OCA CIRCULAR NO. 89-2004, August 12, 2004

It has come to the attention of the Office of the Court
Administrator that some judges are unfamiliar with, or even unaware of,
Administrative Circular No. 7-A-92, dated 21 June 1993 , pertaining to
the guidelines in the archiving of cases.

For the guidance of all concerned, the following guidelines
established in the said Administrative Circular are hereby restated:

I. CRIMINAL CASES

a) A criminal case may be archived only if after
the issuance of the warrant of arrest, the accused remains at large for
six (6) months from the delivery of the warrant to the proper peace
officer. An order archiving the case shall require the peace officer to
explain why the accused was not apprehended. The Court shall issue an
alias warrant if the original warrant of arrest is returned by the peace
officer together with the report.

b) The Court, motu proprio or upon motion
of any party, may likewise archive a criminal case when proceedings
therein are ordered suspended for an indefinite period because:

1) the accused appears to be suffering from an
unsound mental condition which effectively renders him unable to fully
understand the charge against him and to plead intelligently, or to
undergo trial, and he has to be committed to a mental hospital;

2) a valid prejudicial question in a civil action
is invoked during the pendency of the criminal case unless the civil
and the criminal cases are consolidated; and

3) an interlocutory order or incident in the
criminal case is elevated to, and is pending resolution/decision for an
indefinite period before a higher court which has issued a temporary
restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction; and

4) when the accused has jumped bail before arraignment and can not be arrested by the bondsman.

II. CIVIL CASES

In civil cases, the court may, motu proprio or upon motion, order that a civil case be archived only in the following instances:

(a) When the parties are in the process of
settlement, in which case the proceedings may be suspended and the case
archived for a period not exceeding ninety (90) days. The case shall be
included in the trial calendar on the day immediately following the
lapse of the suspension period.

(b) When an interlocutory order or incident in
the civil case is elevated to and is pending resolution/decision for an
indefinite period before a higher court which has issued a temporary
restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction.

(c) When defendant without fault or neglect of plaintiff, can not be
served with summons within six (6) months from issuance of original
summons.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

a) Copies of the order archiving the case shall be furnished the parties.

(b) A special docket shall be maintained to record the cases, both criminal and civil, that have been archived.

(c) A periodic review of the archived cases shall be made by the Presiding Judge

(d) The Presiding Judge shall, motu proprio or upon motion of
any party, order the reinstatement/ revival of an archived case and its
withdrawal from the archives whenever the same is ready for trial or
further proceedings.

(e) The Branch Clerk of Court shall submit to the
Office of the Court Administrator, a list of archived cases (stating the
reason/s for archiving the case) which shall be attached to the Monthly
Reports of Cases (SC Form No. 1-2004), submitted monthly by each court
(A. C. No. 1-2001 dated January 2, 2001).

Judges are directed to comply with the provisions of this Circular
and, accordingly, to archive cases which are covered by the guidelines
herein stated. In doing so, there will be less number of pending cases
in the active docket which is, needless to state, presently clogged.

Judges are likewise reminded that in accomplishing the Monthly
Report of Cases (SC Form No. 1-2004), the archived cases are to be
deducted from the total number of cases pending at the end of the month.
However, they are not considered in the computation of the disposition
rate of the judges.

Strict compliance with this Circular is hereby enjoin

12 August 2004.

	PRESBITERO J. VELASCO, JR.
	Court Administrator