The Court of Appeals ( or ; previously Hukuman ng Paghahabol) is an appellate collegiate court in the Philippines. The Court of Appeals consists of one presiding justice and sixty-eight associate justices. Pursuant to the Constitution, the Court of Appeals "reviews not only the decisions and orders of the Regional Trial Courts awards, judgments, final orders or resolutions of, or authorized by administrative agencies exercising quasi-judicial functions mentioned in Rule 43 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, plus the National Amnesty Commission (Pres. Proclamation No. 347 of 1994) and the Office of the Ombudsman".Fabian v. Desierto, 295 SCRA 470 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 subject to review by the Supreme Court instead of the Court of Appeals (as opposed to what is currently provided in Section 1, Rule 43 of the Rules of Court). 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.St. Martin Funeral Homes v. National Labor Relations Commission, 295 SCRA 414)
The Court of Appeals buildings is at Maria Orosa Street in Ermita, Manila, on the grounds of what used to be part of the University of the Philippines Manila campus.
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 of the Philippines 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 also had 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 five 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 from 1941 to 1944. However, 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 of Appeals, with a presiding justice and fourteen associate justices. The court was composed of five divisions of three justices each.
On August 23, 1956, the membership of the court was expanded to eighteen justices per Republic Act No. 1605. The number was hiked to twenty-four justices as decreed by Republic Act No. 5204 approved on June 15, 1968. Ten years later, the unabated swelling of the court's dockets called for a much bigger court of forty-five 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 Ferdinand Marcos. The court was renamed the Intermediate Appellate Court, and its membership was enlarged to fifty-one justices. However, only thirty-seven justices were appointed to this court.
On July 28, 1986, President Corazon Aquino issued Executive Order No. 33, which restored the original name of the appellate court to the Court of Appeals and its presiding justice and fifty associate justices.
On February 23, 1995, Republic Act No. 7902 was passed, which expanded 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—three for the Visayas and three for Mindanao—paved the way for the appellate court's regionalization. In the Visayas, the court sits in Cebu City, while Cagayan de Oro is home to the court for Mindanao.
On August 18, 2007, the then-president of the Cebu City Chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Briccio Joseph Boholst, opposed the abolition of the court in Cebu City, as he claimed that it would cause inconvenience for both litigants and lawyers. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruben Reyes was tasked to investigate and submit his recommendations to the High Tribunal regarding the alleged massive graft and corruption of justices, especially in the issuance of temporary restraining orders.Manila Bulletin, IBP Cebu City opposes abolition of CA Cebu
On February 1, 2018, the court celebrated its 82nd anniversary.mb.com.ph, Court of Appeals 75th Anniversary
Incumbent justices
The Court of Appeals consists of a presiding justice and sixty-eight associate justices. Among the current members of the court, Fernanda Lampas-Peralta is the longest-serving associate justice, with a tenure of days () as of ; the most recent justice to enter the court are Marietta S. Brawner-Cualing, Mary Josephine P. Lazaro, Ferdinand C. Baylon and Emilio Rodolfo Y. Legaspi III on August 29, 2024.
Post Name of IncumbentBirthdate Date of appointmentAppointed by Date of Retirement (70 years old) SucceedingPresiding Justice November 18, 2024 Punzalan-Castillo Associate Justice March 15, 2004 Macapagal-Arroyo Regino Associate Justice October 30, 2009 Macapagal-Arroyo Bersamin Associate Justice February 16, 2010 Macapagal-Arroyo del Castillo Associate Justice February 16, 2010 Macapagal-Arroyo Villarama Jr. Associate Justice February 24, 2010 Macapagal-Arroyo Dimaranan-Vidal Associate Justice March 1, 2011 Aquino III Arevalo Zenarosa Associate Justice March 15, 2011 Aquino III Romilla-Lontok Associate Justice November 11, 2011 Aquino III Aliño-Hormachuelos Associate Justice February 3, 2012 Aquino III B. Reyes Associate Justice February 16, 2012 Aquino III Perlas-Bernabe Associate Justice March 13, 2014 Aquino III Alberto-Gacutan Associate Justice January 8, 2015 Aquino III Tolentino Associate Justice May 5, 2015 Aquino III Veloso III Associate Justice November 6, 2015 Aquino III de Guia-Salvador Associate Justice November 6, 2015 Aquino III Dicdican Associate Justice Perpetua Atal-Paño November 6, 2015 Aquino III Abdulwahid Associate Justice Ruben Reynaldo Roxas November 6. 