The JUDICIARY

The judicial branch interprets the meaning of laws, applies laws to individual cases, and
decides if laws violate the Constitution.

The Constitution

The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be
established by law. [Section 1, Art.VIII, 1987 Constitution]

These functions may be generally divided into two – judicial functions and administrative functions.

Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies
involving rights, which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether
there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the
part of any branch or instrumentality of the Government. The judicial branch interprets the
meaning of laws, applies laws to individual cases, and decides if laws violate the
Constitution.

The administrative functions of the Court pertain to the supervision and control over the Philippine judiciary and its
employees, as well as over members of the Philippine bar. Pursuant to these functions, the Court is empowered to
order a change of venue of trial in order to avoid a miscarriage of justice and to appoint all officials and employees
of the judiciary.

The Law 
Under Philippine laws [Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980 (Batas Pambansa Bilang
129) which took effect on January 18, 1983 and other laws] the Philippine judicial system
consists of the following courts:

The Supreme Court

- the highest court in the Philippines. It has an administrative supervision over all courts and the personnel. The
court consists of 14 associate justices and 1 Chief Justice.

Qualifications to become a member of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals: [Section 7]
 must be a natural-born citizen of the Philippines
 at least forty (40) years of age and must have been for fifteen (15) years or more a
judge of a lower court or engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines.
 Justices hold office during good behavior until they reach the age of seventy (70)
years or become incapacitated to discharge the duties of their office.

The Supreme Court has the following powers: [Section 5]

 Exercise original jurisdiction over cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and over
petitions for certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto, and habeas corpus.
 Review, revise, reverse, modify, or affirm an appeal for certiorari, final judgements, and decrees of inferior
courts.
 Assign temporarily judges of inferior courts to other stations as public interest many require;
 Order a change of venue or place of trial to avoid a miscarriage of justice.
 Promulgate rules concerning pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts, the admission to practice of law,
and the integration of the Bar.
 Exercise administrative supervision over all the courts of justice and their personnel.
 Discipline judges of inferior courts and, by a vote of at least eight justices, order their dismissal. 
 Appoint all officials and employees of the Judiciary, in accordance with the Civil Service Law.
 Thus the Supreme Court is the court of last resort for its decisions are final: doctrines established
through jurisprudence either by the court sitting en banc or in division can only be reversed by the
same court seated en banc.

“The Supreme Court is final not because it is right, but rather it is right because it is final”

Court of Tax Appeals   (Hukuman ng Paghahabol sa Buwis ng Pilipinas)

    • is the special court of limited jurisdiction, and has the same level with the Court of Appeals. The court consists of 8
Associate Justices and 1 Presiding Justice.

• Previously, only decision, judgment, ruling or inaction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the Commissioner of
Customs, the Secretary of Finance, the Secretary of Trade and Industry, or the Secretary of Agriculture, involving the
National Internal Revenue Code and the Tariff and Customs Code on civil matters are appeallable to the Court of Tax
Appeals.

• The expanded jurisdiction transferred to the CTA the jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Courts and the Court of Appeals
over matters involving criminal violation and collection of revenues under the National Internal Revenue Code and Tariff
and Customs Code. In addition, it also acquired jurisdiction over cases involving local and real property taxes which used
to be with the Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals.  

Court of Appeals  (Hukuman ng Paghahabol ng Pilipinas)

• is the Philippines' second-highest judicial court, just after the Supreme Court. The court consists of 68 Associate Justices
and 1 Presiding Justice.
• The Court of Appeals was established under Batas Pambansa Bilang 129 known as "The Judiciary Reorganization Act
of 1980". The Court is composed of one Presiding Justice and sixty eight (68) Associate Justices. They are all appointed
by the President. The Court sits by divisions, each division being composed of three members. The Court may sit en banc
for the purpose of exercising administrative, ceremonial or other non-adjudicatory functions.

Sandiganbayan  (the peoples advocate)

  • The Sandiganbayan is a special court which was established under Presidential Decree No. 1606.
Its rank is equivalent to the Court of Appeals.
• The SB or Sandiganbayan tries and decides criminal and civil cases against government officials and
employees accused of graft and corruption and similar other cases.
• The Sandiganbayan shall sit in five (5) divisions of three justices each. The five (5) may sit at the same time.

The first three divisions shall be stationed in the Metro Manila area, the fourth division shall be in Cebu City for
cases coming from the Visayas region, and the fifth division shall be in Cagayan de Oro City for cases coming
from the Mindanao region.

