An Act to Amend Sections Five, Seven, and Twenty-Seven of Act Numbered Eight Hundred and Sixty-Seven, as Amended, by Separating the Province of Sorsogon from the Eight Judicial Districts and Annexing it to the Fifteenth Judicial District, by from Separating the Province of La Union the Third Judicial District and Annexing it to the Mountain Judicial District, and Changing the Times at which Courts of First Instance Shall be Held in the Provinces of Said Districts, Repealing Part of Act Numbered Fourteen Hundred and Thirty-Seven, and for Other Purposes

August 31, 1907

ACT NO. 1708

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS FIVE, SEVEN, AND TWENTY-SEVEN OF ACT NUMBERED EIGHT HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN, AS AMENDED, BY SEPARATING THE PROVINCE OF SORSOGON FROM THE EIGHT JUDICIAL DISTRICTS AND ANNEXING IT TO THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT, BY SEPARATING THE PROVINCE OF LA UNION FROM THE THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT AND ANNEXING IT TO THE MOUNTAIN JUDICIAL DISTRICT, AND CHANGING THE TIMES AT WHICH COURTS OF FIRST INSTANCE SHALL BE HELD IN THE PROVINCES OF SAID DISTRICTS, REPEALING PART OF ACT NUMBERED FOURTEEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SEVEN, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

SECTION 1. Section five of Act Numbered Eight hundred and sixty-seven, as amended, establishing the judicial districts throughout the provinces of the Philippine Islands, is hereby further amended by separating the Province of Sorsogon from the Eighth Judicial District and annexing it to the Fifteenth Judicial District, by separating the Province of La Union from the Third Judicial District and annexing it to the Mountain Judicial District, so that said section five shall read as follows: HTcADC

"SEC. 5. Judicial districts. — The following judicial districts for Courts of First Instance in the Philippine Islands are hereby established:

"The city of Manila shall constitute one judicial district, to be known as the Judicial District of Manila, and the other judicial districts shall severally consist of the provinces and islands as hereinafter stated:

"The First Judicial District shall consist of the Provinces of Cagayan and Isabela.

"The Second Judicial District shall consist of the Provinces of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur, including the subprovince of Abra.

"The Mountain Judicial District shall consist of the Provinces of Lepanto-Bontoc, Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, and La Union.

"The Third Judicial District shall consist of the Provinces of Pangasinan and Zambales.

"The Fourth Judicial District shall consist of the Provinces of Tarlac, Pampanga, and Nueva Ecija.

"The Fifth Judicial District shall consist of the Provinces of Bulacan and Rizal.

"The Sixth Judicial District shall consist of the Provinces of La Laguna, Cavite, and Bataan.

"The Seventh Judicial District shall consist of the Provinces of Batangas, Tayabas and Mindoro.

"The Eighth Judicial District shall consist of the Provinces of Albay and Ambos Camarines.

"The Ninth Judicial District shall consist of the Province of Iloilo.

"The Tenth Judicial District shall consist of the Provinces of Occidental Negros and Antique. CAIHTE

"The Eleventh Judicial District shall consist of the Provinces of Cebu, Oriental Negros, and Bohol. The judge of First Instance at large resident at Cebu may hold any Court of First Instance in the Eleventh Judicial District upon written assignment by the regular judge of the district, and without the action by the Governor-General required by law in respect to holding of court by judges of First Instance at large in other cases.

"The Twelfth Judicial District shall consist of the Provinces of Samar and Leyte.

"The Thirteenth Judicial District shall consist of the Provinces of Surigao, Agusan, and Misamis, the district of Lanao, and the subdistrict of Dapitan, of the Moro Province.

"The Fourteenth Judicial District shall consist of the Moro Province, except the district of Lanao and the subdistrict of Dapitan.

"The Fifteenth Judicial District shall consist of the Provinces of Capiz, with the subprovince of Romblon, Sorsogon, with the subprovince of Masbate, and of the Province of Palawan."

SECTION 2. That part of section seven of said Act numbered Eight hundred and sixty-seven, as amended, which provides for the times and places of holding Courts of First Instance in the Mountain, Third, Eight, Thirteenth, and Fifteenth Judicial Districts is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

"MOUNTAIN DISTRICT.

"At Baguio, in and for the Province of Benguet, commencing on the first Tuesdays of April and October of each year,

"At San Fernando, in and for the Province of La Union, commencing on the first Tuesdays of January and July of each year.

"At Bayombong, in and for the Province of Nueva Vizcaya, commencing on the first Tuesdays of June and December of each year.

