The Sandiganbayan, the Ombudsman and the Special Prosecutor

Introduction
 Aside from the three Constitutional Commissions, the Philippine justice system also implements
other courts, considered as special courts - among which are the Sandiganbayan, the
Ombudsman and the Special Prosecutor.
 These three are derived from different provisions of the 1987 Constitution. Corollary to their
establishment is to determine the accountability of public officers for their offenses against the
core principle behind Article XI, stating that “Public office is a public trust.”
 Presumably, the framers of the Constitution wanted to highlight the necessity for a return to the
old concepts and values of the public office. This is perhaps the reason why the provision goes to
say, “public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them
with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and
lead modest lives.”

The Sandiganbayan
 The Sandiganbayan is a special appellate collegial court in the Philippines that has
jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving graft and corrupt practices and other
offenses committed by public officers and employees, including those in government-owned
or government-controlled corporations as may be determined by law
 Established by Presidential Decree No. 1486 of the 1973 Constitution. It was subsequently
modified by Presidential Decree No. 1606 and by Republic Acts numbered 7975 and 8249 in
the 1987 Constitution

 Equal in rank to the Court of Appeals, and the Office of the Ombudsman owns exclusive
authority to bring cases to the Sandiganbayan.
 charged with the direct responsibility of maintaining morality, integrity and efficiency in the
public service.
 Under PD 1606, the Sandiganbayan consists of a presiding justice and 14 associate justices.
It sits in 5 divisions of 3 justices each, who shall be necessary to constitute a quorum and
whose unanimous vote shall be required for the pronouncement of a judgement.
 The Sandiganbayan is retained by the New Constitution under the following provision in
Article XI, Section 4:
“The present anti-graft court known as the Sandiganbayan shall continue to function and
exercise its jurisdiction as now or hereafter may be provided by law.”
o Qualifications (under PD 1606)
 natural-born citizen of the Philippine
 at least 40 years of age
   at least ten years has been a judge of a court of record or;
  been engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines or has held office
requiring admission to the bar as a pre-requisite for a like period

Laws on Graft and Corruption in the Philippines

Laws on graft and corruption have been in effect as early as the 1950s, before the creation of
the Sandiganbayan. Graft and corruption laws govern both public officers and natural persons.

Republic Act Nos. 3019 and 1379

 Laws which stipulates that the Philippine Government shall repress certain acts of both public
officers and natural person that may constitute to graft or corruption. Acts that are subject
under these laws include graft, divulging otherwise private information, negligence in warranted
requests, undue injury by a public officer to any party - private or government - in the form of
unwarranted benefits or disadvantages.
 In the case of unexplained accrual of wealth, R.A. No. 1379 states that a petition may be filed
against any public officer who has acquired property unlawfully, be it through graft or any form
of corruption. This petition should come from the Solicitor General of the Republic of the
Philippines as per complaint by a taxpayer.
Republic Act No. 7080
 Any public officer who amasses a certain amount of ill-gotten wealth (at least fifty-million pesos)
through means of criminal acts - be it by himself or in connivance with other, shall be subject to
reclusion perpetua or a life sentencing to death. Any accomplice shall be sentenced with the
same.

Jurisdiction
To determine whether the Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction, lawyers look into two (2) criteria,
namely: the nature of the offense and the salary grade of the public official.
The Sandiganbayan shall have original exclusive jurisdiction over:
Provided that the accused belongs to a salary grade of 27 or higher, the Sandiganbayan has
jurisdiction over: Violation of Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Law (RA 3019)
 Forfeitures of Illegally Acquired Wealth (RA 1379)
 Crimes committed by public officers namely
 Direct, Indirect and Qualified Bribery
 Corruption of public officials
 Other offenses or felonies whether simple or complexed with other crimes
committed in relation to their office by public officials.
 Petitions for issuance of Writ of mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, habeas
corpus, injunction and other ancillary writs and processes in aid of its appellate
jurisdiction; Provided, jurisdiction is not exclusive of the Supreme Court.
  Petitions for Quo Warranto arising or that may arise in cases filed or that may be
filed under EO 1, 2, 14 & 14- A
 Violation of Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards (RA 6713)
 Violation of the Plunder Law (RA 7080)
 Violation of The Heinous Crime Law (RA 7659)
 Violation of The Anti-Money Laundering Law when committed by a public officer
(RA 9160)
 Presidential Decree 46 referred to as the gift-giving decree
The Sandiganbayan is vested with appellate jurisdiction over final judgments, resolutions or
orders of the Regional Trial Court whether in the exercise of their original or appellate
jurisdiction over crimes and civil cases falling within the original exclusive jurisdiction of the
Sandiganbayan but which were committed by public officers below Salary Grade 27.

