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This web
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contains the full text of
Republic Act
No. 7975.
REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 7975
AN ACT
TO STRENGTHEN
THE FUNCTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL ORGANIZATION OF THE SANDIGANBAYAN,
AMENDING
FOR THAT PURPOSE PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1606, AS AMENDED.
Section 1. Sec. 3 of
Presidential
Decree No. 1606, as amended by Executive Order No. 184, is hereby
further
amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 3. Division
of
the Court; Quorum. - The Sandiganbayan shall sit in five (5)
divisions
of three justices each. The five (5) may sit at the same time.
"The first three
divisions
shall be stationed in the Metro Manila area, the fourth division shall
be in Cebu City for cases coming from the Visayas region, and the fifth
division shall be in Cagayan de Oro City for cases coming from the
Mindanao
region.
"Three
Justices shall
constitute
a quorum for sessions in divisions: Provided, That when the
required
quorum for the particular division cannot be had due to the legal
disqualification
or temporary disability of a Justice or of a vacancy occurring therein,
the Presiding Justice may designate an Associate Justice of the Court,
to be determined by strict rotation on the basis of the reverse order
of
precedence, to sit as a special member of said division with all the
rights
and prerogatives of a regular member of said division in the trial and
determination of a case or cases assigned thereto, unless the operation
of the court will be prejudiced thereby, in which case, the President
shall,
upon the recommendation of the Presiding Justice, designate any Justice
or Justices of the Court of Appeals to sit temporarily therein."
Sec. 2. Section 4 of the same
Decree is hereby further amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 4. Jurisdiction.
The Sandiganbayan shall exercise original jurisdiction in all cases
involving:
"a.
Violations of Republic
Act No. 3019, as amended, otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt
Practices Act, Republic
Act No. 1379, and Chapter
II, Section 2, Title VII of the Revised Penal Code, where one or
more
of the principal accused are officials occupying the following
positions
in the government, whether in permanent, acting or interim capacity, at
the time of the commission of the offense:
"(1)
Officials of the
executive
branch occupying the positions of regional director and higher,
otherwise
classified as grade 27 and higher, of the Compensation and Position
Classification
Act of 1989 (Republic Act No. 6758), specifically including:
"(a)
Provincial
governors,
vice-governors, members of the sangguniang panlalawigan, and provincial
treasurers, assessors, engineers, and other provincial department heads;
"(b) City mayors,
vice-mayors,
members of the sangguniang panlungsod, city treasurers, assessors,
engineers,
and other city department heads;
"(c)
Officials of
the diplomatic
service occupying the position of consul and higher;
"(d) Philippine
army
and
air force colonels, naval captains, and all officers of higher rank;
"(e) PNP chief
superintendent
and PNP officers of higher rank;
"(f) City and
provincial
prosecutors and their assistants, and officials and prosecutors in the
Office of the Ombudsman and special prosecutor;
"(g) Presidents,
directors
or trustees, or managers of government-owned or controlled
corporations,
state universities or educational institutions or foundations;
"(2) Members
of Congress
and officials thereof classified as Grade "27" and up under the
Compensation
and Position Classification Act of 1989;
"(3) Members of the
judiciary
without prejudice to the provisions of the Constitution;
"(4) Chairmen and
members
of Constitutional Commissions, without prejudice to the provisions of
the
Constitution; and
"(5) All other
national
and local officials classified as Grade "27" and higher under the
Compensation
and Position Classification Act of 1989;
"b. Other offenses or
felonies
committed by the public officials and employees mentioned in subsection
(a) of this section in relation to their office.
"c. Civil and
criminal
cases
filed pursuant to and in connection with Executive Order Nos. 1, 2, 14
and 14-A.
"In cases where none
of
the principal accused are occupying positions corresponding to salary
grade
"27" or higher, as prescribed in the said Republic Act No. 6758, or PNP
officers occupying the rank of superintendent or higher, or their
equivalent,
exclusive jurisdiction thereof shall be vested in the proper Regional
Trial
Court, Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court, and Municipal
Circuit
Trial Court, as the case may be, pursuant to their respective
jurisdictions
as provided in Batas Pambansa Blg. 129.
"The
Sandiganbayan
shall
exercise exclusive appellate jurisdiction on appeals from the final
judgments,
resolutions or orders of regular courts where all the accused are
occupying
positions lower than salary grade "27", or not otherwise covered by the
preceding enumeration.
