ACCOUNTABILITY OF PUBLIC
thirds of all the members of the Senate.
OFFICERS
A. STATEMENT OF POLICY
Public office is a public trust. Public officers and
employees must at all times be accountable to the
people, serve them with utmost responsibility,
integrity, loyalty and efficiency, act with
patriotism and justice, and
lead modest lives [Sec. 1, Art. XI].
(1) Read R.A. 6713
(2) Relate to Liability of Public Officers, LAW OF
PUBLIC OFFICERS
B. IMPEACHMENT
(1) Defined
A national inquest into the conduct of
public men
(2) Impeachable Officers
a. President
b. Vice President
c. Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the
Supreme Court
d. Chairmen and Members of the
Constitutional Commissions
e. Ombudsman.
The foregoing enumeration is exclusive.
An impeachable officer who is a member of the
Philippine Bar cannot be disbarred without first
being impeached
(3) Grounds for Impeachment
a. Culpable violation of the Constitution
b. Treason
c. Bribery
d. Graft and corruption
e. Other high crimes, or
f. Betrayal of the public trust.
This enumeration is also exclusive.
(4) Procedure for Impeachment
Congress shall promulgate its rules on
impeachment to effectively carry out the
purpose
a.) Initiating impeachment case
(see written diagram)
b.) Limitation on initiating of impeachment case
Not more than once within a period of one year
against the same official.
c.) Trial and decision
The Senate shall have the sole power to try and
decide all cases of impeachment. When sitting for
that purpose, the Senators shall be on oath or
affirmation. When the President of the Philippines
is on trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
shall preside, but shall not vote. A decision of
conviction must be concurred in by at least two-
d.) Effect of Conviction
Removal from office and disqualification to hold
any office under the Republic of the Philippines.
But the party convicted shall be liable and subject
to prosecution, trial and punishment according to
law.
C. THE SANDIGANBAYAN
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
(1) Composition
Under P. D. 1606, it is composed of:
1. Presiding Justice and
2. 8 Associate Justices, with the rank of
Justice of the Court of Appeals.
It sits in three [3] divisions of three members
each. See R.A. 8249
(2) Jurisdiction
The following requisites must concur in order
that a case may fall under the exclusive jurisdiction
of the Sandiganbayan:
a.) The offense committed is a violation of R.A.
3019, R.A. 1379, Chapter II, Sec. 2, Title VII,
Book II of the Revised Penal Code,
Executive Order Nos. 1, 2, 14, and 14-A,
issued in 1986, or other offenses or felonies
whether simple or complexed with other
crimes
b.) The offender committing the offenses
(violating R.A. 3019, R.A. 1379, the RPC
provisions, and other offenses, is employee
holding any of the positions enumerated in
par. a, Sec. 4, R.A. 8249; and
c.) The offense committed is in relation to the
office
(3) Decisions/Review
The unanimous vote of all the 3 members
shall be required for the pronouncement of
judgment by a division. Decisions of the
Sandiganbayan shall be reviewable by the
Supreme Court on a petition for certiorari.
a.) The appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme
Court over decisions and final orders of the
Sandiganbayan is limited to questions of law
[Republic v. Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 135789,
January 31, 2002].
D. THE OMBUDSMAN
(1) Composition
An Ombudsman to be known as the
Tanodbayan:
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 a.) one overall Deputy and
b.) at least one Deputy each for Luzon,
Visayas and Mindanao.
(5) Powers and duties
c.) A separate Deputy for the military
establishment may likewise be appointed.
(2) Qualifications
a.) The Ombudsman and his Deputies must be
natural born citizens of the Philippines,
b.) at least 40 years of age
c.) of recognized probity and independence
d.) members of the Philippine Bar, and
e.) must not have been candidates for any
elective office in the immediately preceding
election.
f.) The Ombudsman must have been a judge or
engaged in the practice of law for 10 years or
more.
(3) Appointment of the Ombudsman and his
Deputies
By the President from a list of at least six
nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar
Council, and from a list of at least three
nominees for every vacancy thereafter. All
vacancies to be filled in three months
a.) Term of Office
Seven years without reappointment
b.) Rank and Salary
The Ombudsman and his Deputies shall
have the rank and salary of Chairman and
Members, respectively, of the
Constitutional Commissions, and their
salary shall not be decreased during their
term of office.
c.) Fiscal Autonomy
The Office of the Ombudsman shall
enjoy fiscal autonomy.
(4) Disqualifications/lnhibitions
During their tenure,
1. shall not hold any other office or
employment;
2. shall not engage in the practice of any
profession or in the active management
or control of any business which in any
way may be affected by the functions of
his office;
3. shall not be directly or indirectly, in any
contract with, or in any franchise or
privilege granted by the:
a. Government, or
b. any of its subdivisions, etc.; and
4. shall not be qualified to run for any
office in the election immediately
succeeding their cessation from office.
1) The Supreme Court reiterated the rule that the
Office of the Ombudsman has no
jurisdiction to investigate employees of
government- owned or -controlled
corporations organized under the
Corporation Code. Based on Sec. 13 (2), Art.
XI, of the Constitution, the Office of the
Ombudsman exercises jurisdiction only over
public officials/employees of GOCCs with
original charters.
