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PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 971
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 971 -
PROVIDING LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR MEMBERS OF THE INTEGRATED NATIONAL
POLICE WHO MAY BE CHARGED FOR SERVICE-CONNECTED OFFENSES AND IMPROVING
THE DISCIPLINARY SYSTEM IN THE INTEGRATED NATIONAL POLICE,
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
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chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS,
Presidential Decree No. 765, dated August 8, 1975, has established the
Integrated National Police to attain a high level of efficiency and
discipline in police administration under a unified command; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the existing laws, decrees, rules and regulations need further
strengthening to achieve the desired discipline and conduct in the
service;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution, do hereby
order and decree, as part of the laws of the land, the following:cralaw:red
Section 1. Summary Disciplinary Powers of Commanders.
— The duly designated commanders in the Integrated National Police
shall, in dealing with a minor offense committed by any regular or
uniformed member of their respective commands, have the summary
disciplinary powers as indicated below:cralaw:red
a. Municipal sub-station commanders, station and
district commanders, and provincial police superintendents or officers
holding equivalent commands may summarily impose the administrative
punishment of admonition or reprimand; restriction to specified limits;
withholding of privileges forfeiture of salary for not more than ten
(10) days; suspension for a period not exceeding ten (10) days; or any
combination of the foregoing, provided that the total period shall not
exceed ten (10) days.
b. The Regional or Zone Directors, including the
Director of the Metropolitan Police Force, shall have the power to
impose upon any of the members under their respective commands summary
disciplinary punishment of suspension for not exceeding fifteen (15)
days or forfeiture of salary not more than fifteen (15) days.
c. The Director General shall have the power to
impose upon the members of the Integrated National Police, summary
disciplinary punishment of suspension for not exceeding thirty (30)
days or forfeiture of salary of not more than thirty (30) days.
Section 2. Minor Offense, Defined. — Minor offense
refers to an act or omission not involving moral turpitude but
affecting the internal discipline of the Integrated National
Police. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Whether an offense is minor or not depends upon its nature, the time
and place of its commission and the rank the person committing it.
In no case shall the following offenses be considered as minor;
disloyalty to the government; grave misconduct, gross inefficiency or
incompetence; oppression; serious irregularities or serious neglect;
notoriously disgraceful or immoral conduct; engaging directly or
indirectly in partisan political activities; falsification; other
crimes involving moral turpitude; directly or indirectly obstructing,
defeating or violating the civil rights and liberties of an individual;
receiving a fee, gift or other valuable thing from any person who gives
the same in consideration of services or favors received or in the hope
or expectation of receiving a favor or better treatment than that
accorded to other persons.
Section 3. Finality of Summary Disciplinary Action. —
The summary disciplinary action imposed upon a member of the Integrated
National Police shall be final and executory: Provided, that the
disciplinary action taken by a commander lower than the Director
General may be appealed to the next higher commander within ten (10)
days from receipt of notice of the decision thereof by the member
concerned.
Section 4. Preventive Suspension by Reason of Pending
Criminal Case. — Whenever a member of the Integrated National Police is
accused in the civil or military court of any felony or violation of
law by the municipal or city attorney, the provincial or city fiscal,
the prosecutor of the Department of Justice or the authorized
representative of the Philippine Constabulary/Integrated National
Police, the National Bureau of Investigation or any major service of
the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the station or higher commander
concerned or the National Police Commission shall immediately suspend
the accused from office pending final decision by the court. For this
purpose, it shall be the duty of the judge or clerk of court concerned
to furnish the station commander or police superintendent and the
National Police Commission with the copy of the complaint or
information against said member. The preventive suspension of the
accused shall remain operative pending decision of the case by the
court unless sooner lifted by the said Commission by reason of the
exigency of the service upon recommendation of the Director General.
Section 5. Placement of the Accused in the Custody of
his Commander. — When the charge against a member of the Integrated
National Police, referred to in the proceeding section, arose from the
performance of duty, the court may, upon proper petition of the
immediate commander, place the member concerned under the custody of
such commander in lieu of requiring a bail bond. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 6. Entitlement to Reinstatement and Salary. —
A member of the Integrated National Police who may have been suspended
from office in accordance with the preceding sections shall, upon
acquittal from the charges against him, be entitled to reinstatement by
the station or higher commander and payment of any salary and/or
allowances withheld from him by reason of such suspension.
Section 7. Suspension by reason of detention. — Any
member of the Integrated National Police who may have been lawfully
detained by the military authorities for offenses covered by
Presidential General Order No. 2A, as amended, shall also be considered
suspended from office during such detention: Provided, That, if he is
released without formal charges having been filed against him in court,
he shall be entitled to the rights provided for in the preceding
section hereof.
Section 8. Removal and Suspension of Members of the
Integrated National Police. — Members of the Integrated National Police
may be suspended for a period not exceeding one year or removed from
the service for misconduct, incompetency, dishonesty, disloyalty to the
government, irregularities in the performance of duties, neglect of
duty or violation of law, upon written complaint filed under oath with
the Hearing Office of the National Police Commission, in the province
or city where such member is assigned: Provided, That once an
administrative complaint on any of the grounds herein mentioned is
filed under oath with the Hearing Officer or with the commanders
referred to in Section 1 of the Decree, such commanders may, based upon
their own findings of fact and in the interest of the service suspend
the respondent pending resolution of the case unless lifted by the
Director General or the National Police Commission: Provided, further,
That the commander concerned shall, in case the complaint is filed
directly with him, refer the same to the Hearing Officer without
unnecessary delay. In provinces where there are no appointment Hearing
Officers yet, such complaint shall be filed with the Board of
Investigators of the locality.
