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PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1165
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1165
-FURTHER AMENDING THE APPELLATE REVIEW PROCEDURE IN MILITARY TRIBUNAL
AND GENERAL COURT-MARTIAL CASES AS PROVIDED IN PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO.
978
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WHEREAS,
the appellate review of cases heard and tried by military tribunals,
created pursuant to General Order No. 8, dated September 27, 1972, and
Presidential Decree No. 39, and general courts-martial, as provided in
Presidential Decree No. 978, as amended by Presidential Decree No.
1042, may still be expedited and made more adequate;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby
order and decree as part of the law of the land the following
amendments to Presidential Decree No. 978: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 1. Paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) of Section 1
of Presidential Decree No. 978 are hereby amended to read as follows:cralaw:red
"Sec. 1. Initial Action on Record. — (a) Review by
Staff Judge Advocate/Legal Officer or AFP Board of Review — Every
record of trial of military commissions or provost courts shall be
forwarded to the staff judge advocate/legal officer of the convening
authority for review before the latter acts thereon except in those
cases where the penalty imposed is —chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(i) death;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(ii) confinement of more than six (6) years; or
(iii) fine of more than P6,000.00 which shall be
directly reviewed by the Court of Military Appeals. The staff judge
advocate/legal officer shall submit his opinion in writing to the
convening authority regarding the legal sufficiency of the record of
trial in which there has been a finding of guilty, the appropriateness
of the sentence, and any errors of law which may have been committed
injuriously affecting the substantial rights of the accused. If the
trial resulted in a finding of not guilty or acquittal of all the
charge or charges and specification or specifications, the review shall
be limited to questions of jurisdiction. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
For purposes of this initial review, the Judge Advocate General, AFP,
shall, as may be directed by the Chief of Staff, AFP, create in his
office as many AFP Boards of Review as he may deem proper to conduct
the review of a record of trial for the Chief of Staff, AFP, in lieu of
the review of his staff judge advocate. The Judge Advocate General,
AFP, shall prescribe uniform rules of procedure for the AFP Boards of
Review.
(c) Rehearing — Where the convening authority
disapproves the findings of guilty of the military commission or
provost court, he may order a rehearing, except where the disapproval
is based on lack of legally sufficient evidence to support the findings
and sentence. If he does not order a rehearing, he may order the
dismissal of the case. Where the military commission or provost court
had no jurisdiction over the offense or person of the accused, the
convening authority shall take the appropriate action.
(d) Execution of Sentence — All sentences of military
commissions and provost courts shall be executory fifteen (15) days
after approval thereof by the convening authority, unless a petition
for review is filed pursuant to the provisions of Section 2, paragraph
(a), of this decree.
Section 2. Section 2 of said Presidential Decree No.
978 is hereby amended to read as follows: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
"Sec. 2. Review by Court of Military Appeals. — (a)
Where Discretionary. — The action or decision of the convening
authority in military commission and provost court cases may be
reviewed by the Court of Military Appeals upon a petition for review
filed by the accused with said court within fifteen (15) days from
receipt of a copy of said action or decision. Only questions of law
which must be distinctly set forth may be raised. The decision of the
Court of Military Appeals shall be final.
(b) Where Required. — The Judge Advocate General,
AFP, shall refer directly to the Court of Military Appeals every
records of trial of a military commission or provost court in which the
penalty imposed is — chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(i) death
(ii) confinement of more than six (6) years; or
(iii) fine of more than P6,000.00
(c) The Court of military Appeals shall determine the
appropriateness of the sentence imposed by the military commission or
provost court. In considering the records, it may weigh the evidence,
judge the credibility of witnesses, and determine controverted
questions of fact and any errors of law which may have been committed
injuriously affecting the substantial rights of the accused.
(d) The Court of Military Appeals may disapprove the
findings of guilty by the military commission or provost court, and
order rehearing, except where the disapproval is based on lack of
legally sufficient evidence to support the findings. If it does not
order a rehearing, it may dismiss the case. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(e) Except in death sentences, all sentences of
military commissions and provost courts based solely upon findings of
guilty of a charge or charges and a specification or specifications to
which the accused pleaded guilty shall not be subject to further review
by the Court of Military Appeals and/or the Supreme Court as herein
provided.
f) Action in Accordance with Decision of Court. —
After the Court of Military Appeals has acted on a case, the Judge
Advocate General, AFP, shall advise the convening authority to take
action in accordance with the decision of the Court, unless there is
further action by the Supreme Court as herein provided.
Section 3. Section 3 of said Presidential Decree No.
978 is hereby repealed.
Section 4. Section 4 of said Presidential Decree No.
978 is hereby re-numbered as Section 3 and amended to read as follows:cralaw:red
"Sec. 3. Review of Records of Trial by General
Court-Martial. — The Court of Military Appeals herein created shall
review every record of trial by general courts-martial where the
sentence, as approved by the convening authority and an AFP Board of
Review, requires confirmation by the President of the Philippines as
provided in Article of War 47. With respect to such cases, they shall
become final and immediately executory when the findings of guilty and
the sentence are approved, or disapproved, without rehearing being
ordered, by the Court of Military Appeals; Provided, That where the
sentence of a general court-martial imposes the penalty of death or
affects a general or flag officer, the sentence shall not be executed
unless approved or confirmed by the President of the Philippines;
Provided, further, that in such cases, the President may reverse,
confirm, increase the penalty imposed, or otherwise modify, the
decision of the court-martial. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 5. The following provision shall be
incorporated as Section 4 of Presidential Decree No. 978:cralaw:red
"Sec. 4. Review by the Supreme Court. — The accused
may file with the Supreme Court a petition for review on certiorari of
a decision of the Court of Military Appeals referred to in Section 2,
paragraph (b) hereof, Such review shall be limited to question of law
which shall be distinctly set forth in the petition and shall be
governed by Rule 45 of the Revised Rules of Court prescribing the
procedure for appeal from the Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court;
Provided, that where the original offense charged not punishable with
death or life imprisonment, the review may be on questions of law and
fact; Provided, further that where the sentence imposed is death, the
records of the case shall be forwarded to the Supreme Court for review
and judgment, whether the accused shall have appealed or not, and
affirmance must be on ten (10) affirmative votes.
Section 6. Transitory Provision. — Presidential
Decree No. 978 as further amended by this Decree shall apply to all
records of trial of military tribunals and general courts-martial which
are pending appellate review on the date of organization of the Court
of Military Appeals.
*Section 8. Effectivity. — This Decree shall take
effect upon its promulgation.
Done in the City of Manila,
this 24th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
seventy-seven.
* Copied verbatim from documents obtained directly
from Bureau of Printing publication (missing Section 7).
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