in the litigation of
The Rules of Court provides under Rule 110 provides that all criminal actions either commenced

MTC Practice Court 1

Perez, Francisco & Sapitula

by complaint or by information shall be prosecuted under the direction and control of a public
prosecutor. In case of heavy work schedule of the public prosecutor or in the event of lack of
public prosecutors, the private prosecutor may be authorized in writing by the Chief of the
Prosecution Office or the Regional State Prosecutor to prosecute the case subject to the approval
of the court. Once so authorized to prosecute the criminal action, the private prosecutor shall
continue to prosecute the case up to end of the trial even in the absence of a public prosecutor,
unless the authority is revoked or otherwise withdrawn.
The Public Attorneys Office, known and abbreviated as PAO, provides lawyers to indigent
parties in case they will not opt to get their own attorney. The court shall provide them with their
counsel and this is the PAO lawyer assigned to that particular branch.
Under R.A. 9406, the PAO shall independently discharge its mandate to render, free of charge,
legal representation, assistance and counselling to indigent persons in criminal, civil, labour,
administrative and other quasi-judicial cases. In the exigency of the service, the PAO may be
called upon by proper government authorities to render such service to other persons, subject to
existing laws, rules and regulations.
Defence counsels are engaged to ensure that your side is properly presented and to challenge the
elements of the crime or if rights are violated based on factual circumstances and documentary
evidence.
Conduct of Hearing
Before everything else starts, upon arrival of the Judge, everyone in the courtroom must must
stand up and pray the ecumenical prayer for the courts. The clerk of court shall now call the
cases schedule for that particular session.
English is the language of the law and the courtroom. We observed that hen a witness testifies in
Filipino or any dialect, the court interpreter translates what was said into English. The counsel
presenting the witness or the opposing counsel can propose what the correct interpretation is. If
what is said in Filipino or any dialect cannot be interpreted appropriately, or if it is important to
retain the testimony as it is, a manifestation is made by the counsel.
We also observed that in cases the accused could not be located during the trial, the court orders
the confiscation of the bond and the case is then archived so that the prescriptive period wont
run. In case the accused is bonded, the court orders the bail bondsmen to bring the accused to
court.

Court Observation applied to Practice Court subject

MTC Practice Court 1

Perez, Francisco & Sapitula

As law students, actual court proceedings are very helpful in understanding more the theoretical
concepts we have learned in school and at the same time gives us an idea on what we will be
experiencing in practice. Relying on our subjects like Practice Court, Legal Forms, Trial
Techniques or Evidence, we are able to gauge ourselves on how the legal profession is like and
how important it is to know the laws by heart. We should watch as many courtroom hearings as
we can so that if we pursue litigation, we have an edge and we are already familiar to how
judicial proceedings are conducted.

This Report is Submitted By:

Raniros J. Perez
Mark Nel Francisco
Ralph Sapitula

MTC Practice Court 1

Perez, Francisco & Sapitula