Republic Act No.

7438 April 27, 1992

AN ACT DEFINING CERTAIN RIGHTS OF PERSON ARRESTED, DETAINED OR UNDER

CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION AS WELL AS THE DUTIES OF THE ARRESTING, DETAINING
AND INVESTIGATING OFFICERS, AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress

assembled::

Section 1. Statement of Policy. – It is the policy of the Senate to value the dignity of every human
being and guarantee full respect for human rights.

Section 2. Rights of Persons Arrested, Detained or Under Custodial Investigation; Duties of

Public Officers. –

(a) Any person arrested detained or under custodial investigation shall at all times be
assisted by counsel.

(b) Any public officer or employee, or anyone acting under his order or his place, who
arrests, detains or investigates any person for the commission of an offense shall inform the
latter, in a language known to and understood by him, of his rights to remain silent and to
have competent and independent counsel, preferably of his own choice, who shall at all
times be allowed to confer privately with the person arrested, detained or under custodial
investigation. If such person cannot afford the services of his own counsel, he must be
provided with a competent and independent counsel by the investigating officer. law phi 1Ÿ

(c) The custodial investigation report shall be reduced to writing by the investigating officer,
provided that before such report is signed, or thumbmarked if the person arrested or
detained does not know how to read and write, it shall be read and adequately explained to
him by his counsel or by the assisting counsel provided by the investigating officer in the
language or dialect known to such arrested or detained person, otherwise, such investigation
report shall be null and void and of no effect whatsoever.

(d) Any extrajudicial confession made by a person arrested, detained or under custodial
investigation shall be in writing and signed by such person in the presence of his counsel or
in the latter's absence, upon a valid waiver, and in the presence of any of the parents, elder
brothers and sisters, his spouse, the municipal mayor, the municipal judge, district school
supervisor, or priest or minister of the gospel as chosen by him; otherwise, such extrajudicial
confession shall be inadmissible as evidence in any proceeding.

(e) Any waiver by a person arrested or detained under the provisions of Article 125 of the
Revised Penal Code, or under custodial investigation, shall be in writing and signed by such
person in the presence of his counsel; otherwise the waiver shall be null and void and of no
effect.

(f) Any person arrested or detained or under custodial investigation shall be allowed visits by
or conferences with any member of his immediate family, or any medical doctor or priest or
religious minister chosen by him or by any member of his immediate family or by his counsel,
or by any national non-governmental organization duly accredited by the Commission on
Human Rights of by any international non-governmental organization duly accredited by the
Office of the President. The person's "immediate family" shall include his or her spouse,
 fiancé or fiancée, parent or child, brother or sister, grandparent or grandchild, uncle or aunt,
nephew or niece, and guardian or ward.

As used in this Act, "custodial investigation" shall include the practice of issuing an "invitation" to a
person who is investigated in connection with an offense he is suspected to have committed, without
prejudice to the liability of the "inviting" officer for any violation of law.

Section 3. Assisting Counsel. – Assisting counsel is any lawyer, except those directly affected by
the case, those charged with conducting preliminary investigation or those charged with the
prosecution of crimes.

The assisting counsel other than the government lawyers shall be entitled to the following fees;

(a) The amount of One hundred fifty pesos (P150.00) if the suspected person is chargeable
with light felonies;
lawphi 1© alf

(b) The amount of Two hundred fifty pesos (P250.00) if the suspected person is chargeable
with less grave or grave felonies;

(c) The amount of Three hundred fifty pesos (P350.00) if the suspected person is chargeable
with a capital offense.

The fee for the assisting counsel shall be paid by the city or municipality where the custodial
investigation is conducted, provided that if the municipality of city cannot pay such fee, the
province comprising such municipality or city shall pay the fee: Provided, That the Municipal
or City Treasurer must certify that no funds are available to pay the fees of assisting counsel
before the province pays said fees.

In the absence of any lawyer, no custodial investigation shall be conducted and the suspected
person can only be detained by the investigating officer in accordance with the provisions of Article
125 of the Revised Penal Code.

Section 4. Penalty Clause. – (a) Any arresting public officer or employee, or any investigating
officer, who fails to inform any person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation of his right
to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice, shall
suffer a fine of Six thousand pesos (P6,000.00) or a penalty of imprisonment of not less than eight
(8) years but not more than ten (10) years, or both. The penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification
shall also be imposed upon the investigating officer who has been previously convicted of a similar
offense.

The same penalties shall be imposed upon a public officer or employee, or anyone acting
upon orders of such investigating officer or in his place, who fails to provide a competent and
independent counsel to a person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation for the
commission of an offense if the latter cannot afford the services of his own counsel.

(b) Any person who obstructs, prevents or prohibits any lawyer, any member of the
immediate family of a person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation, or any
medical doctor or priest or religious minister chosen by him or by any member of his
immediate family or by his counsel, from visiting and conferring privately with him, or from
examining and treating him, or from ministering to his spiritual needs, at any hour of the day
 or, in urgent cases, of the night shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment of not less than four
(4) years nor more than six (6) years, and a fine of four thousand pesos (P4,000.00). lawphi 1©

The provisions of the above Section notwithstanding, any security officer with custodial responsibility
over any detainee or prisoner may undertake such reasonable measures as may be necessary to
secure his safety and prevent his escape.

Section 5. Repealing Clause. – Republic Act No. No. 857, as amended, is hereby repealed. Other
laws, presidential decrees, executive orders or rules and regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act are repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 6. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its publication in the
Official Gazette or in any daily newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

Approved: April 27, 1992. lawphi 1Ÿ

Republic Act No. 8493 February 12, 1998

AN ACT TO ENSURE A SPEEDY TRIAL OF ALL CRIMINAL CASES BEFORE THE

SANDIGANBAYAN, REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, METROPOLITAN TRIAL COURT, MUNICIPAL
TRIAL COURT, AND MUNICIPAL CIRCUIT TRIAL COURT, APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress

assembled::

Section 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Speedy Trial Act of 1998."

Section 2. Mandatory Pre-Trial in Criminal Cases. - In all cases cognizable by the Municipal Trial
Court, Municipal Circuit Trial Court, Metropolitan Trial Court, Regional Trial Court, and the
Sandiganbayan, the justice or judge shall, after arraignment, order a pre-trial conference to consider
the following:

(a) Plea bargaining;

(b) Stipulation of Facts;

(c) Marking for identification of evidence of parties;

(d) Waiver of objections to admissibility of evidence; and

(e) Such other matters as will promote a fair and expeditious trial.

Section 3. Pre-Trial Agreement. - All agreements or admissions made or entered into during the
pre-trial conference shall be reduced to writing and signed by the accused and counsel, otherwise
the same shall not be used in evidence against the accused. The agreements in relation to matters
referred to in Section 2 hereof is subject to the approval of the court: Provided, That the agreement
on the plea of the accused to a lesser offense may only be revised, modified, or annulled by the
court when the same is contrary to law, public morals, or public policy.

Section 4. Nonappearance at Pre-Trial Conference. - Where counsel for the accused or the
prosecutor does not appear at the pre-trial conference and does not offer an acceptable excuse for
his/her lack of cooperation, the pre-trial justice or judge may impose proper sanctions or penalties.

Section 5. Pre-Trial Order. - After the pre-trial conference, the court shall issue an order reciting the
actions taken, the facts stipulated, and evidence marked. Such order shall bind the parties, limit the
trial to matters not disposed of and control the course of action during the trial, unless modified by
the court to prevent manifest injustice.

Section 6. Time Limit for Trial. - In criminal cases involving persons charged of a crime, except
those subject to the Rules on Summary Procedure, or where the penalty prescribed by law does not
exceed six (6) months imprisonment, or a fine of One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) or both,
irrespective of other imposable penalties, the justice or judge shall, after consultation with the public
prosecutor and the counsel for the accused, set the case for continuous trial on a weekly or other
short-term trial calendar at the earliest possible time so as to ensure speedy trial. In no case shall
the entire trial period exceed one hundred eighty (180) days from the first day of trial, except as
otherwise authorized by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court pursuant to Section 3, Rule 22 of
the Rules of Court.

Section 7. Time Limit Between Filing of Information and Arraignment and Between
Arraignment and Trial.- The arraignment of an accused shall be held within thirty (30) days from
the filing of the information, or from the date the accused has appeared before the justice, judge or
court in which the charge is pending, whichever date last occurs. Thereafter, where a plea of not
guilty is entered, the accused shall have at least fifteen (15) days to prepare for trial. Trial shall
commence within thirty (30) days from arraignment as fixed by the court.

If the accused pleads not guilty to the crime charged, he/she shall state whether he/she interposes a
negative or affirmative defense. A negative defense shall require the prosecution to prove the guilt of
the accused beyond reasonable doubt, while an affirmative defense may modify the order of trial and
require the accused to prove such defense by clear and convincing evidence.

Section 8. Time Limit Following an Order for New Trial. - If the accused is to be tried again
following an order of a court for a new trial, the trial shall commence within thirty (30) days from the
date the order for a new trial becomes final, except that the court retrying the case may extend such
period but in any case shall not exceed one hundred eighty (180) days from the date the order for a
new trial becomes final if unavailability of witnesses or other factors resulting from passage of time
shall make trial within thirty (30) days impractical.

