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Manila

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RESOLUTION.NO.:

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BRILUNTE Sirto 5. Jr.,SARMIiFNTO, Rene V.,TAGL7 Lucenito N.,VEUSCO, Armando C.,YUSQP,H, Elias R.,LIM, C,hristian Robert 5.,UGMAN, Augusto C.

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PROM(JLGATED Apri 1 13,20121l

.lRepublic of the Philippines

COMMISSION ON ELECTIONSI ' ^., .j. r l

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RULES OF I,iPROCEDURES rN THETNVESTTGATION AND PROSECUTIONOF ELECTION;,'QrreNSE CASES IN THEcoMMrssroN oN ELECTTONS. ,- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -il- - - - -.- - - - : - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - x

Chairhancom#issionerconlAhgbnerco,rLnMonercbrdDnrssrbner

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the COMELEC Rules of Procedures entitled "Prosecufion of Election Offenses" torireconcile somei,conflicts, inconsistencies and ambiguities with other prevailing laws'';and.rules; i.lt ' I I . " ' iitr:i

,l'l 'i i ' i i iWHEREAS, it is also imperative to standalrdize the investigative and'| t I 'i,.li

prosecutorial Works,in the Commission on Electionq in a unified and simplified

NOW; TIIEREFORE, the Commission on Elections, pursuant to the authorityir,:1.vested in it unijer the Constitution and other ilertinent election laws, RESOLVED,;ias it here$yi Brsol-vEs to approve the arhendm"hts in Rule 34 of COMELEC

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Rules of Brocedure: and to adopt the following rules and guidelines on thei

investigatidn and pr$secution of election offenses, to wit:;ii.;:l

Sectjon 1. Authority of the Commission to'Prosecute Election Offenses.- The Coinmibsionishall ,have the cdncurrent authilr,ity with other prosecutingarms of the government to conduct preliminary investigation of all electionoffenses punisfrable:under the election laws and to plosecute the same, except asmay otherw,r"l,,l. Provided * y:fr

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Section 3. Initiation of Complaint - Initiation of Complaints for electionoffenses may ,Oe done upon the initiative ofthe Cgmmission; or uporl writtenlil .. - r r-r^ --^-:-r^.--i .^-I:r:--r -^*,Complaint by qny citizen of the Philippines, candidate, registeled political party,coalition of pqlitical parties or organizations under fhe party-list system or anyaccredited ciiizHns"arms of tlle Commission or any lavf enforcement officer.

iiSection 4. Form of Complaint and Where to File. - The Complaint shall

state the addrq$s of the respondentrand shall be accompanied by the Affidavits ofthe complainant and his witnessesl as well as othpr supporting documents toestablish probable cause. They shall be in such number of coni-1 as there areresp'ondents, plus three (3) copies:for the official file. The Affidavits shall besubscribed an{ sworn to before any prosecutor or government official authorizedto administer dath, or in theirr absence or unavailability, before a notary public,each of whom nurt certify that he personally examine the affiants and that he issatisfied that they voluntarily executed and understoofl their Affidavits.

Complaihts, filed upon the initiative of the Commission, may be signed bythe Chairman ,'Qf the Commission, or the Director of the Law Department upondirection of the,Chairman, which must be subscribed and sworn to...l:

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Section 5. Where to File .a Complaint. -- (a) All election offenseComplaints involving efectoral sabotage, or those where some or all of therespondent/s are COI'4ELEC officials and employees, ;or that the offense involvedcarries a penalty that{is non-bailable, shall be filed with the Law Depaftment.' :i- :

