Tupas files bill to speed up Sandiganbayan cases

MANILA, Philippines - Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. has proposed a bill that would speed up the resolution of graft and plunder cases at the Sandiganbayan.

Tupas, chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Justice, filed House Bill 4108 which seeks to introduce structural reforms, such as "justice-designate" system  allowing the individual members of a division to hear and receive evidence, and resolve incidents arising during such session for the day, in behalf of the division to which a member belongs.

“To further expedite the proceedings, the measure likewise allows sessions to be held with only two members of a division in attendance, instead of all three, as presently required,” he said.

Check out the Bill Tracker to see all the other bills that Tupas authored and co-authored.

However, Tupas said that consistent with the principle of collegiality, all three members of the division shall be required to deliberate and decide the case, after all pieces of evidence have been presented.

“This new innovation is expected to accelerate the pace of case disposition, with minimal cost to the government,” Tupas said, noting that a resolution of a case takes about seven year with the current system of the anti-graft court.

The anti-graft court is now handling high profile cases including the plunder and graft charges against Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile and Bong Revilla, who have been ordered detained at the Philippine National Police national headquarters in Camp Crame for their alleged involvement in the multi-billion pork barrel fund scam. 

Tupas' bill also provides that minor cases shall be given to regional trial courts, which have sufficient capability and competence to handle these cases.

Citing 2013 data, Tupas said such minor cases constitute about 60 percent of the cases before the Sandiganbayan.

The proposed measure pertains to minor cases  as :1) those where the information does not allege any damage or bribe; 2) those that allege damage or bribe that are unquantifiable; or 3) those that allege damage or bribe arising from the same or closely related transactions or acts not exceeding P1 million.

Tupas said the bill also seeks to modify the voting requirement for promulgation of judgment by making sufficient for promulgation of judgment the concurrence of two members of the division.

“Under the existing Sandiganbayan charter, the unanimous vote of all three members is necessary for the rendition of final order. Failure to reach unanimity shall require the constitution of a special division of five members which takes several months to complete,” he added.