| CIRCULAR
NO. 2-89
TO: COURT OF APPEALS,
SANDIGANBAYAN, COURT OF TAX APPEALS, REGIONAL TRIAL COURTS,
METROPOLITAN
TRIAL COURTS, MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURTS, MUNICIPAL CIRCUIT TRIAL COURTS,
SHARI’A
DISTRICT COURTS AND SHARI’A CIRCUIT COURTS, ALL MEMBERS OF THE
GOVERNMENT
PROSECUTION SERVICE AND ALL MEMBERS OF THE INTEGRATED BAR OF THE
PHILIPPINES
SUBJECT: GUIDELINES
AND RULES IN THE REFERRAL TO THE COURT EN BANC OF CASES
ASSIGNED
TO A DIVISION.
[1] The Supreme Court
sits either en banc or in Divisions of three, five or seven
Members
(Sec. 4[1], Article VIII, 1987 Constitution). At present the Court has
three Divisions of five Members each.cralaw:red
[2] A decision or
resolution of a Division of the Court, when concurred in by a majority
of its Members who actually took part in the deliberations on the
issues
in a case and voted thereon, and in no case without the concurrence of
at least three of such Members, is a decision or resolution of the
Supreme
Court (Section 4[3]. Article VIII, 1987 Constitution).cralaw:red
[3] The Court en
banc is not an Appellate Court to which decisions or resolutions of
a Division may be appealed.cralaw:red
[4] At any time after
a Division takes cognizance of a case and before a judgment or
resolutions
of a Division may refer the case en consulta to the Court en
banc which, after consideration of the reasons of the Division for
such referral, may return the case to the Division or accept the case
for
decision or resolution.cralaw:red
[4a] Paragraph [f]
of the Resolution of this Court of 23 February 1984 in Bar Matter No.
205
[formerly item 6, en banc Resolution dated 29 September 1977],
enumerating
the cases considered as en banc cases, states:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
"(f)
Cases assigned
to a Division including motions for reconsideration which, in the
opinion
of at least three (3) members, merit the attention of the Court en
banc
and are acceptable by a majority vote of the actual membership of the
Court
en banc."[5] A
Resolution of
the Division denying a party’s motion for referral to the Court en
banc
of any Division case, shall be final and not appealable to the Court en
banc.
[6] When a Decision
or Resolution is referred by a Division to the Court en banc,
the
latter may, in the absence of sufficiently important reasons, decline
to
take cognizance of the same, in which case, the Decision or Resolution
shall be returned to the referring Division.cralaw:red
[7] No motion for
reconsideration of the action of the Court en banc declining to
take cognizance of a referral by a Division, shall be entertained.cralaw:red
[8] This Circular
shall take effect on March 1, 1989.cralaw:red
February 7, 1989.
[Sgd.]
MARCELO
B. FERNANChief
Justice
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