PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No.
1606 December 10, 1978 (as "Provided, That the Regional Trial Court shall have exclusive original
amended by RA 8259, RA 10660)
Section 4. Jurisdiction. – The Sandiganbayan shall exercise exclusive
original jurisdiction in all cases involving:
"a. Violations of Republic Act No. 3019, as amended,
otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,
Republic Act No. 1379, and Chapter II, Section 2, Title VII,
Book II of the Revised Penal Code, where one or more of
the accused are officials occupying the following positions in
the government, whether in a permanent, acting or interim
capacity, at the time of the commission of the offense:
"(1) Officials of the executive branch occupying the
positions of regional director and higher, otherwise
classified as Grade ’27’ and higher, of the
Compensation and Position Classification Act of
1989 (Republic Act No. 6758), specifically
including:
"(a) Provincial governors, vice-
governors, members of the sangguniang
panlalawigan, and provincial treasurers,
assessors, engineers, and other
provincial department heads:
"(b) City mayors, vice-mayors, members
of the sangguniang panlungsod, city
treasurers, assessors, engineers, and
other city department heads;
"(c) Officials of the diplomatic service
occupying the position of consul and
higher;
"(d) Philippine army and air force
colonels, naval captains, and all officers
of higher rank;
"(e) Officers of the Philippine National
Police while occupying the position of
provincial director and those holding the
rank of senior superintendent and
higher;
"(f) City and provincial prosecutors and
their assistants, and officials and
prosecutors in the Office of the
Ombudsman and special prosecutor;
"(g) Presidents, directors or trustees, or
managers of government-owned or
controlled corporations, state
universities or educational institutions or
foundations.
"(2) Members of Congress and officials thereof
classified as Grade ’27’ and higher under the
Compensation and Position Classification Act of
1989;
"(3) Members of the judiciary without prejudice to
the provisions of the Constitution;
"(4) Chairmen and members of the Constitutional
Commissions, without prejudice to the provisions
of the Constitution; and
"(5) All other national and local officials classified
as Grade ’27’ and higher under the Compensation
and Position Classification Act of 1989.
"b. Other offenses or felonies whether simple or complexed
with other crimes committed by the public officials and
employees mentioned in subsection a. of this section in
relation to their office.
"c. Civil and criminal cases filed pursuant to and in
connection with Executive Order Nos. 1, 2, 14 and 14-A,
issued in 1986.
jurisdiction where the information: (a) does not allege any damage to
the government or any bribery; or (b) alleges damage to the
government or bribery arising from the same or closely related
transactions or acts in an amount not exceeding One million pesos
(P1,000,000.00).
"Subject to the rules promulgated by the Supreme Court, the cases
falling under the jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Court under this
section shall be tried in a judicial region other than where the official
holds office.
"In cases where none of the accused are occupying positions
corresponding to Salary Grade ’27’ or higher, as prescribed in the said
Republic Act No. 6758, or military and PNP officers mentioned above,
exclusive original jurisdiction thereof shall be vested in the proper
regional trial court, metropolitan trial court, municipal trial court, and
municipal circuit trial court, as the case may be, pursuant to their
respective jurisdictions as provided in Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, as
amended.
"The Sandiganbayan shall exercise exclusive appellate jurisdiction
over final judgments, resolutions or orders of regional trial courts
whether in the exercise of their own original jurisdiction or of their
appellate jurisdiction as herein provided.
"The Sandiganbayan shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over
petitions for the issuance of
the writs of mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, habeas
corpus, injunctions, and other ancillary writs and processes in aid of its
appellate jurisdiction and over petitions of similar nature, including quo
warranto, arising or that may arise in cases filed or which may be filed
under Executive Order Nos. 1, 2, 14 and 14-A, issued in
1986: Provided, That the jurisdiction over these petitions shall not be
exclusive of the Supreme Court.
"The procedure prescribed in Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, as well as the
implementing rules that the Supreme Court has promulgated and may
hereafter promulgate, relative to appeals/petitions for review to the
Court of Appeals, shall apply to appeals and petitions for review filed
with the Sandiganbayan. In all cases elevated to the Sandiganbayan
and from the Sandiganbayan to the Supreme Court, the Office of the
Ombudsman, through its special prosecutor, shall represent the People
of the Philippines, except in cases filed pursuant to Executive Order
Nos. 1, 2, 14 and 14-A, issued in 1986.
"In case private individuals are charged as co-principals, accomplices
or accessories with the public officers or employees, including those
employed in government-owned or controlled corporations, they shall
be tried jointly with said public officers and employees in the proper
