Expansion of jurisdiction for lower courts

Republic Act No. 11576 amends Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, otherwise known as the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980, as amended.
The Act amends:
- Section 19 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 129 (Section 1).
- Section 33 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 129 (Section 2).
The Act authorizes the Supreme Court to adjust jurisdictional amounts for first and second level courts under the conditions stated (Section 3).

Section 19 (Regional Trial Courts) is amended to set updated monetary thresholds for civil jurisdiction.
Regional Trial Courts retain exclusive original jurisdiction in civil actions involving title to or possession of real property where the assessed value exceeds PHP 400,000.00, except forcible entry and unlawful detainer of lands or buildings (which remain under the lower courts).
Regional Trial Courts retain exclusive original jurisdiction in admiralty and maritime actions where the demand or claims exceed PHP 2,000,000.00.
Regional Trial Courts retain exclusive original jurisdiction in matters of probate, both estate and intestate, where the gross value of the estate exceeds PHP 2,000,000.00.
Regional Trial Courts retain exclusive original jurisdiction in all other cases where 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 PHP 2,000,000.00 (Section 1, amending Section 19).

Metropolitan Trial Courts (MeTCs), Municipal Trial Courts in Cities (MTCCs), Municipal Trial Courts (MTCs), and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts (MCTCs) are grouped as “second level courts” for purposes of jurisdictional thresholds under Section 33.
These lower courts have 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 PHP 2,000,000.00, exclusive of interest, damages of whatever kind, attorney’s fees, litigation expenses, and costs.
The lower courts’ jurisdiction under the PHP 2,000,000.00 ceiling requires that the amount must be specifically alleged.
For computing filing fees under the PHP 2,000,000.00 framework, interest, damages of whatever kind, attorney’s fees, litigation expenses, and costs shall be included in the determination of filing fees.
Where several claims or causes of action between the same or different parties are embodied in the same complaint, the amount of the demand is 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 (Section 2, amending Section 33).

The lower courts have exclusive original jurisdiction in civil actions involving title to, or possession of, real property, or any interest therein where the assessed value of the property or any interest therein does not exceed PHP 400,000.00, exclusive on interest, damages of whatever kind, attorney’s fees, litigation expenses, and costs.
In cases of land not declared for taxation purposes, the value of such property is determined by the assessed value of adjacent lots.
The lower courts have exclusive original jurisdiction in admiralty and maritime actions where the demand or claim does not exceed PHP 2,000,000.00 (Section 2, amending Section 33).

The Supreme Court may adjust the jurisdictional amount for first and second level courts unless otherwise provided by law.
The adjustment must reflect one or more of these circumstances:
- extraordinary supervening inflation or deflation of currency;
- change in land valuation; and/or
- maintaining the proportion of caseload between first and second level courts.
The Act expressly preserves Congress’s authority to adjust the amounts when circumstances so warrant.

The Act applies prospectively to all civil cases filed in the second level courts and first level courts starting from the date of effectivity.

Separability Clause (Section 5): If any provision of the Act is declared unconstitutional, the validity and effectivity of the other provisions remain.
Repealing Clause (Section 6): All laws, decrees, and orders inconsistent with the Act are considered amended or modified accordingly.
Effectivity (Section 7): The Act takes effect 15 days following its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.