Creation of more CA divisions in provinces pushed
THE House Committee on Justice underscored the need to put up additional Court of Appeals divisions in Vigan, Ilocos Sur and Davao City, as lawmakers noted the continued rise in cases requiring action from the appellate court.
Tagaytay City Representative Aniela Bianca D. Tolentino lauded the decision of the House justice panel to immediately act on pending bills proposing new CA divisions, saying that the increase would complement the rise in the number of lower courts in the country.
Tolentino authored House Bill 4033, one of several pending measures seeking to increase the CA divisions.
In filing HB 4033, Tolentino proposed the appointment of new CA justices or an increase in appellate court magistrates from the current 69 to 78.
The new court officials will be assigned in CA divisions to be put up in Vigan, Ilocos Sur and Davao City.
“When the number of Court of Appeals stations was increased in 1996, the population of the Philippines was about 71 million and the number of CA justices was set at 69, with CA stations in Manila, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro,” the neophyte solon said.
With the country’s population ballooning to over 117 million, the number of CA justices must also increase to help guarantee faster dispensation of justice, she added.
“It is high time that we increase the number of justices to make sure that litigants from northern and southern part of the Philippines can appeal their cases more conveniently,” Tolentino said.
The first-term legislator said that economic progress, hike in population and growth of businesses that the country has experienced for the past years brought the need for a faster disposition of judicial cases, especially int he appellate level.
