Below are excerpts from the Supreme Court EN BANC Resolution in A.M. No. 10-4-20-SC (THE INTERNAL RULES OF THE SUPREME COURT RESOLUTION), dated May 4, 2010, adopted during the previous tenure of Chief Justice REYNATO S. PUNO, a serious reading of which, to my mind, would surely benefit the members of the bench and the bar.
To its credit, slowly, and, I say, very slowly, the Court is trying its very best to open up its "internal secrets", if you like, to the general public to remove from the minds of ordinary citizens the misconception of the aloof and confusing mysticism of the Court as a huge and frightening judicial fortress.
Rightly or wrongly, the common tao misconstrue such a negative image as symbolic of the indifference of the intellectual, the social irrelevance of a metaphysical scholar, or the institutional arrogance of an unelected center of governmental power.
X x x.
RULE 2
SEC. 13. Ethics Committee. – In addition to the above, a permanent Committee on Ethics and Ethical Standards shall be established and chaired by the Chief Justice xxx.
The Committee shall have the task of preliminarily investigating all complaints involving graft and corruption and violations of ethical standards, including anonymous complaints, filed against Members of the Court, and of submitting findings and recommendations to the en banc. All proceedings shall be completely confidential. The Committee shall also monitor and report to the Court the progress of the investigation of similar complaints against Supreme Court officials and employees, and handle the annual update of the Court’s ethical rules and standards for submission to the en banc.
SEC. 14. Per curiam decisions. – Unless otherwise requested by the Member assigned to write the opinion of the Court, the decision or resolution shall be rendered per curiam
(a) where the penalty imposed is dismissal from service, disbarment, or indefinite suspension in administrative cases; or
(b) in any other case by agreement of the majority of the Members or upon request of a Member.
RULE 4
SECTION 1. Disciplinary cases against Court personnel. – Administrative supervision of courts and court personnel shall be undertaken by the Court en banc, provided that, in appropriate cases, such function may be undertaken by the Divisions.
SEC. 2. Assisting offices in the exercise of administrative function. – In the discharge of its administrative functions, the Court shall be assisted by the Office of the Clerk of Court in administrative matters and cases involving the Court and the collegial appellate courts, and by the Office of the Court Administrator in administrative matters and cases involving the lower courts.
SEC. 3. Administrative functions of the Court. – The administrative functions of the Court en banc consist of, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) the discipline of justices, judges and court personnel, whether by en banc or by Division, subject to matters assignable to the Divisions, disciplinary matters involving justices, judges and court personnel;
RULE 7
SECTION 1. Raffle of cases. – Every initiatory pleading already identified by a G.R. or a UDK number shall be raffled among the Members of the Court. The Member-in-Charge to whom a case is raffled, whether such case is to be taken up by the Court en banc or by a Division, shall oversee its progress and disposition unless for valid reason, such as inhibition, the case has to be re-raffled, unloaded or assigned to another Member.
SEC. 2. Raffle Committee. – Two Raffle Committees— one for the en banc and the other for Division cases, each to be composed of a Chairperson and two members— shall be designated by the Chief Justice from among the Members of the Court on the basis of seniority.
SEC. 3. Raffle Committee Secretariat. – The Clerk of Court shall serve as the Secretary of the Raffle Committee. He or she shall be assisted by a court attorney, duly designated by the Chief Justice from either the Office of the Chief Justice or the Office of the Clerk of Court, who shall be responsible for (a) recording the raffle proceedings and (b) submitting the minutes thereon to the Chief Justice. The Clerk of Court shall make the result of the raffle available to the parties and their counsels or to their duly authorized representatives, except the raffle of (a) bar matters; (b)
administrative cases; and (c) criminal cases where the penalty imposed by the lower court is life imprisonment, and which shall be treated with strict confidentiality.
