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PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 77
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 77
- AMENDING Section 1 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 5180 PRESCRIBING A
UNIFORM SYSTEM OF PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION BY PROVINCIAL AND CITY
FISCALS AND THEIR ASSISTANTS, AND BY STATE ATTORNEYS OR THEIR ASSISTANTS
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WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 5180 (prescribing
a uniform system of preliminary investigation), grants the complainant
and respondent in a preliminary investigation the right to confront and
cross-examine each other and their witnesses;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the said procedure is time-consuming and not conducive to the
expeditious administration of justice;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as
Commander-in-Chief of all 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 decree as
follows: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
1. Section 1 of Republic Act No. 5180 is hereby
amended to read as follows:cralaw:red
"Sec. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the
contrary and except when an investigation has been conducted by a judge
of first instance, city or municipal judge or other officer in
accordance with law and the Rules of Court of the Philippines, no
information for an offense cognizable by the Court of First Instance
shall be filed by the provincial or city fiscal or any of his
assistants, or by the Chief State Prosecutor or his assistants, without
first conducting a preliminary investigation in the following manner:cralaw:red
a. All complaints shall be accompanied by statements
of the complainant and his witnesses as well as other supporting
documents. The statements of the complainant and his witnesses shall be
sworn to before the investigating fiscal or state prosecutor. He shall
examine them and satisfy himself that their statements were voluntarily
executed and understood by them.
b. If on the basis of the complainant's sworn
statements and documents submitted there does not appear to be prima
facie case, the investigating fiscal or state prosecutor shall dismiss
the case; if a prima facie case is established by complainant's
evidence, he shall notify the respondent by issuing a subpoena
requiring him to submit at an indicated date which shall not be more
than ten (10) days from receipt of the subpoena, counter-affidavits and
other supporting documents. To the subpoena shall be attached a copy of
the complaint, the sworn statements and other documents submitted.
Other evidence submitted shall be made available for examination of the
respondent or his counsel. The statements of the respondent and his
witnesses shall also be sworn to before the investigating
fiscal. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
c. Whenever necessary, the fiscal or state prosecutor
may subpoena either or both parties or their witnesses and propound
clarificatory question, during which both complainant and respondent
shall be afforded an opportunity to be present but without right to
examine or cross-examine. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
"The investigating fiscal or state prosecutor shall help both the
complainant and the respondent and their witnesses in the preparation
and execution of their affidavits if so requested to do so.
"The fiscal or state prosecutor shall certify under oath in the
information to be filed by him that he has examined the complainant and
his witnesses, that on the basis of the sworn statements and other
evidence submitted before him that there is reasonable ground to
believe that a crime has been committed and that the accused is
probably guilty thereof, that the accused was informed of the complaint
and of the evidence submitted against him and that he was given an
opportunity to submit controverting evidence: Provided, That no
assistant fiscal or state prosecutor may file an information except
with the prior authority or approval of the city or provincial fiscal
or chief state prosecutor and only in a case in which he himself
conducted the preliminary investigation." chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
2. All provisions of existing laws, orders, rules and
regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provision of this
Decree are hereby repealed.
3. This Decree shall take effect
immediately. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Done in the City of Manila,
this 6th day of December, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
seventy-two.
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Since 19.07.98
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