Section 9. Extended Time Limit. - Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 7 of this Act, for the
first twelve-calendar-month period following its effectivity, the time limit with respect to the period
from arraignment to trial imposed by Section 7 of this Act shall be one hundred eighty (180) days.
For the second twelve-month period the time limit shall be one hundred twenty (120) days, and for
the third twelve-month period the time limit with respect to the period from arraignment to trial shall
be eighty (80) days.

Section 10. Exclusions. - The following periods of delay shall be excluded in computing the time
within which trial must commence:
(a) Any period of delay resulting from other proceedings concerning the accused, including
but not limited to the following:

(1) delay resulting from an examination of the accused, and hearing on his/her
mental competency, or physical incapacity;

(2) delay resulting from trials with respect to charges against the accused;

(3) delay resulting from interlocutory appeals;

(4) delay resulting from hearings on pre-trial motions: Provided, That the delay does
not exceed thirty (30) days,

(5) delay resulting from orders of inhibition, or proceedings relating to change of

venue of cases or transfer from other courts;

(6) delay resulting from a finding of the existence of a valid prejudicial question; and

(7) delay reasonably attributable to any period, not to exceed thirty (30) days, during
which any proceeding concerning the accused is actually under advisement.

(b) Any period of delay resulting from the absence or unavailability of the accused or an
essential witness.

For purposes of this subparagraph, an accused or an essential witness shall be considered

absent when his/her whereabouts are unknown and, in addition, he/she is attempting to
avoid apprehension or prosecution or his/her whereabouts cannot be determined by due
diligence. An accused or an essential witness shall be considered unavailable whenever
his/her whereabouts are known but his/her presence for trial cannot be obtained by due
diligence or he/she resists appearing at or being returned for trial.

(c) Any period of delay resulting from the fact that the accused is mentally incompetent or
physically unable to stand trial.

(d) If the information is dismissed upon motion of the prosecution and thereafter a charge is
filed against the accused for the same offense, or any offense required to be joined with that
offense, any period of delay from the date the charge was dismissed to the date the time
limitation would commence to run as to the subsequent charge had there been no previous
charge.

(e) A reasonable period of delay when the accused is joined for trial with a co-accused over
whom the court has not acquired jurisdiction, or as to whom the time for trial has not run and
no motion for severance has been granted.

(f) Any period of delay resulting from a continuance granted by any justice or judge motu
propio or on motion of the accused or his/her counsel or at the request of the public
prosecutor, if the justice or judge granted such continuance on the basis of his/her findings
that the ends of justice served by taking such action outweigh the best interest of the public
and the defendant in a speedy trial. No such period of delay resulting from a continuance
granted by the court in accordance with this subparagraph shall be excludable under this
section unless the court sets forth, in the record of the case, either orally or in writing, its
 reasons for finding that the ends of justice served by the granting of such continuance
outweigh the best interests of the public and the accused in a speedy trial.

Section 11. Factors for Granting Continuance. - The factors, among others, which a justice or
judge shall consider in determining whether to grant a continuance under subparagraph (f) of
Section 10 of this Act are as follows:

(a) Whether the failure to grant such a continuance in the proceeding would be likely to make
a continuation of such proceeding impossible, or result in a miscarriage of justice.

(b) Whether the case taken as a whole is so novel, so unusual and so complex, due to the
number of accused or the nature of the prosecution or otherwise, that it is unreasonable to
expect adequate preparation within the periods of time established by this Act.

No continuance under subparagraph (f) of Section 10 shall be granted because of general

congestion of the court's calendar, or lack of diligent preparation or failure to obtain available
witnesses on the part of the public prosecutor.

Section 12. Public Attorney's Duties Where Accused is Imprisoned. - If the public attorney
knows that a person charged of a crime is preventively detained, either because he/she is charged
of a bailable crime and has no means to post bail, or is charged of a non-bailable crime, or is serving
a term of imprisonment in any penal institution, the public attorney shall promptly:

(a) Undertake to obtain the presence of the prisoner for trial, or cause a notice to be served
on the person having custody of the prisoner mandating such person to so advise the
prisoner of his/her right to demand trial.

(b) Upon receipt of a notice, the person having custody of the prisoner shall promptly advise
the prisoner of the charge and of his/her right to demand trial. If at any time thereafter the
prisoner informs the person having custody that he/she demands trial, such person shall
cause notice to that effect to be sent promptly to the public attorney.

(c) Upon receipt of such notice, the public attorney shall promptly seek to obtain the
presence of the prisoner for trial.

(d) When the person having custody of the prisoner receives from the public attorney a
properly supported request for temporary custody of the prisoner for trial, the prisoner shall
be made available to that public attorney.

Section 13. Remedy Where Accused is Not Brought to Trial Within the Time Limit. - If an
accused is not brought to trial within the time limit required by Section 7 of this Act as extended by
Section 9, the information shall be dismissed on motion of the accused. The accused shall have the
burden of proof of supporting such motion but the prosecution shall have the burden of going
forward with the evidence in connection with the exclusion of time under Section 10 of this Act.

In determining whether to dismiss the case with or without prejudice, the court shall consider, among
other factors, the seriousness of the offense, the facts and circumstances of the case which led to
the dismissal, and the impact of a reprosecution on the implementation of this Act and on the
administration of justice. Failure of the accused to move for dismissal prior to trial or entry of a plea
of guilty shall constitute a waiver of the right to dismissal under this section.
Section 14. Sanctions. - In any case in which counsel for the accused, the public prosecution or
public attorney:

(a) knowingly allows the case to be set for trial without disclosing the fact that a necessary
witness would be unavailable for trial;

(b) files a motion solely for the purpose of delay which he/she knows is totally frivolous and
without merit;

(c) makes a statement for the purpose of obtaining continuance which he/she knows to be
false and which is material to the granting of a continuance; or

(d) otherwise willfully fails to proceed to trial without justification consistent with the
provisions of this Act, the court may, without prejudice to any appropriate criminal and/or
administrative charges to be instituted by the proper party against the erring counsel if and
when warranted, punish any such counsel or attorney, as follows:

(1) in the case of a counsel privately retained in connection with the defense of an
accused, by imposing a fine not exceeding; fifty percent (50%) of the compensation
to which he/she is entitled in connection with his/her defense of the accused;

(2) by imposing on any appointed counsel de officio or public prosecutor a fine not
exceeding Ten thousand pesos (10,000.00); and

(3) by denying any defense counsel or public prosecutor the right to practice before
the court considering the case for a period not exceeding thirty (30) days.

The authority to punish provided for by this section shall be in addition to any other authority
or power available to the court. The court shall follow the procedures established in the
Rules of Court in punishing any counsel or public prosecutor pursuant to this section.

Section 15. Rules and Regulations. - The Supreme Court shall promulgate rules, regulations,
administrative orders and circulars which shall seek to accelerate the disposition of criminal cases.
The rules, regulations, administrative orders and circulars formulated shall provide sanctions against
justices and judges who willfully fail to proceed to trial without justification consistent with the
provisions of this Act.

Section 16. Funding. - For the effective implementation of the rules, regulations, administrative
orders and circulars promulgated under this Act, the amount of Twenty million pesos
(P20,000,000.00) annually shall be appropriated from the allocation of the Supreme Court under the
General Appropriations Act. Thereafter, such additional amounts as may be necessary for its
continued implementation shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Section 17. Act Not a Bar to Speedy Trial Claim Under the Constitution. - No provision of this
Act shall be interpreted as a bar to any claim of denial of speedy trial as required by Article III,
Section 14(2) of the 1987 Constitution.

Section 18. Repealing Clause. - All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, rules and
regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.
Section 19. Separability Clause. - In case any provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional, the
other provisions shall remain in effect.

Section 20. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following its publication in
the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation: Provided, That Section 7 of this Act
shall become effective after the expiration of the aforementioned third-calendar-month period
provided in Section 9 of this Act.

Approved: February 12, 1998

[REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10353]

AN ACT DEFINING AND PENALIZING ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY

DISAPPEARANCE

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress

assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. –This Act shall be known as the “Anti-Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearance Act of 2012″.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. –The State values the dignity of every human person and
guarantees full respect for human rights for which highest priority shall be given to the
enactment of measures for the enhancement of the right of all people to human dignity, the
prohibition against secret detention places, solitary confinement, incommunicado, or other
similar forms of detention, the provision for penal and civil sanctions for such violations, and
compensation and rehabilitation for the victims and their families, particularly with respect to the
use of torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation or any other means which vitiate the free will
of persons abducted, arrested, detained, disappeared or otherwise removed from the effective
protection of the law.

Furthermore, the State adheres to the principles and standards on the absolute condemnation of
human rights violations set by the 1987 Philippine Constitution and various international
instruments such as, but not limited to, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR), and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (CAT), to which the Philippines is a State party.

SEC. 3. Definitions. –For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

(a) Agents of the State refer to persons who, by direct provision of the law, popular election or
appointment by competent authority, shall take part in the performance of public functions in the
government, or shall perform in the government or in any of its branches public duties as an
employee, agent or subordinate official, of any rank or class.

(b) Enforced or involuntary disappearance refers to the arrest, detention, abduction or any other
form of deprivation of liberty committed by agents of the State or by persons or groups of
persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal
to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the
disappeared person, which places such person outside the protection of the law.

