MALACAANG

MANILA
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 163
DECLARING THE EFFECTIVITY OF THE CREATION OF THE COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS AS PROVIDED FOR IN THE
1987 CONSTITUTION, PROVIDING GUIDELINES FOR THE OPERATION THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
WHEREAS, the 1987 Constitution has been ratified by the people;
WHEREAS, the 1987 Constitution has created an independent office called the Commission on Human Rights; and
WHEREAS, there is an urgent necessity to constitute the Commission on Human Rights to give effect to the State policy that
the State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the
Constitution, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. The Commission on Human Rights as provided for under Article XIII of the 1987 Constitution is hereby declared
to be now in existence.
SECTION 2. (a) The Commission on Human Rights shall be composed of a Chairman and four Members who must be natural-
born citizens of the Philippines and, at the time of their appointment, at least thirty five years of age and must not have been
candidates for any elective position in the elections immediately preceding their appointment. However, a majority thereof
shall be members of the Philippine Bar.
(b) The Chairman and the Members of the Commission on Human Rights shall not, during their tenure, hold any other office
or employment. Neither shall they engage in the practice of any profession or in the active management or control of any
business which in any way be affected by the functions of their office, nor shall be financially interested, directly or indirectly,
in any contract with, or in any franchise or privilege granted by the government, any of its subdivisions, agencies, or
instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries.
(c) The Chairman and the Members of the Commission on Human Rights shall be appointed by the President for a term of
seven years without reappointment. Appointment to any vacancy shall be only for the unexpired term of the predecessor.
(d) The Chairman and the Members of the Commission on Human Rights shall receive the same salary as the Chairman and
Members, respectively, of the Constitutional Commissions, which shall not be decreased during their term of office.

SECTION 3. The Commission of Human Rights shall have the following powers and functions:
(1) Investigate, on its own or on complaint by any party, all forms of human rights violations involving civil and political
rights;
(2) Adopt its operational guidelines and rules of procedure, and cite for contempt for violations thereof in accordance with the
Rules of Court.
(3) Provide appropriate legal measures for the protection of human rights of all persons within the Philippines, as well as
Filipinos residing abroad, and provide for preventive measures and legal aid services to the under-privileged whose human
rights have been violated or need protection;
(4) Exercise visitorial powers over jails, prisons, or detentions facilities;
(5) Establish a continuing program of research, education, and information to enhance respect for the primacy of human
rights;
(6) Recommend to the Congress effective measures to promote human rights and to provide for compensation to victims of
violations of human rights, or their families;
(7) Monitor the Philippine Governments compliance with international treaty obligations on human rights;
(8) Grant immunity from prosecution to any person whose testimony or whose possession of documents or other evidence is
necessary or convenient to determine the truth in any investigation conducted by it or under its authority;
(9) Request the assistance of any department, bureau, office, or agency in the performance of its functions;
(10) Appoint its officers and employees in accordance with law; and
(11) Perform such other duties and functions as may be provided by law.

SECTION 4. The Presidential Committee on Human Rights, created under Executive Order No. 8 dated March 18, 1986, as
modified, is hereby abolished. The Commission on Human Rights shall exercise such functions and powers of the
Presidential Committee on Human Rights under Executive Order No. 8, as modified, which are not inconsistent with the
provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
The unexpended appropriations of the Presidential Committee on Human Rights are hereby transferred to the Commission on
Human Rights. All properties, records, equipment, buildings, facilities and other assets of the Presidential Committee on
Human Rights shall be transferred to the Commission on Human Rights.
The Commission on Human Rights may retain such personnel of the Presidential Committee on Human Rights as may be
necessary in the fulfillment of its powers and functions. Any public officer or employee separated from service as a result of
the abolition of the Presidential Committee on Human Rights effected under this Executive Order shall receive the benefits to
which they may be entitled under existing laws, rules and regulations.
SECTION 5. The approved annual appropriations of the Commission on Human Rights shall be automatically and regularly
released.
SECTION 6. All laws, orders, issuances, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Executive Order are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
SECTION 7. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.
Done in the City of Manila, this 5th day of May, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-seven.
(Sgd.) CORAZON C. AQUINO
President of the PhilippinesBy the President:
(Sgd.) JOKER P. ARROYO
Executive Secretary
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 27 July 4, 1986
EDUCATION TO MAXIMIZE RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.
WHEREAS, the past regime was characterized by numerous violations of human rights;
WHEREAS, to gain greater respect for human rights and to deter violations thereof, there is an urgent need to
educate the people about these rights, the serious consequences of, and the avenues of redress from violations
thereof;
WHEREAS, the Presidential Committee on Human Rights, primarily tasked to assist the President in the
discharge of her duty to respect and foster human rights, has recommended that the system of formal and
informal education be utilized for the aforesaid purposes.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the Philippines, do hereby order:
1. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports shall include the study and understanding of human rights in
the curricula of all levels of education and training in all schools in the country, adapting the scope and treatment
of the subjects or courses on human rights to the respective educational levels. It shall likewise initiate and
maintain regular programs and special projects to provide venues for information and discussion of human
rights including the utilization of informed education and other means to stress the importance of respect
therefor.
2. The Civil Service Commission shall include in the qualifying examinations for government service basic
knowledge on human rights.
3. In the formulation and creation of courses or subjects on human rights to be included in the school curriculum
or other educational or training programs to implement and carry out the directives herein including the writing,
printing and publication of textbooks and other reading materials relative thereto, the ministry or agencies
concerned shall consult and coordinate with the Presidential Committee on Human Rights and shall at all times
emphasize the following principles on human rights, and the laws and rules governing the same, to wit:
a) All persons are born with human dignity and inherent rights. No one losses his dignity and these rights
regardless of what he or she may have done and no matter what his or her political convictions may be.
b) Torture, other cruel and degrading treatment or punishment, unexplained or forced disappearances
and extra-legal executions (salvaging) are crimes, punishable by Philippine laws under any and all
circumstances.
c) Anyone may, by himself or on behalf of a person arrested or detained, question the legality of the
arrest and detention before the appropriate court.
d) The Bill of Rights as adopted in toto in the Provisional Constitution under the Proclamation No. 3 dated
March 25, 1986 or in the New Constitution when ratified, including the jurisprudential ramifications
thereof.
e) Prisoners shall be treated with humanity. Juvenile prisoners shall be kept, if the jail will admit of it, in
apartments separate from those containing prisoners of more than eighteen years of age; and the
different sexes shall be kept apart. The visits of parents and friends who desire to exert a moral influence
over prisoners shall at all reasonable times be permitted under proper regulations.
f) Convicted prisoners may be assigned to work suitable to their age, sex and physical condition.
g) Articles 124 to 131, 235, 245, 267 to 269 of the Revised Penal Code.
h) Republic Act No. 857.
i) Rules 113 and 126 of the 1985 Rules on Criminal Procedure.
j) The Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners as adopted by the Department (now Ministry) of Justice on
January 7, 1959; the Ministry of Justice Manual on the general rules, policies and operations principles
adherent to in the prison service.
4. If found appropriate and practicable by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, after considering the
needs and capabilities of the students in the different educational levels, subjects or courses dealing with
international conventions, agreements, declarations or covenants on human rights which were ratified by the
Philippines or to which it is a signatory, shall be included in the curricula.
5. This Order shall be initially implemented within the framework of the budget of the MECS for 1986. As far as
practicable, the funds required therefor shall be drawn from its appropriations for policy formulation, program
planning, standard development and instructional materials developments.
The Ministry of Budget and Management, after consultation with the MECS, shall recommend to the President for
her approval the necessary changes or modifications in the expenditure items in the 1986 budget of the MECS to
accommodate the expenditures to be incurred in the implementation hereof.
Subsequent expenditures in the implementation hereof for the succeeding years shall be accordingly
incorporated in the annual budget of the MECS.
6. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately. lawphi1.net
Done in the City of Manila, this 4th day of July, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-six.
Republic of the Philippines
Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila
Fourteenth Congress
Third Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-seventh day of July, two thousand nine.
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,
(Sgd.) PROSPERO C. NOGRALES (Sgd.) JUAN PONCE ENRILE
Speaker of the House of President of the Senate
Representatives
This Act which is a consolidation of House Bill No. 5709 and Senate Bill No. 1978 was finally passed by the House of
Representatives and the Senate on September 2,2009.
