Stanley Robert Oquialda

BS Hotel Restaurant Management-III

Section
Sec. 1
The judicial power shall be
vested in one Supreme Court
and in such lower courts as may
be established by law.
Judicial power includes the duty
of the courts of justice to settle
actual controversies involving
rights
which
are
legally
demandable and enforceable,
and to determine whether or not
there has been a grave abuse of
discretion amounting to lack or
excess of jurisdiction on the part
of any branch or instrumentality
of the Government.
Sec. 2
The Congress shall have the
power to define, prescribe, and
apportion the jurisdiction of the
various courts but may not
deprive the Supreme Court of its
jurisdiction
over
cases
enumerated in Section 5 hereof.
No law shall be passed
reorganizing the Judiciary when
it undermines the security of

Article VIII. Judicial Department

Issues/Concerns
Implementation
The traditional independence Such implementation of
of the courts had been heavily the said section was
compromised in the Marcos monitored just after the
era. Because the 1973 revision
of
the
constitution allowed Marcos to constitution, which is after
fire members of the judiciary, the Marcos regime, which
including members of the has produced the 1987
Supreme Court, at any time, Constitution.
anyone inclined to oppose him
was intimidated into either
complying or resigning.

The
declaration
of
the
unconstitutionality of Priority
Development Assistance Fund
(PDAF) after the Janet LimNapoles issue.

It has been enumerated

in the Section 5 of the
article
regarding
the
provision of the Rules of
Court, to review, revise,
reverse, modify or affirm
on appeal on cases.

Justification
The said section was
justified as the Judicial
department has their
own autonomy over
other departments of the
government.

The said section has

been justified through
the limitations to the
exercise of the power of
the judiciary.

Stanley Robert Oquialda

BS Hotel Restaurant Management-III
tenure of its Members.
Sec. 3
The Judiciary shall enjoy fiscal
autonomy. Appropriations for the
Judiciary may not be reduced by
the legislature below the amount
appropriated for the previous
year and, after approval, shall
be automatically and regularly
released.

Sec. 4
(2) All cases involving the
constitutionality of a treaty,
international
or
executive
agreement, or law, which shall
be heard by the Supreme Court
en banc, and all other cases
which under the Rules of Court
are required to be heard en
banc, including those involving

The armed forces maintain an

autonomous military justice
system. Military courts are
under the authority of the
judge advocate general of the
armed forces, who is also
responsible
for
the
prosecutorial function in the
military courts. Military courts
operate under their own
procedures but are required to
accord the accused the same
constitutional
safeguards
received by civilians. Military
tribunals have jurisdiction over
all activeduty members of the
Armed
Forces
of
the
Philippines.
The
declaration
of
unconstitutionality
of
Disbursement
Acceleration
Program (DAP) in which the
president, as the head of the
executive, could allot funds but
will infringe the constitution
since there could be a grave
abuse of discretion.

The section has been

undermined by some
controversies regarding
the fiscal autonomy but
has been made clear due
to the appropriations for
judiciary not subject to
reduction
and
appropriation
to
be
automatically
and
regularly released.

The said section has

been justified for clearly
insure the independence
of the judiciary.

The section has been

implemented since there
had been a clear picture
of separation of powers.

It was justified since it

tackled
down
the
composition
of
the
Supreme Court (SC), the
sitting procedure, and
cases to be heard or
decided en banc and
vote required.

Stanley Robert Oquialda

BS Hotel Restaurant Management-III
the constitutionality, application,
or operation of presidential
decrees, proclamations, orders,
instructions, ordinances, and
other regulations, shall be
decided with the concurrence of
a majority of the Members who
actually took part in the
deliberations on the issues in
the case and voted thereon.
Sec. 5
(2) Review, revise, reverse,
modify, or affirm on appeal or
certiorari, as the law or the
Rules of Court may provide, final
judgments and orders of lower
courts in:
(a) All cases in which the
constitutionality or validity of any
treaty, international or executive
agreement, law, presidential
decree, proclamation, order,
instruction,
ordinance,
or
regulation is in question.
Sec. 6
The Supreme Court shall have
administrative supervision over
all courts and the personnel
thereof.

The reconsideration or strictly There has been a

limiting the judicial review consideration
on the
powers of the Supreme Court. certiorari, which is one of
the remedies of the
judiciary.

This
has
been
superseded by the Batas
Pambansa Blg. 129, but
only the provisions of the
former
which
are
inconsistent with those
of the latter are deemed
repealed or modified.

