CIRCULAR
NO. 33-96
TO:
ALL
JUDGES
SUBJECT:
JOINT MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR OF THE SUPREME COURT, THE DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE
AND THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT ON THE
GUIDELINES
ON POLICE WITNESSES AND ARREST OF ACCUSED WHO JUMPED BAIL.
For the information
and guidance of all concerned, quoted hereunder are the pertinent
provisions
of the Joint Memorandum Circular of the Supreme Court, the Department
of
Justice and the Department of the Interior and Local Government on the
guidelines of police witnesses and arrest of accused who jumped bail,
to wit:
x x x
x x x
"Section 1.
- The
Supreme Court, through the Office of the Court Administrator, shall:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
A. Require
all Clerks
of Court that:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
[1] In
the preparation
of the notice hearing/ subpoena, copies of the same shall not only be
sent
to the office and residence addresses of the police witness concerned
but
also to his/her commanding officer's or immediate superior officer's
address;
[2] In case
several
police witnesses are summoned to attend a scheduled hearing, all of
them
shall be furnished individually of copies of the notice of
hearing/subpoena;
[3] In all
cases,
notice of the hearing/subpoena shall be sent at least thirty (30) days
prior to the scheduled hearing to the police witness and his/her
commanding
officer or immediate superior officer;
[4] In
issuing the
warrants of arrest, the pictures of the accused, whenever available or
feasible, or a summary of the physical description of the accused, must
be appended to the warrants before the same are transmitted to the law
enforcement agencies for service; and
[5]
Companies or
entities engaged in the business of bailing out accused persons shall
maintain
a personal data file of all their clients, particularly those who
jumped
bail, and make these data available to law enforcement operatives once
a warrant is issued for their arrest.
B. Remind and
advise
all judges:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
[1] To
give preference
in time to the testimony of the police witness than other witnesses;
[2] To
avoid unnecessary
postponements of hearing, especially when the police witness present
comes
from a far-flung police unit or station;
[3] Not to
be too
lenient or liberal in accepting the explanation of police witnesses who
fail to attend scheduled hearings despite due notice to them;
[4] To
impose the
maximum penalty to police witnesses and their superiors when warranted,
if the explanation of the offending witness should be found
unsatisfactory;
and
[5] To
inform the
head of the law enforcement agency to which the offending witness
belongs,
of the sanction imposed against the said witness for further
administrative
action.
x x x
x x x
"Section 5.
This
Joint Memorandum Circular shall take effect immediately.
"11 January
1996,
Malacañang, Manila."
April 24, 1996.
[Sgd.]
ERNANI
CRUZ PAÑOCourt
Admininistrator
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