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🇵🇭 Philippines · first-instance court

Regional Trial Courts

Regional Trial Courts of the Philippines

Reviewed· 2026-08-03Judicial regions nationwide

The principal trial court, with Metropolitan and Municipal Trial Courts below it for lesser matters. Barangay conciliation under the Katarungang Pambarangay system is a mandatory precondition for many neighbourhood-level civil disputes: filing in court without a certification to file action will normally get the case dismissed.

How the court is constituted

Tier
first instance
Court type
General first-instance court
Jurisdiction
First-instance civil claims above the statutory threshold, serious criminal offences, family and juvenile matters in designated Family Courts, and commercial and intellectual-property cases in designated Special Commercial Courts.
Seat
Judicial regions nationwide
Established
1981

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