"The Sandiganbayan
shall
have exclusive original jurisdiction over petitions for the issuance of
the writs of mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, habeas corpus,
injunction,
and other ancillary writs and processes in aid of its appellate
jurisdiction: Provided, That the jurisdiction over these
petitions shall not
be
exclusive of the Supreme Court.
"The
procedure
prescribed
in Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, as well as the implementing rules that the
Supreme Court has promulgated and may hereafter promulgate, relative to
appeals/petitions for review to the Court of Appeals shall apply to
appeals
and petitions for review filed with the Sandiganbayan. In all cases
elevated
to the Sandiganbayan and from the Sandiganbayan to the Supreme Court,
the
office of the Ombudsman, through its special prosecutor, shall
represent
the people of the Philippines except in cases filed pursuant to
Executive
Orders Nos. 1, 2, 14 and 14-A.
"In case
private
individuals
are charged as co-principals, accomplices or accessories with the
public
officers or employees, including those employed in government-owned or
controlled corporations, they shall be tried jointly with said public
officers
and employees in the proper courts which shall exercise exclusive
jurisdiction
over them.
"Any provision of law
or Rules of Court
to the contrary notwithstanding, the criminal action and the
corresponding
civil action for the recovery of civil liability arising from the
offense
charged shall at all times be simultaneously instituted with, and
jointly
determined in, the same proceeding by the Sandiganbayan or the
appropriate
courts, the filing of the criminal action being deemed to necessarily
carry
with it the filing of the civil action, and no right to reserve the
filing
of such civil action separately from the criminal action shall be
recognized:
Provided, however, That where the civil action had heretofore been
filed
separately but judgment therein has not yet been rendered, and the
criminal
case is hereafter filed with the Sandiganbayan or the appropriate
court,
said civil action shall be transferred to the Sandiganbayan or the
appropriate
court as the case may be, for consolidation and joint determination
with
the criminal action, otherwise the separate civil action shall be
deemed
abandoned."
Sec. 3. Section 7 of the same
decree is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 7. Form,
Finality
and Enforcement of Decisions. - All decisions and final
orders
determining the merits of a case or finally disposing of the action or
proceedings of the Sandiganbayan shall contain complete findings of the
facts and the law on which they are based, on all issues properly
raised
before it and necessary in deciding the case.
"A petition for
reconsideration
of any final order or decision may be filed within fifteen (15) days
from
promulgation or notice of the final order or judgment, and such motion
for reconsideration shall be decided within thirty (30) days from
submission
thereon.
"Decisions
and final
orders
of the Sandiganbayan shall be appealable to the Supreme Court by
petition
for review on certiorari raising pure questions of law in accordance
with
Rule 45 of the Rules
of Court. Whenever, in any case decided by the Sandiganbayan, the
penalty
of reclusion perpetua or higher is imposed, the decision shall
be
appealable to the Supreme Court in the manner prescribed in the Rules
of Court. In case the penalty imposed is death, review by the
Supreme
Court shall be automatic, whether or not the accused filed an appeal.
"Judgments
and orders
of
the Sandiganbayan shall be executed and enforced in the manner provided
by law.
"Decisions and final
orders
of other courts, in cases cognizable by said courts under this Act
shall
be appealable to the Sandiganbayan within fifteen (15) days from
promulgation
or notice to the parties."
Sec. 4. Section 9 of the same
Decree is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 9. Rules
of
Procedure.
- The Rules
of
Court promulgated by the Supreme Court shall apply to all cases and
proceedings filed with the Sandiganbayan. The Sandiganbayan shall have
no power to promulgate its own rules of procedure, except to adopt
internal
rules governing the allotment of cases among the divisions, the
rotation
of justices among them, and other matters relating to the internal
operations
of the court which shall be inforced until repealed or modified by the
Supreme Court."
Sec. 5. Section 10 of the same
Decree is hereby repealed.
Sec. 6. Presidential
Decrees
Nos. 1486, 1606 and 1861, Executive Orders Nos. 101 and 184 and all
other
laws, decrees, orders and rules of which are inconsistent therewith are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Sec. 7. Upon the
effectivity
of this Act, all criminal cases in which trial has not begun in the
Sandiganbayan
shall be referred to the proper courts.
Sec. 8. This Act shall
take
effect fifteen (15) days following its publication in the Official
Gazette
or in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.
Approved:
30 March 1995
.
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