Philippines
National
SC welcomes new law on 3 more Shari'ah judicial districts, 12 more Shari'ah circuit courts
SC welcomes new law on 3 more Shari'ah judicial districts, 12 more Shari'ah circuit courts
The Supreme Court (SC) welcomed the enactment of Republic Act (RA) No. 12018 that created three additional Shari’ah judicial districts and 12 more Shari’ah circuit courts in the country.
In a press briefing on Thursday, August 15, SC Spokesperson Atty. Camille Sue Mae L. Ting said that RA 12018 “is consistent with the ongoing judicial reforms set in the SC’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI).”
Ting said that “one of SPJI’s target outcomes is Access, under which the SC seeks to strengthen the foundations of Shari’ah Justice in the country.”
The Shari’ah courts were set up by the SC under Presidential Decree No. 1083, the Code of Muslim Personal Laws. PD 1083 “ordains and promulgates a code recognizing the system of Filipino Muslim laws, codifying Muslim personal laws. and providing for its administration and for other purposes.”
RA 12018 that was signed into law by President Marcos last August 12 amended Articles 138, 147, and 150 of Presidential Decree No. 1083.
An announcement made by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on RA 12018 stated that previously, there were only five Shari’ah judicial districts created under PD No. 1083 -- the first comprising the province of Sulu; the second in Tawi-Tawi; and the third covering Basilan, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, and the cities of Dipolog, Pagadian, and Zamboanga.
It said the fourth district is for Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, and the cities of Iligan and Marawi; while the fifth district comprises Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Cotabato City.
Under RA No. 12018, the PCO said the three additional Shari’ah districts shall be: the sixth district for Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Camiguin, Cagayan de Oro City, and the provinces in Regions XI and XIII; the seventh district for the provinces within Regions VI, VII, and VIII; and the eighth district for Metro Manila, the provinces within the Cordillera Administrative Region, Regions I, II, III, IV-A, V, and the Mimaropa (Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan) region.
It also said the new law increases the number of Shari’ah circuit courts from 51 to 63. The 12 new Shari’ah circuit courts will serve the newly-created Shari’a Judicial Districts.
Five circuit courts will be situated in and for the sixth district, three in the seventh district, and four in the eighth Shari’ah district, the PCO added.