courts which shall exercise exclusive jurisdiction over them.
"Any provisions of law or Rules of Court to the contrary
notwithstanding, the criminal action and the corresponding civil action
for the recovery of civil liability shall at all times be simultaneously
instituted with, and jointly determined in, the same proceeding by the
Sandiganbayan or the appropriate courts, the filing of the criminal
action being deemed to necessarily carry with it the filing of the civil
action, and no right to reserve the filing of such civil action separately
from the criminal action shall be recognized: Provided, however, That
where the civil action had heretofore been filed separately but
judgment therein has not yet been rendered, and the criminal case is
hereafter filed with the Sandiganbayan or the appropriate court, said
civil action shall be transferred to the Sandiganbayan or the
appropriate court, as the case may be, for consolidation and joint
determination with the criminal action, otherwise the separate civil
action shall be deemed abandoned."
BATAS PAMBANSA Blg. 129 (amended by RA 7691, RA 7902)
Judiciary Reorganization Act
Section 9. Jurisdiction. — The Court of Appeals shall exercise:
"(1) Original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus,
prohibition, certiorari, habeas corpus, and quo warranto, and
auxiliary writs or processes, whether or not in aid of its
appellate jurisdiction;
"(2) Exclusive original jurisdiction over actions for annulment
of judgment of Regional Trial Courts; and
"(3) Exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all final judgments,
decisions, resolutions, orders or awards of Regional Trial
Courts and quasi-judicial agencies, instrumentalities, boards
 or commissions, including the Securities and Exchange
Commission, the Social Security Commission, the
Employees Compensation Commission and the Civil Service
Commission, except those falling within the appellate
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in accordance with the
Constitution, the Labor Code of the Philippines under
Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended, the provisions of
this Act, and of subparagraph (1) of the third paragraph and
subparagraph (4) of the fourth paragraph of Section 17 of
the Judiciary Act of 1948.
"The Court of Appeals shall have the power to try cases and conduct
hearings, receive evidence and perform any and all acts necessary to
resolve factual issues raised in cases falling within its original and
appellate jurisdiction, including the power to grant and conduct new
trials or further proceedings. Trials or hearings in the Court of Appeals
must be continuous and must be completed within three (3) months,
unless extended by the Chief Justice."
Section 19. Jurisdiction in civil cases. – Regional Trial Courts shall
exercise exclusive original jurisdiction.
"(1) In all civil actions in which the subject of the litigation is
incapable of pecuniary estimation;
"(2) In all civil actions which involve the title to, or possession
of, real property, or any interest therein, where the assessed
value of the property involved exceeds Twenty thousand
pesos (P20,000,00) or, for civil actions in Metro Manila,
where such value exceeds Fifty thousand pesos
(P50,000.00) except actions for forcible entry into and
unlawful detainer of lands or buildings, original jurisdiction
over which is conferred upon the Metropolitan Trial Courts,
Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts;
"(3) In all actions in admiralty and maritime jurisdiction where
the demand or claim exceeds Three hundred thousand
pesos (P300,000.00) or, in Metro Manila, where such
demand or claim exceeds Four hundred thousand pesos
(P400,000.00);
"(4) In all matters of probate, both testate and intestate,
where the gross value of the estate exceeds Three hundred
thousand pesos (P300,000.00) or, in probate matters in
Metro Manila, where such gross value exceeds Four
Hundred thousand pesos (P400,000.00);
"(5) In all actions involving the contract of marriage and
marital relations;
"(6) In all cases not within the exclusive jurisdiction of any
court, tribunal, person or body exercising jurisdiction of any
court, tribunal, person or body exercising judicial or quasi-
judicial functions;
"(7) In all civil actions and special proceedings falling within
the exclusive original jurisdiction of a Juvenile and Domestic
Relations Court and of the Court of Agrarian Relations as
now provided by law; and
"(8) In all other cases in which the demand, exclusive of
interest, damages of whatever kind, attorney's fees, litigation
expenses, and costs or the value of the property in
controversy exceeds Three hundred thousand pesos
(P300,000.00) or, in such other cases in Metro Manila,
where the demand exclusive of the abovementioned items
exceeds Four Hundred thousand pesos (P400,000.00)."
Section 20. Jurisdiction in criminal cases. – Regional Trial Courts shall
exercise exclusive original jurisdiction in all criminal cases not within
the exclusive jurisdiction of any court, tribunal or body, except those
now falling under the exclusive and concurrent jurisdiction of the
Sandiganbayan which shall hereafter be exclusively taken cognizance
of by the latter.
Section 21. Original jurisdiction in other cases. – Regional Trial Courts
shall exercise original jurisdiction:
(1) In the issuance of writs of certiorari, prohibition,
mandamus, quo warranto, habeas corpus and injunction