(c) Order of Battle refers to a document made by the military, police or any law enforcement
agency of the government, listing the names of persons and organizations that it perceives to be
enemies of the State and which it considers as legitimate targets as combatants that it could deal
with, through the use of means allowed by domestic and international law.

(d) Victim refers to the disappeared person and any individual who has suffered harm as a direct
result of an enforced or involuntary disappearance as defined in letter (b) of this Section.

SEC. 4. Nonderogability of the Right Against Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance. –The

right against enforced or involuntary disappearance and the fundamental safeguards for its
prevention shall not be suspended under any circumstance including political instability, threat of
war, state of war or other public emergencies.

SEC. 5. “Order of Battle” or Any Order of Similar Nature, Not Legal Ground, for Enforced or
Involuntary Disappearance. – An “Order of Battle” or any order of similar nature, official or
otherwise, from a superior officer or a public authority causing the commission of enforced or
involuntary disappearance is unlawful and cannot be invoked as a justifying or exempting
circumstance. Any person receiving such an order shall have the right to disobey it.

SEC. 6. Right of Access to Communication. – It shall be the absolute right of any person
deprived of liberty to have immediate access to any form of communication available in order
for him or her to inform his or her family, relative, friend, lawyer or any human rights
organization on his or her whereabouts and condition.

SEC. 7. Duty to Report Victims of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance. – Any person, not
being a principal, accomplice or accessory, who has an information of a case of enforced or
involuntary disappearance or who shall learn of such information or that a person is a victim of
enforced or involuntary disappearance, shall immediately report in writing the circumstances and
whereabouts of the victim to any office, detachment or division of the Department of the Interior
and Local Government (DILG), the Department of National Defense (DND), the Philippine
National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the National Bureau of
Investigation (NBI), the City or Provincial Prosecutor, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR)
or any human rights organization and, if known, the victim’s family, relative, or lawyer.

SEC. 8. Duty to Certify in Writing on the Results of Inquiry into a Reported Disappeared
Person’s Whereabouts. –In case a family member, relative, lawyer, representative of a human
rights organization or a member of the media inquires with a member or official of any police or
military detention center, the PNP or any of its agencies, the AFP or any of its agencies, the NBI
or any other agency or instrumentality of the government, as well as any hospital or morgue,
public or private, on the presence or whereabouts of a reported victim of enforced or involuntary
disappearance, such member or official shall immediately issue a certification in writing to the
inquiring person or entity on the presence or absence and/or information on the whereabouts of
such disappeared person, stating, among others, in clear and unequivocal manner the date and
time of inquiry, details of the inquiry and the response to the inquiry.

SEC. 9. Duty of Inquest/Investigating Public Prosecutor or any Judicial or Quasi-Judicial

Official or Employee. –Any inquest or investigating public prosecutor, or any judicial or quasi-
judicial official or employee who learns that the person delivered for inquest or preliminary
investigation or for any other judicial process is a victim of enforced or involuntary
disappearance shall have the duty to immediately disclose the victim’s whereabouts to his or her
immediate family, relatives, lawyer/s or to a human rights organization by the most expedient
means.

SEC. 10. Official Up-to-Date Register of All Persons Detained or Confined. – All persons
detained or confined shall be placed solely in officially recognized and controlled places of
detention or confinement where an official up-to-date register of such persons shall be
maintained. Relatives, lawyers, judges, official bodies and all persons who have legitimate
interest in the whereabouts and condition of the persons deprived of liberty shall have free access
to the register.

The following details, among others, shall be recorded, in the register:

(a) The identity or name, description and address of the person deprived of liberty;

(b) The date, time and location where the person was deprived of liberty and the identity of the
person who made such deprivation of liberty;

(c) The authority who decided the deprivation of liberty and the reasons for the deprivation of
liberty or the crime or offense committed;

(d) The authority controlling the deprivation of liberty;

(e) The place of deprivation of liberty, the date and time of admission to the place of deprivation
of liberty and the authority responsible for the place of deprivation of liberty;

(f) Records of physical, mental and psychological condition of the detained or confined person
before and after the deprivation of liberty and the name and address of the physician who
examined him or her physically, mentally and medically;

(g) The date and time of release or transfer of the detained or confined person to another place of
detention, the destination and the authority responsible for the transfer;

(h) The date and time of each removal of the detained or confined person from his or her cell, the
reason or purpose for such removal and the date and time of his or her return to his or her cell;

(i) A summary of the physical, mental and medical findings of the detained or confined person
after each interrogation;
(j) The names and addresses of the persons who visit the detained or confined person and the
date and time of such visits and the date and time of each departure;

(k) In the event of death during the deprivation of liberty, the identity, the circumstances and
cause of death of the victim as well as the destination of the human remains; and

(1) All other important events bearing on and all relevant details regarding the treatment of the
detained or confined person.

Provided, That the details required under letters (a) to (f) shall be entered immediately in the
register upon arrest and/or detention.

All information contained in the register shall be regularly or upon request reported to the CHR
or any other agency of government tasked to monitor and protect human rights and shall be made
available to the public.

SEC. 11. Submission of List of Government Detention Facilities. –Within six (6) months from
the effectivity of this Act and as may be requested by the CHR thereafter, all government
agencies concerned shall submit an updated inventory or list of all officially recognized and
controlled detention or confinement facilities, and the list of detainees or persons deprived of
liberty under their respective jurisdictions to the CHR.

SEC. 12. Immediate Issuance and Compliance of the Writs of Habeas Corpus, Amparo and
Habeas Data. – All proceedings pertaining to the issuance of the writs of habeas corpus,
amparo and habeas data shall be dispensed with expeditiously. As such, all courts and other
concerned agencies of government shall give priority to such proceedings.

Moreover, any order issued or promulgated pursuant to such writs or their respective proceedings
shall be executed and complied with immediately.

SEC. 13. Visitation /Inspection of Places of Detention and, Confinement. –The CHR or its duly
authorized representatives are hereby mandated and authorized to conduct regular, independent,
unannounced and unrestricted visits to or inspection of all places of detention and confinement.

SEC. 14. Liability of Commanding Officer or Superior. – The immediate commanding officer of
the unit concerned of the AFP or the immediate senior official of the PNP and other law
enforcement agencies shall be held liable as a principal to the crime of enforced or involuntary
disappearance for acts committed by him or her that shall have led, assisted, abetted or allowed,
whether directly or indirectly, the commission thereof by his or her subordinates. If such
commanding officer has knowledge of or, owing to the circumstances at the time, should have
known that an enforced or involuntary disappearance is being committed, or has been committed
by subordinates or by others within the officer’s area of responsibility and, despite such
knowledge, did not take preventive or coercive action either before, during or immediately after
its commission, when he or she has the authority to prevent or investigate allegations of enforced
or involuntary disappearance but failed to prevent or investigate such allegations, whether
deliberately or due to negligence, shall also be held liable as principal.
SEC. 15. Penal Provisions. – (a) The penalty of reclusion perpetua and its accessory penalties
shall be imposed upon the following persons:

(1) Those who directly committed the act of enforced or involuntary disappearance;

(2) Those who directly forced, instigated, encouraged or induced others to commit the act of
enforced or involuntary disappearance;

(3) Those who cooperated in the act of enforced or involuntary disappearance by committing
another act without which the act of enforced or involuntary disappearance would not have been
consummated;

(4) Those officials who allowed the act or abetted in the consummation of enforced or
involuntary disappearance when it is within their power to stop or uncover the commission
thereof; and

(5) Those who cooperated in the execution of the act of enforced or involuntary disappearance
by previous or simultaneous acts.

(b) The penalty of reclusion temporal and its accessory penalties shall be imposed upon those
who shall commit the act of enforced or involuntary disappearance in the attempted stage as
provided for and defined under Article 6 of the Revised Penal Code.

(c) The penalty of reclusion temporal and its accessory penalties shall also be imposed upon
persons who, having knowledge of the act of enforced or involuntary disappearance and without
having participated therein, either as principals or accomplices, took part subsequent to its
commission in any of the following manner:

(1) By themselves profiting from or assisting the offender to profit from the effects of the act of
enforced or involuntary disappearance;

(2) By concealing the act of enforced or involuntary disappearance and/or destroying the effects
or instruments thereof in order to prevent its discovery; or

(3) By harboring, concealing or assisting in the escape of the principal/s in the act of enforced or
involuntary disappearance, provided such accessory acts are done with the abuse of official
functions.

(d) The penalty of prision correctional and its accessory penalties shall be imposed against
persons who defy, ignore or unduly delay compliance with any order duly issued or promulgated
pursuant to the writs of habeas corpus, amparo and habeas data or their respective proceedings.

(e) The penalty of arresto mayor and its accessory penalties shall be imposed against any person
who shall violate the provisions of Sections 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of this Act.
SEC. 16. Preventive Suspension/Summary Dismissal. –Government officials and personnel who
are found to be perpetrators of or participants in any manner in the commission of enforced or
involuntary disappearance as a result of a preliminary investigation conducted for that purpose
shall be preventively suspended or summarily dismissed from the service, depending on the
strength of the evidence so presented and gathered in the said preliminary investigation or as
may be recommended by the investigating authority.

