a. Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts in Cities, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts (BP 129, as amended by RA 7691 and 11576; Expedited Procedures [AM 08-8-7-SC])

E. Rules on Expedited Procedures in the First Level Courts (A.M. No.08-8-7-SC, March 1, 2022

The rule shall govern the summary procedure in the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts in Cities, Municipal Trial Courts, and the Municipal Circuit Trial Courts in cases falling within their jurisdiction.

Cases Covered under the Rules on Small Claims:

Small Claims Cases, as defined hereunder, where the claim does not exceed One Million Pesos (₱1,000,000.00), exclusive of interest and costs. The claim or demand may be:

• For money owed under any of the following:
• For money owed under any of the following:
• Contract of Loan and other credit accommodations;
• Contract of Services; or
• Contract of Sale of personal property, excluding the recovery of the personal property, unless it is made the subject of a compromise agreement between the parties.
• The enforcement of barangay amicable settlement agreements and arbitration awards, where the money claim does not exceed One Million Pesos (₱1,000,000.00),provided that no execution has been enforced by the barangay within six (6) months from the date of the settlement or date of receipt of the award or from the date the obligation stipulated or adjudged in the arbitration award becomes due and demandable, pursuant to Section 417, Chapter VII of Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as The Local Government Code of 1991.

NOTE: These Rules shall not apply to civil cases where the plaintiff ’s cause of action is pleaded in the same complaint with another cause of action subject to the regular procedure; nor to criminal cases where the offense charged is necessarily related to another criminal case subject to the regular procedure.

Collegiate Courts (part 2 of 2)

First-Level Courts – B.P. Blg. 129 as amended by R.A. No. 7691 and R.A. No. 11576

Inherent Powers and Means to Carry Jurisdiction – Rule 135, secs. 5-6

> Section 5. Inherent powers of court. — Every court shall have power:

(a) To preserve and enforce order in its immediate presence;

(b) To enforce order in proceedings before it, or before a person or persons empowered to conduct a judicial investigation under its authority;

(c) To compel obedience to its judgments, orders and processes, and to the lawful orders of a judge out of court, in a case pending therein;

(d) To control, in furtherance of justice, the conduct of its ministerial officers, and of all other persons in any manner connected with a case before it, in every manner appertaining thereto;

(e) To compel the attendance of persons to testify in a case pending therein;

(f) To administer or cause to be administered oaths in a case pending therein, and in all other cases where it may be necessary in the exercise of its powers;

(g) To amend and control its process and orders so as to make them conformable to law and justice;

(h) To authorize a copy of a lost or destroyed pleading or other paper to be filed and used instead of the original, and to restore, and supply deficiencies in its records and proceedings.

Section 6. Means to carry jurisdiction into effect. — When by law jurisdiction is conferred on a court or judicial officer, all auxiliary writs, processes and other means necessary to carry it into effect may be employed by such court or officer; and if the procedure to be followed in the exercise of such jurisdiction is not specifically pointed out by law or by these rules, any suitable process or mode of proceeding may be adopted which appears comfortable to the spirit of the said law or rules.

Accion Publiciana and Accion Reinvindicatoria

RTC has jurisdiction where the assessed value of the property exceeds P20,000 or, in Metro Manila, P50,000;

MTC has jurisdiction if the assessed value does not exceed said amounts. (B.P. Blg. 129, as amended, Sec. 33).

Where the basic issue is not possession but interpretation, enforcement and/or rescission of the contract, the same is no longer an ejectment suit. (Villena v. Chavez, G.R. No. 148126, 2003)

Basis for determining jurisdiction for real actions

Within the modifications introduced by R.A. No. 7691 in 1994, the jurisdiction of the first level courts has been expanded to include jurisdiction over other real actions where the assessed value does not exceed P20,000 or P50,000 where the action is filed in Metro Manila. The first level courts thus have exclusive original jurisdiction over accion publiciana and accion reinvindicatoria where the assess value of the real property does not exceed the aforestated amounts. Accordingly, the jurisdictional element is the assessed value of the property. (Barrera v. Legaspi, G.R. No. 174346, 2008).

What determines the jurisdiction of the court is the nature of the action pleaded as appearing from the allegations in the complaint. The averments therein and the character of the relief sought are the ones to be consulted. (Padian v. Dinglasan, G.R No. 180321, 2013).

Municipal Trial Court

• Exclusive Original Jurisdiction -
• Over all violations of city or municipal ordinances committed within their respective territorial jurisdictions;
• Over all offenses punishable with imprisonment of not more than 6 years irrespective of the amount of fine (prision correccional);
• Over all offenses punishable with fine only amounting to not more than P4,000.00 without the penalty of imprisonment.
• Over all offenses (except violations of RA 3019 and Arts. 210 to 212 of RPC) committed by public officers and employees in relation to their office, including those employed in GOCCs and by private individuals charged as co-principals, accomplices or accessories, punishable with imprisonment of not more than 6 years or where none of the accused holds a position classified as Grade “27” and higher;
• In all cases of damage to property through criminal negligence, regardless of other penalties and the civil liabilities arising therefrom;
• In cases of summary procedure for violations of B.P. 22 (Bouncing Checks Law). (A. M. No. 00-11-01-SC)
• Summary procedure in cases of traffic violations, violations of the rental law, violations of city or municipal ordinances, violations of BP 22, and all other offenses where the penalty does not exceed 6 months imprisonment and/or P1,000 fine, irrespective of other penalties or civil liabilities arising therefrom, and in offenses involving damage to property through criminal negligence where the imposable fine does not exceed P10,000.
• Jurisdiction over cases where the imposable penalty is destierro considering that in the hierarchy of penalties under Article 71 of the Revised Penal Code, destierro follows arresto mayor which involves imprisonment. (People v. Eduarte, G.R. No. 88232, 1990)
• Special Jurisdiction - Applications for bail in criminal cases in the absence of all RTC judges in a province or city. (B.P. 129, Sec. 35)

Municipal Trial Courts have no jurisdiction over cases which by provision of special law fall within the jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Courts or the Sandiganbayan, even if the maximum penalty prescribed by such special law is less than 6 years. Included in such exceptions are election offenses, libel or written defamation, and violation of Section 39 of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972 (R.A. No. 6425).

If a family court does not exist in the place of the petitioner for an application of a temporary protection order (TPO) or a permanent protection order (PPO), it may be filed with the metropolitan trial court, municipal trial court, municipal circuit trial court with territorial jurisdiction over the place of residence of the petitioner (Sec. 10, Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004).

The municipal trial court, metropolitan trial court, or municipal circuit trial court that has territorial jurisdiction over the barangay that issued the barangay protection order (BPO) also has the jurisdiction over complaints of violation of the BPO (Sec. 21, Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004).