2015 Aquino III M. Elbinas Associate Justice Louis Acosta March 2, 2017 Duterte Reyes-Carpio Associate Justice Tita Marilyn Payoyo-Villordon June 28, 2017 Duterte F. Acosta Associate Justice Walter S. Ong November 28, 2017 Duterte Tijam Associate Justice April 30, 2018 Duterte Real-DimagibaAssociate JusticeOctober 10, 2018Duterte S. IntingAssociate JusticeLily BitonJuly 8, 2019DuterteJ. Reyes Jr.Associate JusticeJuly 8, 2019DuterteM. de LeonAssociate JusticeJuly 8, 2019DuterteFranciscoAssociate JusticeMarch 2, 2020DuterteBorjaAssociate JusticeMarch 2, 2020DuterteCarandangAssociate JusticeMarch 2, 2020DuterteLazaro-JavierAssociate JusticeMarch 2, 2020DuterteHernandoAssociate JusticeApril 13, 2020DuterteContrerasAssociate JusticeApril 13, 2020DuterteSalandnan-ManahanAssociate JusticeApril 13, 2020DuterteH. IntingAssociate JusticeApril 15, 2020DuterteVillonAssociate JusticeMay 20, 2021DuterteM. LopezAssociate JusticeMay 20, 2021DuterteQuijano-PadilaAssociate JusticeMay 20, 2021DuterteGaerlanAssociate JusticeMay 24, 2021DuterteLantionAssociate JusticeMay 24, 2021DuterteDelos SantosAssociate JusticeMarch 7, 2022DuterteBaltazar-PadillaAssociate JusticeMarch 7, 2022DuterteRosarioAssociate JusticeMarch 7, 2022DuterteLibrea-LeagogoAssociate JusticeMarch 7, 2022DuterteJ. LopezAssociate JusticeMarch 7, 2022DuterteYbañezAssociate JusticeMarch 7, 2022DuterteDiamanteAssociate JusticeMarch 7, 2022DuterteLlorenAssociate JusticeMarch 8, 2022DuterteSalazar-FernandoAssociate JusticeMarch 8, 2022DuterteCruzAssociate JusticeMarch 8, 2022DuterteBueserAssociate JusticeMay 19, 2022DuterteDimaampaoAssociate JusticeMay 19, 2022DuterteMontejo-GonzagaAssociate JusticeOctober 11, 2022Marcos Jr.March 8, 2033InglesAssociate JusticeOctober 11, 2022Marcos Jr.May 18, 2040CamelloAssociate JusticeSeptember 26, 2023Marcos Jr.October 23, 2046SinghAssociate JusticeSeptember 26, 2023Marcos Jr.February 19, 2048BarriosAssociate JusticeSeptember 26, 2023Marcos Jr.October 24, 2045Posadas-KahuluganAssociate JusticeFerdinand C. BaylonAugust 29, 2024Marcos Jr.September 11, 2040Associate JusticeMarietta S. Brawner-CualingAugust 29, 2024Marcos Jr.May 28, 2043Associate JusticeMary Josephine D. P. LazaroAugust 29, 2024Marcos Jr.April 24, 2038Associate JusticeEmilio Rodolfo Y. Legaspi IIIAugust 29, 2024Marcos Jr.April 10, 2038Associate Justice April 14, 2025 Marcos Jr. July 23, 2031Associate Justice April 14, 2025Marcos Jr. December 13, 2045Associate Justice September 23, 2025Marcos Jr.July 28, 2037Lampas-PeraltaAssociate Justice September 23, 2025Marcos Jr.December 29, 2037Jacinto Fajardo, Jr.Associate JusticeRandolph A. PascasioAugust 4, 2026Marcos Jr.December 29, 2037Azcarraga-Jacob Associate Justice Marcos Jr. Arellano-Morales Associate Justice Marcos Jr. Associate Justice Marcos Jr. Associate Justice Marcos Jr.
Divisions In View of the recent retirement of Associate Justice Marlene B. Gonzales-Sison and the optional retirement of Associate Justice Rafael Antonio M. Santos effective on , taking into consideration of the order of seniority under Rule 1 of the 2009 Internal Rules of the Court of Appeals, and the statement of Preference to transfer to Manila by Associate Justice Rogelio G. Largo from the Visayas Station, the new composition of the Divisions of the Court in conjunction with Office Order No. 85-26-FLP, effective on , shall be as follows:
DivisionChairpersonMembers 1st F. Lampas-Peralta 2nd R. Bato Jr. 3rd R. Cruz 4th M. Garcia-Fernandez 5th E. Peralta, Jr. 6th N. Antonio-Valenzuela 7th Z. Galapate-Laguilles 8th P. Corales 9th M. Sempio-Diy 10th P. Perez 11th G. Legaspi 12th R. Martin 13th G. Fiel-Macaraig14th G. Robeniol15th P. Atal-Paño16th R. Roxas17th L. Acosta Visayas Station18thP. Abella Maxino19th M. Lagura-Yap20th B. Corpin Jr. Mindanao Station21st L. Biton22nd R. Mordeno23rd A. Amanodin-Umpa
Demographics By appointing president President Number Justices Number ChangesDuterte35Aquino III14 by 1Macapagal-Arroyo11 Marcos Jr.5 Vacant5 by 1
By Gender Gender TotalJustices Male 34 Female 29 by 1 Vacant 1 by 2
By tenure Year Total Retiring Justices 2026 3 A. Buselas Jr.P. Atal-Pañop. Abell-Maximo 2027 4 P. PerezP. CoralesM. Lagura-yapR. Cruz 2028 1 R. Bato, Jr. 2029 1 T. Payoyo-Villordon 2030 2 F. Manauag Jr. F. Lampas-Peralta 2031 4 G. RobeniolL. Acosta A. Amanodin-UmpaL. Biton 2032 3 R. RoxasE. PeraltaZ. Galapate-Laguiles 2033 5 C. CapalturaA. Quimpo-SaleG. EcongM. Garcia-FernandezN. Antonio-ValenzuelaR. Martin 2034 1 R. Quiroz 2035 3 L. Bordios Jr.B. Corpin Jr. M de Leon 2036 5 R. PascualM. Sempio-DiyR. TolentinoR. Moderno 2038 3 N. Rivas-PalmonesR. Lauigan W. Ong 2039 2 R. Legazpi 2040 3 A. MasM. Dadole-Ygnacio B. Pascua 2041 3 A. Ruiz IIE. BathanE. Aliño-Geluz 2042 1 J. Jaugan-Lo 2043 3 E. San Gaspar-GitoJ. dela RosaR. LargoS. Palacio-Alaras 2044 1 M. Hernandez-Azura 2045 3 M. OngL. Chua-ChengW. Jorge-Wagan2046 1 2047 1 J. Caringal 2048 2 J. Chua-OngM. Consejo-Ipalanga 2049 1 E. Ramos 2050 1 J. Lee