SEC. 17. Civil Liability. –The act of enforced or involuntary disappearance shall render its
perpetrators and the State agencies which organized, acquiesced in or tolerated such
disappearance liable under civil law.

SEC. 18. Independent Liability. –The criminal liability of the offender under this Act shall be
independent of or without prejudice to the prosecution and conviction of the said offender for
any violation of Republic Act No. 7438, otherwise known as “An Act Defining Certain Rights of
Person Arrested, Detained or Under Custodial Investigation as well as the Duties of the
Arresting, Detaining, and Investigating Officers, and Providing Penalties for Violations
Thereof’; Republic Act No. 9745, otherwise known as “An Act Penalizing Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Prescribing Penalties Therefor”;
and applicable provisions of the Revised Penal Code.

SEC. 19. Nonexclusivity or Double Jeopardy Under International Law. – Any investigation, trial
and decision in any Philippines court, or body for any violation of this Act shall; be without
prejudice to any investigation, trial, decision or any other legal or administrative process before
any appropriate international court or agency under applicable international human rights and
humanitarian law.

SEC. 20. Exemption from Prosecution. – Any offender who volunteers information that leads to
the discovery of the victim of enforced or involuntary disappearance or the prosecution of the
offenders without the victim being found shall be exempt from any criminal and/or civil liability
under this Act: Provided, That said offender does not appear to be the most guilty.

SEC. 21. Continuing Offense. – An act constituting enforced or involuntary disappearance shall
be considered a continuing offense as long as the perpetrators continue to conceal the fate and
whereabouts of the disappeared person and such circumstances have not been determined with
certainty.

SEC. 22. Statue of Limitations Exemption. – The prosecution of persons responsible for enforced
or involuntary disappearance shall not prescribe unless the victim surfaces alive. In which case,
the prescriptive period shall be twenty-five (25) years from the date of such reappearance.

SEC. 23. Special Amnesty Law Exclusion. – Persons who are changed with and/or guilty of the
act of enforced or involuntary disappearance shall not benefit from any special amnesty law or
other similar executive measures that shall exempt them from any penal proceedings or
sanctions.
SEC. 24. State Protection – The State, through its appropriate agencies, shall ensure the safety of
all persons involved in the search, investigation and prosecution of enforced or involuntary
disappearance including, but not limited to, the victims, their families, complainants, witnesses,
legal counsel and representatives of human rights organizations and media. They shall likewise
be protected from any intimidation or reprisal.

SEC. 25. Applicability of Refouler. –No person shall be expelled, returned or extradited to
another State where there are substantial grounds to believe that such person shall be in danger of
being subjected to enforced or involuntary disappearance. For purposes of determining whether
such grounds exist, the Secretary of the Department, of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Secretary
of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in coordination with the Chairperson of the CHR, shall take
into account all relevant considerations including where applicable and not limited to, the
existence in the requesting State of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of
human rights.

SEC. 26. Restitution and Compensation to Victims of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance

and/or Their Immediate Relatives. –The victims of enforced or involuntary disappearance who
surface alive shall be entitled to monetary compensation, rehabilitation and restitution of honor
and reputation. Such restitution of honor and reputation shall include immediate expunging or
rectification of any derogatory record, information or public declaration/statement on his or her
person, personal circumstances, status, and/or organizational affiliation by the appropriate
government or private agency or agencies concerned.

The immediate relatives of a victim of enforced or involuntary disappearance, within the fourth
civil degree of consanguinity or affinity, may also claim for compensation as provided for under
Republic Act No. 7309, entitled “An Act Creating a Board of Claims under the Department of
Justice for Victims of Unjust Imprisonment or Detention and Victims of Violent Crimes and For
Other Purposes”, and other relief programs of the government.

The package of indemnification for both the victims and the immediate relatives within the
fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity shall be without prejudice to other legal remedies
that may be available to them.

SEC. 27. Rehabilitation of Victims and/or Their Immediate Relatives, and Offenders. – In order
that the victims of enforced or involuntary disappearance who surfaced alive and/or their
immediate relatives within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity, may be effectively
reintegrated into the mainstream of society and in the process of development, the State, through
the CHR, in coordination with the Department of Health, the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) and the concerned nongovernment organization/s, shall provide them
with appropriate medical care and rehabilitation free of charge.

Toward the attainment of restorative justice, a parallel rehabilitation program for persons who
have committed enforced or involuntary disappearance shall likewise be implemented without
cost to such offenders.
SEC. 28. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within thirty (30) days from the effectivity of
this Act, the DOJ, the DSWD, the CHR, the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance
(FIND) and the Families of Desaparecidos for Justice (Desaparecidos), in consultation with
other human rights organizations, shall jointly promulgate the rules and regulations for the
effective implementation of this Act and shall ensure the full dissemination of the same to the
public.

SEC. 29. Suppletory Applications. – The applicable provisions of the Revised Penal Code shall
have suppletory application insofar as they are consistent with the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 30. Appropriations. –The amount of Ten million pesos (P10,000,000.00) is hereby
appropriated for the initial implementation of this Act by the CHR. Subsequent fluids for the
continuing implementation of this Act shall be included in the respective budgets of the CHR
and the DOJ in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 31. Separability Clause. –If for any reason, any section or provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional or invalid, such other sections or provisions not affected thereby shall remain in
full force and effect.

SEC. 32. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations and other
issuances or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed,
amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 33. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation or the Official Gazette, which shall not be later
than seven (7) days after the approval thereof.

Approved,

REPUBLIC ACT N0. 9745

AN ACT PENALIZING TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN AND DEGRADING

TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress

assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This Ad shall be known as the "Anti-Torture Act of 2009".

Section 2. Statement of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the State:

(a) To value the dignity of every human person and guarantee full respect for human rights;

(b) To ensure that the human rights of all persons, including suspects, detainees and
prisoners are respected at all times; and that no person placed under investigation or held in
custody of any person in authority or, agent of a person authority shall be subjected to
physical, psychological or mental harm, force, violence, threat or intimidation or any act that
impairs his/her free wi11 or in any manner demeans or degrades human dignity;
 (c) To ensure that secret detention places, solitary, incommunicado or other similar forms of
detention, where torture may be carried out with impunity, are prohibited; and

(d) To fully adhere to the principles and standards on the absolute condemnation and
prohibition of torture as provided for in the 1987 Philippine Constitution; various international
instruments to which the Philippines is a State party such as, but not limited to, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Rights of
the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDA W) and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT); and all other relevant international human rights
instruments to which the Philippines is a signatory.

Section 3. Definitions. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall mean:

(a) "Torture" refers to an act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is
intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him/her or a third
person information or a confession; punishing him/her for an act he/she or a third person has
committed or is suspected of having committed; or intimidating or coercing him/her or a third
person; or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is
inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a person in
authority or agent of a person in authority. It does not include pain or Buffering arising only
from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.

(b) "Other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment" refers to a deliberate and
aggravated treatment or punishment not enumerated under Section 4 of this Act, inflicted by
a person in authority or agent of a person in authority against a person under his/her
custody, which attains a level of severity causing suffering, gross humiliation or debasement
to the latter.

(c) "Victim" refers to the person subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment or punishment as defined above and any individual who has suffered harm as a
result of any act(s) of torture, or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or
punishment.

(d) "Order of Battle" refers to any document or determination made by the military, police or
any law enforcement agency of the government, listing the names of persons and
organizations that it perceives to be enemies of the State and that it considers as legitimate
targets as combatants that it could deal with, through the use of means allowed by domestic
and international law.

Section 4. Acts of Torture. - For purposes of this Act, torture shall include, but not be limited to, the
following:

(a) Physical torture is a form of treatment or punishment inflicted by a person in authority or

agent of a person in authority upon another in his/her custody that causes severe pain,
exhaustion, disability or dysfunction of one or more parts of the body, such as:

(1) Systematic beating, headbanging, punching, kicking, striking with truncheon or

rifle butt or other similar objects, and jumping on the stomach;

(2) Food deprivation or forcible feeding with spoiled food, animal or human excreta
and other stuff or substances not normally eaten;
 (3) Electric shock;

(4) Cigarette burning; burning by electrically heated rods, hot oil, acid; by the rubbing
of pepper or other chemical substances on mucous membranes, or acids or spices
directly on the wound(s);

(5) The submersion of the head in water or water polluted with excrement, urine,
vomit and/or blood until the brink of suffocation;

(6) Being tied or forced to assume fixed and stressful bodily position;

(7) Rape and sexual abuse, including the insertion of foreign objects into the sex
organ or rectum, or electrical torture of the genitals;

(8) Mutilation or amputation of the essential parts of the body such as the genitalia,
ear, tongue, etc.;

(9) Dental torture or the forced extraction of the teeth;

(10) Pulling out of fingernails;

(11) Harmful exposure to the elements such as sunlight and extreme cold;

(12) The use of plastic bag and other materials placed over the head to the point of
asphyxiation;

(13) The use of psychoactive drugs to change the perception, memory. alertness or
will of a person, such as:

(i) The administration or drugs to induce confession and/or reduce mental

competency; or

(ii) The use of drugs to induce extreme pain or certain symptoms of a disease; and

(14) Other analogous acts of physical torture; and

(b) "Mental/Psychological Torture" refers to acts committed by a person in authority or agent

of a person in authority which are calculated to affect or confuse the mind and/or undermine
a person's dignity and morale, such as:

(1) Blindfolding;

(2) Threatening a person(s) or his/fher relative(s) with bodily harm, execution or other
wrongful acts;

(3) Confinement in solitary cells or secret detention places;

(4) Prolonged interrogation;

 (5) Preparing a prisoner for a "show trial", public display or public humiliation of a
detainee or prisoner;

(6) Causing unscheduled transfer of a person deprived of liberty from one place to
another, creating the belief that he/she shall be summarily executed;

(7) Maltreating a member/s of a person's family;

(8) Causing the torture sessions to be witnessed by the person's family, relatives or
any third party;

(9) Denial of sleep/rest;

(10) Shame infliction such as stripping the person naked, parading him/her in public
places, shaving the victim's head or putting marks on his/her body against his/her
will;

(11) Deliberately prohibiting the victim to communicate with any member of his/her
family; and

(12) Other analogous acts of mental/psychological torture.