RULE 8
INHIBITION AND SUBSTITUTION OF
MEMBERS OF THE COURT
SECTION 1. Grounds for inhibition. – A Member of the Court shall
inhibit himself or herself from participating in the resolution of the case for
any of these and similar reasons:
(a) the Member of the Court was the ponente of the decision or participated in the proceedings in the appellate or trial court;
(b) the Member of the Court was counsel, partner or member of a law firm that is or was the counsel in the case subject to Section 3(c) of this rule;
(c) the Member of the Court or his or her spouse, parent or child is pecuniarily interested in the case;
(d) the Member of the Court is related to either party in the case within the sixth degree of consanguinity or affinity, or to an attorney or any member of a law firm who is counsel of record in the case within the fourth degree of consanguinity or
affinity;
(e) the Member of the Court was executor, administrator, guardian or trustee in the case; and
(f) the Member of the Court was an official or is the spouse of an official or former official of a government agency or private entity that is a party to the case, and the Justice or his or her spouse has reviewed or acted on any matter relating to the case.
A Member of the Court may in the exercise of his or her sound discretion, inhibit himself or herself for a just or valid reason other than any of those mentioned above.
The inhibiting Member must state the precise reason for the inhibition.
SEC. 2. Motion to inhibit a Division or a Member of the Court. – A motion for inhibition must be in writing and under oath and shall state the grounds therefor.
A motion for inhibition of a Division or a Member of the Court must be acted upon by the Division or the Member of the Court concerned, as the case may be, within ten working days from receipt thereof except when there is an application for a temporary restraining order, in which case the motion must be acted upon immediately.
No motion for inhibition of a Division or a Member of the Court shall be granted after a decision on the merits or substance of the case has been rendered or issued by any Division, except for a valid or just reason such as an allegation of a graft and corrupt practice or a ground not earlier apparent.
(c) When a Member of the Division, other than the Member-in-Charge of a case, was counsel or partner or member of a law firm that is or was counsel in the case before the Division, such Member shall inhibit himself or herself, unless the Member was no longer a partner or member of the law firm when it was engaged as counsel in the case and the Member votes against the client of such firm. In any event, the mandatory inhibition shall cease after the lapse of ten years from the resignation or
withdrawal of the Member from the law firm, unless the Member personally handled the case when he or she was a partner or member of the law firm.
RULE 9
SEC. 2. Repository of rollos. – All rollos shall be kept in the Rollo Room in the Office of the Chief Justice. Xxx.
All personnel charged with the safekeeping and distribution of rollos shall be bound by strict confidentiality on the identity of the Member-in-Charge or the ponente, as well as on the integrity of the rollos, under pain of administrative sanction and criminal prosecution for any breach thereof.
SEC. 4. Confidentiality of identity of Member-in-Charge or ponente and of Court actions. – Personnel assigned to the Rollo Room and all other Court personnel handling documents relating to the raffling of cases are bound by strict confidentiality on the identity of the Member-in-Charge or ponente and on the actions taken on the case. Xxx.
RULE 10
SEC. 2. Confidentiality of court sessions. – Court sessions are executive in character, with only the Members of the Court present. Court deliberations are confidential and shall not be disclosed to outside parties, except as may be provided herein or as authorized by the Court.
The Chief Justice or the Division Chairperson shall record the action or actions taken in each case for transmittal to the Clerk of Court or Division Clerk of Court after each session. The notes of the Chief Justice and the Division Chairperson, which the Clerk of Court and the Division Clerks of Court must treat with strict confidentiality, shall be the bases of the minutes of the sessions.
RULE 11
SEC. 3. Minutes of proceedings. – The Chief Justice or the Chairperson of the Division shall provide the Clerk of Court or the Division Clerk of Court his or her notes on the actions taken by the Court. The copy of the Agenda containing the handwritten notes of the Chief Justice or Division Chairperson shall serve as the basis for the preparation of the minutes of the session by the Office of the Clerk of Court or of the Division Clerks of Court.
SEC. 4. Preparation of minutes of proceedings. – xxx. Excerpts of the minutes pertaining to a particular case quoted in a letter of the Clerk of Court or the Division Clerk of Court to the parties, and extended resolutions showing the actions of the Court on the cases on agenda shall be released to the parties only after the Chief Justice or the Division Chairperson has approved the minutes in writing.
SEC. 5. Confidentiality of minutes prior to release. – The Offices of the Clerk of Court and of the Division Clerks of Court are bound by strict confidentiality on the action or actions taken by the Court prior to the release of the resolutions embodying the Court action or actions. Xxx.
