President Duterte has signed the Judges-at-Large Act of 2019 which aims to ease the overload of cases in trial courts across the country by creating 150 positions for judges-at-large nationwide.
Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11459 on Aug. 30. It was passed by the Senate as Senate Bill No. 2065 and adopted by the House of Representative as House Bill No. 7309.
The new law creates 100 regional trial judges-at-large positions and 50 municipal trial judges-at-large positions nationwide to be assigned by the Supreme Court.
The regional trial judges-at-large shall be assigned as acting or assisting judges of any Regional Trial Court while the municipal trial judges-at-large shall be assigned to any first-level court in the country as public interest may require.
They are entitled to salaries, privileges, allowances, emoluments, benefits, rank, and title of a regional or municipal trial judge.
The SC shall determine the length of such temporary assignment provided that the Judicial and Bar Council shall recommend to the President the appointees to the posts. After the period of the temporary assignment, the JBC shall recommend to the President the permanent sala here the judge-at-large shall be appointed.
Under the new law, only natural-born citizens of the Philippines of at least 35 years of age and have practiced law in the country for 10 years shall be appointed as regional trial judge or judge-at-large.
Meanwhile, the post of Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court, Municipal Circuit Trial Court judge-at-large requires candidates to be a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, at least 30 years of age, and engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines for five years. (Argyll Geducos)