Regional trial court

Regional trial courts, abbreviated RTC and called Panrehiyong Hukuman sa Paglilitis in Filipino, are the highest trial courts in the Philippines. They exercise original jurisdiction over major criminal and civil cases, meaning that such cases are first heard and tried before them rather than reaching them on appeal. They also have appellate jurisdiction over certain cases decided by lower courts, so they review some rulings of the lesser courts of the Philippine judiciary as well as conducting trials of the more serious matters. The source describes their role only in these general terms.