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Act No. 8249AN ACT FURTHER DEFINING THE
JURISDICTION
OF THE SANDIGANBAYAN,AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE
PRESIDENTIAL
DECREE NO. 1606, AS AMENDED,PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES
REPUBLIC
ACT
NO. 8249 AN ACT
FURTHER DEFINING
THE JURISDICTION OF THE SANDIGANBAYAN, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE
PRESIDENTIAL
DECREE NO. 1606, AS AMENDED, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES.
Be
it enacted by the Senate and House of epresentatives of the
Philippines
in Congress assembled:
Section 1. The first
paragraph of Sec. 1 of Presidential Decree No.
1606, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 1. Sandiganbayan;
Composition, Qualifications; Tenure;
Removal
and Compensation. - A special court, of the same level as the Court
of Appeals and possessing all the inherent powers of a court ofjustice,
to be known as the Sandiganbayan is hereby created composed of a
presiding
justice and fourteen associate justices who shall be appointed by the
President."
Sec. 2. Sec. 2 of the same
decree is hereby further amended to
read
as follows:
"Sec. 2. Official Station;
Place of Holding Sessions. - The
Sandiganbayan
shall have its principal office in the Metro Manila area and shall hold
sessions thereat for the trial and determination of cases filed with
it:
Provided, however, That cases originating from the principal
geographical
regions of the country, that is, from Luzon, Visayas or Mindanao, shall
be heard in their respective regions of origin except only when the
greater
convenience of the accused and of the witnesses, or
other
compelling considerations require the contrary, in which instance a
case
originating from one geographical region may be heard in another
geographical
region: Provided, further, That for this purpose the presiding justice
shall authorize any divisions of the court to hold sessions at any time
and place outside Metro Manila and, where the interest of justice
so requires, outside the territorial boundaries of the Philippines. The
Sandiganbayan may require the services of the personnel and the use of
facilities of the courts or other government offices where any of the
divisions
is holding sessions and the personnel of such courts or offices shall
be
subject to the orders of the Sandiganbayan."
Sec. 3. The second paragraph of
Sec. 3 of the same decree is
hereby
deleted.
Sec. 4. Sec. 4 of the
same decree is hereby further amended to
read
as follows:
"a. Violations of Republic Act No. 3019, as amended,
otherwise known as
the Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Republic Act No. 1379,
and Chapter II, Sec. 2, Title VII, Book II of the Revised Penal
Code,
where one or more of the accused are officials occupying the following
positions in the government whether in a permanent, acting or interim
capacity,
at the time of the commission of the offense:
"(1) Officials of the executive branch occupying the
positions of
regional
director and higher, otherwise classified as Grade '27' and higher, of
the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989 (Republic Act
No. 6758), specifically including:
"(a) Provincial governors, vice-governors, members of
the sangguniang
panlalawigan
and provincial treasurers, assessors, engineers and other provincial
department
heads;
"(b) City mayors, vice-mayors, members of
the sangguniang
panlungsod,
city treasurers, assessors engineers and other city department heads;
"(c) Officials of the diplomatic service occupying
the position of
consul
and higher;
"(d) Philippine army and air force colonels, naval
captains, and all
officers
of higher rank;
"(e) Officers of the Philippine National Police while
occupying the
position
of provincial director and those holding the rank of senior
superintendent
or higher;
"(f) City and provincial prosecutors and their
assistants, and
officials
and prosecutors in the Office of the Ombudsman and special prosecutor;
"(g) Presidents, directors or trustees, or managers
of
government-owned
or -controlled corporations, state universities or educational
institutions
or foundations;
"(2) Members of Congress and officials thereof
classified as
Grade'27'and
up under the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989;
"(3) Members of the judiciary without prejudice to
the provisions of
the
Constitution;
"(4) Chairmen and members of Constitutional
Commissions, without
prejudice
to the provisions of the Constitution; and
"(5) All other national and local officials
classified as Grade'27'and
higher under the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989.
"b. Other offenses orfelonies whether simple or
complexed with other
crimes
committed by the public officials and employees mentioned in subSec.
a of this Sec. in relation to their office.
"c. Civil and criminal cases filed pursuant to and in
connection with
Executive
Order Nos. 1, 2, 14 and 14-A, issued in 1986.
"In cases where none of the accused are occupying
positions
corresponding
to salary grade '27' or higher, as prescribed in the said Republic Act
No. 6758, or military or PNP officers mentioned above, exclusive
original
jurisdiction thereof shall be vested in the proper regional trial
court,
metropolitan trial court, municipal trial court and municipal circuit
trial
court ' as the case may be, pursuant to their respective jurisdiction
as
provided in Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, as amended.
