Short answer. Except for criminal cases carrying death, reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment, an appeal taken to the Supreme Court by notice of appeal shall be dismissed. A certiorari appeal from a Regional Trial Court that raises factual issues may instead be referred to the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court's call on whether factual issues exist is final.
What the law says
Except as provided in section 3, Rule 122 regarding appeals in criminal cases where the penalty imposed is death, reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment, an appeal taken to the Supreme Court by notice of appeal shall be dismissed. An appeal by certiorari taken to the Supreme Court from the Regional Trial Court submitting issues of fact may be referred to the Court of Appeals for decision or appropriate action. The determination of the Supreme Court on whether or not issues of fact are involved shall be final.
Rule 56, Section 6 — Disposition of improper appeal. Read the full provision →
The wrong mode is fatal, with one exception
Rule 56, Section 6 confirms the consequence of using the wrong mode of appeal described elsewhere in this rule: an appeal to the Supreme Court taken by ordinary notice of appeal will be dismissed. The single exception preserved is for criminal cases involving the gravest penalties — death, reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment — which follow their own separate route to the Supreme Court.
Factual issues get rerouted, not dismissed
A different situation arises when a party files an appeal by certiorari from a Regional Trial Court but the case actually turns on issues of fact rather than pure questions of law. In that scenario, the section allows the Supreme Court to refer the case to the Court of Appeals for decision or appropriate action instead of dismissing it outright, since the Court of Appeals is generally the proper venue for reviewing factual findings. This referral mechanism recognizes that a straight dismissal would be unfair to a litigant who reasonably characterized their appeal as raising a legal question when the Supreme Court later disagrees, since the underlying case still gets decided on the merits rather than being thrown out entirely on a technicality of the chosen mode.
The Supreme Court has the final word on that classification
Whether a case actually involves issues of fact, for purposes of deciding whether to refer it to the Court of Appeals, is a determination the section places squarely with the Supreme Court and declares final — meaning that classification itself is not something that can be further contested. A litigant cannot separately appeal or move for reconsideration of that specific classification once the Supreme Court has ruled on it, even while the underlying case continues on to the Court of Appeals, because the section's own text makes that determination final and beyond further review.
Related provisions
- Rule 56, Section 6 — Disposition of improper appeal
- Rule 56, Section 3 — Mode of appeal
- Rule 56, Section 5 — Grounds for dismissal of appeal