1. Composition, Powers, and Functions

A Constitutional Court

The Supreme Court is the only constitutional court, all the lower courts being of statutory creation.

Members (PHIL. CONST., art. VIII, § 4(1).)

• Chief Justice, and
• 14 Associate Justices

The President cannot appoint a temporary member of the Supreme Court. There can be no doubt that the Chief Justice and Associate Justices required by the Constitution to compose the Supreme Court are regular members of the Court. A temporary member would be a misnomer, implying a position not contemplated by the Constitution. Thus, a law which authorizes the President to designate any judge of the lower court or cadastral judge to act as member of the Supreme Court is void (Vargas vs. Rilloraza, G.R. No. L-1612, Feb. 26, 1948).

The members of the judiciary perform judicial functions. Although their judicial role cannot be displaced by designation to an agency performing quasi-judicial or administrative functions, members of the judiciary may exercise administrative functions assigned to the courts by the Constitution or law. For this reason, the Constitution provides that the members of the Supreme Court and of other courts shall not be designated to any agency performing quasi-judicial or administrative functions. (PHIL. CONST., art. VIII, §§ 6, 12.)