(Sgd.) MARILYN B. BARUA-YAP (Sgd.) EMMA LIRIO-REYES
Secretary General Secretary of Senate
House of Representives
Approved: November 10, 2009
(Sgd.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President of the Philippines
 Republic of the Philippines
CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES
Metro Manila
Fifteenth Congress
Third Regular Session
Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-third day of July, two thousand twelve.
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 ones will or otherwise deprived of ones liberty, as defined in Republic Act
No. 103501, 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 HRVVs 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 ones 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.1wphi1
Section 32. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its complete publication in
the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.
Approved,

(Sgd.) JUAN PONCE ENRILE (Sgd.) FELICIANO BELMONTE JR.

President of the Senate Speaker of the House of Representatives
This Act which is a consolidation of House Bill No. 5990 and Senate Bill No. 3334 was finally passed by the
House of Representatives and the Senate on January 28, 2013.

(Sgd.) EMMA LIRIO-REYES (Sgd.) MARILYN B. BARUA-YAP

Secretary of Senate Secretary General
House of Representatives
Approved: FEB 25 2013(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III
President of the Philippines
Republic of the Philippines
CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES
Metro Manila
Fifteenth Congress
Third Regular Session
Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-third day of July, two thousand twelve.
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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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 victims family, relative, or lawyer.
Section 8. Duty to Certify in Writing on the Results of Inquiry into a Reported Disappeared Persons
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.
Section 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 victims
whereabouts to his or her immediate family, relatives, lawyer/s or to a human rights organization by the most
expedient means.
Section 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
(l) 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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 officers 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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.
Section 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,

(Sgd.) JUAN PONCE ENRILE (Sgd.) FELICIANO BELMONTE JR.

President of the Senate Speaker of the House of Representatives
This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 2817 and House Bill No. 98 was finally passed by the Senate and the House of
Representatives on October 16, 2012.

(Sgd.) EMMA LIRIO-REYES (Sgd.) MARILYN B. BARUA-YAP

Secretary of Senate Secretary General
House of Representatives
Approved: DEC 21 2012
(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III
President of the Philippines
Republic of the Philippines
Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila
Eighth Congress

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.lawphi1
(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, fianc or fiance, 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;lawphi1alf
(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).lawphi1
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.
Republic of the Philippines
Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila
Thirteenth Congress
Third Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the nineteenth day of February, two thousand seven.
Republic Act No. 9372 March 6, 2007
AN ACT TO SECURE THE STATE AND PROTECT OUR PEOPLE FROM TERRORISM
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall henceforth be known as the "Human Security Act of 2007."
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is declared a policy of the State to protect life, liberty, and property from acts of
terrorism, to condemn terrorism as inimical and dangerous to the national security of the country and to the
welfare of the people, and to make terrorism a crime against the Filipino people, against humanity, and against
the law of nations.
In the implementation of the policy stated above, the State shall uphold the basic rights and fundamental liberties
of the people as enshrined in the Constitution.
The State recognizes that the fight against terrorism requires a comprehensive approach, comprising political,
economic, diplomatic, military, and legal means duly taking into account the root causes of terrorism without
acknowledging these as justifications for terrorist and/or criminal activities. Such measures shall include conflict
management and post-conflict peace-building, addressing the roots of conflict by building state capacity and
promoting equitable economic development.
Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted as a curtailment, restriction or diminution of constitutionally recognized
powers of the executive branch of the government. It is to be understood, however that the exercise of the
constitutionally recognized powers of the executive department of the government shall not prejudice respect for
human rights which shall be absolute and protected at all times.
SEC. 3. Terrorism.- Any person who commits an act punishable under any of the following provisions of the
Revised Penal Code:
a. Article 122 (Piracy in General and Mutiny in the High Seas or in the Philippine Waters);
b. Article 134 (Rebellion or Insurrection);
c. Article 134-a (Coup d' Etat), including acts committed by private persons;
d. Article 248 (Murder);
e. Article 267 (Kidnapping and Serious Illegal Detention);
f. Article 324 (Crimes Involving Destruction), or under
1. Presidential Decree No. 1613 (The Law on Arson);
2. Republic Act No. 6969 (Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of
1990);
3. Republic Act No. 5207, (Atomic Energy Regulatory and Liability Act of 1968);
4. Republic Act No. 6235 (Anti-Hijacking Law);
5. Presidential Decree No. 532 (Anti-Piracy and Anti-Highway Robbery Law of 1974); and,
6. Presidential Decree No. 1866, as amended (Decree Codifying the Laws on Illegal and Unlawful
Possession, Manufacture, Dealing in, Acquisition or Disposition of Firearms, Ammunitions or
Explosives)
thereby sowing and creating a condition of widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among the populace, in
order to coerce the government to give in to an unlawful demand shall be guilty of the crime of terrorism and
shall suffer the penalty of forty (40) years of imprisonment, without the benefit of parole as provided for under
Act No. 4103, otherwise known as the Indeterminate Sentence Law, as amended.
SEC. 4. Conspiracy to Commit Terrorism. - Persons who conspire to commit the crime of terrorism shall suffer
the penalty of forty (40) years of imprisonment.
There is conspiracy when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the commission of the crime
of terrorism as defined in Section 3 hereof and decide to commit the same.
SEC. 5. Accomplice. - Any person who, not being a principal under Article 17 of the Revised Penal Code or a
conspirator as defined in Section 4 hereof, cooperates in the execution of either the crime of terrorism or
conspiracy to commit terrorism by previous or simultaneous acts shall suffer the penalty of from seventeen (17)
years, four months one day to twenty (20) years of imprisonment.
SEC. 6. Accessory. - Any person who, having knowledge of the commission of the crime of terrorism or
conspiracy to commit terrorism, and without having participated therein, either as principal or accomplice under
Articles 17 and 18 of the Revised Penal Code, takes part subsequent to its commission in any of the following
manner: (a) by profiting himself or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the crime; (b) by concealing or
destroying the body of the crime, or the effects, or instruments thereof, in order to prevent its discovery; (c) by
harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the principal or conspirator of the crime, shall suffer the
penalty of ten (10) years and one day to twelve (12) years of imprisonment.
Notwithstanding the above paragraph, the penalties prescribed for accessories shall not be imposed upon those
who are such with respect to their spouses, ascendants, descendants, legitimate, natural, and adopted brothers
and sisters, or relatives by affinity within the same degrees, with the single exception of accessories falling
within the provisions of subparagraph (a).
SEC. 7. Surveillance of Suspects and Interception and Recording of Communications. -The provisions of
Republic Act No. 4200 (Anti-Wire Tapping Law) to the contrary notwithstanding, a police or law enforcement
official and the members of his team may, upon a written order of the Court of Appeals, listen to, intercept and
record, with the use of any mode, form, kind or type of electronic or other surveillance equipment or intercepting
and tracking devices, or with the use of any other suitable ways and means for that purpose, any communication,
message, conversation, discussion, or spoken or written words between members of a judicially declared and
outlawed terrorist organization, association, or group of persons or of any person charged with or suspected of
the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism.
Provided, That surveillance, interception and recording of communications between lawyers and clients, doctors
and patients, journalists and their sources and confidential business correspondence shall not be authorized.
SEC. 8. Formal Application for Judicial Authorization. - The written order of the authorizing division of the Court
of Appeals to track down, tap, listen to, intercept, and record communications, messages, conversations,
discussions, or spoken or written words of any person suspected of the crime of terrorism or the crime of
conspiracy to commit terrorism shall only be granted by the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals upon an
ex parte written application of a police or of a law enforcement official who has been duly authorized in writing by
the Anti-Terrorism Council created in Section 53 of this Act to file such ex parte application, and upon
examination under oath or affirmation of the applicant and the witnesses he may produce to establish: (a) that
there is probable cause to believe based on personal knowledge of facts or circumstances that the said crime of
terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism has been committed, or is being committed, or is about to be
committed; (b) that there is probable cause to believe based on personal knowledge of facts or circumstances
that evidence, which is essential to the conviction of any charged or suspected person for, or to the solution or
prevention of, any such crimes, will be obtained; and, (c) that there is no other effective means readily available
for acquiring such evidence.
