The Court of Appeals is an appellate collegiate court in the Philippines. The Court of Appeals consists of 1 Presiding Justice and 68 Associate Justices. Pursuant to the Constitution, the Court of Appeals "reviews not only the decisions and orders of the Regional Trial Courts nationwide but also those of the Court of Tax Appeals, as well as the awards, judgments, final orders or resolutions of, or authorized by twenty-one quasi-judicial agencies exercising quasi-judicial functions mentioned in Rule 43 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, plus the National Amnesty Commission and the Office of the Ombudsman. Under Republic Act No. 9282, which elevated the Court of Tax Appeals to the same level of the Court of Appeals, en banc decisions of the Court of Tax Appeals are now subject to review by the Supreme Court instead of the Court of Appeals. Added to the formidable list are the decisions and resolutions of the National Labor Relations Commission which are now initially reviewable by the Court of Appeals, instead of a direct recourse to the Supreme Court, via petition for certiorari under Rule 65 ". The Court of Appeals building is located at Ma. Orosa Street, Ermita in Manila, on the grounds of the University of the Philippines Manila.
History
Organized on February 1, 1936, the Court of Appeals was initially composed of Justice Pedro Concepcion, as the first Presiding Judge, and ten Appellate Judges appointed by the President with the consent of the Commission on Appointments of the National Assembly. It had exclusive appellate jurisdiction of all cases not falling under the original and exclusive appellate jurisdiction of the seven -man Supreme Court. Its decisions in those cases were final, except when the Supreme Court upon petition for certiorari on questions of law required that the case be certified to it for review. It had also original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus, prohibition, injunction, certiorari, habeas corpus and all other auxiliary writs in aid of its appellate jurisdiction. The Court then sat either en banc or in two divisions, one of six and another of five Judges. The appellate Judges had the same qualifications as those provided by the Constitution for Supreme Court Justices. In March 1938, the appellate Judges were named Justices and their number increased from eleven to fifteen, with three divisions of 5 under Commonwealth Act No. 259. On December 24, 1941, the membership of the Court was further increased to nineteen Justices under Executive Order No. 395. The Court functioned during the Japanese occupation, 1941–44. But in March 1945, due to abnormal conditions at the time, the Court was abolished by President Sergio Osmeña through Executive Order No. 37. The end of World War II restored the democratic processes in the country. On October 4, 1946, Republic Act No. 52 was passed recreating the Court with a Presiding Justice and fourteen Associate Justices. They composed 5 divisions of 3 Justices each. On August 23, 1956, the Court membership was expanded to 18 Justices per Republic Act No. 1605. The number was hiked to 24 Justices as decreed by Republic Act No. 5204 approved on June 15, 1968. Ten years later, the unabated swelling of its dockets called for a much bigger Court of 45 Justices under Presidential Decree No. 1482 of June 10, 1978. Then came the Judiciary Reorganization on January 17, 1983 through Executive Order No. 864 of President Marcos. The Court was renamed Intermediate Appellate Court and its membership enlarged to 51 Justices. However, only thirty-seven Justices were appointed. On July 28, 1986, President Aquino issued Executive Order No.33 restoring the original name of the Court of Appeals with a Presiding Justice and fifty Associate Justices. On February 23, 1995, Republic Act No. 7902 was passed expanding the jurisdiction of the Court effective March 18, 1995. On December 30, 1996, Republic Act No. 8246 created six more divisions in the Court, thereby increasing its membership from fifty-one to sixty-nine Justices. These additional divisions – 3 for Visayas and 3 for Mindanao paved the way for the appellate court's regionalization. The Court in the Visayas sits in Cebu City while Cagayan de Oro City is home to the Court for Mindanao. On August 18, 2007, Atty. Briccio Joseph Boholst, President of Integrated Bar of the Philippines — Cebu City Chapter, opposed the abolition of the Court in Cebu City, for it will cause inconvenience for both litigants and lawyers. Supreme Court Associate JusticeRuben Reyes was tasked to investigate and submit recommendation to the High Tribunal because of the alleged massive graft and corruption of justices, especially in the issuance of temporary restraining orders. On February 1, 2018, the Court celebrated its 82nd Anniversary. The current President of the Association of The Court of Appeals Employees is Edwin S. Avanceña.
Incumbent Justices
Former Justices
Court of Appeals Presiding Justices of the Philippines