'l']'(b) RIJ otn"r election offenses involving violqtiori of Batas Pambansa Blg.881, Republic Act Nos. 7166, 6646,8189, 9189,9369 and other pertinent electionlaws shall ,ne RteO with the Offices of the Election ,Officers if committed in theNdtional Capitgl Region,' Provincial Election Superyisors or Regional ElectionDirectors, wheii,e the,offense was committed or any of its essential elements tookPlace' ,: iIn electqral sabotpge cases, or those wl'tere one or some of therespondent/s are COMELEC officials and employees, or that the offense involvedcarries a penalfiy that is non-bailable, are filed with the Regional Election Directorsor Provincial Election Supervipors, or NCR Election j Officers, said officials shallimmediately tibnsmit to the Director of the Law iDepartment a copy of theComplaint and the supporting $ocuments within

five (5) days from receipt thereof.,'itr

Section,-6,Conduct qf Prelininary Investifiation.-(a) Within ten (10)

days from receipt of the Complaint, the investigating officer shall issue a subpoena ,:.1":'i:i'1i

section 2. Authority of coMELECttZWUtn 9 investigate-?l pr?s:cute,- All.lawyers ip the Commission who are Election'Officers in the National CapitalRegion CiruCnlb, . provincial Election Supervisors, $egional Election Attorneys,Assistant Regional Election Directors, Regional Election Directors and lawyers ofthe Law Oepirtment are author:ized to conduct irreliminary investigation ofComplaints inv(2lving electiog offenses under the election laws which may be filed

direcuy w th thpmr or which$ay be indorsed o themiby the Colrnlssion.

Such authority may ff'revoked or withdrawn any time by the Commissionwhenever in itg sound judfffent such revocation o1 withdrawal is necessary toprotect the integrity of th$ Commission, or when,.it.,believes that successfulruLeLt LIlts lllLqgllLy ul Ll l\5' \.tJlllllllJJltJll, vr YYrrurr, rr verrvvvJ Lrrql.prosecution of the case can be done by other lawyers in the Commission.

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ro trre ,.=p.,nq:9ntys, atLaching thereto a copY of the Complaint, AffidaVitS andother supporting documents, giving said respondent/s ten (10) days from receiptwithin wlrich to submit Counter-Affidavits and other supporting documents, TheresponOent sh[ll have the right to examine all o{her evidence submitted bythecomplainanq Otherwise, the investigating officer {;hall dismiss the Complaint ifhe finds no grgpnd to continue with the inQuiry. i

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(b) Such Counter-Affidavits and other supporting evidence submitted bythe respondentishall be furnished by the latter to the iomplainant.:

l,(c) If ;the respondent cannot be subpoenaeQ, o.r if subpoenaed, does notsubmit Counteil-Affidavits within the ten (10) day peliod, the investigating officershall base his Resolution on the evidence presented by the complainant.

.(d) Ifi the investigating officer believes thbt there are matters to beclarified, i" rnuy set a hearing to propound clarificatoiy questiohs to the partiOs ortheir witnesse$, during which the parties shall be afforded an oppottunity to bepresent, but vffithout the right to examine or crqs$-examine. If the parties sodesire, they miy submit questions to the investigatin$ officer which the latter maypropound to thg parties or witnesses ioncerned.

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' (.) ihereafter, the investigation shall be de91ed concluded, and theinvestigating officer shall resolve the case within thifty (30) days therefrom. Uponthe evidence thus adduced, the investigating officer shall determine whether ornot there is sufficient ground to hold the respondent for trial.

iiiWhere the respondent isla minor, the investigQting officer shall not conduct

the preliminary investigation unless the child " rgspondent shall have firstundergone thel requisite proceedings before the Local Social Welfare Development

Officer pursuaht to Republic Act No. 9344, otherwise known as the "JuvenileJustice and Weifare Act of 2006 '.'l

No motion, except on rthe: ground of lack of jurisdiction or request forextension of tiihe to submit Counter-Affidavits shall Qe allowed or granted excepton .*..ptioniiiy meritorious cases. Only one (1) {r4otion for Extension to fileCounter-AffidaVit for a period not exceeding ten (10) days shall be allowed. Thefiling of ReplyiAffidavit$ Rejoinder-Affidavits, Memoranda and similar pleadingsare likewise prqhibited,

iiWhen aln issue of a prejudicial question is raised in the Counter-Affidavit,

the investigatir;1g officer shall suspend preliminary inyestigation if its existence issatisfactorily qbtablished. All orders suspending the preliminary investigationbased on exisdenqe of prejudicial question issued by lhe investigating officer shall

