SC designates more courts for Taguig City

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has assigned seven Regional Trial Courts (RTC) and four Metropolitan Trial Courts (MeTC) in Makati City as assisting courts for Taguig City.

The decision comes after the high court ruled to transfer ten enlisted men's barrios or "embo" barangays from Makati to Taguig City.

In a resolution dated December 5, the SC designated the following courts to support Taguig's courts in handling cases and delivering rulings:

Regional Trial Courts

• Branch 136, Judge Rico Sebastian D. Liwanag (Family Court)
• Branch 144, Judge Liza Marie R. Picardal-Tecson (Family Court)
• Branch 147, Judge Karla Regina D. Valera-Chua (Special Commercial Court)
• Branch 63, Judge Jacob M. Montesa II (Drugs Court)
• Branch 145, Judge Karen A. Matti-Sy
• Branch 65, Judge Veronica B. Tongio-Igot (Drugs Court); and
• Branch 134, Judge Redentor Dela Cruz Cardenas

Metropolitan Trial Courts

• Branch 61, Judge Xavier Paolo R. Del Castillo
• Branch 66, Judge Niño Delvin E. Embuscado
• Branch 128, Judge Maureen L. Rubio Marquez; and
• Branch 129, Judge Alexius P. Tang

Parties involved in criminal and civil cases filed in Taguig courts must provide their landline or mobile phone numbers along with email addresses. The information will form an integral part of the official records for the cases.

The SC also said that the cases will be assigned under the existing rules. The court clerks will send the case records to the assigned branches for proper documentation.

After that, the case records will be sent back to the Office of the Clerk of Court (OCC) and then forwarded to the courts in Makati City for further distribution to the assisting courts.

In urgent cases that require immediate action, meanwhile, the executive judge of the Taguig City court, where the case was filed, can address urgent temporary relief petitions before the case is sent to the assigned Makati City court.

“Any motion for reconsideration shall be filed with the Makati City court within the time allowed by the Rules of Court, while appeals from the judgment or final order of the Makati City MeTC shall be taken to the Taguig City RTC,” the SC said.

“On the other hand, if no appeal or motion for reconsideration is timely filed, the case records shall be forwarded from the branch of the Makati City court to its OCC, then transmitted to the Taguig City Court for execution. The judgment or final order shall then be entered by the Clerk of Court of the Taguig City court in its book of entries of judgment.,” the court added.

The SC also stated that the documentation of provisionally dismissed or archived cases by Makati courts should stay with those courts until the program concludes.