The jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan is perhaps one of the most often amended provi sion from the 1973

Constitution to RA 8249 of 1997. Before RA 8249, jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan was determined on the basis of the penalty imposable on the offense charged. Then, it was amended such that regardless of the penalty, so long as the offe nse charged was committed by a public officer, the Sandiganbayan was vested with juri sdiction. Under RA 8249, to determine whether the Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction, la wyers must look into two (2) criteria, namely:

The nature of the offense and The salary grade of the public official.

Thus, Sec.4 of RA 8249 provides that the Sandiganbayan shall have original exclusive ju risdiction over: 1.) Violations of RA 3019 (Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Law); 2.) RA 1379 (Forfeiture of Illegally Acquired Wealth); 3.) Crimes by public officers or employees embraced in Ch. II, Sec.2 Title VII, Book II o f the RPC (Crimes committed by Public Officers) namely: a. Direct Bribery (Art. 210 as amended by BP 871, May 29, 1985); b. Indirect Bribery (Art. 211 as amended by BP 871, May 29, 1985); c. Qualified Bribery (Art. 211-A as amended by RA 7659, Dec. 13, 1993); d. Corruption of public officials (Art. 212) where one or more of the accused are officials occupying the following positions in the government whether in a permanent, acting or interim capacity, at the time of the co mmission of the offense: A. Officials of the executive branch occupying the positions of regional director and hig her, otherwise classified as Grade 27 and higher, of the Compensation and Position Cla ssification Act of 1989 Republic Act No. 6758) specifically including: (a) Provincial governors, vice-governors, members of the sangguniang panlalawigan an d provincial treasurers, assessors, engineers and other provincial department heads; (b) City mayors, vice-mayors, members of the sangguniang panlungsod, city treasurers, assessors engineers and other city department heads; (c) Officials of the diplomatic service occupying the position of consul and higher; (d) Philippine Army and Air Force colonels, naval captains, and all officers of higher ran k; (e) Officers of the Philippine National Police while occupying the position of provincial

director and those holding the rank of senior superintendent or higher; (f) City and provincial prosecutors and their assistants, and officials and prosecutors in the Office of the Ombudsman and special prosecutor; (g) Presidents, directors or trustees, or managers of government-owned or -controlled corporations, state universities or educational institutions or foundations; B. Members of Congress and Officials thereof classified as Grade 27 and up under the Compensation and Classification Act of 1989; C. Members of the Judiciary without prejudice to the provision of the Constitution; D. Chairmen and members of Constitutional Commissions, without prejudice to the pr ovision of the Constitution; E. All other national and local officials classified as Grade 27 and higher under the Com pensation and Position Classification Act of 1989. 4.) Other offenses or felonies whether simple or complexed with other crimes commit ted in relation to their office by the public officials and employees mentioned above; 5.) Civil and Criminal Cases filed pursuant to and in connection with EO 1, 2, 14 & 14-A issued in 1986 6.) OTHERS provided the accused belongs to SG 27 or higher: a.) Violation of RA 6713 - Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards b.) Violation of RA 7080 - THE PLUNDER LAW c.) Violation of RA 7659 - The Heinous Crime Law d.) RA 9160 - Violation of The Anti-Money Laundering Law when committed by a publi c officer e.) PD 46 referred to as the gift-giving decree which makes it punishable for any offici al or employee to receive directly or indirectly and for the private person to give or off er to give any gift, present or other valuable thing on any occasion including Christmas, when such gift, present or valuable thing is given by reason of his official position, rega rdless of whether or not the same is for past favors or the giver hopes or expects to rec eive a favor or better treatment in the future from the public official or employee conc erned in the discharge of his official functions. Included within the prohibition is the th rowing of parties or entertainment in honor of the official or employee or his immediat e relatives. f.) PD 749 which grants immunity from prosecution to any person who voluntarily giv es information about any violation of Art.210, 211 or 212 of the RPC, RA 3019, Sec.345 of the NIRC, Sec. 3604 of the Customs and Tariff Code and other provisions of the said Codes penalizing abuse or dishonesty on the part of the public officials concerned and other laws, rules and regulations penalizing graft, corruption and other forms of official abuse and who willingly testifies against the public official or employee subject to cert ain conditions.