SEC. 9. Classification and Contents of the Order of the Court. - The written order granted by the authorizing
division of the Court of Appeals as well as its order, if any, to extend or renew the same, the original application
of the applicant, including his application to extend or renew, if any, and the written authorizations of the Anti-
Terrorism Council shall be deemed and are hereby declared as classified information: Provided, That the person
being surveilled or whose communications, letters, papers, messages, conversations, discussions, spoken or
written words and effects have been monitored, listened to, bugged or recorded by law enforcement authorities
has the right to be informed of the acts done by the law enforcement authorities in the premises or to challenge,
if he or she intends to do so, the legality of the interference before the Court of Appeals which issued the written
order. The written order of the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals shall specify the following: (a) the
identity, such as name and address, if known, of the charged or suspected person whose communications,
messages, conversations, discussions, or spoken or written words are to be tracked down, tapped, listened to,
intercepted, and recorded and, in the case of radio, electronic, or telephonic (whether wireless or otherwise)
communications, messages, conversations, discussions, or spoken or written words, the electronic transmission
systems or the telephone numbers to be tracked down, tapped, listened to, intercepted, and recorded and their
locations or if the person suspected of the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism is not fully
known, such person shall be subject to continuous surveillance provided there is a reasonable ground to do so;
(b) the identity (name, address, and the police or law enforcement organization) of the police or of the law
enforcement official, including the individual identity (names, addresses, and the police or law enforcement
organization) of the members of his team, judicially authorized to track down, tap, listen to, intercept, and record
the communications, messages, conversations, discussions, or spoken or written words; (c) the offense or
offenses committed, or being committed, or sought to be prevented; and, (d) the length of time within which the
authorization shall be used or carried out.
SEC. 10. Effective Period of Judicial Authorization. - Any authorization granted by the authorizing division of the
Court of Appeals, pursuant to Section 9(d) of this Act, shall only be effective for the length of time specified in
the written order of the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals, which shall not exceed a period of thirty (30)
days from the date of receipt of the written order of the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals by the
applicant police or law enforcement official.
The authorizing division of the Court of Appeals may extend or renew the said authorization for another non-
extendible period, which shall not exceed thirty (30) days from the expiration of the original period: Provided,
That the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals is satisfied that such extension or renewal is in the public
interest: and Provided, further, That the ex parte application for extension or renewal, which must be filed by the
original applicant, has been duly authorized in writing by the Anti-Terrorism Council.
In case of death of the original applicant or in case he is physically disabled to file the application for extension
or renewal, the one next in rank to the original applicant among the members of the team named in the original
written order of the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals shall file the application for extension or renewal:
Provided, That, without prejudice to the liability of the police or law enforcement personnel under Section 20
hereof, the applicant police or law enforcement official shall have thirty (30) days after the termination of the
period granted by the Court of Appeals as provided in the preceding paragraphs within which to file the
appropriate case before the Public Prosecutor's Office for any violation of this Act.
If no case is filed within the thirty (30)-day period, the applicant police or law enforcement official shall
immediately notify the person subject of the surveillance, interception and recording of the termination of the
said surveillance, interception and recording. The penalty of ten (10) years and one day to twelve (12) years of
imprisonment shall be imposed upon the applicant police or law enforcement official who fails to notify the
person subject of the surveillance, monitoring, interception and recording as specified above.
SEC. 11. Custody of Intercepted and Recorded Communications. - All tapes, discs, and recordings made
pursuant to the authorization of the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals, including all excerpts and
summaries thereof as well as all written notes or memoranda made in connection therewith, shall, within forty-
eight (48) hours after the expiration of the period fixed in the written order of the authorizing division of the Court
of Appeals or within forty-eight (48) hours after the expiration of any extension or renewal granted by the
authorizing division of the Court of Appeals, be deposited with the authorizing Division of the Court of Appeals in
a sealed envelope or sealed package, as the case may be, and shall be accompanied by a joint affidavit of the
applicant police or law enforcement official and the members of his team.
In case of death of the applicant or in case he is physically disabled to execute the required affidavit, the one
next in rank to the applicant among the members of the team named in the written order of the authorizing
division of the Court of Appeals shall execute with the members of the team that required affidavit.
It shall be unlawful for any person, police officer or any custodian of the tapes, discs and recording, and their
excerpts and summaries, written notes or memoranda to copy in whatever form, to remove, delete, expunge,
incinerate, shred or destroy in any manner the items enumerated above in whole or in part under any pretext
whatsoever.
Any person who removes, deletes, expunges, incinerates, shreds or destroys the items enumerated above shall
suffer a penalty of not less than six years and one day to twelve (12) years of imprisonment.
SEC. 12. Contents of Joint Affidavit. - The joint affidavit of the police or of the law enforcement official and the
individual members of his team shall state: (a) the number of tapes, discs, and recordings that have been made,
as well as the number of excerpts and summaries thereof and the number of written notes and memoranda, if
any, made in connection therewith; (b) the dates and times covered by each of such tapes, discs, and recordings;
(c) the number of tapes, discs, and recordings, as well as the number of excerpts and summaries thereof and the
number of written notes and memoranda made in connection therewith that have been included in the deposit;
and (d) the date of the original written authorization granted by the Anti-Terrorism Council to the applicant to file
the ex parte application to conduct the tracking down, tapping, intercepting, and recording, as well as the date of
any extension or renewal of the original written authority granted by the authorizing division of the Court of
Appeals.
The joint affidavit shall also certify under oath that no duplicates or copies of the whole or any part of any of
such tapes, discs, and recordings, and that no duplicates or copies of the whole or any part of any of such
excerpts, summaries, written notes, and memoranda, have been made, or, if made, that all such duplicates and
copies are included in the sealed envelope or sealed package, as the case may be, deposited with the authorizing
division of the Court of Appeals.
It shall be unlawful for any person, police or law enforcement official to omit or exclude from the joint affidavit
any item or portion thereof mentioned in this Section.
Any person, police or law enforcement officer who violates any of the acts prescribed in the preceding paragraph
shall suffer the penalty of not less than ten (10) years and one day to twelve (12) years of imprisonment.
SEC. 13. Disposition of Deposited Material. -The sealed envelope or sealed package and the contents thereof,
which are deposited with the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals, shall be deemed and are hereby
declared classified information, and the sealed envelope or sealed package shall not be opened and its contents
(including the tapes, discs, and recordings and all the excerpts and summaries thereof and the notes and
memoranda made in connection therewith) shall not be divulged, revealed, read, replayed, or used as evidence
unless authorized by written order of the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals, which written order shall
be granted only upon a written application of the Department of Justice filed before the authorizing division of
the Court of Appeals and only upon a showing that the Department of Justice has been duly authorized in writing
by the Anti-Terrorism Council to file the application with proper written notice the person whose conversation,
communication, message discussion or spoken or written words have been the subject of surveillance,
monitoring, recording and interception to open, reveal, divulge, and use the contents of the sealed envelope or
sealed package as evidence.
Any person, law enforcement official or judicial authority who violates his duty to notify in writing the persons
subject of the surveillance as defined above shall suffer the penalty of six years and one day to eight years of
imprisonment.
SEC. 14. Application to Open Deposited Sealed Envelope or Sealed Package. - The written application with notice
to the party concerned to open the deposited sealed envelope or sealed package shall clearly state the purpose
or reason: (a) for opening the sealed envelope or sealed package; (b) for revealing or disclosing its classified
contents; (c) for replaying, divulging, and or reading any of the listened to, intercepted, and recorded
communications, messages, conversations, discussions, or spoken or written words (including any of the
excerpts and summaries thereof and any of the notes or memoranda made in connection therewith); [ and, (d) for
using any of said listened to, intercepted, and recorded communications, messages, conversations, discussions,
or spoken or written words (including any of the excerpts and summaries thereof and any of the notes or
memoranda made in connection therewith) as evidence.
Any person, law enforcement official or judicial authority who violates his duty to notify as defined above shall
suffer the penalty of six years and one day to eight years of imprisonment.
SEC. 15. Evidentiary Value of Deposited Materials. - Any listened to, intercepted, and recorded communications,
messages, conversations, discussions, or spoken or written words, or any part or parts thereof, or any
information or fact contained therein, including their existence, content, substance, purport, effect, or meaning,
which have been secured in violation of the pertinent provisions of this Act, shall absolutely not be admissible
and usable as evidence against anybody in any judicial, quasi-judicial, legislative, or administrative investigation,
inquiry, proceeding, or hearing.