which may be enforced in any part of their respective
regions; and
(2) In actions affecting ambassadors and other public
ministers and consuls.
Section 22. Appellate jurisdiction. – Regional Trial Courts shall
exercise appellate jurisdiction over all cases decided by Metropolitan
Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts
in their respective territorial jurisdictions. Such cases shall be decided
on the basis of the entire record of the proceedings had in the court of
origin and such memoranda and/or briefs as may be submitted by the
parties or required by the Regional Trial Courts. The decision of the
Regional Trial Courts in such cases shall be appealable by petition for
review to the
Court of Appeals which may give it due course only when the petition
shows prima facie that the lower court has committed an error of fact
or law that will warrant a reversal or modification of the decision or
judgment sought to be reviewed.
Section 23. Special jurisdiction to try special cases. – The Supreme
Court may designate certain branches of the Regional Trial Courts to
handle exclusively criminal cases, juvenile and domestic relations
cases, agrarian cases, urban land reform cases which do not fall under
the jurisdiction of quasi-judicial bodies and agencies, and/or such other
special cases as the Supreme Court may determine in the interest of a
speedy and efficient administration of justice.
Section 32. Jurisdiction of Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial
Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts in Criminal Cases. – Except
in cases falling within the exclusive original jurisdiction of Regional Trial
Courts and of the Sandiganbayan, the Metropolitan Trial Courts,
Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts shall exercise:
"(1) Exclusive original jurisdiction over all violations of city or
municipal ordinances committed within their respective
territorial jurisdiction; and
"(2) Exclusive original jurisdiction over all offenses
punishable with imprisonment not exceeding six (6) years
irrespective of the amount of fine, and regardless of other
imposable accessory or other penalties, including the civil
liability arising from such offenses or predicated thereon,
irrespective of kind, nature, value or amount thereof:
Provided, however, That in offenses involving damage to
property through criminal negligence, they shall have
exclusive original jurisdiction thereof."
Section 33. Jurisdiction of Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial
Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts in Civil Cases. – Metropolitan
Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts
shall exercise:
"(1) Exclusive original jurisdiction over civil actions and
probate proceedings, testate and intestate, including the
grant of provisional remedies in proper cases, where the
value of the personal property, estate, or amount of the
demand does not exceed Three hundred thousand pesos
(P300,000.00) or, in Metro Manila where such personal
property, estate, or amount of the demand does not exceed
Four hundred thousand pesos (P400,000.00), exclusive of
interest, damages of whatever kind, attorney's fees, litigation
expenses, and costs, the amount of which must be
specifically alleged: Provided, That interest, damages of
whatever kind, attorney's fees, litigation expenses, and costs
shall be included in the determination of the filing fees:
Provided, further, That where there are several claims or
causes of actions between the same or different parties,
embodied in the same complaint, the amount of the demand
shall be the totality of the claims in all the causes of action,
irrespective of whether the causes of action arose out of the
same or different transactions;
"(2) Exclusive original jurisdiction over cases of forcible entry
and unlawful detainer: Provided, That when, in such cases,
the defendant raises the questions of ownership in his
pleadings and the question of possession cannot be
resolved without deciding the issue of ownership, the issue
of ownership shall be resolved only to determine the issue of
possession; and
"(3) Exclusive original jurisdiction in all civil actions which
involve title to, or possession of, real property, or any interest
therein where the assessed value of the property or interest
therein does not exceed Twenty thousand pesos
(P20,000.00) or, in civil actions in Metro Manila, where such
assessed value does not exceed Fifty thousand pesos
(P50,000.00) exclusive of interest, damages of whatever
kind, attorney's fees, litigation expenses and costs: Provided,
That in cases of land not declared for taxation purposes, the
value of such property shall be determined by the assessed
value of the adjacent lots."
Section 34. Delegated Jurisdiction in Cadastral and Land Registration
Cases. – Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and
Municipal Circuit Trial Courts may be assigned by the Supreme Court
to hear and determine cadastral or land registration cases covering lots
where there is no controversy or opposition, or contested lots where
the value of which does not exceed One hundred thousand pesos
(P100,000.00), such value to be ascertained by the affidavit of the
claimant or by agreement of the respective claimants if there are more
than one, or from the corresponding tax declaration of the real
property. Their decisions in these cases shall be appealable in the
same manner as decisions of the Regional Trial Courts."