2) Special Prosecutor may prosecute before
the Sandiganbayan judges accused of graft
and corruption, even if they come under the
administrative supervision of the Supreme
Court.
the Tanodbayan could review and
reverse the findings of the City
Fiscal, and order him to withdraw certain
charges, inasmuch as the Presidents
power of control (in this instance) is
exercised not by the Secretary of Justice
but by the Tanodbayan because the
offense/s charged were allegedly
committed by a public functionary in
connection with her office. But the
prosecution of election offenses is a
function belonging to the COMELEC and
may not be discharged by the
Tanodbayan
3) Ombudsman may start an investigation on the
basis of any anonymous letter does not violate
the equal protection clause. For purposes of
initiating a preliminary investigation
before the Office of the Ombudsman, a
complaint in any form or manner is
sufficient
it was held that Sec. 12, Art. IX of the
Constitution mandates the Ombudsman
to act promptly on complaints filed in any
form or manner against public officials or
employees of the Government;
accordingly, even if the complaint against
a particular official or employee is not
drawn up in the usual form, the
Ombudsman may still take cognizance of
the case
4) Under Sec. 24, R.A. 6770, the Ombudsman or
his deputy is authorized to preventively
suspend any officer or employee under his
authority pending an investigation
irrespective of whether such officer or
employee is employed in the Office of
the'Ombudsman or in any other
government agency
where the Supreme Court said that
whether the evidence of guilt is strong to
warrant preventive suspension is left to
the determination of the Ombudsman.
There is no need for a preliminary
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 hearing such as that required in a petition
for bail
5) Under the Constitution, the Ombudsman shall
have other duties and functions as may be
provided by law. Accordingly, the Congress
can, by statute, prescribe other powers,
functions and duties to the Ombudsman.
Thus, because he is authorized under R.A.
6770 to utilize the personnel of his office to
assist in the investigation of cases, the
Ombudsman may refer cases involving non-
military personnel for investigation by the
Deputy Ombudsman for Military Affairs
The Ombudsman can also investigate
criminal offenses committed by public
officers which have no relation to their
office
6) The Ombudsman is also granted by law the
power to cite for contempt, and this power
may be exercised by the Ombudsman while
conducting preliminary investigation because
preliminary investigation is an exercise of
quasijudicial functions
7) But Sec. 27, R.A. 6770, which authorizes an
appeal to the Supreme Court from decisions of
the Ombudsman in administrative disciplinary
cases, is unconstitutional for violating Sec. 30,
Art. VI of the Constitution, which prohibits a
law increasing the appellate jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court passed without its advice or
concurrence. Henceforth, all such appeals shall
be made to the Court of Appeals in accordance
with Rule 43 of the Rules of Civil Procedure
8) the Ombudsman is clothed with the authority
to conduct preliminary investigation and to
prosecute all criminal cases involving public
officers and employees, not only those within
the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan, but
those within the jurisdiction of regular courts
as well. The clause "any illegal act or omission
of any public official is broad enough to
embrace any crime committed by a public
officer or employee. This Court cannot
derogate the power by limiting it only to cases
cognizable by the Sandiganbayan
the Supreme Court held that the power
of the Ombudsman to investigate and to
prosecute, as granted by law, is plenary
and unqualified. It pertains to any act or
omission of any public officer or
employee which appears to be illegal,
unjust, improper or inefficient. The law
does not make any distinction between
cases cognizable by the Sandiganbayan
and those cognizable by regular courts.
(6) THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR
The existing Tanodbayan (at the time of the
adoption of the 1987 Constitution) shall hereafter
be known as the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
It shall continue to function and exercise its
powers as now or hereafter provided by law,
except those conferred on the Office of the
Ombudsman created under the Constitution
E. ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH
The right of the State to recover properties
unlawfully acquired by public officials or employees,
from them or from their nominees or transferees,
shall not be barred by prescription, laches or
estoppel.
1) This provision applies only to civil actions for
recovery of ill-gotten wealth and not to criminal
cases. Thus, prosecution of offenses relating, or
incident to, or involving ill-gotten wealth in the
said provision may be barred by prescription
2) Read also Republic Act 1379 [An Act Declaring
Forfeiture in Favor of the State any Property
Found to Have Been Unlawfully Acquired by any
Public Officer or Employee and Providing for the
Procedure Therefor]
F. RESTRICTION ON LOANS
No loan, guaranty, or other form of financial
accommodation for any business purpose may be
granted, directly or indirectly, by any government-
owned or controlled bank or financial institution to
the President, Vice President, the Members of the
Cabinet, the Congress, the Supreme Court, and the
Constitutional Commissions, the Ombudsman, or to
any firm or entity in which they have controlling
interest, during their tenure.
G. STATEMENT OF ASSETS, LIABILITIES AND NET
WORTH
A public officer or employee shall, upon
assumption of office and as often thereafter as
may be required by law, submit a declaration
under oath of his assets, liabilities and net worth.
In the case of the President, the Vice President,
the Members of the Cabinet, the Congress, the
Supreme Court, the Constitutional Commissions
and other constitutional offices, and officers of the
armed forces of general or flag rank, the
declaration shall be disclosed to the public in the
manner provided by law.
H. ALLEGIANCE TO THE STATE AND TO THE
CONSTITUTION
Public officers and employees owe the State and
this Constitution allegiance at all times, and any
public officer or employee who seeks to change
his citizenship or acquire the status of an
immigrant of another country during his tenure
shall be dealt with by law.
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