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deteirnining wfi'ether the person should remain in cus'tody and cOrfesplndingl/ becharged in court. ;

'.1Where tAe respondent is a minor; the inquest ipvestigator shall not conduct

an inquest unfess the child respondent shall have undergone the requisiteproceedings befo;e the Local Social Welfare Development Officer pursuant toRepublic Act No. ?344, otherwise known as the "Juvenile lustice and Welfare Actof 2006".

..iiUnless othqrwise directed by the Commission, the inquest investigator shall

discharge its fUnctions during the hours of his pesignated assignments and only atthe police stations of the PNP or at the office of the inquest investigator..,:

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Inquest i proceedings commences' only upon receipt by the inquestinvestigator of the following: , .

;ia.,iAffidavit of Arrest duly subscribed and sworn to before him by the

arresting officer;b. :,Investigating Report; ic. t; Sworn Statements of the complainant/s and witness/es, if

available; and:

d.'iOther supporting pigces of evidencq gathered by the arrestingofficer during the course of the investigation,

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The inqriesf investigator shall determine if the brrest of the detained personwas made in aqcordance with paragraphs (a) (b) and j(c) of Section 5, Rule 113 ofthe Rules of Court. The inquest investigator may su4marily examine the arrestingofficers on theicirrcumstances rurrounding the arres or the apprehension of the

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detained person.

Should tfre inquest investigator, find the arreSt was properly affected, thedetained person shall be asked if he desires to avail himself of a preliminaryinvestigation, andlif he does, the consequences thereof must be explained to himadequately.

The detained person, with the assistance of hi,p own counsel, shall then bemade to execute ia waiver of the provisions of Article 125 of the Revised PenalCode. Thereafter, the inquest investigator shall set the case for preliminaryinvestigation, Which shall be terminated within fifteen (15) days from theexecution of wriivgr.

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Where tflre,detained person does not opt for a preliminary investigation orotherwise refuies to execute the required waiver, tfe inquest investigator shallproceed with the iconduct of inquest proceeding, no(withstanding the absence ofcounsel, by examining the Sworn Statements/Affidavits of the complainantwitnesses and other supporting evidence submitted. i

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If the inpuest investigator finds that probable gause exists, he shall preparethe Resolution with the corresponding Information with the correspondingRecommendatign that the same be filed,in court, The inquest must be terminatedwithin eighteenr(18) hours from the time of the arrelt.

Should therinquestinvestigator find the arrest was not made in accordance

with Rule 1i3 of the Rules of Coutt, he shall:,il ,r{

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.ia)b)

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Recommend the release of the persolr arrested or detained;lrepare the Recommendation indicating the reasons for theaction taken; iServe the Order of release on the law enforcement officer havingcustody of the iJetained;

Direct the office to serve upon the detainee the subpoena ornotice of preliminary investigation, logether with copies of thecharge sheet or Complaint, Affidavits or Sworn Statements of thecomplainant and his witness and other supporting evidence;Forward Recommendation, together with the record, to theRegional Election Director for appropiiate action.

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Section 8. Duty of Investigating Officer. - Th. preliminary investigationmust be terminated within thifty (30) days after receipt of the Counter-Affidavitst'and other evidenqe of the respondents, and a Recommendation thereof shall bemade. ,il

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(a) Ifrthe investigating officer finds no cause to hold the respondent fortrial, he shall recommend dismissal of the Complaint.