Section 5. Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. - Other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment refers to a deliberate and aggravated treatment or punishment
not enumerated under Section 4 of this Act, inflicted by a person in authority or agent of a person in
authority against another person in custody, which attains a level of severity sufficient to cause
suffering, gross humiliation or debasement to the latter. The assessment of the level of severity shall
depend on all the circumstances of the case, including the duration of the treatment or punishment,
its physical and mental effects and, in some cases, the sex, religion, age and state of health of the
victim.

Section 6. Freedom from Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, An Absolute Bight. - Torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or
punishment as criminal acts shall apply to all circumstances. A state of war or a threat of war,
internal political instability, or any other public emergency, or a document or any determination
comprising an "order of battle" shall not and can never be invoked as a justification for torture and
other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

Section 7. Prohibited Detention. - Secret detention places, solitary confinement, incommunicado or

other similar forms of detention, where torture may be carried out with impunity. Are hereby
prohibited.

In which case, the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and
other law enforcement. agencies concerned shall make an updated list of all detention centers and
facilities under their respective jurisdictions with the corresponding data on the prisoners or
detainees incarcerated or detained therein such as, among others, names, date of arrest and
incarceration, and the crime or offense committed. This list shall be made available to the public at
all times, with a copy of the complete list available at the respective national headquarters of the
PNP and AFP. A copy of the complete list shall likewise be submitted by the PNP, AFP and all other
law enforcement agencies to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), such list to be periodically
updated, by the same agencies, within the first five (5) days of every month at the minimum. Every
regional office of the PNP, AFP and other law enforcement agencies shall also maintain a similar list
far all detainees and detention facilities within their respective areas, and shall make the same
available to the public at all times at their respective regional headquarters, and submit a copy.
updated in the same manner provided above, to the respective regional offices of the CHR.

Section 8. Applicability of the Exclusionary Rule; Exception. - Any confession, admission or

statement obtained as a result of torture shall be inadmissible in evidence in any proceedings,
except if the same is used as evidence against a person or persons accused of committing torture.

Section 9. Institutional Protection of Torture Victims and Other Persons Involved. - A victim of
torture shall have the following rights in the institution of a criminal complaint for torture:

(a) To have a prompt and an impartial investigation by the CHR and by agencies of
government concerned such as the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Public Attorney's Office
(PAO), the PNP, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the AFP. A prompt
investigation shall mean a maximum period of sixty (60) working days from the time a
complaint for torture is filed within which an investigation report and/or resolution shall be
completed and made available. An appeal whenever available shall be resolved within the
same period prescribed herein,

(b) To have sufficient government protection against all forms of harassment; threat and/or
intimidation as a consequence of the filing of said complaint or the presentation of evidence
therefor. In which case, the State through its appropriate agencies shall afford security in
order to ensure his/her safety and all other persons involved in the investigation and
prosecution such as, but not limited to, his/her lawyer, witnesses and relatives; and

(c) To be accorded sufficient protection in the manner by which he/she testifies and presents
evidence in any fora in order to avoid further trauma.

Section 10. Disposition of Writs of Habeas Corpus, Amparo and Habeas Data Proceedings and
Compliance with a Judicial 07'der. - A writ of habeas corpus or writ of amparo or writ of habeas data
proceeding, if any, filed on behalf of the victim of torture or other cruel, degrading and inhuman
treatment or punishment shall be disposed of expeditiously and any order of release by virtue
thereof, or other appropriate order of a court relative thereto, shall be executed or complied with
immediately.

Section 11. Assistance in Filing a Complaint. - The CHR and the PAO shall render legal assistance
in the investigation and monitoring and/or filing of the complaint for a person who suffers torture and
other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, or for any interested party thereto.

The victim or interested party may also seek legal assistance from the Barangay Human Rights
Action Center (BRRAC) nearest him/her as well as from human rights nongovernment organizations
(NGOs).

Section 12. Right to' Physical, Medical and Psychological Examination. - Before and after
interrogation, every person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation shall have the right to
he informed of his/her right to demand physical examination by an independent and competent
doctor of his/her own choice. If such person cannot afford the services of his/her own doctor, he/she
shall he provided by the State with a competent and independent doctor to conduct physical
examination. The State shall endeavor to provide the victim with psychological evaluation if available
under the circumstances. If the person arrested is a female, she shall be attended to preferably by a
female doctor. Furthermore, any person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation, including
his/her immediate family, shall have the right to immediate access to proper and adequate medical
treatment. The physical examination and/or psychological evaluation of the victim shall be contained
in a medical report, duly signed by the attending physician, which shall include in detail his/her
medical history and findings, and which shall he attached to the custodial investigation report. Such
report shall be considered a public document.

Following applicable protocol agreed upon by agencies tasked to conduct physical, psychological
and mental examinations, the medical reports shall, among others, include:

(a) The name, age and address of the patient or victim;

(b) The name and address of the nearest kin of the patient or victim;

(c) The name and address of the person who brought the patient or victim for physical,
psychological and mental examination, and/or medical treatment;

(d) The nature and probable cause of the patient or victim's injury, pain and disease and/or
trauma;

(e) The approximate time and date when the injury, pain, disease and/or trauma was/were
sustained;

(f) The place where the injury, pain, disease and/or trauma was/were sustained;

(g) The time, date and nature of treatment necessary; and

(h) The diagnosis, the prognosis and/or disposition of the patient.

Any person who does not wish to avail of the rights under this pr<;lvision may knowingly and
voluntarily waive such rights in writing, executed in the presence and assistance of his/her counsel.

Section 13. Who are Criminally Liable. - Any person who actually participated Or induced another in
the commission of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment or who
cooperated in the execution of the act of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or
punishment by previous or simultaneous acts shall be liable as principal

Any superior military, police or law enforcement officer or senior government official who issued an
order to any lower ranking personnel to commit torture for whatever purpose shall be held equally
liable as principals.

The immediate commanding officer of the unit concerned of the AFP or the immediate senior public
official of the PNP and other law enforcement agencies shall be held liable as a principal to the crime
of torture or other cruel or inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment for any act or omission,
or negligence committed by him/her that shall have led, assisted, abetted or allowed, whether
directly or indirectly, the commission thereof by his/her subordinates. If he/she has knowledge of or,
owing to the circumstances at the time, should have known that acts of torture or other cruel,
inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment shall be committed, is being committed, or has
been committed by his/her subordinates or by others within his/her area of responsibility and,
despite such knowledge, did not take preventive or corrective action either before, during or
immediately after its commission, when he/she has the authority to prevent or investigate allegations
of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment but failed to prevent or
investigate allegations of such act, whether deliberately or due to negligence shall also be liable as
principals.

Any public officer or employee shall be liable as an accessory if he/she has knowledge that torture or
other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment is being committed and without having
participated therein, either as principal or accomplice, takes part subsequent to its commission in
any of the following manner:

(a) By themselves profiting from or assisting the offender to profit from the effects of the act
of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment;

(b) By concealing the act of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or
punishment and/or destroying the effects or instruments thereof in order to prevent its
discovery; or(c) By harboring, concealing or assisting m the escape of the principal/s in the
act of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment: Provided, That
the accessory acts are done with the abuse of the official's public functions.

Section 14. Penalties. - (a) The penalty of reclusion perpetua shall be imposed upon the
perpetrators of the following acts:

(1) Torture resulting in the death of any person;

(2) Torture resulting in mutilation;

(3) Torture with rape;

(4) Torture with other forms of sexual abuse and, in consequence of torture, the
victim shall have become insane, imbecile, impotent, blind or maimed for life; and

(5) Torture committed against children.

(b) The penalty of reclusion temporal shall be imposed on those who commit any act of
mental/psychological torture resulting in insanity, complete or partial amnesia, fear of
becoming insane or suicidal tendencies of the victim due to guilt, worthlessness or shame.

(c) The penalty of prision correccional shall be imposed on those who commit any act of
torture resulting in psychological, mental and emotional harm other than those described 1n
paragraph (b) of this section. '

(d) The penalty of prision mayor in its medium and maximum periods shall be imposed if, in
consequence of torture, the victim shall have lost the power of speech or the power to hear
or to smell; or shall have lost an eye, a hand, a foot, an arm or a leg; or shall have lost the
use of any such member; Or shall have become permanently incapacitated for labor.

