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: ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS
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ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 40
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 40 -
PRESCRIBING GUIDELINES FOR THE TREATMENT OF THE PERSONNEL OF THE ARMED
FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE, WHO ARE FACING ADMINISTRATIVE
AND CRIMINAL CHARGES
WHEREAS, accounts on the involvement of
commissioned officers and enlisted/non-officers personnel of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police
(PNP) in criminal activities, coupled with the seeming lack of
coordination between some military/police units, have adversely
affected the image of the AFP and PNP;
WHEREAS, for so long as there are misfits and scalawags within the
uniformed ranks of the AFP and PNP, reports about their nefarious
deeds, whether done singly or in concert with others, including
ex-soldiers/policemen and/or civilians, will be perceived negatively by
the public and the national leadership to such an extent as to relegate
to the background the commendable and substantial accomplishments of
our men in uniform;
WHEREAS, the drive to expel the undesirable elements from the AFP and
PNP must be unrelenting and, more that this, the military/police
organizations must take the lead in bringing their own offenders before
the bar of justice:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, by virtue of the powers vested in me
by law, do hereby order:
Section 1. In administrative cases where the
administrative discharge of the military/police personnel with a
pending criminal case cognizable before the civil courts is warranted
and authorized under existing laws, rules and regulations, his
discharge from the military/police service and release from custody
should be effected simultaneously and contemporaneously with the
referral of his case and the delivery of his person before the civil
judicial authorities for appropriate action; provided that, if such
military/police personnel is charged with a grave offense, the
military/police organization should, in coordination with the
government prosecutor, actively help to build-up and file the case
against him before the civil court and, thereafter, obtain a court
order committing him to military/police custody while undergoing trial
to ensure his presence during court hearings; and provided further
that, in the meantime, the firearms, ammunition, and all other
government properties issued to him must be recalled forthwith.
Sec. 2. The commanding officer of an erring
military/police personnel shall be similarly held accountable either
for conduct unbecoming of an officer or as accessory after the fact in
cases where he refuses to act, fails to render a timely report, delays
action, or otherwise aids and abets the wrongdoing of his subordinate
who is the subject of a valid complaint.
Sec. 3. Generally, where the crime or offense
committed by a military/police personnel is not service-connected,
waiver of court-martial jurisdiction over the case should be
recommended to the President, through the appropriate Department,
pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1952, dated September 4, 1984.
Sec. 4. Hand in hand with the purging efforts
should be the conduct of measures promotive of discipline and
professionalism within the AFP and PNP, including the reminder to the
commanders to closely supervise the chain of command and use the "buddy
system" to ensure that the whereabouts of the military/police personnel
under them and their actuations are known and monitored since
discipline exists only when a subordinate who is left alone behaves the
way he does when he is in the presence of a respected superior, and the
knowledge by commanders and senior officers on how to conduct
themselves in public, particularly before the media practitioners.
Sec. 5. This Administrative Order shall take
effect immediately.
DONE in the City of Manila,
this 24th day of February in the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and
ninety-three.
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Since 19.07.98.