SEC. 16. Penalty for Unauthorized or Malicious Interceptions and/or Recordings. - Any police or law enforcement
personnel who, not being authorized to do so by the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals, tracks down,
taps, listens to, intercepts, and records in whatever manner or form any communication, message, conversation,
discussion, or spoken or written word of a person charged with or suspected of the crime of terrorism or the
crime of conspiracy to commit terrorism shall be guilty of an offense and shall suffer the penalty of ten (10) years
and one day to twelve (12) years of imprisonment.
In addition to the liability attaching to the offender for the commission of any other offense, the penalty of ten
(10) years and one day to twelve (12) years of imprisonment and the accessory penalty of perpetual absolute
disqualification from public office shall be imposed upon any police or law enforcement personnel who
maliciously obtained an authority from the Court of Appeals to track down, tap, listen to, intercept, and record in
whatever manner or form any communication, message, conversation, discussion, or spoken or written words of
a person charged with or suspected of the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism: Provided, That
notwithstanding Section 13 of this Act, the party aggrieved by such authorization shall be allowed access to the
sealed envelope or sealed package and the contents thereof as evidence for the prosecution of any police or law
enforcement personnel who maliciously procured said authorization.
SEC. 17. Proscription of Terrorist Organizations, Association, or Group of Persons. - Any organization,
association, or group of persons organized for the purpose of engaging in terrorism, or which, although not
organized for that purpose, actually uses the acts to terrorize mentioned in this Act or to sow and create a
condition of widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among the populace in order to coerce the government
to give in to an unlawful demand shall, upon application of the Department of Justice before a competent
Regional Trial Court, with due notice and opportunity to be heard given to the organization, association, or group
of persons concerned, be declared as a terrorist and outlawed organization, association, or group of persons by
the said Regional Trial Court.
SEC. 18. Period of Detention Without Judicial Warrant of Arrest. - The provisions of Article 125 of the Revised
Penal Code to the contrary notwithstanding, any police or law enforcement personnel, who, having been duly
authorized in writing by the Anti-Terrorism Council has taken custody of a person charged with or suspected of
the crime of terrorism or the crime of conspiracy to commit terrorism shall, without incurring any criminal liability
for delay in the delivery of detained persons to the proper judicial authorities, deliver said charged or suspected
person to the proper judicial authority within a period of three days counted from the moment the said charged
or suspected person has been apprehended or arrested, detained, and taken into custody by the said police, or
law enforcement personnel: Provided, That the arrest of those suspected of the crime of terrorism or conspiracy
to commit terrorism must result from the surveillance under Section 7 and examination of bank deposits under
Section 27 of this Act.
The police or law enforcement personnel concerned shall, before detaining the person suspected of the crime of
terrorism, present him or her before any judge at the latter's residence or office nearest the place where the
arrest took place at any time of the day or night. It shall be the duty of the judge, among other things, to ascertain
the identity of the police or law enforcement personnel and the person or persons they have arrested and
presented before him or her, to inquire of them the reasons why they have arrested the person and determine by
questioning and personal observation whether or not the suspect has been subjected to any physical, moral or
psychological torture by whom and why. The judge shall then submit a written report of what he/she had
observed when the subject was brought before him to the proper court that has jurisdiction over the case of the
person thus arrested. The judge shall forthwith submit his/her report within three calendar days from the time the
suspect was brought to his/her residence or office.
Immediately after taking custody of a person charged with or suspected of the crime of terrorism or conspiracy
to commit terrorism, the police or law enforcement personnel shall notify in writing the judge of the court nearest
the place of apprehension or arrest: Provided ,That where the arrest is made during Saturdays, Sundays,
holidays or after office hours, the written notice shall be served at the residence of the judge nearest the place
where the accused was arrested.
The penalty of ten (10) years and one day to twelve (12) years of imprisonment shall be imposed upon the police
or law enforcement personnel who fails to notify and judge as Provided in the preceding paragraph.
SEC. 19. Period of Detention in the Event of an Actual or Imminent Terrorist Attack. - In the event of an actual or
imminent terrorist attack, suspects may not be detained for more than three days without the written approval of
a municipal, city, provincial or regional official of a Human Rights Commission or judge of the municipal,
regional trial court, the Sandiganbayan or a justice of the Court of Appeals nearest the place of the arrest. If the
arrest is made during Saturdays, Sundays, holidays or after office hours, the arresting police or law enforcement
personnel shall bring the person thus arrested to the residence of any of the officials mentioned above that is
nearest the place where the accused was arrested. The approval in writing of any of the said officials shall be
secured by the police or law enforcement personnel concerned within five days after the date of the detention of
the persons concerned: Provided, however, That within three days after the detention the suspects, whose
connection with the terror attack or threat is not established, shall be released immediately.
SEC. 20. Penalty for Failure to Deliver Suspect to the Proper Judicial Authority within Three Days. - The penalty
of ten (10) years and one day to twelve (12) years of imprisonment shall be imposed upon any police or law
enforcement personnel who has apprehended or arrested, detained and taken custody of a person charged with
or suspected of the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism and fails to deliver such charged or
suspected person to the proper judicial authority within the period of three days.
SEC. 21. Rights of a Person under Custodial Detention. - The moment a person charged with or suspected of the
crime of terrorism or the crime of conspiracy to commit terrorism is apprehended or arrested and detained, he
shall forthwith be informed, by the arresting police or law enforcement officers or by the police or law
enforcement officers to whose custody the person concerned is brought, of his or her right: (a) to be informed of
the nature and cause of his arrest, to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel preferably of
his choice. If the person cannot afford the services of counsel of his or her choice, the police or law enforcement
officers concerned shall immediately contact the free legal assistance unit of the Integrated Bar of the
Philippines (IBP) or the Public Attorney's Office (PAO). It shall be the duty of the free legal assistance unit of the
IBP or the PAO thus contacted to immediately visit the person(s) detained and provide him or her with legal
assistance. These rights cannot be waived except in writing and in the presence of the counsel of choice; (b)
informed of the cause or causes of his detention in the presence of his legal counsel; (c) allowed to communicate
freely with his legal counsel and to confer with them at any time without restriction; (d) allowed to communicate
freely and privately without restrictions with the members of his family or with his nearest relatives and to be
visited by them; and, (e) allowed freely to avail of the service of a physician or physicians of choice.
SEC. 22. Penalty for Violation of the Rights of a Detainee. - Any police or law enforcement personnel, or any
personnel of the police or other law enforcement custodial unit that violates any of the aforesaid rights of a
person charged with or suspected of the crime of terrorism or the crime of conspiracy to commit terrorism shall
be guilty of an offense and shall suffer the penalty of ten (10) years and one day to twelve (12) years of
imprisonment.
Unless the police or law enforcement personnel who violated the rights of a detainee or detainees as stated
above is duly identified, the same penalty shall be imposed on the police officer or hear or leader of the law
enforcement unit having custody of the detainee at the time the violation was done.
SEC. 23. Requirement for an Official Custodial Logbook and its Contents. - The police or other law enforcement
custodial unit in whose care and control the person charged with or suspected of the crime of terrorism or the
crime of conspiracy to commit terrorism has been placed under custodial arrest and detention shall keep a
securely and orderly maintained official logbook, which is hereby declared as a public document and opened to
and made available for .the inspection and scrutiny of the lawyer or lawyers of the person under custody or any
member of his or her family or relative by consanguinity or affinity within the fourth civil degree or his or her
physician at any time of the day or night without any form of restriction. The logbook shall contain a clear and
concise record of: (a) the name, description, and address of the detained person; (b) the date and exact time of
his initial admission for custodial arrest and detention; (c) the name and address of the physician or physicians
who examined him physically and medically; (d) the state of his health and physical condition at the time of his
initial admission for custodial detention; (e) the date and time of each removal of the detained person from his
cell for interrogation or for any purpose; (f) the date and time of his return to his cell; (g) the name and address of
the physician or physicians who physically and medically examined him after each interrogation; (h) a summary
of the physical and medical findings on the detained person after each of such interrogation; (i) the names and
addresses of his family members and nearest relatives, if any and if available; (j) the names and addresses of
persons, who visit the detained person; (k) the date and time of each of such visits; (1) the date and time of each
request of the detained person to communicate and confer with his legal counsel or counsels; (m) the date and
time of each visit, and date and time of each departure of his legal counsel or counsels; and, (n) all other
important events bearing on and all relevant details regarding the treatment of the detained person while under
custodial arrest and detention.
