Qualifications for City Judges

June 21, 1969

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 5967

AN ACT RAISING THE STATUS OF CITY JUDGES, ENLARGING THE JURISDICTION OF THE CITY COURT AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

SECTION 1. No person shall be appointed City Judge unless he possesses the qualifications of a judge of the Court of First Instance: Provided, however, That this requirement of law shall not apply to incumbent judges.

SECTION 2. The City Court of chartered cities aside from its original and concurrent jurisdiction as provided in Section eighty-seven of Republic Act Numbered Two hundred ninety-six, as amended, shall likewise have concurrent jurisdiction over offenses involving damage to property through reckless imprudence regardless of amount involved or the penalty to be imposed. aisa dc

SECTION 3. Besides the civil cases over which the City Courts have jurisdiction under Section eighty-eight of Republic Act Numbered Two hundred ninety-six, as amended, it shall likewise have concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of First Instance over the following:

(a) Petition for change of name of naturalized citizens after the judgment of naturalization has become final and executory;

(b) Cancellation or correction of entries in the City Civil Registry where the corrections refer to typographical errors only; and

(c) In ejection cases where the question of ownership is brought in issue in the pleadings. The issue of ownership shall therein be resolved in conjunction with the issue of possession.

SECTION 4. Subject to the provision of the next succeeding section, the City Court in chartered cities shall be courts of record and the City Judge thereof shall have the same incidental powers and prerogatives as are possessed by Judges of the Court of First Instance, and the power and authority to punish for contempt of Court committed before superior court or judges thereof in accordance with the provisions of Rule Seventy-one of the Revised Rules of Court and its judgment or order made in a case of contempt punished after written charge and hearing may be reviewed in the manner prescribed under the provisions of Section ten of said rule. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, processes and warrants of arrest issued by the City Judge in cases within its original or concurrent jurisdiction shall be served anywhere without the necessity of certification by the Judge of the Court of First Instance.

SECTION 5. Except in offenses punishable by arresto mayor or imprisonment not exceeding six months or fine not exceeding two hundred pesos or both, or violation of municipal ordinance or in civil actions falling under the original exclusive jurisdiction of the City Court which are appealable to the Court of First Instance, proceedings in the City Court shall be recorded and judgment or decision rendered shall be directly appealable to the Court of Appeals or Supreme Court, as the case may be, in accordance with the Rules of Court applicable to appeal from judgment of the Court of First Instance. cd i

SECTION 6. The City Clerk shall collect the same legal fees that are collected by the Court of First Instance for docketing cases enumerated under Section three hereof and shall deposit the same in the office of the City Treasurer who shall set it aside as a trust fund to be spent exclusively for the acquisition and purchase of law books and subscription to law journals for the City Court.

SECTION 7. Unless the City Charter or any special law provides higher salary, the city judge in chartered cities shall receive a basic salary which shall not be lower than the sums as provided hereinbelow:

(a) For the City of Manila, twenty-two thousand pesos per annum;

(b) For the cities of Baguio, Quezon, Pasay, Cebu, Caloocan and other first class cities, nineteen thousand pesos per annum;

(c) For second and third class cities, eighteen thousand pesos per annum;

(d) For other cities, sixteen thousand pesos per annum: Provided, however, That the difference between the present salary for the city judges and that herein fixed shall be paid out of the funds in the city treasury, but the payment of said salary difference shall be subject to the implementation of the respective city government: Provided, further, That part of the salary of the city judges which is now paid by the National Government as provided for under Republic Act Numbered Three thousand eight hundred twenty shall continue to be paid out of the funds in the National Treasury, except the salaries of the City Judges of Manila, Baguio, Quezon, Pasay, Cebu and other first class cities which shall be paid by the respective city government: Provided, also, That city judges of first class cities whose salaries, at the time of the approval of this Act, are partly paid by the city government and partly paid by the National Government as provided in Republic Act Numbered Three thousand eight hundred twenty shall continue to be paid under said Act but the difference in salary fixed therein and that herein fixed shall be paid by the respective city government. cd

Henceforth, unless the city charter or any special law provides higher salary, and subject to the implementation of the respective city government, the salary of the city judges of chartered cities may be raised by the City Council, if and when the salary of the district judge of the Court of First Instance is likewise raised, as follows:

For the City of Manila, the city judge shall receive one thousand pesos less than the salary fixed for the district judge; cdt

For the cities of Baguio, Quezon, Pasay and other first class cities, the city judge shall receive one thousand pesos less than that fixed for the district judge, and for second and third class cities, the city judge shall receive one thousand five hundred pesos less than that fixed for the district judge, and for other cities, the city judge shall receive two thousand pesos less than that fixed for the district judge: Provided, however, That the salary of a city judge shall be at least one hundred pesos per month less than that of the city mayor.

SECTION 8. All Acts or part of Acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Enacted without Executive approval, June 21, 1969.

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 66, No. 12, p. 2811 on March 23, 1970