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 with a salary grade 27 and up, including those in government-owned and controlled corporations. The special court was established by Presidential Decree No. 1486. It was subsequently modified by Presidential Decree No. 1606 and by Republic Acts 7975, 8249 and 10660. It is equal in rank to the Court of Appeals, and consists of fourteen Associate Justices and one Presiding Justice. The Office of the Ombudsman owns exclusive authority to bring cases to the Sandiganbayan.
The Sandiganbayan is housed in the Centennial Building, Commonwealth Avenue, National Government Center, Diliman, Quezon City.
History
The Sandiganbayan was established under the administration of President Ferdinand E. Marcos on June 11, 1978, by Presidential Decree No. 1486 in the 1973 Constitution. The court was equal in rank to the Regional Trial Courts. On December 10, 1978, Presidential Decree No. 1606 elevated the ranking of the Sandiganbayan to match that of the Court of Appeals, the second-highest judicial court in the Philippines. The Sandiganbayan began operations on February 12, 1979.Amendments were introduced in Republic Acts No. 7975 and No. 8249, after the EDSA Revolution in 1986, which limited the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan to "cases involving public officials occupying positions classified as salary grade 27 and higher."
The Sandiganbayan currently sits in seven divisions of three justices each, as per R.A. No. 10660, amending P.D. No. 1606.
Sandiganbayan Building II
In October 2024, CJ Alexander Gesmundo led the groundbreaking for the 13-storey Sandiganbayan Building II. The green building will rise on a 2,588-square meter property adjacent to the Sandiganbayan Centennial Building. Designed by the University of the Philippines College of Engineering, the Building Research Services with the National Engineering Center is responsible for the preparation of the Detailed Architectural and Engineering Design.Martial law
When the Sandiganbayan began operations in 1979, it was composed of only one division and a 15-membered skeleton crew. In 1981, a second division was launched. A third division was formed on August 4, 1982.Aquino investigation
In the wake of the assassination of Benigno Aquino, Jr. in August 1983, Ferdinand Marcos submitted the case for an immediate trial to the Sandiganbayan. Marcos' critics, who included business leaders and church leaders, claimed that the Sandiganbayan had no experience in trying a murder and demanded an appointment of an imperial prosecutor and independent judicial body instead.In 1984, the 26 people accused in the assassination of Aquino were acquitted by the Sandiganbayan in a 90-page verdict. The verdict disregarded all findings of the Agrava Commission, which was appointed to investigate the assassination.
On June 13, 1985, the Sandiganbayan, with the aid of the commission, threw out the case against General Fabian Ver, the chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, together with seven other military men. The Sandiganbayan voted for the exclusion of their testimonies in that they were self-incriminatory and inadmissible as evidence. The Supreme Court upheld this decision by a vote of 10–3 in August. Ver was soon reinstated as chief of staff by Marcos on December 2.
Post-martial law
1987 Constitution
On February 2, 1987, a new constitution was ratified under President Corazon Aquino. The 1987 Constitution dictated the separation of powers and a system of checks and balances between the executive, legislature, and judiciary branches.The 1987 Constitution expanded the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan to include ill-gotten wealth cases investigated by the Presidential Commission on Good Government. In April 1994, Imelda Marcos and three former officials of the Ministry of Human Settlements were indicted for the misappropriation of PHP97.9 million in MHS funds in 1985. At the same time, however, the Sandiganbayan dismissed charges against Imelda Marcos in connection with the sale of $125.9 million in Central Bank Treasury notes in the 1980s.
Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution and the Ombudsman Act of 1989, the Office of the Ombudsman independently monitors all three branches of the government for political corruption.
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. The collection of these laws is overseen by the Office of the Ombudsman.Republic Act Nos. 3019 and 1379
The Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act is a law that stipulates that the Philippine Government shall repress certain acts of both public officers and the natural persons that may constitute 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 through means of criminal acts – be it by himself or in connivance with other, shall be subject to reclusion perpetua, a form of imprisonment for life. Any accomplice shall be sentenced with the same.Republic Act. No. 9184
Under the Government Procurement Reform Act, public officers who commits any of the following who colludes with private individuals performs the following illegal acts in RA 9184 will suffer an imprisonment of not less than six years and one day, but not more than fifteen years.Jurisdiction
To determine whether the Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction, lawyers look into two criteria, namely: the nature of the offense and the salary grade of the public official.The Sandiganbayan shall have original exclusive jurisdiction over:
- Violation of Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Law
- Forfeitures of Illegally Acquired Wealth
- 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.
- Civil and Criminal Cases filed pursuant to and in connection with issued in 1986
- 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
- Violation of Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards
- Violation of the Plunder Law
- Violation of The Heinous Crime Law
- Violation of The Anti-Money Laundering Law when committed by a public officer
- referred to as the gift-giving decree which makes it punishable for any official or employee to receive directly or indirectly and for the private person to give or offer to give any gift, present or other valuable thing on any occasion including Christmas, when such gift, present or valuable thing is given by reason of his official position, regardless of whether or not the same is for past favors or the giver hopes or expects to receive a favor or better treatment in the future from the public official or employee concerned in the discharge of his official functions.
- * Included within the prohibition is the throwing of parties or entertainment in honor of the official or employee or his immediate relatives.
- which grants immunity from prosecution to any person who voluntarily gives information about any violation of Art.210, 211 or 212 of the RPC, RA 3019, Sec.345 of the NIRC, Sec. 3604 of the Customs and Tariff Code and other provisions of the said Codes penalizing abuse or dishonesty on the part of the public officials concerned and other laws, rules and regulations penalizing graft, corruption and other forms of official abuse and who willingly testifies against the public official or employee subject to certain conditions.
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.
Composition
The Sandiganbayan has a total of fifteen departments and a total of 385 authorized positions. 335 of 385 of these positions are filled.Electoral procedure
According to the Presidential Decree No. 1606, Section 1, the Presiding Justice and all Associate Justices shall be appointed by the president, as amended by Republic Act 8249.Appointment of the Court Officials and other employees, however, is not dependent on the president. According to Rule II, Section 7 of the Revised Internal Rules of the Sandiganbayan, "The Supreme Court shall appoint the Clerk of Court, the Division Clerks of Court and all other personnel of the Sandiganbayan upon recommendation of the Sandiganbayan en banc chosen from a list of qualified applicants prepared in accordance with the Civil Service Law, rules and regulations."