Neglect of Duty or Non-feasance is the omission or refusal, without
sufficient excuse, to perform an act or duty, which was the officer's
legal obligation to perform.
Irregularities in the Performance of Duties is the improper performance
of some act which might lawfully be done.
Misconduct or Malfeasance is the doing either through ignorance,
inattention or malice, of that which the officer had no legal right to
do at all, as where he acts without any authority whatsoever or
exceeds, ignores or abuses his powers.
Incompetency is the manifest lack of adequate ability and fitness for
the satisfactory performance of official duties by reason of the
officer's vice or vicious habits. This has reference to any physical,
moral or intellectual quality the lack of which substantially
incapacitates one to perform the duties of a peace or public safety
officer.
Dishonesty is the concealment or distortion of truth in a matter of
fact relevant to one's office or connected with the performance of his
duties.
Disloyalty to the Government consists of abandonment or renunciation of
one's loyalty to the Government of the Philippines, or advocating the
overthrow of the Government.
Violation of Law presupposes conviction in Court of any crime or
offense penalized under the Revised Penal Code or any other penal law
or ordinance.
Upon the filing of the complaint against a member of the Integrated
National Police with the Hearing Officer of the Province or City where
the respondent is stationed, a copy of the said complaint shall be
furnished the former by the Hearing Officer within five (5) days from
the date of filing therefor, and the respondent shall answer within
five (5) days from receipt thereof.
Within five (5) days from receipt of respondent's answer or from the
expiration of respondent's period to answer, whichever is earlier, the
Hearing Officer shall conduct a preliminary inquiry for the purpose of
determining whether or not a prima facie case exists against the
respondent. In such preliminary inquiry, the Hearing Officer shall
examine under oath both parties and their witnesses, with a view of
ascertaining the existence of a probable cause against respondent.
Should the Hearing Officer finds no prima facie case against the
respondent, he shall drop the case, subject to appeal by the
complainant to the Adjudication Board of the Commission, within fifteen
(15) days from receipt of the notice of dismissal: Provided, That the
Commission may order the reopening of the case motu propio if the
interest of justice so warrants.
Should the Hearing Officer find during the preliminary inquiry a prima
facie case against the respondent, he shall within ten (10) days from
the termination of the preliminary inquiry, conduct a formal
investigation of the case. If the charges is serious and evidence of
guilt appears strong, the Hearing Officer shall immediately recommend
to the National Police Commission the suspension of the respondent,
pending final disposition of the administrative case, unless sooner
lifted.
Unless for good cause shown, the investigation shall be finished within
thirty (30) days from the commencement thereof and the corresponding
findings are recommendation thereon shall be submitted by the Hearing
Officer within thirty (30) days from the termination of the
investigation to the Adjudication Board of the Commission for decision.
The decision of the Adjudication Board shall be final except where it
involves removal or dismissal from the service, in which case the
respondent may within fifteen (15) days from his receipt of the
decision, appeal the same to the Appellate Committee of the National
Police Commission for review and final disposition.
The term member used in this Decree shall be understood to refer to the
uniformed or regular police, jail or fire personnel of the Integrated
National Police.
Section 9. Legal Assistance. — The Secretary of
Justice, the Secretary of National Defense, the Chairman of the
National Police Commission and the Director General of the Integrated
National Police may authorize lawyers of their respective agencies to
provide legal assistance and representation to any member of the
Integrated National Police who is facing charges before fiscals and
courts for any offenses arising from or connected with the performance
of his official duty: Provided, that for the purposes of this Section,
government lawyers so authorized shall have the power to administer
oaths: Provided, further, That lawyers may be employed from the private
sectors to provide such legal assistance where and when government
lawyers are not readily available: Provided, finally, That the
Secretaries of Justice and National Defense shall promulgate joint
rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this Section.
Section 10. Appropriations. — The amount of two
million pesos (P2,000,000) is hereby authorized to be appropriated out
of the funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be
administered by the Integrated National Police, to carry out the
purpose of this Decree and thereafter, such amounts as may be necessary
for this purpose shall be included in the annual appropriation of the
Integrated National Police.
Section 11. Rules and Regulations. — The Director
General of the Integrated National Police and the Chairman of the
National Police Commission shall, with the approval of the Secretary of
National Defense, promulgate the rules and regulations for the
effective implementation of the provisions of this Decree except as
provided in Section 9 above. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 12. Repealing Clause. — The provisions of
Republic Act No. 4864, otherwise known as the Police Act of 1966, as
amended by President Decree No. 12, dated October 3, 1972; No. 12-A,
dated October 4, 1972; No. 12-B, dated October 28, 1972; No. 263, dated
August 2, 1973; No. 307, dated October 9, 1973; No. 448 dated May 9,
1974; No. 580, dated November 13, 1974; No. 765, dated August 8, 1975
and the Revised Administrative Code, as amended; the provisions of all
City Charters and all other laws, decrees, orders and rules and
regulations which are inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.
Section 13. Effectivity. — This Decree takes effect
upon approval.
Done in the City of Manila,
this 27th day of July, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
seventy-six.
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