Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Three (3) additional branches of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) and two (2) additional branches of the Municipal Trial Court (MeTC) in the Tenth Judicial Region are hereby created and stationed in the Province of Dinagat Islands as follows:

(a) Three (3) branches of the RTC in the Municipality of San Jose;

(b) One (1) branch of the MTC in the Municipality of San Jose; and

(c) One (1) branch of the MTC in the Municipality of Basilisa.

The Supreme Court shall assign the respective branch numbers for the newly created branches of the RTC and the MTC.

The existing Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC) of San Jose-Dinagat-Basilisa-Cagdianao (Rizal) stationed in San Jose shall be decircuitized. The decircuitized MCTC shall be denominated as MCTC Dinagat-Cagdianao.

SEC. 2. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, in coordination with the Secretary of the Department of Justice, shall immediately include in the Court's program the operationalization of the additional branches of the RTC and MTC in the Municipalities of San Jose and Basilisa, Province of Dinagat Islands. The Supreme Court shall issue the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act and, if warranted, the realignment of seats of existing branches and their territorial jurisdiction.

SEC. 3. The funds necessary for the implementation of this Act, including appropriations for personnel services such as salaries, benefits and emoluments for judges and court personnel, court operations under maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), and provisions for Halls of Justice or courtrooms to accommodate judges and court staff, as well as funds necessary for the implementation of automatically-created prosecutor positions pursuant to Section 13 of Republic Act No. 10071 or the "Prosecution Service Act of 2010" and appointment of public attorneys pursuant to Section 7 of Republic Act No. 9406 or the "Act Reorganizing and Strengthening the Public Attorney's Office (PAO), resulting from the creation of these courts, including appropriations for personnel services such as salaries, benefits, and emoluments for prosecutors and public attorneys, shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

The funds necessary for the operation of the courts herein created shall be appropriated and released only upon the actual organization of the court and the appointment of its personnel.

SEC. 4. The RTC of the San Jose, Dinagat Islands will have four (4) branches. The staffing pattern of each branch shall be as follows:

No. of Positions	Position Title	Salary Grade
1	Regional Trial Court Judge	29
1	Clerk of Court V	24
1	Court Legal Researcher II	15
1	Interpreter III	12
4	Court Stenographer III	12
1	Sheriff IV	12
2	Clerk III	6
1	Process Server	5
1	Utility Worker I	1
13	Personnel

The staff complement of the new Office of the Clerk of Court (OCC) shall be composed of fifteen (15) personnel, while the date entry machine operator (DEMO) from the original RTC will be transferred to the OCC, unless modified as determined by the Supreme Court.

In addition, there shall be appointed the corresponding numbers of prosecutor/s and public attorney/s and their support staff based on the ratio outlined in Republic Act No. 10071 and Republic Act No. 9406, respectively.

SEC. 5. The MTC in the Province of Dinagat Islands will have one (1) branch stationed in the Municipality of San Jose and one (1) branch in the Municipality of Basilisa. The staffing patterns of each branch shall be as follows:
 

No. of Positions	Position Title	Salary Grade
1	Municipal Trial Court Judge	29
1	Clerk of Court 1	15
1	Interpreter I	8
4	Court Stenographer I	8
2	Clerk II	4
1	Junior Process Server	3
1	Utility Worker I	1
9	Personnel

Section 6. Section 14(k) and Section 30 of Batas Pambansa Blg, 139, otherwise known as "The Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980", as amended, and all other laws, rules and regulations which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby amended, repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 7.  This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following the completion of its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,

 

 

(SGD.) FRANCIS "CHIZ" G. ESCUDERO	(SGD.) FERDINAND MARTIN G. ROMUALDEZ
President of the Senate	Speaker of the House of Representatives

This Act, which originated in the House of Representatives, was passed by the House of Representatives on January 31, 2023, amended by the Senate of the Philippines on May 13, 2024, and which amendments were concurred in by the House of Representatives on July 30, 2024.
 
   

   
 

(SGD.)  RENATO N. BANTUG, JR.	(SGD.) REGINALD S. VELASCO
Secretary of the Senate	Secretary General House of Representatives

Approved: OCT 17 2024

 
   
 

(SGD.) FERDINAND ROMUALDEZ MARCOS JR.

President of the Philippines