Justice was endlessly delayed

in the late 1980s. Court
calendars were jammed. Most
lower
courts
lacked
stenographers. A former judge

It is now exercised by
the
Supreme
Court
through an office headed
by a Court Administrator
who is appointed by the

The formal transfer of the

administrative
supervision over inferior
courts
from
the
Department of Justice to

Stanley Robert Oquialda

BS Hotel Restaurant Management-III
reported in 1988 that judges
routinely scheduled as many
as twenty hearings at the
same time in the knowledge
that lawyers would show up
only
to
ask
for
a
postponement. One tax case
heard in 1988 had been filed
50 years before, and a study
of the tax court showed that
even if the judges were to
work 50 percent faster, it
would take them 476 years to
catch up. Even in the
spectacular case of the 1983
murder of Senator Benigno
Aquino, the judicial system did
not function speedily or
reliably. It took five years to
convict some middle-ranking
officers, and although the
verdict obliquely hinted at
then-Chief of Staff General
Fabian
Ver's
ultimate
responsibility, the court never
directly
addressed
that
question.
Sec. 7
The impeachment of Chief
(3) A Member of the Judiciary Justice Renato Corona, as he

the SC was effected by Chief Justice.

Presidential Decree No.
185, issued May 7, 1973.

The additional criterion This is a constitutional

for selection of members criterion.

Stanley Robert Oquialda

BS Hotel Restaurant Management-III
must be a person of proven did not proclaimed his true and of the judiciary is left to
competence, integrity, probity, complete SALn.
the
subjective
and independence.
determination
of
the
Judicial and Bar Council
and the President.
Sec. 8
The case of Baria vs. The critics say that the
(1) A Judicial and Bar Bercacacio.
nominating and selection
Council is hereby created
process
has
not
under the supervision of
completely
removed
the
Supreme
Court
politics
and
outside
composed of the Chief
influence.
Justice as ex officio
Chairman, the Secretary
of
Justice,
and
a
representative of the
Congress as ex officio
Member, a representative
of the Integrated Bar, a
professor of law, a retired
Member of the Supreme
Court,
and
a
representative of the
private sector.
Sec. 9
The indictment of former The Executive Order No.
The Members of the Supreme Minister of Defense Enrile on 216
declared
the
Court and judges of the lower the charge of "rebellion with effectivity of the creation
courts shall be appointed by the murder" shows that the courts of the Judicial and Bar
President from a list of at least can be independent of the Council on July 10, 1987,
three nominees prepared by the president, but also that the
date
of
its

The constitution itself

creates the Council,
providing at the same
time its composition,
appointment
of
the
members, their terms of
office, their emoluments,
and their functions.

Please refer to Sec. 7

(3)

Stanley Robert Oquialda

BS Hotel Restaurant Management-III
Judicial and Bar Council for
every
vacancy.
Such
appointments
need
no
confirmation.
For the lower courts, the
President
shall
issue
the
appointments within ninety days
from the submission of the list.

powerful people are handled promulgation.

gently. Enrile was arrested on
February 27, 1990, for his
alleged role in the December
1989 coup attempt in which
more than 100 people died.
Because Enrile was powerful,
he was given an airconditioned suite in jail, a
telephone, and a computer,
and a week later he was
released on 100,000 pesos
(for value of the pso--see
Glossary) bail. In June 1990,
the Supreme Court invalidated
the charges against him. A
further test of the court system
was expected in the 1990s
when
criminal
and
civil
charges were to be brought
against Imelda Marcos. In
1991 Aquino agreed to allow
the former first lady, who could
not leave New York City
without the permission of the
United States Department of
Justice, to return to the
Philippines to face charges of
graft and corruption. Swiss

Stanley Robert Oquialda

BS Hotel Restaurant Management-III

Sec. 11
The Members of the Supreme
Court and judges of lower courts
shall hold office during good
behavior until they reach the age
of seventy years or become
incapacitated to discharge the
duties of their office.

banking authorities agreed to

return approximately US$350
million to the Philippine
government only if Marcos
were tried and convicted.
Marcos did not seem to be
reluctant to face the Philippine
courts.
The Philippines has always
been a highly controversial
society, and the courts often
were used to carry on
personal vendettas and family
feuds. There was widespread
public perception that at least
some judges could be bought.
Public confidence in the
judicial system was dealt a
particular blow in 1988 when a
special prosecutor alleged that
six Supreme Court justices
had pressured him to "go
easy" on their friends. The
offended justices threatened to
cite
the
prosecutor
for
contempt. Aquino did not take
sides in this dispute. The net
effect was to confirm many
Filipinos' cynicism about the

The
section
was
implemented right after
the 1935 constitution, of
which the same state that
the power to discipline or
remove judges was the
Presidents right.

The misconduct if a
judge that will warrant
disciplinary action by the
Supreme Court, as a
general rule, must have
relation to and be
connected
with
the
performance
of
his
official duties.

Stanley Robert Oquialda

BS Hotel Restaurant Management-III
impartiality of justice.