Case Discussion: Enrile vs Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 213847, August 18, 2015.

The Ombudsman
 Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution and the Ombudsman Act of 1989, the Office of the
Ombudsman, also referred to as the Tanodbayan ng Pilipinas, independently monitors all three
branches of the government for political corruption
 principally tasked to investigate on its own or upon complaint by any person, in any form or
manner, any act or omission of any public officer or employee, including those in government-
owned or controlled corporations, which appears to be illegal, unjust, improper or inefficient
 After an investigation, the Ombudsman files charges at the Sandiganbayan, a special anti-graft
court.
 The Office of the Ombudsman is a constitutional office:
o It may not therefore be abolished nor may its composition be changed by ordinary
legislation. Significantly, the appointment of the Ombudsman and his deputies requires
no confirmation by the Commission on Appointments, as an exception to the general
rule
o These officials have the same rank and salary as the chairmen and associate
commissioners respectively of the Constitutional Commissions and enjoy the same
security of compensation
o the Constitution also gives the office fiscal autonomy and the power to appoint its own
officials and employees in accordance with civil and service law
 The Ombudsman is among the officials who may be removed only through impeachment.
Composition, Qualifications and Term under RA 6770 or Ombudsman Act of 1989
Composition
  The Office of the Ombudsman shall include:
o Office of the Overall Deputy
o Office of the Deputy for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao
o Deputy for the Armed Forces
o Office of the Special Prosecutor
The President may appoint other Deputies as the necessity for it may arise, as
recommended by the Ombudsman.
Qualifications
 shall be natural-born citizens of the Philippines
 at least forty (40) years old
 of recognized probity and independence, members of the Philippine Bar
 must not have been candidates for any elective national or local office in the
immediately preceding election whether regular or special
 The Ombudsman must have, for ten (10) years or more, been a judge or engaged in the
practice of law in the Philippines.
Term
 The Ombudsman and his Deputies, including the Special Prosecutor, shall serve for a term of
seven (7) years without reappointment.

Powers and Functions

The Office of the Ombudsman shall have the following powers, functions and duties:
(1) Investigate and prosecute on its own or on complaint by any person, any act or omission of
any public officer or employee, office or agency, when such act or omission appears to be illegal,
unjust, improper or inefficient.
(2) Direct, upon complaint or at its own instance, any officer or employee of the Government, or
of any subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof, as well as any government-owned or
controlled corporations with original charter, to perform and expedite any act or duty required
by law, or to stop, prevent, and correct any abuse or impropriety in the performance of duties;
(3) Direct the officer concerned to take appropriate action against a public officer or employee
at fault or who neglect to perform an act or discharge a duty required by law, and recommend
his removal, suspension, demotion, fine, censure, or prosecution, and ensure compliance
therewith; or enforce its disciplinary authority  to remove, suspend, demote, fine, censure, or
prosecute an officer or employee who is at fault or who neglects to perform an act or discharge
a duty required by law
(4) Direct the officer concerned, in any appropriate case, and subject to such limitations as it
may provide in its rules of procedure, to furnish it with copies of documents relating to contracts
or transactions entered into by his office involving the disbursement or use of public funds or
properties, and report any irregularity to the Commission on Audit for appropriate action;
 (5) Request any government agency for assistance and information necessary in the discharge of
its responsibilities, and to examine, if necessary, pertinent records and documents;
(6) Publicize matters covered by its investigation of the matters mentioned in paragraphs (1),
(2), (3) and (4) hereof, when circumstances so warrant and with due prudence: Provided, That
the Ombudsman under its rules and regulations may determine what cases may not be made
public: Provided, further, That any publicity issued by the Ombudsman shall be balanced, fair
and true;
(7) Determine the causes of inefficiency, red tape, mismanagement, fraud, and corruption in the
Government, and make recommendations for their elimination and the observance of high
standards of ethics and efficiency;
(8) Administer oaths, issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum, and take testimony in any
investigation or inquiry, including the power to examine and have access to bank accounts and
records;
(9) Punish for contempt in accordance with the Rules of Court and under thesame procedure
and with the same penalties provided therein;
(10) Delegate to the Deputies, or its investigators or representatives such authority or duty as
shall ensure the effective exercise or performance of the powers, functions, and duties herein or
hereinafter provided;
(11) Investigate and initiate the proper action for the recovery of ill-gotten and/or unexplained
wealth amassed after February 25, 1986 and the prosecution of the parties involved therein.