It should be noted that private individuals can be sued in cases before the Sandiganbay an if they are alleged to be in conspiracy with the public officer. Concurrent with Supreme Court:

Petitions for issuance of Writ of mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, habeas corpus, injunction and other ancillary writs and processes in aid of its appellate jurisdiction; Provided, jurisdiction is not exclusive of the Supreme Court

Quo Warranto arising in cases falling under said EO 1, 2, 14 & 14- A

The Sandiganbayan is vested with Appellate Jurisdiction over final judgments, resolutio ns or orders of the RTC whether in the exercise of their original or appellate jurisdictio n over crimes and civil cases falling within the original exclusive jurisdiction of the Sand iganbayan but which were committed by public officers below Salary Grade 27. Meaning of crime committed "in relation to their office" The offense need not be connected with the official duties. It is enough that it is in r elation to office (Lecaroz vs. Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. L-56384, March 22, 1984). A public official and employee commits a crime"in relation to their office" if the offe nse was intimately connected with the office of the offender and perpetuated while he is in the performance of his official function. Mere allegation in the information that t he offense was commited by the accused public officer in relation to his office is not su fficient. What is controlling is the specific factual allegations in the information that wo uld indicate the close intimacy between the discharge of the accused's official duties a nd the commission of the offense charged, in order to qualify the crime as having been committed in relation to public office (Lacson vs. Executive Secretary, G.R. No. 128096 , January 20, 1999).

REGIONAL TRIAL COURTS X X X. Section 19. Jurisdiction in civil cases. Regional Trial Courts shall exercise exclusive or iginal jurisdiction: (1) In all civil actions in which the subject of the litigation is incapable of pecuniary esti mation; (2) In all civil actions which involve the title to, or possession of, real property, or any in terest therein, where the assessed value of the property involved exceeds Twenty thou sand pesos (P20,000.00) or for civil actions in Metro Manila, where such the value exce eds Fifty thousand pesos (50,000.00) except actions for forcible entry into and unlawfu

l detainer of lands or buildings, original jurisdiction over which is conferred upon Metr opolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts; (3) In all actions in admiralty and maritime jurisdiction where he demand or claim exce eds One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) or , in Metro Manila, where such dem and or claim exceeds Two hundred thousand pesos (200,000.00); (4) In all matters of probate, both testate and intestate, where the gross value of the e state exceeds One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) or, in probate matters in Me tro Manila, where such gross value exceeds Two hundred thousand pesos (200,000.00) ; (5) In all actions involving the contract of marriage and marital relations; (6) In all cases not within the exclusive jurisdiction of any court, tribunal, person or bod y exercising jurisdiction or any court, tribunal, person or body exercising judicial or qua si-judicial functions; (7) In all civil actions and special proceedings falling within the exclusive original jurisdi ction of a Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court and of the Courts of Agrarian Relation s as now provided by law; and (8) In all other cases in which the demand, exclusive of interest, damages of whatever kind, attorney's fees, litigation expenses, and costs or the value of the property in cont roversy exceeds One hundred thousand pesos (100,000.00) or, in such other aboveme ntioned items exceeds Two hundred thousand pesos (200,000.00). (as amended by R.A . No. 7691*) Section 20. Jurisdiction in criminal cases. Regional Trial Courts shall exercise exclusiv e original jurisdiction in all criminal cases not within the exclusive jurisdiction of any co urt, tribunal or body, except those now falling under the exclusive and concurrent juris diction of the Sandiganbayan which shall hereafter be exclusively taken cognizance of by the latter. Section 21. Original jurisdiction in other cases. Regional Trial Courts shall exercise or iginal jurisdiction: (1) In the issuance of writs of certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto, habeas corpus and injunction which may be enforced in any part of their respective regions; a nd

(2) In actions affecting ambassadors and other public ministers and consuls. Section 22. Appellate jurisdiction. Regional Trial Courts shall exercise appellate juris diction over all cases decided by Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts in their respective territorial jurisdictions. Such cases shal l be decided on the basis of the entire record of the proceedings had in the court of ori gin and such memoranda and/or briefs as may be submitted by the parties or required by the Regional Trial Courts. The decision of the Regional Trial Courts in such cases shal l be appealable by petition for review to the Court of Appeals which may give it due course only when the petition shows prima faci e that the lower court has committed an error of fact or law that will warrant a reversa l or modification of the decision or judgment sought to be reviewed. Section 23. Special jurisdiction to try special cases. The Supreme Court may designat e certain branches of the Regional Trial Courts to handle exclusively criminal cases, juv enile and domestic relations cases, agrarian cases, urban land reform cases which do n ot fall under the jurisdiction of quasi-judicial bodies and agencies, and/or such other sp ecial cases as the Supreme Court may determine in the interest of a speedy and efficie nt administration of justice. Section 24. Special Rules of Procedure. Whenever a Regional Trial Court takes cogni zance of juvenile and domestic relation cases and/or agrarian cases, the special rules o f procedure applicable under present laws to such cases shall continue to be applied, u nless subsequently amended by law or by rules of court promulgated by the Supreme Court.