(e) The penalty of prision mayor in its minimum and medium periods shall be imposed if, in
consequence of torture, the victim shall have become deformed or shall have lost any part of
his/her body other than those aforecited, or shall have lost the use thereof, or shall have
been ill or incapacitated for labor for a period of more than ninety (90) days.
 (f) The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its minimum
period shall be imposed if, in consequence of torture, the victim shall have been ill or
incapacitated for labor for mare than thirty (30) days but not more than ninety (90) days.

(g) The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium period shall be imposed if,
in consequence of torture, the victim shall have been ill or incapacitated for labor for thirty
(30) days or less.

(h) The penalty of arresto mayor shall be imposed for acts constituting cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment as defined in Section 5 of this Act.

(i) The penalty of prision correccional shall be imposed upon those who establish, operate
and maintain secret detention places and/or effect or cause to effect solitary confinement,
incommunicado or other similar forms of prohibited detention as provided in Section 7 of this
Act where torture may be carried out with impunity.

(j) The penalty of arresto mayor shall be imposed upon the responsible officers or personnel
of the AFP, the PNP and other law enforcement agencies for failure to perform his/her duty
to maintain, submit or make available to the public an updated list of detention centers and
facilities with the corresponding data on the prisoners or detainees incarcerated or detained
therein, pursuant to Section 7 of this Act.

Section 15. Torture as a Separate and Independent Crime. - Torture as a crime shall not absorb or
shall not be absorbed by any other crime or felony committed as a consequence, or as a means in
the conduct or commission thereof. In which case, torture shall be treated as a separate and
independent criminal act whose penalties shall be imposable without prejudice to any other criminal
liability provided for by domestic and international laws.

Section 16. Exclusion from the Coverage of Special Amnesty Law. - In order not to depreciate the
crime of torture, persons who have committed any act of torture shall not benefit from any special
amnesty law or similar measures that will have the effect of exempting them from any criminal
proceedings and sanctions.

Section 17. Applicability of Refouler. - No person shall be expelled, returned or extradited to another
State where there are substantial grounds to believe that such person shall be in danger of being
subjected to torture. For the purposes of determining whether such grounds exist, the Secretary of
the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Secretary of the DOJ, in coordination with the
Chairperson of the CHR, shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where
applicable and not limited to, the existence in the requesting State of a consistent pattern of gross,
flagrant or mass violations of human rights.

Section 18. Compensation to Victims of Torture. - Any person who has suffered torture shall have
the right to claim for compensation as provided for under Republic Act No. 7309: Provided, That in
no case shall compensation be any lower than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00). Victims of torture
shall also have the right to claim for compensation from such other financial relief programs that may
be made available to him/her under existing law and rules and regulations.

Section 19. Formulation of a Rehabilitation Program. - Within one (1) year from the effectivity of this
Act, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the DOJ and the Department of
Health (DOH) and such other concerned government agencies, and human rights organizations
shall formulate a comprehensive rehabilitation program for victims of torture and their families. The
DSWD, the DOJ and thc DOH shall also call on human rights nongovernment organizations duly
recognized by the government to actively participate in the formulation of such program that shall
provide for the physical, mental, social, psychological healing and development of victims of torture
and their families. Toward the attainment of restorative justice, a parallel rehabilitation program for
persons who have committed torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment shall
likewise be formulated by the same agencies.

Section 20. Monitoring of Compliance with this Act. - An Oversight Committee is hereby created to
periodically oversee the implementation of this Act. The Committee shall be headed by a
Commissioner of the CRR, with the following as members: the Chairperson of the Senate
Committee on Justice and Human Rights, the respective Chairpersons of the House of
Representatives' Committees on Justice and Human Rights, and the Minority Leaders of both
houses or their respective representatives in the minority.

Section 21. Education and Information Campaign. - The CHR, the DOJ, the Department of National
Defense (DND), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and such other
concerned parties in both the public and private sectors shall ensure that education and information
regarding prohibition against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or
punishment shall be fully included in the training of law enforcement personnel, civil or military,
medical personnel, public officials and other persons who may be involved in the custody,
interrogation or treatment of any individual subjected to any form of arrest, detention or
imprisonment. The Department of Education (DepED) and the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED) shall also ensure the integration of human rights education courses in all primary,
secondary and tertiary level academic institutions nationwide.

Section 22. Applicability of the Revised Penal Code. - The provisions of the Revised Penal Code
insofar as they are applicable shall be suppletory to this Act. Moreover, if the commission of any
crime punishable under Title Eight (Crimes Against Persons) and Title Nine (Crimes Against
Personal Liberty and Security) of the Revised Penal Code is attended by any of the acts constituting
torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment as defined herein, the
penalty to be imposed shall be in its maximum period.

Section 23. Appropriations. - The amount of Five million pesos (Php5,000,000.00) is hereby
appropriated to the CHR for the initial implementation of tills Act. Thereafter, such sums as may be
necessary for the continued implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual General
Appropriations Act.

Section 24. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The DOJ and the CHR, with the active
participation of human rights nongovernmental organizations, shall promulgate the rules and
regulations for the effective implementation of tills Act. They shall also ensure the full dissemination
of such rules and regulations to all officers and members of various law enforcement agencies.

Section 25. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional,
the other provisions not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

Section 26. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders or rules and regulations
contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly.

Section 27. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official
Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10368

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR REPARATION AND RECOGNITION OF VICTIMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

VIOLATIONS DURING THE MARCOS REGIME, DOCUMENTATION OF SAID VIOLATIONS,
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress

assembled:

CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

Section 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the "Human Rights Victims Reparation and
Recognition Act of 2013″.

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. — Section 11 of Article II of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic
of the Philippines declares that the State values the dignity of every human, person and guarantees
full respect for human rights. Pursuant to this declared policy, Section 12 of Article III of the
Constitution prohibits the use of torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means
which vitiate the free will and mandates the compensation and rehabilitation of victims of torture or
similar practices and their families.

By virtue of Section 2 of Article II of the Constitution adopting generally accepted principles of

international law as part of the law of the land, the Philippines adheres to international human rights
laws and conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment which imposes on each State party the
obligation to enact domestic legislation to give effect to the rights recognized therein and to ensure
that any person whose rights or freedoms have been violated shall have an effective remedy, even if
the violation is committed by persons acting in an official capacity. In fact, the right to a remedy is
itself guaranteed under existing human rights treaties and/or customary international law, being
peremptory in character (jus cogens) and as such has been recognized as non-derogable.

Consistent with the foregoing, it is hereby declared the policy of the State to recognize the heroism
and sacrifices of all Filipinos who were victims of summary execution, torture, enforced or
involuntary disappearance and other gross human rights violations committed during the regime of
former President Ferdinand E. Marcos covering the period from September 21, 1972 to February 25,
1986 and restore the victims’ honor and dignity. The State hereby acknowledges its moral and legal
obligation to recognize and/or provide reparation to said victims and/or their families for the deaths,
injuries, sufferings, deprivations and damages they suffered under the Marcos regime.

Similarly, it is the obligation of the State to acknowledge the sufferings and damages inflicted upon
persons whose properties or businesses were forcibly taken over, sequestered or used, or those
whose professions were damaged and/or impaired, or those whose freedom of movement was
restricted, and/or such other victims of the violations of the Bill of Rights.

Section 3. Definition of Terms. — The following terms as used in this Act shall mean:

(a) Detention refers to the act of taking a person into custody against his will by persons
acting in an official capacity and/or agents of the State.
(b) Human rights violation refers to any act or omission committed during the period from
September 21, 1972 to February 25, 1986 by persons acting in an official capacity and/or
agents of the State, but shall not be limited to the following:

(1) Any search, arrest and/or detention without a valid search warrant or warrant of
arrest issued by a civilian court of law, including any warrantless arrest or detention
carried out pursuant to the declaration of Martial Law by former President Ferdinand
E. Marcos as well as any arrest., detention or deprivation of liberty carried out during
the covered period on the basis of an "Arrest, Search and Seizure Order (ASSO)", a
"Presidential Commitment Order {PCO)" or a "Preventive Detention Action (PDA)"
and such other similar executive issuances as defined by decrees of former
President Ferdinand E. Marcos, or in any manner that the arrest, detention or
deprivation, of liberty was effected;

(2) The infliction by a person acting in an official capacity and/or an agent of the
State of physical injury, torture, killing, or violation of other human rights, of any
person exercising civil or political rights, including but not limited to the freedom of
speech, assembly or organization; and/or the right to petition the government for
redress of grievances, even if such violation took place during or in the course of
what the authorities at the time deemed an illegal assembly or
demonstration: Provided,That torture in any form or under any circumstance shall be
considered a human rights violation;

(3) Any enforced or involuntary disappearance caused upon a person who was
arrested, detained or abducted against one’s will or otherwise deprived of one’s
liberty, as defined in Republic Act No. 10350 1, otherwise known as the "Anti-
Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012″;

(4) Any force or intimidation causing the involuntary exile of a person from the
Philippines;

(5) Any act of force, intimidation or deceit causing unjust or illegal takeover of a
business, confiscation of property, detention of owner/s and or their families,
deprivation of livelihood of a person by agents of the State, including those caused
by Ferdinand E. Marcos, his spouse Imelda R. Marcos, their immediate relatives by
consanguinity or affinity, as well as those persons considered as among their close
relatives, associates, cronies and subordinates under Executive Order No. 1, issued
on February 28, 1986 by then President Corazon C. Aquino in the exercise of her
legislative powers under the Freedom Constitution;

(6) Any act or series of acts causing, committing and/or conducting the following:

(i) Kidnapping or otherwise exploiting children of persons suspected of

committing acts against the Marcos regime;

(ii) Committing sexual offenses against human rights victims who are
detained and/or in the course of conducting military and/or police operations;
and

(iii) Other violations and/or abuses similar or analogous to the above,

including those recognized by international law.
 (c) Human Rights Violations Victim (HRVV) refers to a person whose human rights were
violated by persons acting in an official capacity and/or agents of the State as defined herein.
In order to qualify for reparation under this Act, the human rights violation must have been
committed during the period from September 21, 1972 to February 25, 1986: Provided,
however, That victims of human rights violations that were committed one (1) month before
September 21, 1972 and one (1) month after February 25, 1986 shall be entitled to
reparation, under this Act if they can establish that the violation was committed:

(1) By agents of the State and/or persons acting in an official capacity as defined
hereunder;

(2) For the purpose of preserving, maintaining, supporting or promoting the said
regime; or

(3) To conceal abuses during the Marcos regime and/or the effects of Martial Law.