The said police or law enforcement custodial unit shall upon demand of the aforementioned lawyer or lawyers or
members of the family or relatives within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity of the person under
custody or his or her physician issue a certified true copy of the entries of the logbook relative to the concerned
detained person without delay or restriction or requiring any fees whatsoever including documentary stamp tax,
notarial fees, and the like. This certified true copy may be attested by the person who has custody of the logbook
or who allowed the party concerned to scrutinize it at the time the demand for the certified true copy is made.
The police or other law enforcement custodial unit who fails to comply with the preceding paragraph to keep an
official logbook shall suffer the penalty of ten (10) years and one day to twelve (12) years of imprisonment.
SEC. 24. No Torture or Coercion in Investigation and Interrogation. - No threat, intimidation, or coercion, and no
act which will inflict any form of physical pain or torment, or mental, moral, or psychological pressure, on the
detained person, which shall vitiate his freewill, shall be employed in his investigation and interrogation for the
crime of terrorism or the crime of conspiracy to commit terrorism; otherwise, the evidence obtained from said
detained person resulting from such threat, intimidation, or coercion, or from such inflicted physical pain or
torment, or mental, moral, or psychological pressure, shall be, in its entirety, absolutely not admissible and
usable as evidence in any judicial, quasi-judicial, legislative, or administrative investigation, inquiry, proceeding,
or hearing.
SEC. 25. Penalty for Threat, Intimidation, Coercion, or Torture in the Investigation and Interrogation of a Detained
Person. - Any person or persons who use threat, intimidation, or coercion, or who inflict physical pain or
torment, or mental, moral, or psychological pressure, which shall vitiate the free-will of a charged or suspected
person under investigation and interrogation for the crime of terrorism or the crime of conspiracy to commit
terrorism shall be guilty of an offense and shall suffer the penalty of twelve (12) years and one day to twenty (20)
years of imprisonment.
When death or serious permanent disability of said detained person occurs as a consequence of the use of such
threat, intimidation, or coercion, or as a consequence of the infliction on him of such physical pain or torment, or
as a consequence of the infliction on him of such mental, moral, or psychological pressure, the penalty shall be
twelve (12) years and one day to twenty (20) years of imprisonment.
SEC. 26. Restriction on Travel. - In cases where evidence of guilt is not strong, and the person charged with the
crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism is entitled to bail and is granted the same, the court, upon
application by the prosecutor, shall limit the right of travel of the accused to within the municipality or city where
he resides or where the case is pending, in the interest of national security and public safety, consistent with
Article III, Section 6 of the Constitution. Travel outside of said municipality or city, without the authorization of
the court, shall be deemed a violation of the terms and conditions of his bail, which shall then be forfeited as
provided under the Rules of Court.
He/she may also be placed under house arrest by order of the court at his or her usual place of residence.
While under house arrest, he or she may not use telephones, cellphones, e-mails, computers, the internet or
other means of communications with people outside the residence until otherwise ordered by the court.
The restrictions abovementioned shall be terminated upon the acquittal of the accused or of the dismissal of the
case filed against him or earlier upon the discretion of the court on motion of the prosecutor or of the accused.
SEC. 27. Judicial Authorization Required to Examine Bank Deposits, Accounts, and Records. - The provisions of
Republic Act No. 1405 as amended, to the contrary notwithstanding, the justices of the Court of Appeals
designated as a special court to handle anti-terrorism cases after satisfying themselves of the existence of
probable cause in a hearing called for that purpose that: (1) a person charged with or suspected of the crime of
terrorism or, conspiracy to commit terrorism, (2) of a judicially declared and outlawed terrorist organization,
association, or group of persons; and (3) of a member of such judicially declared and outlawed organization,
association, or group of persons, may authorize in writing any police or law enforcement officer and the
members of his/her team duly authorized in writing by the anti-terrorism council to: (a) examine, or cause the
examination of, the deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets and records in a bank or financial institution;
and (b) gather or cause the gathering of any relevant information about such deposits, placements, trust
accounts, assets, and records from a bank or financial institution. The bank or financial institution concerned,
shall not refuse to allow such examination or to provide the desired information, when so, ordered by and served
with the written order of the Court of Appeals.
SEC. 28. Application to Examine Bank Deposits, Accounts, and Records. - The written order of the Court of
Appeals authorizing the examination of bank deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets, and records: (1) of a
person charged with or suspected of the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism; (2) of any
judicially declared and outlawed terrorist organization, association, or group of persons, or (3) of any member of
such organization, association, or group of persons in a bank or financial institution, and the gathering of any
relevant information about the same from said bank or financial institution, shall only be granted by the
authorizing division of the Court of Appeals upon an ex parte application to that effect of a police or of a law
enforcement official who has been duly authorized in writing to file such ex parte application by the Anti-
Terrorism Council created in Section 53 of this Act to file such ex parte application, and upon examination under
oath or affirmation of the applicant and, the witnesses he may produce to establish the facts that will justify the
need and urgency of examining and freezing the bank deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets, and records:
(1) of the person charged with or suspected of the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism; (2) of a
judicially declared and outlawed terrorist organization, association or group of persons; or (3) of any member of
such organization, association, or group of persons.
SEC. 29. Classification and Contents of the Court Order Authorizing the Examination of Bank Deposits,
Accounts, and Records. - The written order granted by the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals as well as
its order, if any, to extend or renew the same, the original ex parte application of the applicant, including his ex
parte application to extend or renew, if any, and the written authorizations of the Anti-Terrorism Council, shall be
deemed and are hereby declared as classified information: Provided, That the person whose bank deposits,
placements, trust accounts, assets, and records have been examined, frozen, sequestered and seized by law
enforcement authorities has the right to be informed of the acts done by the law enforcement authorities in the
premises or to challenge, if he or she intends to do so, the legality of the interference. The written order of the
authorizing division of the Court of Appeals designated to handle cases involving terrorism shall specify: (a) the
identify of the said: (1) person charged with or suspected of the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit
terrorism; (2) judicially declared and outlawed terrorist organization, association, or group of persons; and (3)
member of such judicially declared and outlawed organization, association, or group of persons, as the case may
be. whose deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets, and records are to be examined or the information to be
gathered; (b) the identity of the bank or financial Institution where such deposits, placements, trust accounts,
assets, and records are held and maintained; (c) the identity of the persons who will conduct the said
examination and the gathering of the desired information; and, (d) the length of time the authorization shall be
carried out.
SEC. 30. Effective Period of Court Authorization to Examine and Obtain Information on Bank Deposits, Accounts,
and Records. - The authorization issued or granted by the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals to
examine or cause the examination of and to freeze bank deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets, and
records, or to gather information about the same, shall be effective for the length of time specified in the written
order of the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals, which shall not exceed a period of thirty (30) days from
the date of receipt of the written order of the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals by the applicant police
or law enforcement official.
The authorizing division of the Court of Appeals may extend or renew the said authorization for another period,
which shall not exceed thirty (30) days renewable to another thirty (30) days from the expiration of the original
period: Provided, That the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals is satisfied that such extension or renewal
is in the public interest: and, Provided, further, That the application for extension or renewal, which must be filed
by the original applicant, has been duly authorized in writing by the Anti-Terrorism Council.
In case of death of the original applicant or in case he is physically disabled to file the application for extension
or renewal, the one next in rank to the original applicant among the members of the ream named in the original
written order of the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals shall file the application for extension or renewal:
Provided, That, without prejudice to the liability of the police or law enforcement personnel under Section 19
hereof, the applicant police or law enforcement official shall have thirty (30) days after the termination of the
period granted by the Court of Appeals as provided in the preceding paragraphs within which to file the
appropriate case before the Public Prosecutor's Office for any violation of this Act.
If no case is filed within the thirty (30)-day period, the applicant police or law enforcement official shall
immediately notify in writing the person subject of the bank examination and freezing of bank deposits,
placements, trust accounts, assets and records. The penalty of ten (10) years and one day to twelve (12) years of
imprisonment shall be imposed upon the applicant police or law enforcement official who fails to notify in writing
the person subject of the bank examination and freezing of bank deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets
and records.