METROPOLITAN TRIAL COURTS, MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURTS, AND MUNICIPAL CIRCUIT TRIAL COURTS X x x. Section 32. Jurisdiction of Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts and Munici pal Circuit Trial Courts in criminal cases. Except in cases falling within the exclusive o riginal jurisdiction of Regional Trial Courts and of the Sandiganbayan, the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts shall exercise: (1) Exclusive original jurisdiction over all violations of city or municipal ordinances com mitted within their respective territorial jurisdiction; and (2) Exclusive original jurisdiction over all offenses punishable with imprisonment not ex

ceeding six (6) years irrespective of the amount of fine, and regardless of other imposa ble accessory or other penalties, including the civil liability arising from such offenses o r predicated thereon, irrespective of kind, nature, value, or amount thereof: Provided, however, That in offenses involving damage to property through criminal negligence th ey shall have exclusive original jurisdiction thereof. (as amended by R.A, No. 7691) Section 33. Jurisdiction of Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts and Munici pal Circuit Trial Courts in civil cases. Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Court s, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts shall exercise: (1) Exclusive original jurisdiction over civil actions and probate proceedings, testate an d intestate, including the grant of provisional remedies in proper cases, where the valu e of the personal property, estate, or amount of the demand does not exceed One hun dred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) or, in Metro Manila where such personal property, estate, or amount of the demand does not exceed Two hundred thousand pesos (P20 0,000.00) exclusive of interest damages of whatever kind, attorney's fees, litigation exp enses, and costs, the amount of which must be specifically alleged: Provided, That whe re there are several claims or causes of action between the same or different parties, e mbodied in the same complaint, the amount of the demand shall be the totality of the claims in all the causes of action, irrespective of whether the causes of action arose out of the same or different transactions; (2) Exclusive original jurisdiction over cases of forcible entry and unlawful detainer: Pro vided, That when, in such cases, the defendant raises the question of ownership in his pleadings and the question of possession cannot be resolved without deciding the issu e of ownership, the issue of ownership shall be resolved only to determine the issue of possession. (3) Exclusive original jurisdiction in all civil actions which involve title to, or possession of, real property, or any interest therein where the assessed value of the property or in terest therein does not exceed Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000.00) or, in civil actions in Metro Manila, where such assessed value does not exceed Fifty thousand pesos (P5 0,000.00) exclusive of interest, damages of whatever kind, attorney's fees, litigation ex penses and costs: Provided, That value of such property shall be determined by the ass essed value of the adjacent lots. (as amended by R.A. No. 7691) Section 34. Delegated jurisdiction in cadastral and land registration cases. Metropoli tan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts may be assig ned by the Supreme Court to hear and determine cadastral or land registration cases c overing lots where there is no controversy or opposition, or contested lots the where t

he value of which does not exceed One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00), such v alue to be ascertained by the affidavit of the claimant or by agreement of the respectiv e claimants if there are more than one, or from the corresponding tax declaration of th e real property. Their decisions in these cases shall be appealable in the same manner as decisions of the Regional Trial Courts. (as amended by R.A. No. 7691) Section 35. Special jurisdiction in certain cases. In the absence of all the Regional Tri al Judges in a province or city, any Metropolitan Trial Judge, Municipal Trial Judge, Mu nicipal Circuit Trial Judge may hear and decide petitions for a writ of habeas corpus or applications for bail in criminal cases in the province or city where the absent Regional Trial Judges sit. Section 36. Summary procedures in special cases. In Metropolitan Trial Courts and Municipal Trial Courts with at least two branches, the Supreme Court may designate o ne or more branches thereof to try exclusively forcible entry and unlawful detainer cas es, those involving violations of traffic laws, rules and regulations, violations of the rent al law, and such other cases requiring summary disposition as the Supreme Court may determine. The Supreme Court shall adopt special rules or procedures applicable to su ch cases in order to achieve an expeditious and inexpensive determination thereof wit hout regard to technical rules. Such simplified procedures may provide that affidavits a nd counter-affidavits may be admitted in lieu of oral testimony and that the periods fo r filing pleadings shall be non-extendible. Section 37. Preliminary investigation. Judges of Metropolitan Trial Courts, except th ose in the National Capital Region, of Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts shall have authority to conduct preliminary investigation of crimes alleged to h ave been committed within their respective territorial jurisdictions which are cognizabl e by the Regional Trial Courts. The preliminary investigation shall be conducted in accordance with the procedure pre scribed in Section 1, paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d), of Presidential Decree No. 911: Pr ovided, however, That if after the preliminary investigation the Judge finds a prima faci e case, he shall forward the records of the case to the Provincial/City Fiscal for the filin g of the corresponding information with the proper court. No warrant of arrest shall be issued by the Judge in connection with any criminal comp laint filed with him for preliminary investigation, unless after an examination in writing and under oath or affirmation of the complainant and his witnesses, he finds that a pro bable cause exists.

