When the Audiencia Territorial de Cebu was established in 1886, the

History name of the Real Audiencia de Manila was changed to Audiencia

A CONSTITUTIONAL History of the Supreme Court OF Territorial de Manila.
THE PHILIPPINES
The Judicial System During the American Occupation
The Supreme Court of the Philippines is the progeny of the tribunal
established by Act No. 136 of the Philippine Commission on June 11, As expected, the subsequent occupation by the Americans of the
1901. There is no umbilical cord joining the Supreme Court to the Philippine Islands in the late 1890s after Spain’s defeat in the
Real Audiencia de Manila set up by the Spaniards or the Audiencia Spanish-American War paved the way for considerable changes in
Territorial de Manila constituted by Major General Elwell Otis. These the control, disposition, and governance of the Islands.
audiencias, however, serve as backdrops and proper perspectives in
retelling the history of the present Supreme Court.
The judicial system established during the regime of the military
government functioned as an instrument of the executive—not of
The Judicial System of the Pre-Spanish Filipinos the judiciary—as an independent and separate branch of
government.
Secretary of State John Hay, on May 12, 1899, proposed a plan for a
When the Spanish colonizers first arrived in the Philippine colonial government of the Philippine Islands which would give
archipelago, they found the indigenous Filipinos without any written Filipinos the largest measure of self-government. The plan
laws. Mainly, the laws enforced were derived from customs, usages contemplated an independent judiciary manned by judges chosen
and tradition. These laws were believed to be God-given and were from qualified locals and Americans.
orally transmitted from generation to generation.

On May 29, 1899, General Elwell Stephen Otis, Military Governor for
A remarkable feature of these customs and traditions was that they the Philippines, issued General Order No. 20, reestablishing the
were found to be very similar to one another notwithstanding that Audiencia Teritorial de Manila which was to apply Spanish laws and
they were observed in widely dispersed islands of the archipelago. jurisprudence recognized by the American military governor as
There were no judges and lawyers who were trained formally in the continuing in force.
law, although there were elders who devoted time to the study of
the customs, usages and traditions of their tribes to qualify them as
consultants or advisers on these matters. The Audiencia was composed of a presiding officer and eight
The unit of government of the indigenous Filipinos was the members organized into two divisions: the sala de lo civil or the civil
barangay, which was a family-based community of 30 to 100 branch, and the sala de lo criminal or the criminal branch.
families, occupying a pook (“locality” or “area”) Headed by a
chieftain called a datu who exercised all functions of government—
executive, legislative, and judicial—a barangay was not only a It was General Otis himself who personally selected the first
political but also a social and economic organization. In the exercise appointees to the Audiencia. Cayetano L. Arellano was appointed
of his judicial authority, the datu acted as a judge (hukom) in settling President (equivalent to Chief Justice) of the Court, with Manuel
disputes and deciding cases in his barangay. Araullo as president of the sala de lo civil and Raymundo Melliza as
president of the salo de lo criminal. Gregorio Araneta and Lt. Col.
E.H. Crowder were appointed associate justices of the civil branch
The Judicial System Under the Spanish Regime while Ambrosio Rianzares, Julio Llorente, Major R.W. Young and
Captain W.E. Brikhimer were designated associate justices of the
criminal branch. Thus, the reestablished Audiencia became the first
During the early Spanish occupation, King Philip II established the agency of the new insular government where Filipinos were
Real Audiencia de Manila which was given not only judicial but appointed side by side with Americans.
legislative, executive, advisory, and administrative functions as well.
Composed of the incumbent governor general as the presidente
(presiding officer), four oidores (equivalent to associate justices), an The Establishment of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
asesor (legal adviser), an alguacil mayor (chief constable), among
other officials, the Real Audiencia de Manila was both a trial and
appellate court. It had exclusive original, concurrent original and On June 11, 1901, the Second Philippine Commission passed Act No.
exclusive appellate jurisdictions. 136 entitled “An Act Providing for the Organization of Courts in the
Philippine Islands” formally establishing the Supreme Court of the
Philippine Islands and creating Courts of First Instance and Justices
Initially, the Audiencia was given a non-judicial role in the colonial of the Peace Courts throughout the land. The judicial organization
administration, to deal with unforeseen problems within the established by the Act was conceived by the American lawyers in the
territory that arose from time to time—it was given the power to Philippine Commission and was patterned in its basic structures
supervise certain phases of ecclesiastical affairs as well as regulatory after similar organizations in the United States.
functions, such as fixing of prices at which merchants could sell their
commodities. Likewise, the Audiencia had executive functions, like
the allotment of lands to the settlers of newly established pueblos. The Supreme Court created under the Act was composed of a Chief
However, by 1861, the Audiencia had ceased to perform these Justice and six Judges. Five members of the Court could form a
executive and administrative functions and had been restricted to quorum, and the concurrence of at least four members was
the administration of justice. necessary to pronounce a judgment.
Act No. 136 abolished the Audiencia established under General The 1973 Constitution increased the number of the members of the
Order No. 20 and declared that the Supreme Court created by the Supreme Court from 11 to 15, with a Chief Justice and 14 Associate
Act be substituted in its place. This effectively severed any nexus Justices. The Justices of the Court were appointed by the President
between the present Supreme Court and the Audiencia. alone, without the consent, approval, or recommendation of any
other body or officials.

