(REPEALED
BY EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 59, S. 1986, AS AMENDED BY EXECUTIVE ORDER NO.
191, S. 1987)
WHEREAS, by virtue of Proclamation No. 2045, the privileges of the Writ
of Habeas Corpus remain suspended in the two autonomous regions of
Mindanao and in all other places with respect to —chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
"persons at present detained as well as others who may hereafter be
similarly detained for the crimes of insurrection or rebellion,
subversion, conspiracy or proposal to commit such crimes, and for all
other crimes and offenses committed by them in furtherance or on the
occasion thereof, or incident thereto, or in connection
therewith;" chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the aforesaid Proclamation, authorizing the President to cause
the preventive detention of persons engaged in, or charged with, the
crimes or offenses mentioned in said Proclamations, has been upheld by
the Supreme Court;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the penalties for the crimes of rebellion, sedition and
related crimes and the conspiracy and/or proposal to commit said crimes
under Articles 135, 136, 138, 140, 141 and 142 of the Revised Penal
Code, have been increased by Presidential Decree 1834 characterizing
said crimes as capital offenses;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the penalties for subversion have likewise been increased by
Presidential Decree No. 1835 making said crime and the conspiracy
and/or proposal to commit the same as capital offenses;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, there are occasions where an offender has definitely committed
any or all of the crimes against the public order and/or subversion,
and/or continues or threatens to continue to commit the same but the
evidence in possession of competent authorities to warrant his arrest
and prosecution in Court cannot be divulged in advance of judicial
processes without prejudice to the state such as endangering covert
intelligence/counter-insurgency operations, particularly the lives of
intelligence and undercover agents; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the Government and the people are at the same time aware that
public safety continues to require a degree of capability to deal
adequately with elements who persist in endeavoring to overthrow the
Government by violent means and to supplant and substitute the existing
political, social, economic and legal order with an entirely new one
whose form of government, system of laws, religion, concept of
individual rights and family precepts are based on teachings and
beliefs other than the democratic form of government.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby
decree:cralaw:red
Section 1. All cases involving the crimes of
insurrection, rebellion, subversion, conspiracy or proposal to commit
such crimes, and all other crimes or offenses committed in furtherance
thereof, or on the occasion thereof, or incident thereto, or in
connection therewith, shall be referred to the Provincial or City
Fiscal, or to the proper Court for preliminary examination or
investigation in accordance with existing laws.
Section 2. Only upon proper warrant issued by the
Court or other responsible officer as may be authorized by law, after
examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and his
witnesses, shall the person or persons charged with the above-mentioned
crimes be arrested and detained; Provided, however, That should a
military commander or the head of a law enforcement agency ascertain
that the person or persons to be arrested has/have committed, is/are
actually committing or is/are about to commit the above-mentioned
crimes, or would probably escape or commit further acts which would
endanger public order and safety as well as the stability of the state
before proper warrant could be obtained, the said military commander or
the head of law enforcement agency may apply to the President of the
Philippines for a preventive detention action against the person or
persons ascertained to be participants in the commission of the crimes
referred to in Section 1 hereof, under the following circumstances:cralaw:red
(a) When resort to judicial processes is not possible
or expedient without endangering public order and safety;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(b) When in the judgment of the President of the
Philippines to apply for a judicial warrant may prejudice peace and
order and the safety of the state like when it may jeopardize the
continued covert intelligence/counter insurgency operations of the
Government, or endanger the lives of intelligence and undercover agents
whose identities would be revealed by the evidence against the person
or persons covered by a preventive detention action.
Section 3. When issued, the preventive detention
action shall constitute authority to arrest the subject person or
persons, and to preventively detain him or them for a period not
exceeding one year and sequester all arms, equipment or property used
or to be used in the commission of the crime or crimes. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 4. The President may constitute a review
committee composed of such civilian and/or government lawyers, as he
may designate to evaluate the evidence against the person or persons
covered by preventive detention action. The review committee shall
submit its recommendation to the President before the expiration of the
one year period of detention. The President may either order the
release, authorize the further detention of, or direct the filing of
the proper information in Court against, the person or persons subject
of a preventive detention action, on the basis of the recommendation of
the review committee.
Section 5. The status of all pending cases of persons
presently detained under a presidential commitment order or its
derivatives shall be reviewed by the President or by the review
committee to be constituted by him which shall make the appropriate
recommendations on said cases. On the basis of his findings or the
recommendations of the review committee, the President may either order
the release, authorize the further detention of or direct the filing of
the proper information in Court against said person or persons.
Section 6. In case of the President of the
Philippines directs the further detention of a person or persons
covered by a preventive detention action, the Chief of Staff of the
Armed Forces and the Minister of Defense shall submit periodic status
reports of such person or persons, together with the appropriate
recommendation, to the President. The President may reconstitute the
review committee at any time to further review and evaluate the case(s)
of the person or persons involved.
Section 7. If the person or persons covered by a
preventive detention action is/are acquitted or has/have served
sentence after conviction, he or they shall be released from proper
custody, Provided that if in the meantime there is evidence of the
detained person continuing to engage in the acts for which he was
detained he may be ordered further detained by the President.
Section 8. The Minister of Defense shall promulgate
the rules and regulations to implement this Decree.
Section 9. All laws, decrees, letters of
instructions, executive or administrative orders, rules and regulations
inconsistent with this Decree are hereby repealed, amended or modified
accordingly. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 10. This Decree shall take effect after
fifteen (15) days following its publication in the Official Gazette.
Done in the City of Manila,
Philippines, this 21st day of July, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen
hundred and eighty-three.
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