Any person, law enforcement official or judicial authority who violates his duty to notify in writing as defined
above shall suffer the penalty of six years and one day to eight years of imprisonment.
SEC. 31. Custody of Bank Data and Information Obtained after Examination of Deposits, Placements, Trust
Accounts, Assets and Records. - All information, data, excerpts, summaries, notes, memoranda, working sheets,
reports, and other documents obtained from the examination of the bank deposits, placements, trust accounts,
assets and records of: (1) a person charged with or suspected of the crime of terrorism or the crime of
conspiracy to commit terrorism; (2) a judicially declared and outlawed terrorist organization, association, or
group of persons; or (3) a member of any such organization, association, or group of persons shall, within forty-
eight (48) hours after the expiration of the period fixed in the written order of the authorizing division of the Court
of Appeals or within forty-eight (48) hours after the expiration of the extension or renewal granted by the
authorizing division of the Court of Appeals, be deposited with the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals in
a sealed envelope or sealed package, as the case may be, and shall be accompanied by a joint affidavit of the
applicant police or law enforcement official and the persons who actually conducted the examination of said
bank deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets and records.
SEC. 32. Contents of Joint Affidavit. - The joint affidavit shall state: (a) the identifying marks, numbers, or
symbols of the deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets, and records examined; (b) the identity and address
of the bank or financial institution where such deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets, and records are held
and maintained; (c) the number of bank deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets, and records discovered,
examined, and frozen; (d) the outstanding balances of each of such deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets;
(e) all information, data, excerpts, summaries, notes, memoranda, working sheets, reports, documents, records
examined and placed in the sealed envelope or sealed package deposited with the authorizing division of the
Court of Appeals; (f) the date of the original written authorization granted by the Anti-Terrorism Council to the
applicant to file the ex parte Application to conduct the examination of the said bank deposits, placements, trust
accounts, assets and records, as well as the date of any extension or renewal of the original written authorization
granted by the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals; and (g) that the items Enumerated were all that were
found in the bank or financial institution examined at the time of the completion of the examination.
The joint affidavit shall also certify under oath that no duplicates or copies of the information, data, excerpts,
summaries, notes, memoranda, working sheets, reports, and documents acquired from the examination of the
bank deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets and records have been made, or, if made, that all such
duplicates and copies are placed in the sealed envelope or sealed package deposited with the authorizing
division of the Court of Appeals.
It shall be unlawful for any person, police officer or custodian of the bank data and information obtained after
examination of deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets and records to copy, to remove, delete, expunge,
incinerate, shred or destroy in any manner the items enumerated above in whole or in part under any pretext
whatsoever,
Any person who copies, removes, deletes, expunges, incinerates, shreds or destroys the items enumerated
above shall suffer a penalty of not less than six years and one day to twelve (12) years of imprisonment.
SEC. 33. Disposition of Bank Materials. - The sealed envelope or sealed package and the contents thereof, which
are deposited with the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals, shall be deemed and are hereby declared
classified information and the sealed envelope or sealed package shall not be opened and its contents shall not
be divulged, revealed, read, or used as evidence unless authorized in a written order of the authorizing division
of the Court of Appeals, which written order shall be granted only upon a written application of the Department of
Justice filed before the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals and only upon a showing that the Department
of Justice has been duly authorized in writing by the Anti-Terrorism Council to file the application, with notice in
writing to the party concerned not later than three days before the scheduled opening, to open, reveal, divulge,
and use the contents of the sealed envelope or sealed package as evidence.
Any person, law enforcement official or judicial authority who violates his duty to notify in writing as defined
above shall suffer the penalty of six years and one day to eight years of imprisonment.
SEC. 34. Application to Open Deposited Bank Materials. - The written application, with notice in writing to the
party concerned not later than three days of the scheduled opening, to open the sealed envelope or sealed
package shall clearly state the purpose and reason: (a) for opening the sealed envelope or sealed package; (b)
for revealing and disclosing its classified contents; and, (c) for using the classified information, data, excerpts,
summaries, notes, memoranda, working sheets, reports, and documents as evidence.
SEC. 35. Evidentiary Value of Deposited Bank Materials. - Any information, data, excerpts, summaries, notes,
memoranda, work sheets, reports, or documents acquired from the examination of the bank deposits,
placements, trust accounts, assets and records of: (1) a person charged or suspected of the crime of terrorism or
the crime of conspiracy to commit terrorism; (2) a judicially declared and outlawed terrorist organization,
association, or group of persons; or (3) a member of such organization, association, or group of persons, which
have been secured in violation of the provisions of this Act, shall absolutely not be admissible and usable as
evidence against anybody in any judicial, quasi-judicial, legislative, or administrative investigation, inquiry,
proceeding, or hearing.
SEC. 36. Penalty for Unauthorized or Malicious Examination of a Bank or a Financial Institution. - Any person,
police or law enforcement personnel who examines the deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets, or records
in a bank or financial institution of: (1) a person charged with or suspected of the crime of terrorism or the crime
of conspiracy to commit terrorism; (2) a judicially declared and outlawed terrorist organization, association, or
group of persons; or (3) a member of such organization, association, or group of persons, without being
authorized to do so by the Court of Appeals, shall be guilty of an offense and shall suffer the penalty of ten (10)
years and one day to twelve (12) years of imprisonment.
In addition to the liability attaching to the offender for the commission of any other offense, the penalty of ten
(10) years and one day to twelve (12) years of imprisonment shall be imposed upon any police or law
enforcement personnel, who maliciously obtained an authority from the Court of Appeals to examine the
deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets, or records in a bank or financial institution of: (1) a person charged
with or suspected of the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism; (2) a judicially declared and
outlawed terrorist organization, association, or group of persons; or (3) a member of such organization,
association, or group of persons: Provided, That notwithstanding Section 33 of this Act, the party aggrieved by
such authorization shall upon motion duly filed be allowed access to the sealed envelope or sealed package and
the contents thereof as evidence for the prosecution of any police or law enforcement personnel who maliciously
procured said authorization.
SEC. 37. Penalty of Bank Officials and Employees Defying a Court Authorization. - An employee, official, or a
member of the board of directors of a bank or financial institution, who refuses to allow the examination of the
deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets, and records of: (1) a person charged with or suspected of the crime
of terrorism or the crime of conspiracy to commit terrorism; (2) a judicially declared and outlawed organization,
association, or group of persons; or (3) a member of such judicially declared and outlawed organization,
association, or group of persons in said bank or financial institution, when duly served with the written order of
the authorizing division of the Court of Appeals, shall be guilty of an offense and shall suffer the penalty of ten
(10) years and one day to twelve (12) years of imprisonment.
SEC. 38. Penalty for False or Untruthful Statement or Misrepresentation of Material Fact in Joint Affidavits. - Any
false or untruthful statement or misrepresentation of material fact in the joint affidavits required respectively in
Section 12 and Section 32 of this Act shall constitute a criminal offense and the affiants shall suffer individually
the penalty of ten (10) years and one day to twelve (12) years of imprisonment.
SEC. 39. Seizure and Sequestration. - The deposits and their outstanding balances, placements, trust accounts,
assets, and records in any bank or financial institution, moneys, businesses, transportation and communication
equipment, supplies and other implements, and property of whatever kind and nature belonging: (1) to any
person suspected of or charged before a competent Regional Trial Court for the crime of terrorism or the crime
of conspiracy to commit terrorism; (2) to a judicially declared and outlawed organization, association, or group of
persons; or (3) to a member of such organization, association, or group of persons shall be seized, sequestered,
and frozen in order to prevent their use, transfer, or conveyance for purposes that are inimical to the safety and
security of the people or injurious to the interest of the State.
The accused or a person suspected of may withdraw such sums as may be reasonably needed by the monthly
needs of his family including the services of his or her counsel and his or her family's medical needs upon
approval of the court. He or she may also use any of his property that is under seizure or sequestration or frozen
because of his/her indictment as a terrorist upon permission of the court for any legitimate reason.
Any person who unjustifiably refuses to follow the order of the proper division of the Court of Appeals to allow
the person accused of the crime of terrorism or of the crime of conspiracy to commit terrorism to withdraw such
sums from sequestered or frozen deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets and records as may be necessary
for the regular sustenance of his/her family or to use any of his/her property that has been seized, sequestered or
frozen for legitimate purposes while his/her case is pending shall suffer the penalty of ten (10) years and one day
to twelve (12) years of imprisonment.