**RA 7691 – Sec. 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 to Four hundred thousand pesos (P400,000.00).

Section 35. Special jurisdiction in certain cases. – In the absence of all

the Regional Trial Judges in a province or city, any Metropolitan Trial
Judge, Municipal Trial Judge, Municipal Circuit Trial Judge may hear
and decide petitions for a writ of habeas corpus or applications for bail
in criminal cases in the province or city where the absent Regional Trial
Judges sit.

Section 36. Summary procedures in special cases. – In Metropolitan

Trial Courts and Municipal Trial Courts with at least two branches, the
Supreme Court may designate one or more branches thereof to try
exclusively forcible entry and unlawful detainer cases, those involving
violations of traffic laws, rules and regulations, violations of the rental
law, and such other cases requiring summary disposition as the
Supreme Court may determine. The Supreme Court shall adopt
special rules or procedures applicable to such cases in order to
achieve an expeditious and inexpensive determination thereof without
regard to technical rules. Such simplified procedures may provide that
affidavits and counter-affidavits may be admitted in lieu of oral
testimony and that the periods for filing pleadings shall be non-
extendible.

Section 37. Preliminary investigation. – Judges of Metropolitan Trial

Courts, except those in the National Capital Region, of Municipal Trial
Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts shall have authority to
conduct preliminary investigation of crimes alleged to have been
committed within their respective territorial jurisdictions which are
cognizable by the Regional Trial Courts.

The preliminary investigation shall be conducted in accordance with

the procedure prescribed in Section 1, paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d),
of Presidential Decree No. 911: Provided, however, That if after the
preliminary investigation the Judge finds a prima facie case, he shall
forward the records of the case to the Provincial/City Fiscal for the
filing of the corresponding information with the proper court.

No warrant of arrest shall be issued by the Judge in connection with

any criminal complaint filed with him for preliminary investigation,
unless after an examination in writing and under oath or affirmation of
the complainant and his witnesses, he finds that a probable cause
exists.

Any warrant of arrest issued in accordance herewith may be served

anywhere in the Philippines.