WHEREAS,
Presidential Decree No. 77 was issued to provide a procedure for
conducting preliminary investigations which is more conducive to the
speedy administration of justice; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, while the said Decree has served its purpose, the requirement
therein that complainants and respondents and their witnesses must have
their statements subscribed and sworn to before the investigating
fiscal is still causing undue delay in the disposition of cases and
unnecessary expenses to the parties especially where they come from the
remote places or reside in cities or provinces different from the situs
of the crime;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, there is likewise a need to provide for closer supervision and
control by the Secretary of Justice over fiscals and state prosecutors
in the performance of their functions to better assure fair
dispensation of justice;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby
decree and order:cralaw:red
1. Section 1 of Republic Act No. 5180, as amended by
Presidential Decree No. 77, is hereby further 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 instances, 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 his assistants or by
a state prosecutor, without first conducting a preliminary
investigation in the following manner: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
"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 any fiscal or state prosecutor or before any government
official authorized to administer oath. The officer administering the
oath must certify that he has personally examined the affiants and that
he is satisfied that they voluntarily executed and understood their
affidavits.
"b. If on the basis of the complainant's sworn
statements and documents submitted, the investigating fiscal or state
prosecutor finds no probable cause to conduct a preliminary
investigation, he shall dismiss the case. If probable cause is
established by complainant's evidence, he shall notify the respondent
by issuing a subpoena requiring him to submit his counter-affidavit and
the affidavits of his witnesses, if any, and other supporting
documents, within ten (10) days from receipt of such subpoena. If
respondent cannot be subpoenaed, or if subpoenaed he does not appear
before the investigating fiscal or state prosecutor, the preliminary
investigation shall proceed without him. To such 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 be sworn to before any fiscal or
state prosecutor or before any government official authorized to
administer oath and with the same certification as above-mentioned. The
respondent shall furnish the complainant copies of his
counter-affidavits and other supporting documents. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
"c. If a prima facie case is established by the
evidence, the investigating fiscal or state prosecutor shall
immediately file the corresponding information in court. If he finds
that there is no prima facie case, he shall dismiss the case unless he
believes there are matters to be clarified in which case he may
propound clarificatory question to the parties or their witnesses
affording both parties opportunity to be present but without right to
examine or cross-examine. If the parties or their counsel so desire,
they may submit questions to the fiscal which the latter may in his
discretion propound to the parties concerned.
"d. The preliminary investigation shall proceed
without need of requiring the parties and their witnesses to reaffirm
their respective statements before the investigating fiscal or state
prosecutor. Thereafter, he shall resolve the case within ten (10) days
from its termination, furnishing the parties copies of his resolution
stating briefly the findings of facts and the law supporting his action.
"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 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 or dismiss a case except with
the prior authority or approval of the provincial or city fiscal or
Chief State Prosecutor, Provided, Further, That where an assistant
fiscal or state prosecutor who has investigated the case, recommends
the dismissal of the case but his findings are reversed by the
Provincial or City Fiscal or by the Chief State Prosecutor, as the case
may be, on the ground that a prima facie case exists, the Provincial or
City Fiscal or the Chief State Prosecutor may, by himself, and on the
basis of the same sworn statements and evidence submitted, file the
information against the respondent, or direct any other assistant
fiscal or state prosecutor to do so, without conducting another
preliminary investigation; Provided, Finally, That where the resolution
of the Provincial or City Fiscal or the Chief State Prosecutor is, upon
review, reversed by the Secretary of Justice, the latter may, where he
finds that no prima facie case exists, authorize and direct the
investigating fiscal concerned or any other fiscal or state prosecutor
to cause or move for the dismissal of case, or, where he finds a prima
facie case, to cause the filing of an information in court against the
respondent, based on the same sworn statements or evidence submitted,
without the necessity of conducting another preliminary
investigation." chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
2. This Decree shall take effect immediately.
Done in the City of Manila,
this 23rd day of March, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
seventy-six.
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