SEC. 40. Nature of Seized. Sequestered and Frozen Bank Deposits, Placements, Trust Accounts, Assets and
Records. - The seized, sequestered and frozen bank deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets and records
belonging to a person suspected of or charged with the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism
shall be deemed as property held in trust by the bank or financial institution for such person and the government
during the pendency of the investigation of the person suspected of or during the pendency of the trial of the
person charged with any of the said crimes, as the case may be and their use or disposition while the case is
pending shall be subject to the approval of the court before which the case or cases are pending.
SEC. 41. Disposition of the Seized, Sequestered and Frozen Bank Deposits, Placements, Trust Accounts, Assets
and Record. - If the person suspected of or charged with the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit
terrorism is found, after his investigation, to be innocent by the investigating body, or is acquitted, after his
arraignment or his case is dismissed before his arraignment by a competent court, the seizure, sequestration
and freezing of his bank deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets and records shall forthwith be deemed
lifted by the investigating body or by the competent court, as the case may be, and his bank deposits,
placements, trust accounts, assets and records shall be deemed released from such seizure, sequestration and
freezing, and shall be restored to him without any delay by the bank or financial institution concerned without
any further action on his part. The filing of any appeal on motion for reconsideration shall not state the release of
said funds from seizure, sequestration and freezing.
If the person charged with the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism is convicted by a final
judgment of a competent trial court, his seized, sequestered and frozen bank deposits, placements, trust
accounts, assets and records shall be automatically forfeited in favor of the government.
Upon his or her acquittal or the dismissal of the charges against him or her, the amount of Five hundred
thousand pesos (P500.000.00) a day for the period in which his properties, assets or funds were seized shall be
paid to him on the concept of liquidated damages. The amount shall be taken from the appropriations of the
police or law enforcement agency that caused the filing of the enumerated charges against him/her.
SEC. 42. Penalty for Unjustified Refusal to Restore or Delay in Restoring Seized, Sequestered and Frozen Bank
Deposits, Placements, Trust Accounts, Assets and Records. - Any person who unjustifiably refuses to restore or
delays the restoration of seized, sequestered and frozen bank deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets and
records of a person suspected of or charged with the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism after
such suspected person has been found innocent by the investigating body or after the case against such
charged person has been dismissed or after he is acquitted by a competent court shall suffer the penalty of ten
(10) years and one day to twelve (12) years of imprisonment.
SEC. 43. Penalty for the Loss, Misuse, Diversion or Dissipation of Seized, Sequestered and Frozen Bank
Deposits, Placements, Trust Accounts, Assets and Records. - Any person who is responsible for the loss,
misuse, diversion, or dissipation of the whole or any part of the seized, sequestered and frozen bank deposits,
placements, trust accounts, assets and records of a person suspected of or charged with the crime of terrorism
or conspiracy to commit terrorism shall suffer the penalty of ten (10) years and one day to twelve (12) years of
imprisonment.
SEC. 44. Infidelity in the Custody of Detained Persons. - Any public officer who has direct custody of a detained
person or under the provisions of this Act and who by his deliberate act, misconduct, or inexcusable negligence
causes or allows the escape of such detained person shall be guilty of an offense and shall suffer the penalty of:
(a) twelve (12) years and one day to twenty (20) years of imprisonment, if the detained person has already been
convicted and sentenced in a final judgment of a competent court; and (b) six years and one day to twelve (12)
years of imprisonment, if the detained person has not been convicted and sentenced in a final judgment of a
competent court.
SEC. 45. Immunity and Protection of Government Witnesses. - The provisions of Republic Act No. 6981 (Witness
Protection, Security and Benefits Act) to the contrary notwithstanding, the immunity of government witnesses
testifying under this Act shall be governed by Sections 17 and 18 of Rule 119 of the Rules of Court: Provided,
however, That said witnesses shall be entitled to benefits granted to witnesses under said Republic Act No.6981.
SEC. 46. Penalty for Unauthorized Revelation of Classified Materials. - The penalty of ten (10) years and one day
to twelve (12) years of imprisonment shall be imposed upon any person, police or law enforcement agent, judicial
officer or civil servant who, not being authorized by the Court of Appeals to do so, reveals in any manner or form
any classified information under this Act.
SEC. 47. Penalty for Furnishing False Evidence, Forged Document, or Spurious Evidence. - The penalty of twelve
(12) years and one day to twenty (20) years of imprisonment shall be imposed upon any person who knowingly
furnishes false testimony, forged document or spurious evidence in any investigation or hearing under this Act.
SEC. 48. Continuous Trial. - In cases of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism, the judge shall set the
continuous trial on a daily basis from Monday to Friday or other short-term trial calendar so as to ensure speedy
trial.
SEC. 49. Prosecution Under This Act Shall be a Bar to Another Prosecution under the Revised Penal Code or any
Special Penal Laws. - When a person has been prosecuted under a provision of this Act, upon a valid complaint
or information or other formal charge sufficient in form and substance to sustain a conviction and after the
accused had pleaded to the charge, the acquittal of the accused or the dismissal of the case shall be a bar to
another prosecution for any offense or felony which is necessarily included in the offense charged under this
Act.
SEC. 50. Damages for Unproven Charge of Terrorism. - Upon acquittal, any person who is accused of terrorism
shall be entitled to the payment of damages in the amount of Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00) for
every day that he or she has been detained or deprived of liberty or arrested without a warrant as a result of such
an accusation. The amount of damages shall be automatically charged against the appropriations of the police
agency or the Anti-Terrorism Council that brought or sanctioned the filing of the charges against the accused. It
shall also be released within fifteen (15) days from the date of the acquittal of the accused. The award of
damages mentioned above shall be without prejudice to the right of the acquitted accused to file criminal or
administrative charges against those responsible for charging him with the case of terrorism.
Any officer, employee, personnel, or person who delays the release or refuses to release the amounts awarded to
the individual acquitted of the crime of terrorism as directed in the paragraph immediately preceding shall suffer
the penalty of six months of imprisonment.
If the deductions are less than the amounts due to the detained persons, the amount needed to complete the
compensation shall be taken from the current appropriations for intelligence, emergency, social or other funds of
the Office of the President.
In the event that the amount cannot be covered by the current budget of the police or law enforcement agency
concerned, the amount shall be automatically included in the appropriations of the said agency for the coming
year.
SEC. 51. Duty to Record and Report the Name and Address of the Informant. - The police or law enforcement
officers to whom the name or a suspect in the crime of terrorism was first revealed shall record the real name
and the specific address of the informant.
The police or law enforcement officials concerned shall report the informant's name and address to their superior
officer who shall transmit the information to the Congressional Oversight Committee or to the proper court within
five days after the suspect was placed under arrest or his properties were sequestered, seized or frozen.
The name and address of the informant shall be considered confidential and shall not be unnecessarily revealed
until after the proceedings against the suspect shall have been terminated.
SEC. 52. Applicability of the Revised Penal Code. - The provisions of Book I of the Revised Penal Code shall be
applicable to this Act.
SEC. 53. Anti-Terrorism Council. - An Anti-Terrorism Council, hereinafter referred to, for brevity, as the "Council,"
is hereby created. The members of the Council are: (1) the Executive Secretary, who shall be its Chairperson; (2)
the Secretary of Justice, who shall be its Vice Chairperson; and (3) the Secretary of Foreign Affairs; (4) the
Secretary of National Defense; (5) the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government; (6) the Secretary of
Finance; and (7) the National Security Advisor, as its other members.
The Council shall implement this Act and assume the responsibility for the proper and effective implementation
of the anti-terrorism policy of the country. The Council shall keep records of its proceedings and decisions. All
records of the Council shall be subject to such security classifications as the Council may, in its judgment and
discretion, decide to adopt to safeguard the safety of the people, the security of the Republic, and the welfare of
the nation.
The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency shall be the Secretariat of the Council. The Council shall define
the powers, duties, and functions of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency as Secretariat of the Council.
The National Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Immigration, the Office of Civil Defense, the Intelligence
Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the Philippine Center on
Transnational Crime, and the Philippine National Police intelligence and investigative elements shall serve as
support agencies for the Council.
