BATAS PAMBANSA Blg.

129 (JURISDICTION IN CIVIL CASES IMPORTANT PROVISIONS)

AN ACT REORGANIZING THE JUDICIARY, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

PRELIMINARY CHAPTER

Section 19. Jurisdiction in civil cases. – Regional Trial Courts shall exercise exclusive original jurisdiction:

(1) In all civil actions in which the subject of the litigation is incapable of pecuniary estimation;

(2) In all civil actions which involve the title to, or possession of, real property, or any interest therein, where
the assessed value of the property involved exceeds Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000.00) or for civil actions
in Metro Manila, where such the value exceeds Fifty thousand pesos (50,000.00) except actions for forcible
entry into and unlawful detainer of lands or buildings, original jurisdiction over which is conferred upon
Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts;

(3) In all actions in admiralty and maritime jurisdiction where he demand or claim exceeds One hundred
thousand pesos (P100,000.00) or , in Metro Manila, where such demand or claim exceeds Two hundred
thousand pesos (200,000.00);

(4) In all matters of probate, both testate and intestate, where the gross value of the estate exceeds One
hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) or, in probate matters in Metro Manila, where such gross value
exceeds Two hundred thousand pesos (200,000.00);

(5) In all actions involving the contract of marriage and marital relations;

(6) In all cases not within the exclusive jurisdiction of any court, tribunal, person or body exercising jurisdiction
or any court, tribunal, person or body exercising judicial or quasi-judicial functions;

(7) In all civil actions and special proceedings falling within the exclusive original jurisdiction of a Juvenile and
Domestic Relations Court and of the Courts of Agrarian Relations as now provided by law; and

(8) In all other cases in which the demand, exclusive of interest, damages of whatever kind, attorney's fees,
litigation expenses, and costs or the value of the property in controversy exceeds One hundred thousand
pesos (100,000.00) or, in such other abovementioned items exceeds Two hundred thousand pesos
(200,000.00). (as amended by R.A. No. 7691*)

Section 21. Original jurisdiction in other cases. – Regional Trial Courts shall exercise original jurisdiction:

(1) In the issuance of writs of certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto, habeas corpus and injunction
which may be enforced in any part of their respective regions; and

(2) In actions affecting ambassadors and other public ministers and consuls.

Section 22. Appellate jurisdiction. – Regional Trial Courts shall exercise appellate jurisdiction over all cases decided
by Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts in their respective territorial
jurisdictions. Such cases shall be decided on the basis of the entire record of the proceedings had in the court of origin
and such memoranda and/or briefs as may be submitted by the parties or required by the Regional Trial Courts. The
decision of the Regional Trial Courts in such cases shall be appealable by petition for review to the

Court of Appeals which may give it due course only when the petition shows prima facie that the lower court has
committed an error of fact or law that will warrant a reversal or modification of the decision or judgment sought to be
reviewed.
 CHAPTER III

METROPOLITAN TRIAL COURTS, MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURTS, AND MUNICIPAL CIRCUIT TRIAL COURTS

Section 33. Jurisdiction of Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts in civil
cases. – Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts shall exercise:

(1) Exclusive original jurisdiction over civil actions and probate proceedings, testate and intestate, including
the grant of provisional remedies in proper cases, where the value of the personal property, estate, or amount
of the demand does not exceed One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) or, in Metro Manila where such
personal property, estate, or amount of the demand does not exceed Two hundred thousand pesos
(P200,000.00) exclusive of interest damages of whatever kind, attorney's fees, litigation expenses, and costs,
the amount of which must be specifically alleged: Provided, That where there are several claims or causes of
action between the same or different parties, embodied in the same complaint, the amount of the demand
shall be the totality of the claims in all the causes of action, irrespective of whether the causes of action arose
out of the same or different transactions;

(2) Exclusive original jurisdiction over cases of forcible entry and unlawful detainer: Provided, That when, in
such cases, the defendant raises the question of ownership in his pleadings and the question of possession
cannot be resolved without deciding the issue of ownership, the issue of ownership shall be resolved only to
determine the issue of possession.

(3) Exclusive original jurisdiction in all civil actions which involve title to, or possession of, real property, or any
interest therein where the assessed value of the property or interest therein does not exceed Twenty thousand
pesos (P20,000.00) or, in civil actions in Metro Manila, where such assessed value does not exceed Fifty
thousand pesos (P50,000.00) exclusive of interest, damages of whatever kind, attorney's fees, litigation
expenses and costs: Provided, That value of such property shall be determined by the assessed value of the
adjacent lots. (as amended by R.A. No. 7691)

Section 34. Delegated jurisdiction in cadastral and land registration cases. – Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial
Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts may be assigned by the Supreme Court to hear and determine cadastral or
land registration cases covering lots where there is no controversy or opposition, or contested lots the where the value
of which does not exceed One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00), such value to be ascertained by the affidavit
of the claimant or by agreement of the respective claimants if there are more than one, or from the corresponding tax
declaration of the real property. Their decisions in these cases shall be appealable in the same manner as decisions
of the Regional Trial Courts. (as amended by R.A. No. 7691)

Section 35. Special jurisdiction in certain cases. – In the absence of all the Regional Trial Judges in a province or
city, any Metropolitan Trial Judge, Municipal Trial Judge, Municipal Circuit Trial Judge may hear and decide petitions
for a writ of habeas corpus or applications for bail in criminal cases in the province or city where the absent Regional
Trial Judges sit.

Section 36. Summary procedures in special cases. – In Metropolitan Trial Courts and Municipal Trial Courts with at
least two branches, the Supreme Court may designate one or more branches thereof to try exclusively forcible entry
and unlawful detainer cases, those involving violations of traffic laws, rules and regulations, violations of the rental
law, and such other cases requiring summary disposition as the Supreme Court may determine. The Supreme Court
shall adopt special rules or procedures applicable to such cases in order to achieve an expeditious and inexpensive
determination thereof without regard to technical rules. Such simplified procedures may provide that affidavits and
counter-affidavits may be admitted in lieu of oral testimony and that the periods for filing pleadings shall be non-
extendible.