SUPERVISORY
CIRCULAR NO. 11 [1977]
TO: ALL
JUDGES OF THE MUNICIPAL COURTS.
SUBJECT:
CRIMINAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINTS AGAINST LOCAL ELECTIVE
OFFICIALS..
For your
information
and guidance, reproduced hereunder is Letter of Instructions No. 231:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
"MALACAÑANGManila
"LETTER
OF INSTRUCTIONS
NO. 231
"TO: SECRETARY
VICENTE
ABAD SANTOS
Department of Justice
SECRETARY JOSE A. ROÑO
Department of Local Government
and Community Development
"WHEREAS, under
Letters of Instructions Nos. 147 and 180 dated November 14, 1973 and
April
3, 1974, respectively, presidential clearance was required before the
investigation
of local elective officials could be made;
"WHEREAS, these presidential
instructions were issued to thwart the attempts of some partisan
sectors
of our society to harass local elective officials by filing false,
frivolous
and malicious charges against them;
"WHEREAS, said instructions
have been misconstrued as giving local elective officials a special
status
not enjoyed by all and, in several instances, have frustrated the
government's
campaign to punish erring public servants;
"WHEREAS, there is
a need to act speedily on all cases filed against local elective
officials
under the existing rules of procedure which amply safeguard the rights
of the respondents and/or accused;
"NOW, THEREFORE,
I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the
powers in me vested by the Constitution, do hereby modify Letters of
Instructions
Nos. 147 and 180 dated November 14, 1973 and April 3, 1974,
respectively,
as follows:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
"[1] The
Secretary
of Justice may, without need of securing previous clearance or
authority
from me, authorize the preliminary investigation of a criminal
complaint
filed against a local elective official with the Office fo the
Provincial
or City Fiscal.
"[2] The
Secretary
of Local Government and Community Development may likewise formally
investigate
an administrative complaint against a local elective official without
securing
previous clearance or authority from me. He may also suspend the
respondent
local official during the pendency of the formal investigation, for a
period
not exceeding sixty (60) days, if the charge is serious and the
evidence
of guilt of the respondent is strong or, if there are reasonable
grounds
to believe that the respondent has, or will perform acts inimical to
the
orderly conduct of the investigation.cralaw:red
"[3] The
Secretary
of the Local Government and Community Development is hereby authorized
to decide administrative cases involving local elective officials,
except
provincial and city elective officials, and to impose the appropriate
penalty
upon the respondent without prior clearance from me, except when the
penalty
sought to be imposed is removal or suspension from office for a period
of more than six (6) months.cralaw:red
"[4] The
provisions
of Letters of Instructions Nos. 147 and 180, dated November 14, 1973
and
April 3, 1974, respectively, and this Letter of Instructions shall not
be construed as effecting the jurisdiction of regular courts of justice
under existing laws.cralaw:red
"Done in the City
of Manila, this 5th day of December, in the year of our Lord, Nineteen
Hundred and Seventy Four.
[Sgd.]
FERDINAND
E. MARCOS"President
"Republic
of
the Philippines"
Manila, April
18, 1977.
[Sgd.]
RICARDO
C. PUNOActing
Judicial Consultant
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