Short answer. Rule 43 covers appeals from the Court of Tax Appeals and from quasi-judicial agencies exercising quasi-judicial functions, including the Civil Service Commission, SEC, GSIS, the Office of the President, and many others the rule names, as long as the body is exercising that kind of function.
What the law says
This Rule shall apply to appeals from judgments or final orders of the Court of Tax Appeals and from awards, judgments, final orders or resolutions of or authorized by any quasi- judicial agency in the exercise of its quasi-judicial functions.
Rule 43, Section 1 — Scope. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Among these agencies are the Civil Service Commission, Central Board of Assessment Appeals, Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of the President, Land Registration Authority, Social Security Commission, Civil Aeronautics Board, Bureau of Patents, Trademarks and Technology Transfer, National Electrification Administration, Energy Regulatory Board, National Telecommunications Commission, Department of Agrarian Reform under Republic Act No. 6657, Government Service Insurance System, Employees Compensation Commission, Agricultural Inventions Board, Insurance Commission, Philippine Atomic Energy Commission, Board of Investments, Construction Industry Arbitration Commission, and voluntary arbitrators authorized by law.
Rule 43, Section 1 — Scope. Read the full provision →
One appellate route for many agencies
Instead of writing a separate appeal procedure for every board and commission, Rule 43 supplies a single route to the Court of Appeals. Section 1 states it applies to appeals from judgments or final orders of the Court of Tax Appeals and from awards, judgments, final orders or resolutions of or authorized by any quasi-judicial agency in the exercise of its quasi-judicial functions. The test is functional: is the body exercising quasi-judicial power, not merely which agency it happens to be or what it happens to be named. This functional test avoids the awkward result of two agencies performing essentially the same kind of adjudication being funneled through entirely different appellate procedures.
The list is illustrative, not exhaustive
Section 1 then names a long roster — the Civil Service Commission, SEC, GSIS, the Office of the President, the Land Registration Authority, and more — but introduces it with the phrase among these agencies are. That wording signals the list is illustrative rather than a closed catalogue, so an agency exercising quasi-judicial functions is not automatically excluded just because its name does not appear on the list Section 1 happens to enumerate. A newer agency created after the Rule was drafted, for instance, could still fall within Rule 43's coverage if it genuinely exercises quasi-judicial functions.
Why the routing matters
Bringing an appeal to the wrong forum, or under the wrong rule, can cost a party the appeal entirely if the error is caught too late to correct within the filing period. Because so many boards and commissions fall under this one provision, confirming that the body that ruled against you is exercising quasi-judicial functions — and therefore falls within Rule 43 — is the first step before drafting a petition for review at all. Counsel unfamiliar with a particular agency's classification should research it specifically rather than assume based on the agency's general subject matter.
Related provisions
- Rule 43, Section 1 — Scope
- Rule 43, Section 2 — Cases not covered
- Rule 43, Section 3 — Where to appeal