EN BANC
[ A.M. No. 01-1-07-SC, October 16, 2001 ]
RE: GUIDELINES IN THE ACCREDITATION OF NEWSPAPER AND
PERIODICALS AND IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF LEGAL NOTICES AND
ADVERTISEMENT FOR PUBLICATION
RESOLUTION
GUIDELINES IN THE ACCREDITATION
OF NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS SEEKING TO PUBLISH
JUDICIAL AND LEGAL NOTICES AND OTHER SIMILAR
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND IN THE RAFFLE THEREOF
The concern has been expressed by various sectors that despite circulars
and other issuances of Supreme Court, there remain variances in the
application and implementation by the Executive Judges of the Regional
Trial Courts of the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 1079 (Revising
and Consolidating All Laws and Decree Regulating the Publication of
Judicial Notices, Advertisements for Public Buildings, Notices of Auction
Sales and Other Similar Notices). To ensure uniform compliance with the
said law and to protect the interests of the public, in general, and of the
litigants, in particular, the following guidelines are set forth for all
concerned.
I. Accreditation
SECTION 1. Scope of application. - These Guidelines apply only in cases
where judicial or legal notices are to be published in newspapers or
periodicals that are of general circulation in a particular province or city.
Publication of notices for national dissemination may be published
in newspapers or periodicals with national circulation without need of
accreditation.
SEC. 2. Requirement of accreditation.- Only accredited newspapers or
periodicals may publish judicial or legal notices.
SEC. 3. Application for accreditation. - A verified applications for
accreditation may be filed with the office of the Executive Judge of the
Regional Trial Court having administrative supervision over the courts
whose orders are to be published.
(a) The application shall include complete and accurate information on
the following:
(1) Title of publication;
(2) Name of publisher;
(3) Name of the editor-in-chief
(4) Frequency of publication;
(5) Address, telephone number and fax machine number (if any), of the
principal office;
(6) Total number of copies printed (as of the date of application for
accreditation); and
(7) Month, date and year of first issue.
(b) A newspaper or periodical has its principal office in the address
registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or with the
Department of Trade and Industry.
(c) A newspaper or periodical which has its principal office in any of the
cities or municipalities in a province may be accredited by any one or all
of the Regional Trial Court Executive Judges in the province, provided
that all requisites for accreditation are complied with.
A newspaper or periodical which has its principal office in any of the
cities or municipalities in the National Capital Region may
be accredited by any one or all of the Regional Trial Court Executive
Judges therein, provided that it satisfies all the requirements for
accreditation.
(d) The application for accreditation shall include statements on the
following:
(1) That the applicant is duly registered as a newspaper or periodical;
(2) That the newspaper or periodical is edited, published and circulated in the
province or city where accreditation is sought;
(3) That the newspaper or periodical has been regularly published for at least
one (1) year before the date of the application for accreditation;
(4) That the newspaper or periodical is not participating in the raffle of legal
and judicial notices in other provinces and/or cities;
(5) That the newspaper or periodical does not merely reproduce or reprint
news pages of other newspapers or periodicals within the region of the
province or city of the Regional Trial Court involved.
(c) The application for accreditation shall be accompanied by the
following:
(1) Three (3) sample copies of the newspaper's periodical's printed format for
legal and judicial notices following the requisites prescribed by Section 4 of
P.D. No. 1079, to wit:
(a) Font size - eight (8) points for the text or less, and not more than ten (10)
points for the heading:
(b) Column with - more but nor less than nine (9) ems; and
(c) Copy of an issue of the newspaper containing commercial, advertisement
published in the last twelve (12) months;
(2) Copy of an issue of the newspaper containing commercial advertisement
published in the last twelve (12) months;
(3) Certified true copy of contract or insertion or invoice describing the size
and rate advertisement; and
(4) Certified true copy of a newspaper official receipt showing payment per
contracted advertising rate.
SEC. 4. Application fees. - A fee shall be collected in an amount to be
fixed by the Office of the Court Administrator for every application for
accreditation filed with the Regional Trial Court.
SEC. 5. Non-compliance with requirements.- Any application for
accreditation that fails to comply with any of the requirements
prescribed by the proceeding provisions shall be denied without further
evaluation.
SEC. 6. Evaluation and approval of applicants.- An application for
accreditation shall be evaluated and approved by the Executive Judge of
the Regional Trial Court having administrative supervision over the
courts whose orders are to be published, taking into consideration the
following criteria.
(a) The applicant is duly registered as a newspaper or periodical;
(b) The applicant must have its principal office in and must be of general
circulation in the city/or province where it seeks accreditation.
A newspaper or periodical is of general circulation if it is published for the
dissemination of local news and general information (nor for a limited interest
group); it has a bona fide subscription list of paying subscribers; and it is
published at regular intervals. (Fortune Motors (Phils.), Inc. vs. Metropolitan
Bank and Trust Inc. et al., G.R. No. 115068, November 28, 1996, 265 SCRA
72).
(c) The newspaper or principal must have been regularly published for at least
one (1) year before the date of the application; and after accreditation before
the date of each and every raffle participated in by the accredited publication.
