Duterte signs law expanding jurisdiction of lower courts

President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a law expanding the jurisdiction of trial courts.

Signed on July 30, Republic Act 11576 amended some of the provisions of the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980.

The new law increases the jurisdictional amount under the Regional Trial Courts (RTCs) in all civil actions involving the title to, or possession of, real property from P20,000, or P50,000 in Metro Manila, to above P400,000.

RTCs also have jurisdiction over “all matters of probate, both testate and intestate, where the gross value of the estate exceeds P2 million,” according to the measure.

Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts In Cities, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts have jurisdiction over civil actions and probate proceedings, testate and intestate, where the value of the personal property, estate or amount of the demand does not exceed P2 million.

These courts can also handle civil actions involving the title to, or possession of, real property where the assessed value does not exceed P400,000 as well as admiralty and maritime actions where the demand or claim does not exceed P2 million (RTCs for amounts above P2 million).

The law also allows the Supreme Court to adjust the jurisdictional amounts for first and second level courts  to reflect the “extraordinary” supervening inflation or deflation of currency, change in the land valuation, or maintain the proportion of caseload between first and second level courts.

Senator Richard Gordon, chairperson of the Senate justice committee, earlier said the objective of the measure was to unclog the dockets of the RTCs and speed up the disposition of cases.—LDF, GMA News