Senate OKs bill expanding jurisdiction of RTCs, MTCs

The Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading the measure seeking to expand the jurisdiction of first and second level courts.

With 22 affirmative votes, two negative, and zero abstentions, the chamber approved Senate Bill 1886, which further expands the jurisdiction of Metropolitan Trial Courts/ Municipal Trial Courts In Cities, Municipal Trial Courts (MTCs), And Municipal Circuit Trial Courts, amending the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980.

Senator Richard Gordon, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights and sponsor of the measure, said the bill essentially aims to unclog court dockets of the Regional Trial Courts (RTCs).

Unclogging court dockets, he said, can be achieved by expanding the jurisdictional threshold amount of the first level courts of MTCs.

One amendment proposed in the measure is the increase in the jurisdictional amount under the RTCs in all civil actions involving the title to, or possession of, real property from P20,000, or P50,000 in Metro Manila, to P400,000.

At the same time, the measure provides that RTCs will also have jurisdictional supervision "in all matters of probate, both testate and intestate, where the gross value of the estate exceeds P2 million” from P100,000 to P200,000."

Gordon likewise said the measure will address the delay in the disposition of cases, as judges tend to be given many cases.

It also delegates to the Supreme Court the authority to further increase or decrease the jurisdictional threshold of the first and second level courts in line with the high tribunals' power of administrative supervision of all courts.

Senators Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and Francis Tolentino, however, voted against the measure.

Pimentel said that while he is not against the intent of the measure, he is concerned about Section 3 of the bill introduced during the period of amendments on delegated authority of the Supreme Court to adjust jurisdictional amounts for first and second level courts.

This representation would like to make it clear that he subscribes to the proposal of rationalizing the jurisdiction granted to our trial courts, but we have to do this without running afoul of the Constitution and the principles upon which the three great branches of our government are founded," he said. — RSJ, GMA News