Creating The Office Of The Ombudsman, To Be Known As Tanodbayan

Case Overview and Summary

Summary of Presidential Decree No. 1487 (Tanodbayan Decree of 1977)

Establishment of the Office of the Ombudsman (Tanodbayan)
- An independent Office of the Ombudsman, called the Tanodbayan, is established. (Section 2)
- The Tanodbayan shall have two Deputies for Luzon, one for the Visayas, and one for Mindanao. (Section 2)

Appointment, Qualifications, and Disqualifications
- The President shall appoint the Tanodbayan and his Deputies. (Section 3)
- The Tanodbayan and his Deputies shall be members of the bar, well-equipped to analyze problems of law, administration, and public policy, and shall not have been actively involved in partisan affairs. (Section 4)
- The Tanodbayan and his Deputies shall not engage in the practice of any profession, business management, or have financial interests in government contracts or franchises during their tenure. (Section 5)

Term of Office and Salary
- The Tanodbayan and his Deputies shall serve for a term of seven years without reappointment, unless removed by the President for incapacity, neglect of duty, or misconduct. (Section 6)
- The Tanodbayan shall receive an annual salary of 60,000 pesos, and each Deputy Tanodbayan shall receive 50,000 pesos annually. (Section 7)

Organization of the Office
- The Tanodbayan may appoint and compensate assistants and employees in accordance with the Civil Service Law. (Section 8)
- The Tanodbayan shall designate one of his Deputies as the Senior Deputy Tanodbayan, who can act in his stead when disabled or absent. (Section 8)
- The Tanodbayan may delegate authority or duties to his staff, except the power of delegation and the duty of making formal recommendations or reports. (Section 8)

Definitions
- "Administrative agency" means any government unit, including government-owned or controlled corporations, officials, or employees acting on behalf of the government, but excludes courts, the National Assembly, the President and his personal staff, and Constitutional Commissions. (Section 9)
- "Administrative act" refers to any action, decision, omission, recommendation, practice, or procedure of an administrative agency. (Section 9)
- "Failure of Justice" refers to the defeat of a particular right or the failure of reparation for a wrong due to the lack or inadequacy of a legal remedy. (Section 9)

Powers of the Tanodbayan
- The Tanodbayan may investigate, on complaint, any administrative act of any administrative agency, including government-owned or controlled corporations. (Section 10)
- The Tanodbayan may prescribe methods for receiving and acting on complaints, determine the scope and manner of investigations, and determine the form, frequency, and distribution of his conclusions and recommendations. (Section 10)
- The Tanodbayan may request and shall be given assistance and information from administrative agencies, examine their records and documents, and enter and inspect their premises, unless the President certifies that it might prejudice the national interest. (Section 10)
- The Tanodbayan may issue subpoenas to compel testimony or the production of evidence relevant to an inquiry. (Section 10)
- The Tanodbayan may undertake or participate in general studies or inquiries to enhance knowledge or improve the functioning of administrative agencies. (Section 10)

Matters Appropriate for Investigation
- The Tanodbayan should address administrative acts that are contrary to law or regulation, unreasonable, unfair, oppressive, inconsistent, mistaken in law or arbitrary in facts, improper in motivation, unclear or inadequately explained, inefficiently performed, or otherwise objectionable. (Section 11)
- The Tanodbayan may also concern himself with strengthening procedures and practices that lessen the risk of objectionable administrative acts. (Section 11)

Action on Complaints
- The Tanodbayan may receive complaints from any source concerning an administrative act. (Section 12)
- The Tanodbayan shall conduct an investigation into the complaint, unless the complainant has another available remedy, the grievance is outside the Tanodbayan's power, the complainant's interest is insufficiently related, the complaint is trivial or not made in good faith, other complaints are more worthy of attention, resources are insufficient for adequate investigation, or the complaint has been too long delayed. (Section 12)
- After considering a complaint, the Tanodbayan shall inform the complainant and, when appropriate, the administrative agency involved. (Section 12)
- Letters from persons in detention or institutions under an administrative agency's control shall be immediately forwarded, unopened, to the Tanodbayan. (Section 12)

Consultation with Agency and Recommendations
- Before announcing a conclusion or recommendation that criticizes an administrative agency or person, the Tanodbayan shall consult with that agency or person. (Section 13)
- If the Tanodbayan is of the opinion that an administrative agency should take certain actions, he shall state his recommendations to the agency, which shall inform him about the action taken or reasons for non-compliance within the specified time. (Section 14)
- If the Tanodbayan believes that an administrative action has been dictated by unfair or objectionable laws, he shall bring his views concerning desirable statutory change to the notice of the National Assembly. (Section 14)

Publication of Recommendations
- The Tanodbayan may publish his conclusions, recommendations, and suggestions by transmitting them to the President, the National Assembly, the press, and others concerned. (Section 15)
- When publishing an opinion adverse to an administrative agency or official, the Tanodbayan shall include the substance of any statement made by the agency or official in explanation, unless excused. (Section 15)

Reports
- The Tanodbayan shall report to the National Assembly and the President concerning the exercise of his functions during the preceding calendar year on or about August 15 of each year. (Section 16)
- The report shall be published in the Official Gazette and furnished to provincial governors and city mayors. (Section 16)
- The report need not identify those immediately concerned if it would cause needless hardship, but it must include the substance of replies to any criticism of named agencies or officials. (Section 16)

Prosecution of Public Personnel
- If the Tanodbayan has reason to believe that any public official, employee, or other person has acted in a manner resulting in a failure of justice, he shall file and prosecute the corresponding criminal, civil, or administrative case before the Sandiganbayan or the proper court or body. (Section 17)

Tanodbayan's Immunities
- No proceeding, opinion, or expression of the Tanodbayan or his staff shall be reviewable in any court. (Section 18)
- No civil action shall lie against the Tanodbayan or his staff for anything done or said or omitted in discharging their responsibilities. (Section 18)
- The Tanodbayan or his staff shall not be required to testify or produce evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding concerning matters within his official cognizance, except in a proceeding brought to enforce this Decree. (Section 18)

Rights and Duties of Witnesses
- A person required by the Tanodbayan to provide information shall be paid the same fees and travel allowances as witnesses in court. (Section 19)
- A person providing information to the Tanodbayan shall be accorded the same privileges and immunities as witnesses in courts and shall be entitled to be accompanied and advised by counsel while being questioned. (Section 19)
- If a person refuses to respond to the Tanodbayan's subpoena, refuses to be examined, or engages in obstructive misconduct, the Tanodbayan shall certify the facts to the Sandiganbayan or the court of first instance, which shall issue an order for the person to show cause why they should not be punished for contempt. (Section 19)

Obstruction
- A person who willfully obstructs or hinders the proper exercise of the Tanodbayan's functions, or who willfully misleads or attempts to mislead the Tanodbayan in his inquiries, shall be fined not more than 1,000 pesos. (Section 20)

Relation to Other Laws
- Republic Act No. 6028 is repealed, but the provisions of this Decree are in addition to and do not limit or affect the provisions of any other enactment providing any remedy, right of appeal, or procedure for inquiry or investigation. (Section 21)
- The powers conferred on the Tanodbayan may be exercised notwithstanding any provision in any enactment stating that any administrative action shall be final or unappealable. (Section 21)

Appropriation
- Such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Decree are authorized to be appropriated, and thereafter to be included in the general appropriation act. (Section 22)

Effective Date
- This Decree shall take effect immediately. (Section 23)