AMENDING THE PERTINENT PROVISIONS OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1606 AND BATAS PAMBANSA BLG. 129 RELATIVE TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE SANDIGANBAYAN AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

• Number: Presidential Decree No. 1860
• Sections: 7

Preamble

WHEREAS, Batas Pambansa Blg. 129 has simplified the rules on

Jurisdiction by, among others, abolishing the concurrent jurisdiction of the

Sandiganbayan and the regular courts;

WHEREAS, Batas Pambansa Blg. 129 expanded the exclusive

original jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan over the offenses enumerated in

Section 1

SECTION 1. Section 1 of Presidential Decree No. 1606 is

hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4. Jurisdiction. — The Sandiganbayan shall

have the jurisdiction over:

"(a) Violations of Republic Act No. 3019, as amended, otherwise known as the

Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and Republic Act No. 1379;

"(b) Crimes committed by public officers and employees, including those

employed in government-owned or controlled corporations, embraced in Title VII

of the Revised Penal Code, whether simple or complexed with other crimes;

and

“(c) Other crimes or offenses committed by public officers or employees,

including those employed in government-owned or controlled corporations, in

relation to their office.

"The jurisdiction herein conferred shall be original and exclusive if the

offense charged is punishable by a penalty higher than prision correccional or

its equivalent. In all other offenses, original and exclusive jurisdiction shall

vest in the appropriate court in accordance with the provisions of Batas

Pambansa Blg. 129.

"In case private individuals are charged as co-principals, accomplices or

accessories together 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.

"Where an accused is tried of any of the above offenses and the evidence is

insufficient to establish the offense charged, he may nevertheless be convicted

of and sentenced for the offense proved, included in that which is charged.

"Any provision of law or the 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 court. The filing of the criminal action shall

be 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, in cases within the

exclusive original jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan, where the civil action had

been filed separately with a regular court but judgment therein has not been

rendered and the criminal case is hereafter filed with the Sandiganbayan, said

civil action shall be transferred to the Sandiganbayan for consolidation and

joint determination with the criminal action, otherwise, the criminal action may

no longer be filed with the Sandiganbayan, its exclusive jurisdiction over the

same notwithstanding, but may be filed and prosecuted only in 'the regular

courts of competent jurisdiction."

Section 2

SEC. 2. Section 20 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 129 is hereby

modified accordingly to reflect the above amendment.

Section 3

SEC. 3. The provisions of this decree notwithstanding, the

Office of the Tanodbayan shall continue to have the exclusive authority to

conduct preliminary investigation, file the necessary information, and direct

and control the prosecution of all cases enumerated in Section 4 of Presidential

Decree No. 1606, whether such cases be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the

Sandiganbayan or the regular courts in accordance with the provisions of

Presidential Decree 1630.

Section 4

Section 4 of Presidential Decree No. 1606, to embrace all such offenses

irrespective of the imposable penalty;

WHEREAS, there has been a proliferation and marked increase

in the filing of cases before the Sandiganbayan where the offense charged is

punishable by a penalty not higher than prision correccional or its

equivalent;

WHEREAS, unless otherwise authorized by its Presiding

Justice, the Sandiganbayan holds its sessions at its principal office in Metro

Manila, so that public officials accused of offenses punishable by a penalty not

higher than prision correccional or its equivalent and their witnesses, have

undergo the inconvenience of and incur unnecessary expenses in attending

hearings before the Sandiganbayan:

WHEREAS, considering that cases where the offense charged is

punishable by a penalty not exceeding prision correccional or its equivalent are

not of a serious nature, it would be more expeditious and less cumbersome for

the parties and witnesses if the cases are tried by the proper Regional Trial

Court, Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court or Municipal Circuit

Trial Court; the Revised Penal Code, whether simple or complexed

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the

Philippines, by virtue of powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby

order and decree as follows:

Section 5

SEC. 5. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 14th day of January, in the year of Our

Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-three.

(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS

President of the

Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) JUAN C. TUVERA

Presidential Executive

Assistant

Section 4

SEC. 4. All other laws, orders, promulgations, rules and

regulations or parts thereof, which are inconsistent herewith are hereby

amended, repealed or modified accordingly.