The Ombudsman shall give priority to complaints filed against high ranking government officials
and/or those occupying supervisory positions, complaints involving grave offenses as well as
complaints involving large sums of money and/or properties.

Salary
The Ombudsman and his Deputies shall have the same ranks, salaries and privileges as the
Chairman and members, respectively, of a Constitutional Commission. Their salaries shall not be
decreased during their term of office.
The members of the prosecution, investigation and legal staff of the Office of the Ombudsman
shall receive salaries which shall not be less than those given to comparable positions in any
office in the Government.
What is the difference between Ombudsman and Sandiganbayan?
 The Ombudsman law expressly identifies the Sandiganbayan as the venue where it can exercise
prosecutorial powers of cases involving public officers within its original jurisdiction. Clearly
then, the Ombudsman does not have the power to prosecute criminal cases within the original
jurisdiction of the regular courts.

Case Discussion: Office of the Ombudsman vs. CA, G.R. NO. 167844 : Nov. 22, 2006

The Special Prosecutor

  Previously known as Tanodbayan
 Continues to be governed by PD 1607, except where his powers thereunder have been
transferred by the Constitution to the Ombudsman.
 Limited to and charged with the prosecution of graft and corruption cases – not including
election offenses, as this is solely for the COMELEC.
 May prosecute before the Sandiganbayan justices accused of graft and corruption even if they
come under the administrative supervision of the Supreme Court. But administrative charges
filed against them with the SC will defer the filing of criminal charges based on the same offense
by the Special Prosecutor before the Sandiganbayan.
 Is not an impeachable officer, hence, he can only be removed from his office upon mandate of
the President. In the absence of the Ombudsman, the Special Prosecutor can be the acting
Ombudsman.

Special Prosecutor Composition

 R.A 6770 or also known as the Ombudsman Act of 1989, stated the following composition:
o Special Prosecutor and;
o Prosecutor staff
The Office of the Special Prosecutor shall be an organic component of the Office of the
Ombudsman and shall be under the supervision and control of the Ombudsman.
 The position structure and staffing pattern of the Office of the Ombudsman and the Office of the
Prosecutor, shall be approved and prescribed by the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman shall
appoint all officers and employees of the Ombudsman, including those of the Office of The
Special Prosecutor, in accordance with Civil Service Law, rules and regulations.

Office of the Special Prosecutor Power

Under the supervision and upon the authority of the Ombudsman, the Office of the Special
Prosecutor Shall have the following power:
 To conduct preliminary investigation and prosecute criminal cases within the
jurisdiction of Sandiganbayan;
 To enter into plea bargaining agreements; and
 To perform such other duties assigned to it by the Ombudsman
 Plea bargaining is a process in criminal cases whereby the accused and the prosecution work out
a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court approval. The essence of a plea
bargaining agreement is the allowance of an accused to plead guilty to a lesser offense than
that charged against him
Case Discussion: G.R. Nos. 163972-77, JOSELITO RANIERO J. DAAN V. HON. SANDIGANBAYAN: March 28,
2008