The Council shall formulate and adopt comprehensive, adequate, efficient, and effective anti-terrorism plans,
programs, and counter-measures to suppress and eradicate terrorism in the country and to protect the people
from acts of terrorism. Nothing herein shall be interpreted to empower the Anti-Terrorism Council to exercise any
judicial or quasi-judicial power or authority.
SEC. 54. Functions of the Council. - In pursuit of its mandate in the previous Section, the Council shall have the
following functions with due regard for the rights of the people as mandated by the Constitution and pertinent
laws:
1. Formulate and adopt plans, programs and counter-measures against terrorists and acts of terrorism in
the country;
2. Coordinate all national efforts to suppress and eradicate acts of terrorism in the country and mobilize
the entire nation against terrorism prescribed in this Act;
3. Direct the speedy investigation and prosecution of all persons accused or detained for the crime of
terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism and other offenses punishable under this Act, and monitor
the progress of their cases;
4. Establish and maintain comprehensive data-base information system on terrorism, terrorist activities,
and counter-terrorism operations;
5. Freeze the funds property, bank deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets and records belonging to
a person suspected of or charged with the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism, pursuant
to Republic Act No. 9160, otherwise known as the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended;
6. Grant monetary rewards and other incentives to informers who give vital information leading to the
apprehension, arrest, detention, prosecution, and conviction of person or persons who are liable for the
crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism;
7. Establish and maintain coordination with and the cooperation and assistance of other nations in the
struggle against international terrorism; and
8. Request the Supreme Court to designate specific divisions of the Court of Appeals and Regional Trial
Courts in Manila, Cebu City and Cagayan de Oro City, as the case may be, to handle all cases involving
the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism and all matters incident to said crimes. The
Secretary of Justice shall assign a team of prosecutors from: (a) Luzon to handle terrorism cases filed in
the Regional Trial Court in Manila; (b) from the Visayas to handle cases filed in Cebu City; and (c) from
Mindanao to handle cases filed in Cagayan de Oro City.
SEC. 55. Role of the Commission on Human Rights. - The Commission on Human Rights shall give the highest
priority to the investigation and prosecution of violations of civil and political rights of persons in relation to the
implementation of this Act; and for this purpose, the Commission shall have the concurrent jurisdiction to
prosecute public officials, law enforcers, and other persons who may have violated the civil and political rights of
persons suspected of, or detained for the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism.
SEC. 56. Creation of a Grievance Committee. - There is hereby created a Grievance Committee composed of the
Ombudsman, as chair, and the Solicitor General, and an undersecretary from the Department of Justice (DOJ), as
members, to receive and evaluate complaints against the actuations of the police and law enforcement officials
in the implementation of this Act. The Committee shall hold office in Manila. The Committee shall have three
subcommittees that will be respectively headed by the Deputy Ombudsmen in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
The subcommittees shall respectively hold office at the Offices of Deputy Ombudsman. Three Assistant
Solicitors General designated by the Solicitor General, and the regional prosecutors of the DOJ assigned to the
regions where the Deputy Ombudsmen hold office shall be members thereof. The three subcommittees shall
assist the Grievance Committee in receiving, investigating and evaluating complaints against the police and
other law enforcement officers in the implementation of this Act. If the evidence warrants it, they may file the
appropriate cases against the erring police and law enforcement officers. Unless seasonably disowned or
denounced by the complainants, decisions or judgments in the said cases shall preclude the filing of other cases
based on the same cause or causes of action as those that were filed with the Grievance Committee or its
branches.
SEC. 57. Ban on Extraordinary Rendition. - No person suspected or convicted of the crime of terrorism shall be
subjected to extraordinary rendition to any country unless his or her testimony is needed for terrorist related
police investigations or judicial trials in the said country and unless his or her human rights, including the right
against torture, and right to counsel, are officially assured by the requesting country and transmitted accordingly
and approved by the Department of Justice.
SEC. 58. Extra-Territorial Application of this Act. - Subject to the provision of an existing treaty of which the
Philippines is a signatory and to any contrary provision of any law of preferential application, the provisions of
this Act shall apply: (1) to individual persons who commit any of the crimes defined and punished in this Act
within the terrestrial domain, interior waters, maritime zone, and airspace of the Philippines; (2) to individual
persons who, although physically outside the territorial limits of the Philippines, commit, conspire or plot to
commit any of the crimes defined and punished in this Act inside the territorial limits of the Philippines; (3) to
individual persons who, although physically outside the territorial limits of the Philippines, commit any of the
said crimes on board Philippine ship or Philippine airship; (4) to individual persons who commit any of said
crimes within any embassy, consulate, or diplomatic premises belonging to or occupied by the Philippine
government in an official capacity; (5) to individual persons who, although physically outside the territorial limits
of the Philippines, commit said crimes against Philippine citizens or persons of Philippines descent, where their
citizenship or ethnicity was a factor in the commission of the crime; and (6) to individual persons who, although
physically outside the territorial limits of the Philippines, commit said crimes directly against the Philippine
government.
SEC. 59. Joint Oversight Committee. - There is hereby created a Joint Oversight Committee to oversee the
implementation of this Act. The Oversight Committee shall be composed of five members each from the Senate
and the House in addition to the Chairs of the Committees of Public Order of both Houses who shall also Chair
the Oversight Committee in the order specified herein. The membership of the Committee for every House shall
at least have two opposition or minority members. The Joint Oversight Committee shall have its own
independent counsel. The Chair of the Committee shall rotate every six months with the Senate chairing it for the
first six months and the House for the next six months. In every case, the ranking opposition or minority member
of the Committee shall be the Vice Chair. Upon the expiration of one year after this Act is approved by the
President, the Committee shall review the Act particularly the provision that authorize the surveillance of
suspects of or persons charged with the crime of terrorism. To that end, the Committee shall summon the police
and law enforcement officers and the members of the Anti-Terrorism Council and require them to answer
questions from the members of Congress and to submit a written report of the acts they have done in the
implementation of the law including the manner in which the persons suspected of or charged with the crime of
terrorism have been dealt with in their custody and from the date when the movements of the latter were
subjected to surveillance and his or her correspondences, messages, conversations and the like were listened to
or subjected to monitoring, recording and tapping. Without prejudice to its submitting other reports, the
Committee shall render a semiannual report to both Houses of Congress. The report may include where
necessary a recommendation to reassess the effects of globalization on terrorist activities on the people, provide
a sunset clause to or amend any portion of the Act or to repeal the Act in its entirety. The courts dealing with
anti-terrorism cases shall submit to Congress and the President a report every six months of the status of anti-
terrorism cases that have been filed with them starting from the date this Act is implemented.
SEC. 60. Separability Clause. - If for any reason any part or provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional or
invalid, the other parts or provisions hereof which are not affected thereby shall remain and continue to be in full
force and effect.
SEC. 61. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules or regulations or parts thereof,
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.
SEC. 62. Special Effectivity Clause. - After the bill shall have been signed into law by the President, the Act shall
be published in three newspapers of national circulation; three newspapers of local circulation, one each in
llocos Norte, Baguio City and Pampanga; three newspapers of local circulation, one each in Cebu, lloilo and
Tacloban; and three newspapers of local circulation, one each in Cagayan de Oro, Davao and General Santos
city.
The title of the Act and its provisions defining the acts of terrorism that are punished shall be aired everyday at
primetime for seven days, morning, noon and night over three national television and radio networks; three radio
and television networks, one each in Cebu, Tacloban and lloilo; and in five radio and television networks, one
each in Lanao del Sur, Cagayan de Oro, Davao City, Cotabato City and Zamboanga City. The publication in the
newspapers of local circulation and the announcements over local radio and television networks shall be done in
the dominant language of the community. After the publication required above shall have been done, the Act
shall take effect two months after the elections are held in May 2007. Thereafter, the provisions of this Act shall
be automatically suspended one month before and two months as after the holding of any election.
Approved,
JOSE DE VENECIA JR. MANNY VILLAR
Speaker of the House of President of the Senate
Representatives
This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 2137 and House Bill No. 4839 was finally passed by the
Senate and the House of Representatives on February 8, 2007 and February 19, 2007, respectively.
ROBERTO P. NAZARENO OSCAR G. YABES
Secretary General Secretary of Senate
House of Represenatives
Approved: MARCH 06, 2007
GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President of the Philippines