Qualifications for Members of the Sandiganbayan

•Natural-born citizen of the Philippines; •
•At least 40 years old;
•At least 10 years of practice as a judge of a court of record; or At least 10 years of law practice in the
Philippines; or At least 10 years holding an office requiring admission to the bar as a prerequisite. * CONST.
Lower Courts   
I. Municipal Trial Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts  

Every municipality in the Philippines has its own Municipal Trial Court.  It is referred to as such if
it covers only one municipality; otherwise,  it is called Municipal Circuit Trial Court if it covers
two or more municipalities.   
  
II. Metropolitan Trial Courts and Municipal Trial Courts in Cities   
  
Municipal Trial Courts in the towns and cities in the Metropolitan Manila area, as distinguished
from the other political subdivisions in the Philippines, are referred to as Metropolitan Trial
Courts.   
  
In cities outside Metropolitan Manila, the equivalent of the Municipal Trial Courts are referred to
as Municipal Trial Courts in Cities.   
  
Guidelines and Qualifications for Appointment in the Judiciary

(Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court, Municipal Circuit Trial Court and Shari’a Circuit Court)
Judges of the First Level Courts** •
• Natural-born citizen of the Philippines;
• At least 30 years old; •
• At least 5 years of law practice in the Philippines; or At least 5 years holding an office requiring admission to
the bars a prerequisite

III. Regional Trial Courts   

  
Regional Trial Courts were established among the thirteen regions in the Philippines consisting of
Regions I to XII and the National Capital Region (NCR). There are as many Regional Trial Courts
in each region as the law mandates.   

IV. Shari'a Courts   

    
Equivalent to the Regional Trial Courts in rank are the Shari'a District Courts which were
established in certain specified provinces in Mindanao where the Muslim Code on Personal Laws
is being enforced.   
  
Equivalent to the Municipal Circuit Trial Courts are the Shari'a Circuit Courts which were
established in certain municipalities in Mindanao.   
  
There are five Shari'a District Courts and fifty one Shari'a Circuit Courts in existence.   
    .    

Guidelines and Qualifications for Appointment in the Judiciary

+ Judges of the (Regional Trial Courts, Shari’a District Courts and Family Courts)
• Natural-born citizen of the Philippines;
• At least 35 years old;
• At least 10 years of law practice in the Philippines; or At least 10 years holding an office requiring admission
to the bar as a prerequisite.

Charcoal Drawing

-use of charred sticks of wood to make finished drawings and preliminary studies. The
main characteristic of charcoal as a medium is that, unless it is fixed by the application of
some form of gum or resin, it is impermanent, easily erased or smudged. This
characteristic determined its early use as a means of tracing the outline of a mural—either
directly onto the wall or on a cartoon (full-sized drawing for transferring a design to a
mural)—and its use as a means of roughing in the outline of a large painting on canvas to
be completed in a more permanent medium such as oil. Artists also often produce small
charcoal drawings as a means of working out preliminary ideas quickly.

Because of the softness of its drawing edge, charcoal tends to favour broad, vigorous
draftsmanship, with an emphasis on mass and movement rather than on linear precision.

Artists' charcoal is a form of dry art medium made of finely ground organic materials that are held together by a
gum or wax binder or produced without the use of binders by eliminating the oxygen inside the material during the
production process

These charcoals are often used by artists for their versatile properties, such as the rough texture that leaves marks
less permanent than other art media.

Charcoal can produce lines that are very light or intensely black, while being easily removable, yet vulnerable to
leaving stains on paper. The dry medium can be applied to almost any surface from smooth to very
coarse. Fixatives are often used with charcoal drawings to solidify the position to prevent erasing or rubbing off
charcoal dusts.

The method used to create artists' charcoal is similar to that employed in other fields, such as producing gunpowder
and cooking fuel. The type of wood material and preparation method allow a variety of charcoal types and textures
to be produced

Art Techniques

Hatching- t is a method in which thin, dark lines are continuously placed parallel to each-other. When done with
charcoal, it comes out smoother and darker.

Rubbing- Rubbing is done with a sheet of paper pressed against the targeted surface then rubbing charcoal against
the paper. It creates an image of the texture of the surface.

Blending- Blending is done to create smooth transitions between darker and lighter areas of a drawing. It can also
create a shadow effect. Two common methods of blending are, using a finger to rub or spread charcoal which has
been applied to the paper or the use of paper blending stumps also called a Tortillon. Many prefer to use a chamois,
which is a soft square piece of leather.
Lifting- Erasing is often performed with a kneaded rubber eraser. This is a malleable eraser that is often claimed to
be self-cleaning. It can be shaped by kneading it softly with hands, into tips for smaller areas or flipped inside out to
clean.