[ OCA CIRCULAR NO. 100-2018, May 21, 2018 ]

[ OCA CIRCULAR NO. 100-2018, May 21, 2018 ]

[ OCA CIRCULAR NO. 100-2018, May 21, 2018 ]

TO : ALL FIRST LEVEL COURT JUDGES

RE : AMENDMENT TO SECTION 8(b), CHAPTER V, A.M. NO. 03-8-02-SC (Raffle and Re-assignment of Cases in Ordinary Courts where Judge is Disqualified or Voluntarily Inhibits Himself/Herself from Hearing the Case)

For the information and guidance of all first level court judges, the Court, in its Resolution dated 10 January 2018 in A.M. No. 17-03-36 (Re: Request for the Designation of Another Judge to Try and Decide Criminal Case Nos. 02-11501 and 02-11502), addressed the situation in which "the judge of a single-branch, first-level court inhibits or is disqualified, and there is no available municipal judge within the administrative area who can substitute for the former" by ADDING the following paragraphs to Section 8(b), Chapter V, A.M. No. 03-8-02-SC, dated 27 January 2004, to wit:

In case all the first level court judges within the area of administrative supervision of the Executive Judge are disqualified or inhibited themselves, he/she shall forward the Order of Inhibition to the Executive Judge of the nearest station, who shall designate a first level court judge within his/her administrative area of supervision to hear and decide the inhibited case, taking into consideration the proximity of the judge's station' to the original inhibiting court. The first level court judge so designated shall hear and decide the case in the court of origin.

When all the first level court judges under the area of supervision of the Executive Judge of the nearest station are likewise disqualified or inhibited themselves, the Executive Judge of the last inhibiting first level court judge shall forward the Order of Inhibition to the Court, through the Office of the Court

Administrator, for the designation of a judge who shall take cognizance of the case.

The strict and judicious observance of the foregoing is hereby enjoined.

21 May 2018

(SGD.) JOSE MIDAS P. MARQUEZ Court Administrator