OCA Circular No. 59-2022: Period to Hear, Try, and Decide Cases Reported as Pending Pursuant to OCA Circular No. 21-2022 Dated 21 January 2022 (Re: Inventory of Pending Cases)

March 9, 2023

OCA CIRCULAR NO. 107-2023

 

In OCA Circular No. 59-2022 dated 21 March 2022, courts were directed to hear, try, and decide cases pending for five (5) years or more but less than ten (10) years within six (6) months and cases pending for ten (10) years or more within twelve (12) months or one (1) year. Courts were also mandated to submit the inventory required under OCA Circular No. 21-2022 dated 21 January 2022 within fifteen (15) days from 21 March 2022. 1

Despite these directives, an alarming number of courts still failed to comply with both the disposition of ageing cases within the prescribed periods and the submission of the required inventory. Thus, all concerned non-compliant courts are enjoined to EXPLAINwithin ten (10) calendar days from the date of this Circular their failure to submit the inventory required under OCA Circular No. 21-2022, indicating with the explanation the following: case number, case title, nature, date filed, latest status, and years pending. The explanation with the relevant case information shall be submitted/uploaded strictly in PDF format through this link: https://forms.office.com/r/TR4PB1Tvin or by using the QR code below:

INSERT BITMAP PAGE 1

 

Further, all first and second level courts that have not disposed of their ageing cases within the abovementioned periods are DIRECTED to HEAR, TRY, and DECIDE the said cases within the following periods:

 

YEARS PENDING	PERIOD TO DECIDE
Cases pending for five (5) years or more but less than ten (10) years	Within three (3) months
Cases pending for ten (10) years or more	Within six (6) months

 

An inventory of the cases that have yet to be disposed of, with the aforementioned relevant information, shall likewise be submitted/uploaded strictly in MS Excel format using the link/QR code above, within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of this Circular.

Once the case/s for which extensions to decide were herein granted have already been decided within the extended periods, the same link/QR code above shall be accessed to update the status of the case/s. This shall also be submitted/uploaded strictly in MS Excel format.

For clarity, three (3) files shall be submitted/uploaded in this order: 1) PDF file, if applicable, containing the explanation with case information; 2) MS Excel file containing the inventory with case information; and 3) MS Excel file indicating the case status updates.

For strict and prompt compliance.

(SGD.) RAUL B. VILLANUEVACourt Administrator

Footnotes

1. The date of OCA Circular No. 59-2022.