The document discusses the Sandiganbayan, which is the Philippines' anti-graft court. It was established by the 1973 constitution and given jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving public officials. The Sandiganbayan is composed of a presiding justice and 14 associate justices who sit in five divisions. The court handles notable cases like those against former President Estrada and Senator Estrada. However, it faces issues like a high backlog of over 2,600 pending cases due to requirements that three justices must hear each case. Proposed reforms aim to address this by allowing single justices to accept evidence and increasing the number of divisions.

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SANDIGANBAYAN
FRONTON I. ORONAN
Ed. D – IEM Student
IE 612 – Legal Basis of Education

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What is Sandiganbayan?
It 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. The special court was established by
Presidential Decree No. 1486 of the 1973 Constitution.
Basically, the anti-graft court of the Philippines

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What is Sandiganbayan?
 Basically, the anti-graft court of
the Philippines
 The Office of the
Ombudsman owns exclusive
authority to bring cases to the
Sandiganbayan.

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Seal of the Sandiganbayan
• 13 stars = 13 Judicial Regions
• Color Blue, Red and White = Philippine Color
• Stars on each corner of the triangle = Luzon,
Visayas, Mindanao
• Bolo = Balance

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Sandiganbayan
Building
The Sandiganbayan is housed in the
Centennial Building, Commonwealth
Avenue, National Government
Center, Diliman, Quezon City, Metro
Manila.

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Vision
a judicial institution that the Filipino people can rely on for the
attainment of the highest norms of official conduct required of
public officers and employees.
Mission
to give life and meaning to the constitutional precept that a
public office is a public trust
to impress upon public officers and employees that they are at
all times accountable to the people with their duty to serve with
the highest degree of responsibility, integrity, loyalty and
efficiency.
Objective
conducting expeditious trials of criminal and civil cases involving
offenses committed by public officers and employees, including
those employed in government-owned or controlled
corporations.

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MANDATE AND
ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE

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Present Structure of Sandiganbayan
Composed of a Presiding Justice and fourteen
(14) Associate Justices who sit in five (5)
Divisions of three Justices each in the trial and
determination of cases

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History and
Legal Basis of
Sandiganbayan

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1973 Philippine Constitution
“The Batasang Pambansa shall create a special court, to be known
as Sandiganbayan, which shall have jurisdiction over criminal and
civil cases involving graft and corrupt practices and such other
offenses committed by public officers and employees, including
those in government-owned or controlled corporations, in relation to
their office as may be determined by law. (Art. XIII), 1973
Constitution.”
- Article 8, Sec. 5

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Presidential Decree No. 1486
June 11, 1978
 Law creating the Sandiganbayan
 The same level as what were then known as
Courts of First Instance (RTC now)

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PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1606
REVISING PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1486
CREATING A SPECIAL COURT TO BE KNOWN AS
"SANDIGANBAYAN" AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
 Elevated the Sandiganbayan to
the Court of Appeals

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1987 Philippine Constitution
“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.”
- Article 11, Section 4

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EDSA Revolution February 1986
Its jurisdiction broadened: Includes so-called 'ill-gotten
wealth' cases investigated by the Presidential
Commission on Good Government (PCGG) through
Executive Orders No. 14 and No. 14-A

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RA No. 7975 (1995) - AN ACT TO STRENGTHEN THE FUNCTIONAL AND
STRUCTURAL ORGANIZATION OF THE SANDIGANBAYAN, AMENDING FOR THAT
PURPOSE PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1606, AS AMENDED
RA No. 8249 (1997) - AN ACT FURTHER DEFINING THE JURISDICTION OF
THE SANDIGANBAYAN, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE PRESIDENTIAL DECREE
NO. 1606, AS AMENDED, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

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Two criteria, namely:
 nature of the offense
 salary grade of the public official
Jurisdiction of
Sandiganbayan

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Jurisdiction of Sandiganbayan
The Sandiganbayan shall have original exclusive 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.
•Civil and Criminal Cases filed pursuant to and in connection with Executive Orders 1, 2, 14 & 14-
A issued in 1986 (EO Nos 1, 2, 14, s. of 1986 | Recovery and Sequestration of Marcos Wealth)
•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

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Jurisdiction of Sandiganbayan
Provided that the accused belongs to a salary grade of 27
or higher, the Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction over:
 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

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Court Procedures
Section 5. Proceedings, how conducted; votes required. The unanimous
vote of the three justices in a division shall be necessary for the
pronouncement of a judgment. In the event that the three justices do not
reach a unanimous vote, the Presiding Judge shall designate two other
justices from among the members of the Court to sit temporarily with them,
forming a division of five justices, and the concurrence of a majority of
such division shall be necessary for rendering judgment.

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Termination of Cases
Section 6. Maximum period for termination of cases. As far
as practicable, the trial of cases before the Sandiganbayan
once commenced shall be continuous until terminated and the
judgment shall be rendered within three (3) months from the
date the case was submitted for decision.

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Notable Cases of
Sandiganbayan

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People vs Estrada
 September 12, 2007
 Ombudsman filed case, perjury and
plunder
 Jose Velarde
 Acquitted of Perjury but Guilty of
Plunder
 Reclusion perpetua
 Executive Clemency on October 26,
2007

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People vs Dionisio
 November 27, 2013
 Former Board of Nursing official Anesia Dionisio
allowed an unauthorized person access to the
2006 Nursing Board Examination Questions
 Secretary typed the questions, without
permission from the PRC
 Found guilty
 Innocent of leaking the questions
 6 years imprisonment and banned from
holding any position ever again

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Garcia Plea Bargain
Former AFP Comptroller Carlos
Garcia accused of plunder
"Plea Bargain" deal in exchange of
his guilty plea
Sandiganbayan affirmed the plea
bargain, Garcia to return Php 135
million worth of assets.

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Jun Lozada
Lozada exposed the NBN-ZTE deal involving
former President Gloria Arroyo, former
COMELEC Commissioner Benjamin Abalos
Connected to the National Broadband
Network project
Lozada, a former GOCC official, was arrested
and put on trial in Sandiganbayan in February
2013 under two counts of graft on another
graft charge.

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Jinggoy Estrada
In June 2014, plunder charges against former
Philippine senator Jinggoy Estrada and several other
members of Congress allegedly involved in the pork
barrel scam run by Janet Lim-Napoles were filed by
the Ombudsman before the Sandiganbayan. Estrada
was accused of plundering ₱183 million from
the Priority Development Assistance Fund.

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ISSUES AND
REFORM
PROPOSALS

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High Backlog of Cases
 Senator Drilon reports that there are around 2,600
pending graft cases in the Sandiganbayan
 Sandiganbayan resolves about 15% of cases filed
per year
 Need of a presence of 3 justices before hearing a
case usual cause of delay

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SB 470 (Drilon)
Allows one justice to hear a case and accept evidence instead of three
SB 472 (Guingona)
Increases the Sandiganbayan divisions from 5 to 15
Assigning 7 divisions in Luzon, 4 each in Visayas and Mindanao
REFORMS INITIATED

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