"The Sandiganbayan shall exercise exclusive appellate
jurisdiction over
final judgments, resolutions or orders or regional trial courts whether
in the exercise of their own original jurisdiction orof their appellate
jurisdiction as herein provided.
"The Sandiganbayan shall have exclusive original
jurisdiction over
petitions
for the issuance of the writs of mandamus, prohibition, certiorari,
habeas
corpus, injunctions, and other ancillary writs and processes in aid of
its appellate jurisdiction and over petitions of similar nature,
including quo warranto, arising or that may arise in cases filed or
which
may be filed under Executive Order Nos. 1,2,14 and 14-A, issued in
1986:
Provided, That the jurisdiction over these petitions shall not be
exclusive of the Supreme Court.
The procedure prescribed in Batas Pambansa Blg. 129,
as well as the
implementing
rules that the Supreme Court has promulgated and may hereafter
promulgate,
relative to appeals/petitions for review to the Court of Appeals, shall
apply to appeals and petitions for review filed with the Sandiganbayan.
In all cases elevated to the Sandiganbayan and from the Sandiganbayan
to
the Supreme Court, the Office of the Ombudsman, through its special
prosecutor,
shall represent the People of the Philippines, except in cases filed
pursuant
to Executive Order Nos. 1, 2, 14 and 14-A, issued in 1986.
"In case private individuals are charged as
co-principals, accomplices
or accessories with the public officers or employees, including those
employed
in govemment-owned or controlled corporations, they shall be tried
jointly
with said public officers and employees in the proper courts which
shall
exercise exclusive jurisdiction over them.
"Any provisions of law or Rules of Court to the
contrary
notwithstanding,
the criminal action and the corresponding civil action for the recovery
of civil liability shall at all times be simultaneously instituted
with,
and jointly determined in, the same proceeding by the Sandiganbayan or
the appropriate courts, the filing of the criminal action being deemed
to necessarily carry with it the filing of the civil action, and no
right
to reserve the filing of such civil action separately from the criminal
action shall be recognized: Provided, however, That where the civil
action
had therefore been filed separately but judgment therein has not yet
been
rendered, and the criminal case is hereafter filed
with
the Sandiganbayan or the appropriate court, said civil action shall be
transferred to the Sandiganbayan or the appropriate court, as the case
may be, for consolidation and joint determination with the criminal
action,
otherwise the separate civil action shall be deemed abandoned."
Sec. 5. Sec. 7 of the same
decree is hereby further amended to
read
as follows:
"Sec. 7. Form, Finality and
Enforcement of Decisions. - All
decisions
and final orders determining the merits of a case or finally disposing
of the action or proceedings of the Sandijanbayan shall contain
complete
findings of the facts and the law on which they are based, on all
issues
properly raised before it and necessary in deciding the case.
"A petition for reconsideration
of any final order or decision may be
filed
within fifteen (15) days from promulgation or notice of the final order
on judgment, and such motion for reconsideration shall be decided
within
thirty (30) days from submission thereon.
"Decisions and final orders
ofthe Sandiganbyan shall be appealable to
the
Supreme Court by petition for review on certiorari raising pure
questions
of law in accordance with Rule 45 of the Rules of Court. Whenever, in
any
case decided by the Sandiganbayan, the penalty of reclusion perpetua,
life
imprisonment or death is imposed, the decision shall be appealable to
the
Supreme Court in the manner prescribed in the Rules of Court.
"Judgments and orders of the
Sandiganbayan shall be executed and
enforced
in the manner provided by law.
"Decisions and final orders of
other courts in cases cognizable by said
courts under this decree as well as those rendered by them in the
exercise
of their appellate jurisdiction shall be appealable to, or be
reviewable
by, the Sandiganbayan in the manner provided by Rule 122 of the Rules
of
the Court.
"In case, however, the imposed
penalty by the Sandiganbayan
or the regional trial court in the proper exercise of their respective
jurisdictions, is death, review by the Supreme Court
shall be automatic, whether or not accused files an appeal."
Sec. 6. Appropriations.
- The amount necessary to carry out
the
initial implementation of this Act shall be charged against the current
fiscal year appropriations of the Sandiganbayan. Thereafter, such sums
as may be needed for its continued implementation shall be included in
the annual General Appropriations Act.
Sec.
7. Transitory Provision. - This Act shall apply to all
cases
pending in any court over which trial has not begun as of the approval
hereof
Sec.
8. Separability of Provisions. - If for any reason any
provision
of this Act is declared unconstitutional or invalid, such parts or
portions
not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.
Sec.
9. Repealing Clause. - All acts, decrees, general
orders
and circulars, or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of
this
Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Sec.
10. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen
(15)
days after its complete publication in at least two (2) newspapers of
general
circulation.
Approved:
February 5, 1997
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