WHEREAS,
under existing law, Municipal Judges and other lawyers in the
government service are prohibited from practicing law; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, there are some places where there are no available legal
practitioners, as a result of which the trial of cases in court is
delayed to the prejudice particularly of detention prisoners;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, for the protection of the rights of the accused who cannot
afford to hire lawyers from other places and to prevent miscarriage of
justice, it is necessary that they be provided with counsel; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution as
commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant
to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General Order
No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, as amended, do hereby order and decree
as follows:cralaw:red
Section 1. Designation of Municipal Judges and
lawyers in any branch of the government service, as counsel de officio.
— In places where there are no available practicing lawyers, the
District Judge or Circuit Criminal Court Judge shall designate a
municipal judge or a lawyer employed in any branch, subdivision or
instrumentality of the government within the province, as counsel de
officio for an indigent person who is facing a criminal charge before
his court, and the services of such counsel de officio shall be duly
compensated by the Government in accordance with Section thirty-two,
Rule One Hundred Thirty Eight of the Rules of Court.
If the criminal case wherein the services of a counsel de officio are
needed is pending before a City or municipal court, the city or
municipal judge concerned shall immediately recommend to the nearest
District Judge the appointment of a counsel de officio, and the
District Judge shall forthwith appoint one in accordance with the
preceding paragraph.
For purposes of this Decree an indigent person is anyone who has no
visible means of support or whose income does not exceed P300 per month
or whose income even in excess of P300 is insufficient for the
subsistence of his family, which fact shall be determined by the Judge
in whose court the case is pending, taking into account the number of
the members of his family dependent upon him for subsistence.
Section 2. Repealing Clause. — All laws and decrees
inconsistent with this Decree are hereby repealed. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 3. Effectivity. — This Decree shall take
effect immediately.
DONE in the City of Manila,
this 21st day of August, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
seventy-four.
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