:i,i l, i i r(b) If the investigating officer finds probable cduse to hold therespondent for trial, "re shall prepare the Recommendation, and the correspondingInformation wfierein he shall certify under oath lhat he has examined thecomplainant anO tris witnesses, that there is reasonable ground to believe that a

.,1crime has beed committed and that the accused wa5 informed of the Complaintand of the evidence submitted against him and that [e was given an opportunityto submit controveding evidence. I

(c) In either case, the investigating office; shall, within five (5) daysfrom the rendition of his Recommendation, forward the records of the case to:'1) fhe:i Commission En Banc, in cases i investigated by the Law

Departmpntor the Regional ElFction Diiector; o;:

2) The ,ff.egional Election Director, in cases investigated by the AssistantRegional, Election Director, Regional Election Attorney, or Provincial ElectionSupervisor or any of the Commission's lawyers assigned in the field office.

.,irr.All Recommendations prepared by the investigating officer shall be held in

strict confidencp and shall not be known to the parties, their counsel and/or any ofunauthorized pj:rson until the same have been finally acted upon by the RegionalElection Director or the Commission and apprgved for,promulgation and release tothe parties.

:.ilAny violption of the foregoingl shall subject I the investigating officer to

administrative liability, without prejudice to his criminal liability.::

Section p. Duty of the Law Depaftment, Regional Election Directors andInvestigating Officers lJpon Receipt of the Records. -

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(a) In gases investigated by the lawyers ir1 the Law Department, theDirector of the,, aw Department shall review and evaluate the Recommendation ofinvestigating officer, prepare a report and make a Recommendation to the,

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carn,rrission Ei, Eancarrirmingr modifying or reversing the same within a pefi}d 0fthirty (30) dayp from receipt thereof. If the Commibsion En Banc approves thefiling of an Information in court against the respondept/s, the Director of the LawDepartment shbll prepare and sign the Information for immediate filing with theappropriate court.

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(b) In cases investigated by the Assistant iRegional Election Director,Regional Election Attorney, Provincial Election Supervisor, Election Officer or thefield personneliof the Commission, the Regional Election Director shall review andevaluate the Rpcommendation of said legal officer within a period of thirty (30)days from receipt thereof. If the Recommendation of the investigating officer isapproved by the Regional Election. Director, he shail sign the Recommendationand transmit cppies of his approval and the entirei records of the case to theinvestigating officer concerned for appropriate action.

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(c) If thd Recommendation of thb investigating,officer to dismiss the case isreversed on the ground thati a probable cause ei

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il,i.iThe pendency of the MotiOn for Reconsideratioh shall not suspend the filing

of Information,lin Court. Where the Information haq already been filed in court,the Regional Election Director may not give duel course to the Motion forReconsideration until there is a showing that the movant has filed a motion withthe court for suspension of the proceedings, and the court has granted suchmotion to suspend.

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A Motion for Reconsideration of a Resolution of the Commission Fn Banc is':prohibited.

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Section 12. Petition for Review. - A party desiring to appeal from theRecommendati6n of the Regional Election Director niay file a vefified Petition forReview with the Commission En Banc, through tn{ Ofnce of the Clerk of theCommission, Which shall be filed within fifteen (t$) days from receipt of theRecommendation sought to be revlewed or of the.Order denying the Motion forReconsideratiod, qccompanied by proof that the corresponding appeal fee in theamount of Five;iThousand Pesos (Php5,000.00) has bejen oaid. .'l

the opposing pa\, and of Payrnent of theThousand Five l-lundred Pesos (Php1,500.00).

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The Petition forI

contain the following:l

fiting'fee in the amoun[ 0f Ong

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Review shall be verified by the petitioner/s and shall

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rl;complete names and specific addresses of the parties;the Election Case Number (EO No.), Fact finding Investigation Number(FF INV No), if any and title of the case including the offense charged inthe Qomplaint or Information; ithe vbnue of the preliminary investigation; i

the specific material dates showing thatjt

was filed on time;a cleFr and concise statement of the facts, the assignment of errors,and the legal basis of the Petition for Review;proot of service of a copy/ies of the Petiticin for Review to the adverseParV/ies or counsel and the prosecution office concerned;

certified true copy of the Resolution appealed from; andlegibl,e copies of the Complaint, Affidavits/$worn Statements (includingtheir translations, if any, duly certified by the provincial/city prosecutor)and lother evidence submitted by both i parties in the preliminary

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4.5.

