Supreme Court designates 21 Regional Trial Courts as Anti- Graft Courts

On Nov. 15, the Supreme Court (SC) announced that it was designating an initial batch of 21 Regional Trial Courts (RTCs) as special courts to handle anti-graft cases that arise from infrastructure projects!

- AMICUS CURIAE LOUISE MICHIKO B. LOKIN

This initiative aligns with the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations of the SC which aims to introduce reforms to the judiciary to promote efficiency, transparency, and accountability.

Specifically, the SC has designated five RTCs in the National Capital Judicial Region and Region III, and four RTCs in Regions IVA, V, VII, and XI. For areas without designated RTCs, cases shall be referred to the nearest judicial regions with designated RTCs, However, the SC has professed that it aims for all judicial regions to eventually have these designated RTCs.

Under Republic Act (RA) No. 10660, the RTCs possess exclusive original jurisdiction over graft cases under RA No. 3019 that do not allege any damage to the government or any bribery, or when it involves damage to the government or any bribery that does not exceed P1 million. Additionally, for graft cases, RTCs possess jurisdiction over public officers provided that their position is lower than Salary Grade 27.

As early as October in A.M. No. 25-10-24-SC, the SC already expressed its interest in establishing special courts to hear and decide corruption-related cases that are connected to infrastructure projects. Hence, it directed the Office of the Court Administrator to monitor the corruption cases filed in the RTCs.?