Any warrant of arrest issued in accordance herewith may be served anywhere in the P hilippines. Section 38. Judgments and processes. (1) All judgments determining the merits of cases shall be in writing, stating clearly the facts and the law on which they were based, signed by the Judge and filed with the Cle rk of Court. Such judgment shall be appealable to the Regional Trial Courts in accordan ce with the procedure now prescribed by law for appeals to the Court of First Instance, by the provisions of this Act, and by such rules as the Supreme Court may hereafter pr escribe. (2) All processes issued by the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts and M unicipal Circuit Trial Courts, in cases falling within their jurisdiction, may be served any where in the Philippines without the necessity of certification by the Judge of the Regio nal Trial Court.

Powers, Functions and Duties Ombudsman The Office of the Ombudsman shall have the following powers, functions and duties 1. Investigate and prosecute on its own or on complaint by any person, any act or omission of any public officer or employee, office or agency, when such act or omission appears to be illegal, unjust, improper or inefficient. It has primary jurisdiction over cases cognizable by the Sandiganbayan and, in the exercise of his primary jurisdiction, it may take over, at any stage, from any investigatory agency of Government, the investigation of such cases (Sec. 15(1) R.A. No. 6770; see also Sec. 13(1), Article XI, 1987 Constitution); 2. Direct, upon complaint or at its own instance, any officer or employee of the Government, or of any subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof, as well as any government-owned or controlled corporations with original charter, to perform and expedite any act or duty required by law, or to stop, prevent, and correct any abuse or impropriety in the performance of duties (Sec. 15(2) R.A. No. 6770; Sec 13(2) Article XI, 1987 Constitution); 3. Direct the officer concerned to take appropriate action against a public officer or employee at fault or who neglects to perform an act or discharge a duty required by law, and recommend his removal, suspension, demotion, fine, censure, or prosecution, and ensure compliance therewith; or enforce its disciplinary authority as provided in Section 21 or this Act: Provided, That the refusal by any officer without just cause to comply with an order of the Ombudsman to remove, suspend, demote, fine, censure, or prosecute an officer or employee who is at fault or who neglects to perform an act or discharge a duty required by law shall be ground for disciplinary action against said officer (Sec. 15(3) R.A. No. 6770; see also Sec 13(3), Article XI, 1987 Constitution); 4. Direct the officer concerned, in any appropriate case, and subject to such limitations as it may provide in its rules of procedure, to furnish it with copies of documents relating to contracts or transactions

entered into by his office involving the disbursement or use of public funds or properties, and report any irregularity to the Commission on Audit for appropriate action (Sec. 15(4) R.A. No. 6770; see also Sec. 13(4), Article XI, 1987 Constitution); 5. Request any government agency for assistance and information necessary in the discharge of its responsibilities, and to examine, if necessary, pertinent records and documents (Sec. 15(5), R.A. No.6770; see also Sec. 13(5), Article XI, 1987 Constitution); Publicize matters covered by its investigation of the matters mentioned in paragraphs (1), (2), (3) and (4) hereof, when circumstances so warrant and with due determine what cases may not be made public: Provided further, That any publicity issued by the Ombudsman shall be balanced, fair, and true (Sec 15(6) R.A. No. 6770; see also Sec 13(6), Article XI, 1987 Constitution); 7. Determine the causes of inefficiency, red tape, mismanagement, fraud, and corruption in the Government and make recommendations for their elimination and the observance of high standards of ethics and efficiency (Sec 15(7) R.A. No. 6770; see also Sec 13(7), Article XI, 1987 Constitution); Administer oaths, issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum, and take testimony in any investigation or inquiry, including the power to examine and have access to bank accounts and records (Sec 15(8), R.A. No. 6770); 9. Punish for contempt in accordance with the Rules of Court and under the same procedure and with the same penalties provided therein (Sec 15(9), R.A. No. 6770);

6.

8.

10. Delegate to the Deputies, or its investigators or representatives such authority or duty as shall ensure the effective exercise of performance of the powers, functions, and duties herein or hereinafter provided (Sec 15(10), R.A. No. 6770); 11. Investigate and initiate the proper action for the recovery of ill-gotten and/or unexplained wealth amassed after February 25, 1986 and the prosecution of the parties involved therein (Sec 15(11), R.A. No. 6770); 12. Promulgate its rules of procedure and exercise such other powers or perform such functions or duties as may be provided by law (Sec 13(7), Article XI, 1987 Constitution; see also Sec. 18, R.A. No. 6770);