A newspaper or periodical is regularly published if it comes out with 365 or 52
issues for those issued daily or weekly, respectively
(d) The newspaper or periodical must not merely reproduce or reprint news
pages of other newspapers or periodicals within the region of the province or
city of the Regional Trial Court involved.
SEC. 7. Absence of qualified newspapers or periodicals. - In the event
that there is no newspaper or periodical qualified to be accredited in the
station of the Regional Trial Court, the qualified publication in the
nearest city or province may be accredited.
SEC. 8. Period of validity of accreditation. - The accreditation shall be
valid for a period of five (5) years from date of approval of the
application for accreditation. During the five-year period, however, the
accreditation may be suspended or revoked in accordance with section 16
of these Guidelines.
SEC. 9. Posting of names of accredited newspaper or publication. - The
Executive Judge shall cause the posting of the names of
the accredited newspaper or publication, the amount they charge per
column inch and a sample of the maximum font and minimum column
width prescribed by law in three (3) conspicuous places in the
courthouse or Hall of Justice building.
II. Raffle
SEC. 10. Requirement of raffle. - All notices, announcements and
advertisements subject hereof shall be distributed for publication
to accredited newspapers or periodicals by raffle. No such notices,
announcements and advertisements may be assigned for publication
without being raffled.
The raffle of judicial or legal justices for publication shall be included in
the regular raffle of cases, provided that special raffles may be conducted
for notices that need to be published before the regular raffle could be
conducted.
The posting of judicial notices for publication, the raffle procedure and
the publication of the results thereof shall be conducted in the same
manner as the raffle of cases as provided in the Manual for Clerks of
Court. All accredited newspapers or periodicals shall as much as possible
be assigned an equal number of notices to publish but the same must be
done thru raffle.
SEC. 11. Directive to the branch clerk of court. - Orders issued by judges
in cases that require publication of any notice or notices shall include a
directive to the Branch Clerk of Court instructing the latter to furnish the
Office of the Clerk of Court with a copy of the order so that such notice
may be published in accordance with the provisions of P. D. No. 1079.
SEC. 12. When raffle not necessary. - The distribution by raffle of notices,
announcements and advertisements for publication shall be dispensed
with in case there is only one accredited newspaper or periodical in a
particular province, city or municipality.
III. Rates of Publication
SEC. 13. Rates of publication charges. - Newspapers or periodicals whose
regular commercial rates are lower than ten (P10) pesos per column inch
shall not charge below ten (P10) pesos per column inch of the notices,
announcements and advertisements. In case of newspapers or
periodicals that do not carry commercial display advertising, the rate for
the publication of notices, announcements and advertisements shall be
fixed at ten (P10) pesos per column inch. Newspapers or periodicals may
only charge more than ten (P10) pesos up to eighty (80%) percent of
their regular commercial display advertising rates when there is proper
and adequate proof that the rate claimed is the regular commercial
advertising rate.
SEC. 14. Determination of rates of publication charges. - The Executive
Judge shall determine the allowable rates as mentioned in the preceding
Section, using as basis the contracts and proofs of payment submitted by
the publishers.
IV. Font Sizes and Column Width
SEC. 15. Samples of font sizes and column width. - The Office of the
Court Administrator shall issue the appropriate order indicating the
samples of the maximum font sizes and minimum column width for
notices, announcements and advertisements.
V. Revocation of Accreditation
SEC. 16. When accreditation may be suspended or revoked. - The.
Executive Judge may suspend or revoke the accreditation of a newspaper
or periodical when it is established in a summary hearing that the said
newspaper or periodical no longer complies with the requirements for
an accredited newspaper or periodical as prescribed herein or has
violated any of the provisions of P.D. No. 1079.
VI. Appeal
SEC. 17. Appeal to the Office of the Court Administrator. - Appeals in the
grant and denial of accreditation or in the suspension or revocation of
accreditation may be brought before the Office of the Court
Administrator by the aggrieved party. The decision of the Court
Administrator shall be final.
The Guidelines prescribed in this Resolution shall take effect on
November 7, 2001 after fifteen (15) days following its publication in two
(2) newspapers of general circulation.
Promulgated this 16th day of October, 2001.
(Sgd.) HILARIO G. DAVIDE, JR.
Chief Justice
(Sgd.) JOSUE N. BELLOSILLO (Sgd.) JOSE A.R. MELO
Associate Justice Associate Justice
(On official leave)
(Sgd.) REYNATO S. PUNO
JOSE C. VITUG
Associate Justice
Associate Justice
(Sgd.) SANTIAGO M. KAPUNAN (Sgd.) VICENTE V. MENDOZA
Associate Justice Associate Justice
(Sgd.) ARTEMIO V. PANGANIBAN (Sgd.) LEONARDO A. QUISUMBING
Associate Justice Associate Justice
(Sgd.) BERNARDO P. PARDO (Sgd.) ARTURO B. BUENA
Associate Justice Associate Justice
(Sgd.) CONSUELO YNARES-SANTIAGO (Sgd.) SABINO R. DE LEON, JR.
Associate Justice Associate Justice
(Sgd.) ANGELINA SANDOVAL-
GUTIERREZ
Associate Justice