SEC. 6. Preparation of minute resolutions and unsigned extended resolutions. – A minute resolution quoting an excerpt of the minutes of Court sessions pertinent to a case shall be prepared by the court attorneys in the Office of the Clerk of Court or the Division Clerk of Court and personally reviewed, approved, and initialled by the Clerk of Court or the Division Clerk of Court before submission for final approval by the Chief Justice or the Division Chairperson. An unsigned extended resolution may
be prepared by the Office of the Member-in-Charge or by the Office of the Clerk of Court or Division Clerk of Court, upon instructions of either the Chief Justice or the Division Chairperson, who shall approve the resolution.
The Chief Justice and the Division Chairperson shall order the Clerk of
Court or the Division Clerk of Court to release duly approved minute and
unsigned extended resolutions.
RULE 12
SECTION. 1. Voting requirements. – (a) All decisions and actions in Court en banc cases shall be made upon the concurrence of the majority of the Members of the Court who actually took part in the deliberations on the issue or issues involved and voted on them.
(b) All decisions and actions in Division cases shall be made upon the concurrence of at least three Members of the Division who actually took part in the deliberations on the issue or issues involved and voted on them.
SEC. 2. Tie voting in the Court en banc. – (a) In civil cases, including special proceedings and special civil actions, where the Court en banc is equally divided in opinion or the necessary majority vote cannot be had, the Court shall deliberate on it anew. If after such deliberation still no decision is reached, the Court shall, in an original action filed with it, dismiss the case; in appealed cases, it shall affirm the judgment or order appealed from.
(b) In criminal cases, when the Court en banc is equally divided in opinion or the necessary majority cannot be had, the Court shall deliberate on it anew. If after such deliberation still no decision is reached, the Court shall reverse the judgment of conviction of the lower court and acquit the accused.
(c) When, in an administrative case against any of the Justices of the appellate courts or any of the Judges of the trial courts, the imposable penalty is dismissal and the Court en banc is equally divided in opinion or the majority vote required by the Constitution for dismissal cannot be had, the Court shall deliberate on the case anew. If after such deliberation still no decision is reached, the Court shall dismiss the administrative case, unless a majority vote decides to impose a lesser penalty.
(d) Where the Court en banc is equally divided in opinion or the majority vote required by the Constitution for annulling any treaty, international or executive agreement, law, presidential decree, proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance, or regulation cannot be had, the Court shall deliberate on the case anew. If after such deliberation still no decision is reached, the Court shall deny the challenge to the constitutionality of the act.
(e) In all matters incidental to the main action where the Court en banc is equally divided in opinion, the relief sought shall be denied.
SEC. 3. Failure to obtain required votes in Division. – Where the necessary majority of three votes is not obtained in a case in a Division, the case shall be elevated to the Court en banc.
SEC. 4. Leaving a vote. – A Member who goes on leave or is unable to attend the voting on any decision, resolution, or matter may leave his or her vote in writing, addressed to the Chief Justice or the Division Chairperson, and the vote shall be counted, provided that he or she took part in the deliberation.
RULE 13
SEC. 3. Actions and decisions, how reached. – The actions and decisions of the Court whether en banc or through a Division, shall be arrived at as follows:
(a) Initial action on the petition or complaint. – After a petition or complaint has been placed on the agenda for the first time, the Member-in-Charge shall, except in urgent cases, submit to the other Members at least three days before the initial deliberation in such case, a summary of facts, the issue or issues involved, and the arguments that the petitioner presents in support of his or her case. The Court shall, in consultation with its Members, decide on what action it will take.
(b) Action on incidents. – The Member-in-Charge shall recommend to the Court the action to be taken on any incident during the pendency of the case.
(c) Decision or Resolution. – When a case is submitted for decision or resolution, the Member-in-Charge shall have the same placed in the agenda of the Court for deliberation. He or she shall submit to the other Members of the Court, at least seven days in advance, a report that shall contain the facts, the issue or issues involved, the arguments of the contending parties, and the laws and jurisprudence that can aid the Court in deciding or resolving the case. In consultation, the Members of the Court shall agree on the conclusion or conclusions in the case, unless the said Member requests a continuance and the Court grants it.
SEC. 5. Ponente or Opinion writer. – Immediately upon arriving at a conclusion regarding the issue or issues in the case, the Court shall assign a Member to write the opinion of the Court. Should the majority vote of the Court on such conclusion be different from or contrary to the conclusion arrived at by the ponente, the writing of the new opinion shall be assigned to a ponente chosen by the majority.