The Anglo-American legal system under which the Supreme Court of

the Philippine Islands was expected to operate was entirely different The Supreme Court Under the Revolutionary Government
from the old Spanish system that Filipinos were familiar with.
Adjustments had to be made; hence, the decisions of the Supreme
Court during its early years reflected a blend of both the Anglo- Shortly after assuming office as the seventh President of the
American and Spanish systems. The jurisprudence was a gentle Republic of the Philippines after the successful People Power
transition from the old order to the new. Revolution, then President Corazon C. Aquino declared the existence
of a revolutionary government under Proclamation No. 1 dated
February 25, 1986. Among the more significant portions of this
The Supreme Court During the Commonwealth Proclamation was an instruction for “all appointive officials to
submit their courtesy resignations beginning with the members of
the Supreme Court.”The call was unprecedented, considering the
Following the ratification of the 1935 Philippine Constitution in a separation of powers that the previous Constitutions had always
plebiscite, the principle of separation of powers was adopted not by ordained, but understandable considering the revolutionary nature
express and specific provision to that effect, but by actual division of of the post-People Power government. Heeding the call, the
powers of the government—executive, legislative, and judicial—in members of the Judiciary—from the Supreme Court to the Municipal
different articles thereof. Circuit Courts—placed their offices at the disposal of the President
and submitted their resignations. President Corazon C, Aquino
proceeded to reorganize the entire Court, appointing all 15
As in the United States, the judicial power was vested by the 1935
members.
Constitution “in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as
may be established by law.” It devolved on the Judiciary to
determine whether the acts of the other two departments were in On March 25, 1986, President Corazon Aquino, through
harmony with the fundamental law. Proclamation No. 3, also abolished the 1973 Constitution and put in
place a Provisional “Freedom” Constitution. Under Article I, section 2
of the Freedom Constitution, the provisions of the 1973 Constitution
The Court during the Commonwealth was composed of “a Chief
on the judiciary were adopted insofar as they were not inconsistent
Justice and ten Associate Justices, and may sit en banc or in two
with Proclamation No. 3.
divisions, unless otherwise provided by law.”