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7. proofi of payment of appeal fee; t ylvvll vr HuyrrrlrrL vr uHt/uqr ree/ iB. the fletitioner sflall append to his Petition a legible duplicate original or

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by pafties in preliminainvestigation or re-investigation,

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Evidenc submitted for the first time on apppal shall not be admitted. Acopy of the mcition to defer: proceedings shall likewisp be attached to the Petitionwhen an Inforniation has already been filed in court. I

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rn" 1q;lulre of the petrcioner to comply-with the,foregoing requifements Shallbe sufficient qround for the dismissal thereof.

i'i'1Subiect to its discretion, the Commission Fn Banc may require the adverse

party to runriq his comment to the Petition for Review for a period not exceedingiun (f O) days from receipt. Thereafter, the Petition'for Review shatl be deemedsubmitted for Resplution.

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i1i,Sectiort i3. Duty of Regional Election Directorto Render Reports. -The

Reqional Electibn Director shall, within five (5) days from the rendition of hisapiroval/disap$roval on the Recommendation of investigating officers, submit a*ritt.n report',ihereof, to the Commission, through. the Law Depaftment. Theyshall likewise dubmit a nionthly report on the statup of cases filed with and/orprosecuted by tnem or any of their investigating officgrs pursuant to the authoritygranted them qnder Section 2 of this Rule' ,

.iprosecutors belonging to other prosecuting arms of the Government withconcurrent authority with the Commission shall likeltiise submit a monthly reporton the status bf cases filed with and/or prosecuted by them covering electionoffenses committed within the election period of any election'ir

Sectiqn i4. Prosecutlon - All election offendes cases shall be tried in theprovince, city or municipality where the offense was committed or any of itsessential elemfnts took place. All prosecutions for election offenses shall beprosecuted under the direct control and supervision of the COMELEC prosecutor.

Section,l5. Immunity from Criminal Prosecution - Under such terms andconditions as it,imay determine, the Commission may grant immunity from criminalprosecution toi,any person whose testimony or whose possession and production

of document oi other evidence may be necessary to determine the truth in anyhearing, inquirlr gr proceeding being conduited by the Commission or under itsauthority, in the performance or in the furtherance of its constitutional functionsand statutory {biectives. The immunity granted under this paragraph shall notexempt the withe5s from criminal prosecution for perjury or false testimony'

:'Section 16. Repealing Clause. - This Resolytion supersedes Rule 34 of

the Comelec Rules of Procedure. All other Comelec Resolutions and issuancesfertaining to investigation and prosecution of electioh offenses insofar as may beinconsistJnt hei'ewith are hereby repealed or amendeb accordingly.

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Section iT., Dissemination-

The Education and Information Departmentshall furnish cOlpies of this Resolution to the Regiona Election Directors, AssistantRegional flection Directors, Provincial Electign Superirisors, Election Officers, andgive it the Widest possible dissemination. The jEducation and Informationfiepartment snbtt,likewise cause the publication of this Resolution in two (2) dailynewspapers of ;leneral circulation in the PhilipPines, i

:,1-lSection f 8. Effectivity and Transitory Provisipns. - This Resolution shall

take effect on bt July 2012 after its publication I tnig (2) newspapers of generalcirculation. Corhplaints filed prior to 01 July 2012 anl remain unresolved shall be'' "-.: .'.-_ r'.-. -- :- _-.' __ |subiect to Rule::34 of the Comelec Rules of Procedure prior to this amendment.-- ' '-'-:- l' ,i

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AUFUSTO C. LAGMANt Commissioner

REsoi,lrrron ivo,igl85I

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RTTLES .OF PROCEDURES IN TI{EINVESTIGATIOT,{ Ar'ID PROSEOUUONOF ELECTION OFI'EI SX CAF,I]Si I}i THEC'lillMIS$IOli Oll ELIIUI]ICilS. j

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