Sandiganbayan

Philippines

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The Sandiganbayan (roughly the Tagalog translation for "People's Advocate") 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.

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 on 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.

Current Justices

Name	Position	Date of Appointment	Date of Birth	Date of Retirement
Hon. FRANCISCO H. VILLARUZ, JR.	Presiding Justice	October 5, 2011 (October 2, 2001 as Associate Justice)	June 8, 1943	June 8, 2013
Hon. GREGORY S. ONG	Associate Justice	October 5, 1998	May 25, 1953	May 25, 2023
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	January 2, 1949	January 2, 2019
Hon. NAPOLEON E. INOTURAN	Associate Justice	April 4, 2008	July 27, 1948	July 27, 2018
Hon. ALEX L. QUIROZ	Associate Justice	December 11, 2008	May 27, 1957	May 27, 2027
Hon. MARIA CRISTINA J. CORNEJO	Associate Justice	March 1, 2010	December 13, 1950	December 13, 2020
Hon. RAFAEL R. LAGOS	Associate Justice	December 9, 2010	December 22, 1954	December 22, 2024
Hon. OSCAR C. HERRERA, JR.	Associate Justice	April 26, 2011	May 23, 1954	May 23, 2024
Vacant	Associate Justice

See also

• 2011 Armed Forces of the Philippines corruption scandal
• Chief Justice of the Philippines
• Court of Appeals of the Philippines
• Court of Tax Appeals of the Philippines
• Philippines
• Political history of the Philippines
• Constitution of the Philippines

External links

• Sandiganbayan – Official Website
• Sandiganbayan – Chan Robles Virtual Law Library – Information on the Sandiganbayan

References

• About the Sandiganbayan