(d) Persons Acting in an Official Capacity and/or Agents of the State.—The following persons
shall be deemed persons acting in an official capacity and/or agents of the State under this
Act:

(1) Any member of the former Philippine Constabulary (PC), the former Integrated
National Police (INP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Civilian
Home Defense Force (CHDF) from September 21, 1972 to February 25, 1986 as
well as any civilian agent attached thereto; and any member of a paramilitary group
even if one is not organically part of the PC, the INP, the AFP or the CHDF so long
as it is shown that the group was organized, funded, supplied with equipment,
facilities and/or resources, and/or indoctrinated, controlled and/or supervised by any
person acting in an official capacity and/or agent of the State as herein defined;

(2) Any member of the civil service, including persons who held elective or appointive
public office at any time from September 21, 1972 to February 25, 1986;

(3) Persons referred to in Section 2(a) of Executive Order No. 1, creating the
Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), issued on February 28,
1986 and related laws by then President Corazon C. Aquino in the exercise of her
legislative powers under the Freedom Constitution, including former President
Ferdinand E. Marcos, spouse Imelda R. Marcos, their immediate relatives by
consanguinity or affinity, as well as their close relatives, associates, cronies and
subordinates; and

(4) Any person or group/s of persons acting with the authorization, support or
acquiescence of the State during the Marcos regime.

(e) Torture refers to any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is
intentionally inflicted on any person under the custody of persons acting in an official
capacity and/or agents of the State, as defined by law, jurisprudence, international
conventions and Republic Act No. 9745, otherwise known as the "Anti-Torture Act of 2009″.

Section 4. Entitlement to Monetary Reparation. — Any HRVV qualified under this Act shall receive
reparation from the State, free of tax, as herein prescribed: Provided, That for a deceased or
involuntary disappeared HRVV, the legal heirs as provided for in the Civil Code of the Philippines, or
such other person named by the executor or administrator of the deceased or involuntary
disappeared HRVV’s estate in that order, shall be entitled to receive such reparation: Provided,
further, That no special power of attorney shall be recognized in the actual disbursement of the
award, and only the victim or the aforestated successor(s)-in-interest shall be entitled to personally
receive said reparation form the Board, unless the victim involved is shown to be incapacitated to the
satisfaction of the Board: Provided, furthermore, That the reparation received under this Act shall be
without prejudice to the receipt of any other sum by the HRVV from any other person or entity in any
case involving violations of human rights as defined in this Act.

Section 5. Nonmonetary Reparation. — The Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Education (DepED), the Commission on
Higher Education (CHED), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and
such other government agencies shall render the necessary services as nonmonetary reparation for
HRVVs and/or their families, as may be determined by the Board pursuant to the provisions of this
Act. The amount necessary for this purpose shall be sourced from the budget of the agency
concerned in the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Section 6. Amount of Reparation. — The amount of reparation under this Act shall be in proportion
to the gravity of the human rights violation committed on the HRVV and in accordance with the
number of points assigned to the individual under Section 19 hereof.

Section 7. Source of Reparation. — The amount of Ten billion pesos (P10,000,000,000.00) plus
accrued interest which form part of the funds transferred to the government of the Republic of the
Philippines by virtue of the December 10, 1997 Order of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court,
adjudged by the Supreme Court of the Philippines as final and executory in Republic vs.
Sandiganbayan on July 15, 2003 (G.R. No. 152154) as Marcos ill-gotten wealth and forfeited in favor
of the Republic of the Philippines, shall be the principal source funds for the implementation of this
Act.

CHAPTER II

THE HUMAN RIGHTS VICTIMS’ CLAIMS BOARD

Section 8. Creation and Composition of the Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board. — There is
hereby created an independent and quasi-judicial body to be known as the Human Rights Victims’
Claims Board, hereinafter referred to as the Board. It shall be composed of nine (9) members, who
shall possess the following qualifications:

(a) Must be of known probity, competence and integrity;

(b) Must have a deep and thorough understanding and knowledge of human rights and
involvement in efforts against human rights violations committed during the regime of former
President Ferdinand E. Marcos;

(c) At least three (3) of them must be members of the Philippine Bar who have been
engaged in the practice of law for at least ten (10) years; and

(d) Must have a clear and adequate understanding and commitment to human rights
protection, promotion and advocacy.

The Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board shall be attached to but shall not be under the
Commission on Human Rights (CHR).
The Board shall organize itself within thirty (30) days from the completion of appointment of all nine
(9) members and shall thereafter organize its Secretariat.

Section 9. Appointment to the Board. — The President shall appoint the Chairperson and the other
eight (8) members of the Board: Provided, That human rights organizations such as, but not limited
to, the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG),
the Movement of Attorneys for Brotherhood, Integrity and Nationalism (MABINI), the Families of
Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) and the Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa
Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) may submit nominations to the President.

Section 10. Powers and Functions of the Board. — The Board shall have the following powers and
functions:

(a) Receive, evaluate, process and investigate applications for claims under this Act;

(b) Issue subpoena/s ad testificandum and subpoena/s duces tecum;

(c) Conduct independent administrative proceedings and resolve disputes over claims;

(d) Approve with finality all eligible claims under this Act;

(e) Deputize appropriate government agencies to assist it in order to effectively perform its
functions;

(f) Promulgate such rules as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act,
including rules of procedure in the conduct of its proceedings, with the Revised Rules of
Court of the Philippines having suppletory application;

(g) Exercise administrative control and supervision over its Secretariat;

(h) The Board, at its discretion, may consult the human rights organizations mentioned in
Section 9 herein; and

(i) Perform such other duties, functions and responsibilities as may be necessary to
effectively attain the objectives of this Act.

Section 11. Resolution, of Claims. — The Board shall be composed of three (3) divisions which
shall function simultaneously and independently of each other in the resolution of claims for
reparation. Each division shall be composed of one (1) Chairperson, who shall be a member of the
Philippine Bar and two (2) members to be appointed by the Board en banc.

Section 12. Emoluments. — The Chairperson and members of the Board shall have the rank,
salary, emoluments and allowances equivalent to s Presiding Justice and Associate Justice of the
Court of Appeals, respectively.

Section 13. Secretariat of the Board. — The Board shall be assisted by a Secretariat which may
come from the existing personnel of the CHR, without prejudice to the hiring of additional personnel
as determined by the Board to accommodate the volume of required work. The following shall be the
functions of the Secretariat:

(a) Receive, evaluate, process and investigate applications for claims under this Act;
 (b) Recommend to the Board the approval of applications for claims;

(c) Assist the Board in technical functions; and

(d) Perform other duties that may be assigned by the Board.

The Chairperson of the Board shall appoint a Board Secretary who shall head the Secretariat for the
duration of the existence of the Board. There shall be a Technical Staff Head assisted by five (5)
Legal Officers and three (3) Paralegal Officers; and an Administrative Staff Head assisted by three
(3) Administrative Support Staff.

When necessary, the Board may hire additional contractual employees or contract a service provider
to provide services of counselors, psychologists, social workers and public education specialists,
among others, to augment the services of the Secretariat: Provided, That the maximum contract
amount per year shall not exceed more than fifteen percent (15%) of the total annual operating
budget of the Board.

Section 14. Operating Budget of the Board.— The operating budget of the Board shall be funded
from the Ten billion peso {P10,000,000,000.00) fund, with Ten million pesos (P10,000,000.00) as its
initial operating budget:Provided, That it shall not exceed Fifty million pesos (P50,000,000.00) a year

Section 15. Proper Disposition of Funds. — The Board shall ensure that funds appropriated or those
which may become available as reparation for HRVVs are properly disbursed in accordance with the
policies stated by Congress and relevant government rules, regulations and accounting procedures.

