WHEREAS, it
has been the sad experience that persons who are convicted of offenses
and who may be entitled to probation still appeal the judgment of
conviction even up to the Supreme Court, only to pursue their
application for probation when their appeal is eventually dismissed;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the process of criminal investigation, prosecution, conviction
and appeal entails too much time and effort, not to mention the huge
expenses of litigation, on the part of the State;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the time, effort and expenses of the Government in
investigating and prosecuting accused persons from the lower courts up
to the Supreme Court, are oftentimes rendered nugatory when, after the
appellate Court finally affirms the judgment of conviction, the
defendant applies for and is granted probation;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, probation was not intended as an escape hatch and should not
be used to obstruct and delay the administration of justice, but should
be availed of at the first opportunity by offenders who are willing to
be reformed and rehabilitated;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, it becomes imperative to remedy the problems abovementioned
confronting our probation system.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby
decree:cralaw:red
Section 1. Section 4 of Presidential Decree No. 963
is hereby amended to read as follows: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
"Sec. 4. Grant of Probation. — Subject to the
provisions of this Decree, the trial court may, after it shall have
convicted and sentenced a defendant, and upon application by said
defendant within the period for perfecting an appeal, suspend the
execution of the sentence and place the defendant on probation for such
period and upon such terms and conditions as it may deem best;
Provided, That no application for probation shall be entertained or
granted if the defendant has perfected the appeal from the judgment of
conviction.
"Probation may be granted whether the sentence imposes a term of
imprisonment or a fine only. An application for probation shall be
filed with the trial court. The filing of the application shall be
deemed a waiver of the right to appeal. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
"An order granting or denying probation shall not be appealable."
Section 2. Section 9 of Presidential Decree No. 968
is hereby amended to read as follows:cralaw:red
"Sec. 9. Disqualified Offenders. — The benefits of
this Decree shall not be extended to those:cralaw:red
(a) sentenced to serve a maximum term of imprisonment
of more than six years;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(b) convicted of subversion or any crime against the
national security or the public order; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(c) who have previously been convicted by final
judgment of an offense punished by imprisonment of not less than one
month and one day and/or a fine of not less than Two Hundred Pesos.
(d) who have been once on probation under the
provisions of this Decree; and
(e) who are already serving sentence at the time the
substantive provisions of this Decree became applicable pursuant to
Section 33 hereof."
Section 3. The provisions of Section 4 of
Presidential Decree No. 968, as above amended, shall not apply to those
who have already filed their respective applications for probation at
the time of the effectivity of this Decree.
Section 4. All laws, decrees, executive or
administrative orders, rules and regulations, or parts thereof,
inconsistent with this Decree, are hereby repealed, amended or modified
accordingly.
Section 5. This Decree shall take effect after
fifteen (15) days following its publication in the Official Gazette.
DONE in the City of Manila,
this 5th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
eighty-five.
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