Sandiganbayan

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The Sandiganbayan is a special court in the Philippines which was established under Presidential Decree No. 1606. Its rank is equivalent to the Court of Appeals. The court consists of 14 Associate Justices and 1 Presiding Justice. The Sandiganbayan building is located at Centennial Building, Commonwealth Ave., Batasan Road, Quezon City in Metro Manila.

Contents

[edit] History

The creation of the Sandiganbayan was originally provided for by Article XIII of the 1973 Constitution of the Philippines:

"SEC. 5. The National Assembly 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."

In obedience to this mandate, the late President Ferdinand Marcos, exercising the emergency legislative power granted him under Amendment No. 6 of the 1976 Amendments to the 1973 Constitution, issued on June 11, 1978, Presidential Decree No. 1486 creating the Sandiganbayan and putting it on the same level as what were then known as the Courts of First Instance, now the Regional Trial Courts. Shortly thereafter, however, the Sandiganbayan was elevated to the level of the Court of Appeals by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1606 issued on December 10, 1978.

At the start of its operation on February 12, 1979, the Sandiganbayan had only one Division, composed of the Presiding Justice, Hon. Manuel R. Pamaran, and two Associate Justices, Hon. Bernardo P. Fernandez and Hon. Romeo M. Escareal, and a skeleton force of fifteen (15). The start of the third year of the Court's operation in 1981 was marked by the activation of the Second Division. The appointment of three more Justices of the Third Division in August 4, 1982 completed the full membership of the Court.

The People Power Revolution of February 1986 signaled the beginning of a new dispensation, caused substantial changes in the entire government machinery, including the judiciary. However, both the “Freedom Constitution” and the new Constitution have seen fit to maintain the Sandiganbayan as one of the principal instruments of public accountability. In furtherance of this, its jurisdiction has been broadened to include the so-called “ill-gotten wealth” cases investigated by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) through Executive Orders No. 14 and No. 14-A. In the reorganization program of the new government, the resignation of some of the members of the Court was accepted leading to the appointment of a new Presiding Justice in the person of Hon. Francis E. Garchitorena.

To further strengthen the functional and structural organization of the Sandiganbayan, several amendments have been introduced to the original law creating it, the latest of which are Republic Acts No. 7975 and No. 8249. Under these new laws, the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan is now confined to cases involving public officials occupying positions classified as salary grade “27” and higher. As restructured, the Sandiganbayan is presently 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.

[edit] Current Justices

Name Position Date of Appointment Date of Birth Date of Retirement
Hon. DIOSDADO M. PERALTA Presiding Justice June 14, 2002 March 27, 1952 March 27, 2022
Hon. EDILBERTO G. SANDOVAL Associate Justice March 11, 1996 June 20,1941 June 20, 2011
Hon. GREGORY S. ONG Associate Justice October 5, 1998 May 25, 1953 May 25, 2023
Hon. MA. CHRISTINA G. CORTEZ-ESTRADA Associate Justice October 19, 1998 November 30, 1939 November 30, 2009
Hon. FRANCISCO H. VILLARUZ Associate Justice October 2, 2001 June 8, 1943 June 8, 2013
Hon. NORBERTO Y. GERALDEZ Associate Justice January 21, 2003 December 1, 1949 December 1, 2019
Hon. ROLAND B. JURADO Associate Justice October 3, 2003 January 31, 1953 January 31, 2023
Hon. EFREN N. DE LA CRUZ Associate Justice October 10, 2003 June 18, 1954 June 18, 2024
Hon. TERESITA V. DIAZ-BALDOS Associate Justice October 17, 2003 July 22, 1946 July 22, 2016
Hon. JOSE R. HERNANDEZ Associate Justice March 9, 2004 November 22, 1946 November 22, 2016
Hon. RODOLFO A. PONFERRADA Associate Justice August 23, 2004 September 13, 1947 September 13, 2017
Hon. ALEXANDER G. GESMUNDO Associate Justice October 15, 2005 November 6, 1956 November 6, 2026
Hon. SAMUEL R. MARTIRES Associate Justice May 10, 2006
Hon. NAPOLEON E. INOTURAN Associate Justice April 4, 2008 July 28, 1948 July 28, 2018
Hon. Associate Justice

[edit] See also

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