SEC. 6. Manner of adjudication. – The Court shall adjudicate cases as
follows:
(a) By decision, when the Court disposes of the case on its merits and its rulings have significant doctrinal values; resolve novel issues; or impact on the social, political, and economic life of the nation.
The decision shall state clearly and distinctly the facts and the law on which it is based. It shall bear the signatures of the Members who took part in the deliberation.
(b) By signed resolution, when the Court comprehensively resolves the motion for reconsideration filed in the case or when a dissenting opinion is registered against such resolution. The signed resolution shall no longer discuss issues resolved in the decision and need not repeat the facts and the law stated in it. It shall also bear the signatures of the Members who took part in the
deliberation.
(c) By unsigned resolution when the Court disposes of the case on the merits, but its ruling is essentially meaningful only to the parties; has no significant doctrinal value; or is of minimal interest to the law profession, the academe, or the public. The resolution shall state clearly and distinctly the facts and the law on which it is
based.
(d) By minute resolution when the Court (1) dismisses a petition filed under Rule 64 or 65 of the Rules of Court, citing as legal basis the failure of the petition to show that the tribunal, board or officer exercising judicial or quasi-judicial functions has acted without or in excess of jurisdiction, or with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction; (2) denies a petition filed under Rule 45 of the said Rules, citing as legal basis the absence of reversible error committed in the challenged decision, resolution, or order of the court below; (3) dismisses an administrative complaint, citing as legal basis failure to show a prima facie case against the respondent; (4) denies a motion for reconsideration, citing as legal basis the absence of a compelling or cogent reason to grant the motion, or the failure to raise any substantial argument to support such motion; and (5) dismisses or denies a petition on technical grounds or deficiencies.
SEC. 7. Dissenting, separate or concurring opinion. – A Member who disagrees with the majority opinion, its conclusions, and the disposition of the case may submit to the Chief Justice or Division Chairperson a dissenting opinion, setting forth the reason or reasons for such dissent. A Member who agrees with the result of the case, but based on different reason or reasons may submit a separate opinion; a concurrence “in the result” should state the reason for the qualified concurrence. A Member who agrees with the main opinion, but opts to express other reasons for concurrence may submit a concurring opinion. The dissenting, separate, or concurring opinion must be submitted within one week from the date the writer of the majority opinion presents the decision for the signature of the Members.
SEC. 8. Attestations and certifications on consultations held. – In cases decided by a Division, the Division Chairperson shall issue an attestation regarding the conduct of consultation among its Members and the assignment of the writing of the decision to a Member after such consultation. In all decided cases, whether by the Court en banc or by a Division, the Chief Justice shall issue a certification regarding the conduct of consultation among the Members of the Court and the assignment of the
writing of the decision to a Member after such consultation.
SEC. 11. Authentication of decisions and resolutions. – All decisions, resolutions, and other Court issuances shall be released to the parties concerned only after these shall have been authenticated by the Clerk of Court or Division Clerk of Court through a bar code at the bottom of each page, which he or she shall personally affix, or by other means to protect the authenticity and integrity of such document. They shall also initial every page of per curiam decisions, minute resolutions, and unsigned extended resolutions.
RULE 15
FINALITY OF DECISION AND RESOLUTIONS
SECTION 1. Finality of decisions and resolutions. – A decision or resolution of the Court may be deemed final after the lapse of fifteen days from receipt by the parties of a copy of the same xxx.
SEC. 2. Motion for reconsideration. – A motion for reconsideration filed within the fifteen-day period from receipt of a copy of the decision or resolution shall stay the execution of such decision or resolution unless, for good reasons shown, the Court directs otherwise.
SEC. 3. Second motion for reconsideration. – The Court shall not entertain a second motion for reconsideration, and any exception to this rule can only be granted in the higher interest of justice by the Court en banc upon a vote of at least two-thirds of its actual membership. There is reconsideration “in the higher interest of justice” when the assailed decision is not only legally erroneous, but is likewise patently unjust and potentially capable of causing unwarranted and irremediable injury or damage to the parties. A second motion for reconsideration can only be entertained before the ruling sought to be reconsidered becomes final by operation of law or by the Court’s declaration.
In the Division, a vote of three Members shall be required to elevate a second motion for reconsideration to the Court En Banc.
