On 4 September 1956  the President of the Philippines appointed Perfecto  Gallardo ad interim Justice of the Peace of Lupao, Nueva Ecija.   He took his  oath, assumed office and performed  his duties as such.  On 10  April 1957 the Commission  on Appointments  confirmed his ad interim appointment (53  Off. Gaz. 2439).   On 12  April 1957 the President of the Philippines nominated Francisco Andres  for appointment as Justice of the Peace of Quezon, Nueva Ecija.  On 24  April 1957 the  Commission on Appointments approved his  nomination (53 Off. Gaz. 2745).

He also took his  oath, assumed office and performed his duties as such.  Since their assumption  in office, the two Justices of the Peace had been regularly paid their respective monthly salaries until the enactment  and effectivity of Republic Act No. 1800, the  appropriation law  for the fiscal year 1957-1958, which failed to  provide for their respective salaries.  On 8  August 1957  the Secretary of Justice recommended to the President that in view of the merger  of the towns of San Jose and Lupao, and of Santo Domingo  and Quezon, Nueva  Ecija,  into  two  separate Justice  of the Peace court circuits, Gelasio T. Yusi and Ignacio Lustre be retained as Justices of the Peace of the newly  created circuits, respectively  (Annex A).   On  21 August 1957 the President designated Gelasio  T.  Yusi as Justice of the Peace of San Jose and Lupao, and Ignacio Lustre as  Justice of  the  Peace of  Santo Domingo and Quezon (Annexes B and C).

On  4 September 1957 the Undersecretary of Justice  transmitted to Gelasio.  T.  Yusi through  the  Executive Judge of the Court of First Instance of Nueva Ecija, Fourth Judicial District, his designation as Justice of the Peace of San Jose and Lupao and requested the Executive Judge to advise  Perfecto Gallardo that he had  ceased to hold office as  Justice of the Peace of Lupao in  view of the elimination of his salary item in Republic Act No. 1800, which took effect  on 1 July  1957 (Annex D).  On 9 September the Executive Judge advised Perfecto Gallardo and Francisco Andres of the merger of their respective courts with another to form circuit court and of the  designation by the President of Messrs. Gelasio T. Yusi and Ignacio Lustre as Justices of the Peace of the circuit courts  of San  Jose  and Lupao, and  Santo Domingo and  Quezon,  Nueva  Ecija, and requested them (Gallardo and Andres) to turn over all the papers  kept in their  respective courts  to the two designated  Justices of the Peace (Annexes E and F).   On 4 October  1957 the Secretary of Justice requested the Executive Judge to direct Messrs. Yusi and Lustre to hold court regularly in their respective territorial circuits;  that  if  Messrs. Gallardo and Andres refuse to vacate their respective offices, Messrs.  Yusi  and  Lustre  be authorized  to  hold court in any other place in  the municipal building; that they be reminded to observe office  hours regularly within their respective jurisdictions, otherwise their salary would be correspondingly reduced;  and that the provincial fiscal be requested not to recognize Messrs. Gallardo and Andres as Justices of the Peace of Lupao  and Quezon  (Annex  J.)  On  11  October  1957, in  view  of the failure of Ignacio Lustre to discharge the functions of his office due to ill health, the Executive Judge of the Court of First Instance  of Nueva Ecija,  Fourth Judicial District, designated Joaquin Tabios, Justice of the Peace of Licab, to act in his place  (Annex K).

On 6  December  1957  Perfecto Gallardo  and  Francisco Andres filed in this Court a  petition  and  on 28 March 1958 an amended petition contesting the validity and legality of the designation of the respondents Yusi and Lustre as Justices of the Peace of San  Jose and  Lupao,  and Santo Domingo and Quezon, respectively, and of the provisions of Republic  Act No.  1800  eliminating their respective salary items; and praying  that  the respondent Secretary of Justice  be ordered to recognize them as the lawful Justices of the Peace of their respective courts and the  Chief Accounting Officer and the Judicial  Officer of the Department of Justice to pay their respective salaries beginning 1 July 1957;  and for other  just and equitable relief.

Article VIII of the Constitution provides: Section 1.  The Judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior  courts  as may be established by law.

SEC. 2. The Congress shall have the power to define, prescribe, and apportion the jurisdiction of the various courts, * * *.

SEC. 9. The members of the Supreme Court and all judges of inferior courts shall  hold office during good behavior, until they reach the age of seventy years, or become incapacitated to discharge the  duties of their  office.  They  shall receive. such compensation as may be fixed by law, which  shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.  * * *.

SECTION 70, Republic Act No. 296,  provides:

Justices of the peace haying the requisite legal qualifications shall hold  office  during good behavior, until they reach  the age of seventy years, or become  incapacitated to discharge  the  duties  of their office, unless sooner removed in accordance with law or unless his. office be lawfully abolished or merged in  the jurisdiction of another justice of the peace; Provided,  That  in case the public interest requires it, a justice of the peace  of  one municipality may be transferred to another.

Republic Act No. 1150  (the appropriation law for the fiscal year 1954-1955, p. 284 and Republic Act No. 1350 (the appropriation law for the fiscal year 1955-1956, p. 299)  provided salary items for one Justice of the Peace for the circuit court of San Jose and Lupao and another for the circuit court of Santo Domingo and Quezon.  In the ensuing  fiscal year (1956-1957), Congress provided salary items for one Justice of the Peace for each of the four municipalities, thereby establishing a court for each of them (Republic Act No. 1600, p. 355).  This was the appropriation law in force when the petitioners were appointed to their  respective positions.  In the next fiscal year (1957-1958), Congress  merged the salary items of the Justices of the Peace of San Jose and Lupao, and Santo Domingo and Quezon, thereby  establishing  one circuit court for San Jose and Lupao and another for Santo Domingo and  Quezon, and eliminating  the salary items for the Justices of the  Peace of Lupao and Quezon (Republic Act No. 1800, p. 342).  In the succeeding fiscal year, 1958-1959  (Republic Act No. 2080, pp. 457-458), and in the present fiscal year, 1959-1960 (Republic Act No. 2300, p. 392), Congress again provided for the salary items of one Justice of the  Peace for  each of  the  four municipalities, thereby  establishing a court for  each of them.

The question submitted  to this Court for determination has become moot  in view of  the provisions of part  One, section F, sub-section 4, paragraph VI,  sub-paragraph 2, of Republic  Act  No. 2080, the appropriation act for the fiscal year 1958-1959 (p. 484), which provides:

Justices of the Peace whose position had been created in previous Acts and Who had already  been appointed to said positions and whose appointments had been confirmed by the  Commission on Appointments but whose items were eliminated in subsequent appropriation Acts and are again restored in this Act shall continue holding said positions unless otherwise disqualified by law.

A similar provision is found in Republic Act No. 2300, the appropriation act for the fiscal year 1959-1960 (p.413).

The petition  is  dismissed  without pronouncement as to costs.

Paras, C. J., Bengzon, Montemayor, Bautista Angelo, Labrador, Reyes, J. B. L., Endencia, Barrera, and Gutierrez David, JJ., concur.