Article V of Proclamation No. 3 provided for the convening of a

The Supreme Court of the Second Republic
Constitutional Commission composed of fifty appointive members to
draft a new constitution; this would be implemented by
After the Japanese occupation during the Second World War and the Proclamation No. 9. The output of the Constitutional Commission of
subsequent independence from the United States, Republic Act No. 1986 was submitted to the people for ratification, under Filipino
296 or the Judiciary Act of 1948 was enacted. This law grouped people then ratified the Constitution submitted to them by the
together the cases over which the Supreme Court could exercise Constitutional Commission on February 2, 1987.
exclusive jurisdiction to review on appeal, certiorari or writ of error.
The Supreme Court Under the 1987 Constitution
The Supreme Court Under the 1973 Constitution
As in the 1935 and 1973 Constitutions, the 1987 Constitution
The declaration of Martial Law through Proclamation No. 1081 by provides that “[t]he judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme
former President Ferdinand E, Marcos in 1972 brought about the Court and in such lower courts as may be established by law.” (Art.
transition from the 1935 Constitution to the 1973 Constitution. This VII, Sec. 1). The exercise of judicial power is shared by the Supreme
transition had implications on the Court’s composition and Court with all the courts below it, but it is only the Supreme Court’s
functions. decisions that are vested with precedential value or doctrinal
authority, as its interpretations of the Constitution and the laws are
final and beyond review by any other branch of government.
This period brought in many legal issues of transcendental
importance and consequence. Among these were the legality of the
ratification of a new Constitution, the assumption of the totality of Unlike the 1935 and 1973 Constitutions, however, the 1987
government authority by President Marcos, the power to review the Constitution defines the concept of judicial power. Under paragraph
factual basis for a declaration of Martial Law by the Chief Executive. 2 of Section 1, Article VIII, “judicial power” includes not only the
Writ large also during this period was the relationship between the “duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving
Court and the Chief Executive who, under Amendment No. 6 to the rights which are legally demandable and enforceable” but also “to
1973 Constitution, had assumed legislative powers even while an determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of
elected legislative body continued to function. discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of
any branch or instrumentality of the government.” This latter
provision dilutes the effectivity of the “political question” doctrine
which places specific questions best submitted to the political courts of justice, ensure the choice of competent judges, and fill
wisdom of the people beyond the review of the courts. existing vacancies without undue delay.

Building on previous experiences under former Constitutions, the Sources:

1987 Constitution provides for specific safeguards to ensure the The Philippine Judiciary Foundation, 2011. The History of the
independence of the Judiciary. These are found in the following Supreme Court. Supreme Court of the Philippines, Manila.
provisions: The 1935 Constitution.
The 1973 Constitution.
The 1986 Freedom Constitution
The grant to the Judiciary of fiscal autonomy. “Appropriations for The 1987 Constitution.
the Judiciary may not be reduced by the legislature below the
amount appropriated for the previous year, and, after approval,
shall be automatically and regularly released.” (Art. VIII, Sec. 3).

The grant to the Chief Justice of authority to augment any item in

the general appropriation law for the Judiciary from savings in other
items of said appropriation as authorized by law. (Art. VI, Sec. 25[5])

The removal from Congress of the power to deprive the Supreme

Court of its jurisdiction over cases enumerated in Section 5 of Article
VIII.

The grant to the Court of the power to appoint all officials and
employees of the Judiciary in accordance with the Civil Service Law
(Art. VIII, Sec. 5 [6])

The removal from the Commission of Appointments of the power to

confirm appointments of justices and judges (Art. VIII, Sec. 8)

The removal from Congress of the power to reduce the

compensation or salaries of the Justices and judges during their
continuance in office. (Art. VIII, Sec. 10)

The prohibition against the removal of judges through legislative

reorganization by providing that “(n)o law shall be passed
reorganizing the Judiciary when it undermines the security of tenure
of its members. (Art. VIII, Sec. 2)

The grant of sole authority to the Supreme Court to order the

temporary detail of judges. (Art. VIII, Sec. 5[3])

The grant of sole authority to the Supreme Court to promulgate

rules of procedure for the courts. (Art. VIII, Sec. 5[5])

The prohibition against designating members of the Judiciary to any

agency performing quasi-judicial or administrative function. (Art.
VIII, Sec. 12)

The grant of administrative supervision over the lower courts and its
personnel in the Supreme Court. (Art. VIII, Sec. 6)

The Supreme Court under the present Constitution is composed of a

Chief Justice and 14 Associate Justices.
The members of the Court are appointed by the President from a list
prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council of at least three nominees
for every vacancy. This new process is intended to “de-politicize” the