"At Cervantes, in and for the Province of Lepanto-Bontoc, commencing on the first Tuesday of May and the second Tuesday of November of each year. In Courts of First Instance in the Mountain District process shall be served by the governor of the province in which the court is held acting as an officer of the court as in other provinces, by a sheriff appointed and qualified as in other provinces, by a lieutenant-governor, if any, or by a member of the Constabulary, or by a deputy appointed by the governor, as he may elect."

"THIRD DISTRICT.

"At Lingayen, in and for the Province of Pangasinan, commencing on the first Tuesdays of January, July, and November of each year.

"At Iba, in and for the Province of Zambales, commencing on the third Tuesday of April and first Tuesday of December of each year.

"EIGHTH DISTRICT.

"At Nueva Caceres, in and for the Province of Ambos Camarines, commencing on the first Tuesdays of January, July, and December of each year. Daet shall not, as heretofore, be a regular place for holding a Court of First Instance exercising jurisdiction over Camarines Norte, but the court at Nueva Caceres shall exercise jurisdiction and hear causes arising in every part of the Province of Ambos Camarines.

"At Albay, in and for the Province of Albay, commencing on the third Tuesday of February and the first Tuesday of September of each year."

"THIRTEENTH DISTRICT.

"At Cagayan, in and for the Province of Misamis and for the subprovince of Bukidnon of the Province of Agusan, commencing on the first Tuesdays of January and July of each year.

"At Iligan, in and for the district of Lanao of the Moro Province, commencing on the first Tuesdays of February and August of each year.

"At Dapitan, in and for the subdistrict of Dapitan of the Moro Province, commencing on the first Tuesdays of March and October of each year.

"At Surigao, in and for the Province of Surigao and for the subprovince of Butuan of the Province of Agusan, commencing on the first Tuesdays of April and November of each year,"

"FIFTEENTH DISTRICT.

"At Capiz, in and for the Province of Capiz, commencing on the first Tuesdays of July and December of each year.

"At Romblon in and for the subprovince of Romblon, commencing on the fourth Tuesdays of January and August of each year.

"At Masbate, in and for the subprovince of Masbate, commencing on the third Tuesdays of February and September of each year.

"At Sorsogon, in and for the Province of Sorsogon, commencing on the first Tuesdays of March and October of each year.

"At Cuyo, in and for that part of the Province of Palawan included in the Cuyo, Calamianes, and Cagayanes groups of islands, commencing on the second Tuesday of April of each year.

"At Puerto Princesa, in and for the remainder of the Province of Palawan, commencing on the third Tuesday of April of each year."

SECTION 3. That part of section twenty-seven of said Act Numbered Eight hundred and sixty-seven, relating to the clerk and deputy clerks for the Mountain District, is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

"For the Provinces of Benguet, Lepanto-Bontoc, and Nueva Vizcaya, one clerk at an annual salary of three thousand two hundred pesos, who shall act as clerk of the Courts of First Instance in said three provinces, and, in addition thereto, shall serve as official court stenographer and interpreter and translator for the whole of the Mountain Judicial District, and shall accompany the judge to each court of said district. There shall be appointed in said district three deputy clerks, one for each of the Provinces of Benguet, Lepanto-Bontoc, and Nueva Vizcaya, at an annual salary of six hundred pesos each. Such deputy clerks shall be justices of the peace, with jurisdiction as such throughout their respective provinces."

SECTION 4. The Attorney-General shall furnish the Insular Auditor with a list revising the appropriation for the Mountain, Third, Eighth, and Fifteenth Judicial Districts, and showing the position, salary, and name of incumbent of all employees in said districts whose positions have been transferred from one district to another by the enactment of this Act, and the appropriation for "Salaries and wages" fiscal year nineteen hundred and eight for "Judiciary" shall stand amended to conform to such list of positions affected by this Act, but the salary rate of each of the positions so transferred shall remain as fixed in said appropriation Act, unless changed pursuant to law.

SECTION 5. Section three of Act Numbered Fourteen hundred and thirty-seven, amending that part of section seven of Act Numbered Eight hundred and sixty-seven relating to the times and places for holding the Court of First Instance in the Province of Bataan is hereby repealed, and the times and places for holding the Court of First Instance in said province shall be fixed in section seven of Act Numbered Eight hundred and sixty-seven prior to the enactment of said Act Numbered Fourteen hundred and thirty-seven.

SECTION 6. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred. DETACa

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on its passage.

ENACTED, August 31, 1907.