Republic of the Philippines Supreme Court Manila A.M. No. 07-3-09-SC RE: PROPOSED GUIDELINES IN THE DISPOSITION AND/OR DESTRUCTION OF COURT RECORDS, PAPERS, AND EXHIBITS RE: SIMPLIFIED GUIDELINES FOR DISPOSING OF RECORDS OF LONG-DECIDED CASES AND UNNEEDED DOCUMENTS AND PAPERS WHEREAS, the first and second level courts have over the years accumulated voluminous records of long-decided cases and unneeded documents and files; WHEREAS, parties and lawyers involved in cases that were already decided or completely terminated have the primary responsibility of keeping and preserving copies of court documents and records affecting their rights and obligations; WHEREAS, even though the duty of the courts is to keep and maintain only records of active and properly archived cases, the courts continue to hold records of cases that were decided or completely terminated, but only for a reasonable length of time to enable interested parties to secure copies before these records are disposed of with the exception of the decisions and proofs of their finality; WHEREAS, the Office of the Clerk of Court at each station also accumulated documents and records that have long ceased to be of practical use and whose copies are presumably kept by the parties and by their notaries, or are stored in dedicated government repositories;AM. No. 07-3-09-8C Resolution WHEREAS, overstaying records and files 1) expose court personnel and persons attending to their cases to dust and allergens that imperil their health; 2) place the judges, court personnel, the general public and the entire Hall of Justice under the risk of fires; 3) impede passage along, the corridors, stairways, and fire exits where some of these records are stored; and 4) are an eyesore in the Halls of Justice; NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the above and pursuant to its powers under Section 6, Article VIII, 1987 Constitution, the Supreme Court hereby issues the following guidelines for full observance and compliance: 1. Timelines and Procedure for Records Disposal. All first and second level courts, except newly-organized courts which do not have terminated cases yet, or those courts whose records have been completely lost due to calamities, fire, etc., shall observe the following timelines in connection with the implementation of these guidelines: a. Submission and Inventory of Terminated Cases. The first and second level courts shall conduct an inventory of their terminated cases based on their updated docket books and submit the same to the Supreme Court, through the Office of the Court Administrator, on or before 30 April 2016 b. Physical Segregation and Extraction of Records. The first and second level courts shall observe the whole month of July 2016 as the official records disposal period during which the segregation of disposable or residual records and their physical extraction by the judges and court personnel shall take place. During this period: ‘ Hearings in all first and second level courts shall be held during this period as far as practicable, more so for urgent matters and incidents including, but not limited to, applications for writs of habeas corpus, amparo or habeas data, temporary restraining orders, permanent protection orders, bails, and lifting ofResolution iii. iii, AM. No. 07-3-09-8C warrants of arrest, as well as the need to arraign the detained accused; The Executive Judges shall continue to raffle cases to the different branches; No application for leave by judges and all court personnel shall be approved, except for the most compelling reasons, to be determined by the Court Administrator; and To focus on records disposal, the regular conduct of inventory of pending cases in July 2016 shall be dispensed with. Retrieval of Residual Records. The first and second level courts shall resume their regular business on 1 August 2016. They shall, however, observe the whole month of August 2016 as the period for retrieval of residual records by interested parties, as follows: Within the month of August 2016, any interested party may file an application to take possession of any residual record, file, or document subject of disposal under the Guidelines, on a “first-come, first-served” basis. This application shall be filed before the branch concerned, or if not known, before the Office of the Clerk of Court of the station. The attached application form shall be used for this purpose. No application shall be entertained after this period. The court shall approve the application once the documents are found, except when a compelling reason exists not to approve the same. An application fee of Five Hundred Pesos (P500.00) shall be collected and deposited in the JDF account before the residual records requested are released to the requesting party. This fee shall be waived for pauper litigants, as indicated in their respective pleadings, and for any interested party who qualifies as a pauper litigant, provided the same is