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Republic Act No. 1379An
Act Declaring Forfeiture in Favor of the State any Property Found to
Have
Been Unlawfully Acquired by Any Public Officer or Employee and
Providing
for the Proceedings Therefor.
REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 1379 AN
ACT DECLARING FORFEITURE IN FAVOR OF THE STATE ANY PROPERTY FOUND TO
HAVE
BEEN UNLAWFULLY ACQUIRED BY ANY PUBLIC OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE AND
PROVIDING
FOR THE PROCEEDINGS THEREFOR.
Section 1.
Definitions. -
(a)
For the purposes of this Act, a “public officer or employee”
means
any person holding any public office or employment by virtue of an
appointment,
election or contract, and any person holding any office or employment,
by appointment or contract, in any State owned or controlled
corporation
or enterprise.
(b)
“Other legitimately acquired property” means any real or
personal
property, money or securities which the respondent has at any time
acquired
by inheritance and the income thereof, or by gift inter vivos
before
his becoming a public officer or employee, or any property (or income
thereof)
already pertaining to him when he qualified for public office or
employment,
or the fruits and income of the exclusive property of the respondent’s
spouse. It shall not include:
[1]
Property unlawfully acquired by the respondent, but its ownership is
concealed
by its being recorded in the name of, or held by, the respondent’s
spouse,
ascendants, descendants, relatives, or any other person.
[2]
Property unlawfully acquired by the respondent, but transferred by him
to another person or persons on or after the effectivity of this Act.
[3]
Property donated to the respondent during his incumbency, unless he can
prove to the satisfaction of the court that the donation is lawful.
Sec. 2. Filing
of petition. - Whenever any public officer or employee has acquired
during his incumbency an amount of property which is manifestly out of
proportion to his salary as such public officer or employee and to his
other lawful income and the income from legitimately acquired property,
said property shall be presumed prima facie to have been
unlawfully
acquired. The Solicitor General, upon complaint by any taxpayer to the
City or provincial fiscal who shall conduct a previous inquiry similar
to preliminary investigations in criminal cases and shall certify to
the
Solicitor General that there is reasonable ground to believe that there
has been committed a violation of this Act and the respondent is
probably
guilty thereof, shall file, in the name and on behalf of the Republic
of
the Philippines, in the Court of First Instance (now Regional Trial
Court)
of the City or province where said public officer or employee reside or
holds office, a petition for a writ commanding said officer or employee
to show cause why the property aforesaid, or any part thereof, should
not
be declared property of the State: Provided, That no such
petition
shall be filed within one year before any general election or within
three
months before any special election.
The
resignation,
dismissal or separation of the officer or employee from his office or
employment
in the Government or in the Government-owned or controlled corporation
shall not be a bar to the filing of the petition: Provided, however,
That the right to file such petition shall prescribe after four years
from
the date of the resignation, dismissal or separation or expiration of
the
term of the officer or employee concerned, except as to those who have
ceased to hold office within ten years prior to the approval of this
Act,
in which case the proceedings shall prescribed after four years from
the
approval hereof.
Sec. 3. The
Petition. - The petition shall contain the following information:
(a)
The name and address of the respondent;
(b)
The public office or employment he holds and such other public offices
or employment which he has previously held;
(c)
The approximate amount of property he has acquired during his
incumbency
in his past and present offices and employments;
(d)
A description of said property, or such thereof as has been identified
by the Solicitor General;
(e)
The total amount of his government salary and other proper earnings and
incomes from legitimately acquired property; and
(f)
Such other information as may enable the court to determine whether or
not the respondent has unlawfully acquired property during his
incumbency.
Sec. 4. Period
for the answer. - The respondent shall have a period of fifteen
days
within which to present his answer.
Sec. 5. Hearing.
- The court shall set a date for a hearing, which may be open to
the
public, and during which the respondent shall be given ample
opportunity
to explain, to the satisfaction of the court, how he has acquired the
property
in question.
Sec. 6. Judgment.
- If the respondent is unable to show to the satisfaction of the
court
that he has lawfully acquired the property in question, then the court
shall declare such property, forfeited in favor of the State, and by
virtue
of such judgment the property aforesaid shall become property of the
State:
Provided, That no judgment shall be rendered within six months
before
any general election or within three months before any special
election.
The Court may, in addition, refer this case to the corresponding
Executive
Department for administrative or criminal action, or both.
Sec. 7. Appeal.
- The parties may appeal from the judgment of the Court of First
Instance
(now Regional Trial Court) as provided in the Rules
of Court for appeals in civil cases.
Sec. 8. Protection
against self-discrimination. - Neither the respondent nor nay other
person shall be excused from attending and testifying or from producing
books, papers, correspondence, memoranda and other records on the
ground
that the testimony or evidence, documentary or otherwise, required of
him
may tend to incriminate him or subject him to prosecution criminally
for
or on account of any transaction, matter or thing concerning which he
is
compelled, after having claimed his privilege against
self-incrimination,
to testify or produce evidence, documentary or otherwise, except that
such
individual so testifying shall not be exempt from prosecution and
conviction
for perjury or false testimony committed in so testifying or from
administrative
proceedings.
Sec. 9. Immunity.
- The Solicitor General may grant immunity from criminal
prosecution
to any person who testifies to the unlawful manner in which the
respondent
has acquired any of the property in question in cases where such
testimony
is necessary to prove violations of this Act.
Sec. 10. Effect
of record of title. - The fact that any real property has been
recorded
in the Registry of Property or office of the Registrar of Deeds in the
name of the respondent or of any person mentioned in paragraphs (1) and
(2) of subsection (b) of section one hereof shall not prevent the
rendering
of the judgment referred to in section six of this Act.
Sec. 11. Laws
on prescription. - The laws concerning acquisitive prescription
and
limitation of actions cannot be invoked by, nor shall they benefit the
respondent, in respect of any property unlawfully acquired by him.
Sec. 12. Penalties.
- Any public officer or employee who shall, after the effective
date
of this Act, transfer or convey any unlawfully acquired property shall
be repressed with imprisonment for a term exceeding five years or a
fine
not exceeding ten thousand pesos, or both such imprisonment and fine.
The
same repression shall be imposed upon any person who shall knowingly
accept
such transfer or conveyance.
Sec. 13. Separability
of provisions. - If any provision of this Act or the application
thereof
to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the
Act
and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances
shall not be affected thereby.
Sec. 14. Effective
date. - This Act shall take effect on its approval, and shall apply
not only to property thereafter unlawfully acquired but also to
property
unlawfully acquired before the effective date of this Act.
Approved:
June 18, 1955
.
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