CHAPTER III

CLAIMANTS, REPARATION AND RECOGNITION

Section 16. Claimants. — Any person who is an HRVV may file a claim with the Board for reparation
and/or recognition in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Section 17. Conclusive Presumption That One is an HRVV Under This Act. — The claimants in the
class suit and direct action plaintiffs in the Human Rights Litigation Against the Estate of Ferdinand
E. Marcos (MDL No. 840, CA No. 88-0390) in the US Federal District Court of Honolulu, Hawaii
wherein a favorable judgment has been rendered, shall be extended the conclusive presumption that
they are HRVVs: Provided, That the HRVVs recognized by the Bantayog Ng Mga Bayani Foundation
shall also be accorded the same conclusive presumption:Provided, further, That nothing herein shall
be construed to deprive the Board of its original jurisdiction and its inherent power to determine the
extent of the human rights violations and the corresponding reparation and/or recognition that may
be granted.

Section 18. Motu Proprio Recognition. — The Board may take judicial notice motu proprio of
individual persons who suffered human rights violations as defined herein and grant such persons
recognition as HRVVs and included in the Roll of Victims as provided for in Section 26 hereof.

Section 19. Determination of Award. — (a) The Board shall follow the point system in the
determination of the award. The range shall be one (1) to ten (10) points, as follows:

(1) Victims who died or who disappeared and are still missing shall be given ten (10) points;
 (2) Victims who were tortured and/or raped or sexually abused shall he given six (6) to nine
(9) points:

(3) Victims who were detained shall be given three (3) to five (5) points; and

(4) Victims whose rights were violated under Section 3, paragraph (b), nos. (4), (5) and (6)
under this Act shall be given one (1) to two (2) points.

The Board shall exercise its powers with due discretion in the determination of points for each victim,
which shall be based on the type of violation committed against the HRVV, frequently and duration
of the violation. In each category, HRVVs who had suffered more would receive more points. In
instances where a victim is classified in more than one category, one shall be awarded the points in
the higher category: Provided, That in cases where there are several eligible claims filed for
reparation by or on behalf of a particular HRVV, the Board shall award only one (1) valid claim which
corresponds to the category obtaining the highest number of points for each eligible claimant.

(b) The Board shall proceed to determine the award for each claimant classified under Sections 16,
17 and 18 of this Act.

(c) The Board shall then compute the final monetary value of one’s award that is equivalent to the
numerical value of one point multiplied by the number of points that a claimant is entitled to, as
previously determined by the Board.

(d) Within thirty (30) days after the Board has approved with finality each eligible claim pending
before it and after due publication of such legitimate claim, the award of monetary compensation
shall take effect: Provided., That any pending appeal filed by an aggrieved claimant or opposite
before the Board en banc must resolved by it sixty (60) days before the Board becomes functus
officio.

CHAPTER IV

GENERAL- PROVISIONS

Section 20. Transfer of Funds. — Pursuant to the judgment mentioned in Section 7 hereof, the
amount of Ten billion pesos (P10,000,000,000.00) plus the accrued interest are hereby set aside
and appropriated to fund the purposes of this Act.

Section 21. Documentation of Human — Rights Violations Committed by the Marcos Regime. — In
the implementation of this Act and without prejudice to any other documentary or other evidence that
may be required for the award of any reparation, any HRVV seeking reparation shall execute a
detailed sworn statement narrating the circumstances of the pertinent human rights violation/s
committed.

Section 22. Publication. — Consistent with Section 23 herein, the Board, after having been duly
convened, shall set the period for the commencement and termination of applications by HRVVs and
cause the publication of the same: Provided, That such period shall only become operative fifteen
(15) days after its last publication, which shall be once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in at
least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Section 23. Period for Filing of Claims; Waiver. — An HRVV shall file an application for reparation
with the Board within six (6) months from the effectivity of the implementing rules and regulations
(IRR) of this Act: Provided,That failure to file an application within said period is deemed a waiver of
the right to file the same: Provided, further, That for HRVVs who are deceased, incapacitated, or
missing due to enforced disappearance, their legal heir/s or representatives, shall be entitled to file
an application for reparation on their behalf.

Any opposition to the new application/s pursuant to Section 16 hereof shall only be entertained if
such is filed within fifteen (15) days from the date of the last publication of the official list of eligible
claimants as may be determined by the Board. The Board shall cause the publication of the official
list of eligible claimants once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in at least two (2) national
newspapers of general circulation.

Section 24 Appeal. — Any aggrieved claimant or oppositor may file an appeal within ten (10)
calendar days from the receipt of the Resolution of the Division, to the Board en banc, whose
decision shall then become final and executory.

Section 25. Penalties; Applicability of the Revised Penal Code. — Any claimant who is found by the
Board, after due hearing, to have filed a fraudulent claim, shall be referred to the appropriate office
for prosecution. If convicted, he shall suffer the imprisonment of eight (8) to ten (10) years, shall be
disqualified from public office and employment and shall be deprived of the right to vote and be
voted for in any national or local election, even after the service of sentence unless granted absolute
pardon.

Any member of the Board and its Secretariat, public officer, employee of an agency or any private
individual mandated to implement this Act, who shall misuse, embezzle or misappropriate the funds
for the reparation of HRVVs or who shall commit fraud in the processing of documents and claims of
HRVVs, or shall conspire with any individual to commit the same, shall also be prosecuted,

Any member of the Board and its Secretariat, public officer, employee of an agency or any private
individual mandated to implement this Act, who may have been found guilty of committing any or all
of the prohibited acts stated in the preceding paragraph, or those acts punishable under the Revised
Penal Code, shall be penalized under the pertinent provisions in the Code and relevant special penal
laws.

Section 26. Roll of Victims. — Persons who are HRVVs, regardless of whether they opt to seek
reparation or not, shall be given recognition by enshrining their names in a Roll of Human Rights
Victims to be prepared by the Board.

A Memorial/Museum/Library shall be established in honor and in memory of the victims of human

rights violations whose names shall be inscribed in the Roll. A compendium of their sacrifices shall
be prepared and may be readily viewed and accessed in the internet. The
Memorial/Museum/Library/Compendium shall have an appropriation of at least Five hundred million
pesos (P500,000,000.00) from the accrued interest of the Ten billion peso (P10,000,000,000.00)
fund.

The Roll may also be displayed in government agencies as maybe designated by the HRVV
Memorial Commission as created hereunder.

Section 27. Human, Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission.. — There is hereby created a
Commission to be known as the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission,
hereinafter referred to as the Commission, primarily for the establishment, restoration, preservation
and conservation of the Memorial/Museum/Library/Compendium in honor of the HRVVs during the
Marcos regime.
The powers and functions of the Commission shall be assumed by the Board of Trustees which shall
be composed of the following; Chairperson of the CHR as Chairperson; Chairperson of the National
Historical Commission as Co-Chairperson; and Chairpersons of the CHED, the National
Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Secretary of the Department of Education and the
Head of the University of the Philippines Diliman Main Library, as members.

The Board of Trustees shall have the authority to hire and appoint its officials and employees,
receive donations and grants for and on its behalf, and generate revenues for the benefit of the
Commission.

The Commission shall be attached to the CHR solely for budgetary and administrative purposes.
The operating budget of the Commission shall be appropriated from the General Appropriations Act.

The Commission shall also coordinate and collaborate with the DepED and the CHED to ensure that
the teaching of Martial Law atrocities, the lives and sacrifices of HRVVs in our history are included in
the basic, secondary and tertiary education curricula.

CHAPTER V

FINAL PROVISIONS

Section 28. Guidelines for the Implementing Rules and Regulations (1RR). — In implementing this
Act and in formulating the corresponding rules and regulations, and to ensure that all applications
are properly screened for fraudulent claims, the Board must provide for:

(a) Transparency in the processing of the claims;

(b) A procedure that allows any concerned party to oppose an application or claim on the
ground that it is fraudulent, fictitious or spurious and gives that party the opportunity to
question the same and to present evidence in support thereof; and

(c) A procedure that is speedy and expeditious without sacrificing any of the parties’
fundamental rights.

Within fifteen (15) days from the date of its organization, the Board shall promulgate the necessary
IRR and procedures for the effective implementation of this Act. The IRR shall be effective fifteen
(15) days after its publication in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Section 29. Work Period; Sunset Clause. — The Board shall complete its work within two (2) years
from the effectivity of the IRR promulgated by it. After such period, it shall become functus officio.

Section 30. Separability Clause. — If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional or invalid, such other sections or provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full
force and effect.

Section 31. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations or parts
thereof inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Act, including Section 63(b) of Republic Act No.
6657, as amended, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 and
Section 40(a) of Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991,
are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly. 1âw phi1
Section 32. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its complete
publication in theOfficial Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10766

Source: Official Gazette
Date: April 19, 2016

AN ACT EXTENDING THE LIFE OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS VICTIMS CLAIMS BOARD,
AMENDING FOR THIS PURPOSE SECTION 29 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10368
ENTITLED, “AN ACT PROVIDING FOR REPARATION AND RECOGNITION OF
VICTIMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS DURING THE MARCOS REGIME,
DOCUMENTATION OF SAID VIOLATIONS, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES”

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in

Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Section 29 of Republic Act No. 10368 is hereby amended to read as

follows:

“SEC. 29. Work Period; Sunset Clause. – The Board shall complete its work within four
(4) years from May 12, 2014. After such period, it shall become functus officio.”

SEC. 2. Repealing Clause. – All laws, presidents decrees, executive orders, resolutions,
rules or regulations, or any part thereof which are inconsistent with any of the provisions
of this Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 3. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect upon its complete publication in a
newspaper of general circulation.