FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
) 
) 
) 
SENJ\J!;;. 
S. No. 
;t!ij96 
- .... -,-
... 
Introduced by Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Police Power is one of the fundamental and inherent powers of the State. 
The police power regulates not only the property but, more importantly, the liberty of 
private persons, and virtually all the people. The exercise of the police power lies in the 
discretion of the legislative department. It may be exercised as long as the activity or the 
property sought to be regulated has some relevance to the public welfare. As laid down 
in a number of cases, the only limitations in the exercise of the police power is that its 
exercise is required by the interests of the public generally, as distinguished from those 
of a particular class and that the means employed are reasonably necessary for the 
accomplishment of the purpose and not unduly oppressive upon individuals. 1 
Conversely, Sec. 5 Article II o~ the 1987 Constitution provides: 
"Sec. 5. The maintenance of peace and order, the protection 
of life, liberty, and property, and the promotion of the general welfare 
are essential for the enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of 
democracy." 
The recent controversy involving the so-called "Ala bang Boys" stirred much 
public attention. Needless to say, the public is once again of the opinion that shows 
distrust in the current system of administration of justice. However, the "Alabang Boys" 
scandal is but one of the numerous drug-related cases that to this day remain unsolved, 
not to mention all those other cases which the government failed to prosecute by reason 
of mismanagement or the lack or insufficiency of material resources to do so. 
Allegations of graft and corruption in the conduct of investigations also abound. 
As the public's confidence is the justice system plays a vital role in maintaining a 
democratic State, it is of paramount importance that drug-related offenses be 
prosecuted to its conclusion, lest wa allow the country to be under the claws of narco-
politics. The protection of the general welfare of the people necessitates the prevention 
and eradication of the proliferation of dangerous drugs which can only be achieved 
through an effective machinery of prosecuting and bringing to justice these drug-related 
offenders. However, by reason of the backlog of cases and numerous complaints being 
filed with prosecutors, there results a delay in the administration of justice. Hence, the 
need of a specialized prosecuting arm for drug-related offenses. 
For the purpose of carrying out its duties and powers, Section 83 of Republic Act 
9165, otherwise known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, gave the Philippine Drug 
Enforcement Agency (PDEA) legal and prosecution services. Since the prosecution of 
drug-related offenses is already within the mandate of the PDEA, what is left to be done 
1 Cruz. Constitutional Law (2007), Central Book Supply, Inc. 


is to define the scope of its legal and prosecutorial powers, which this bill amending 
R.A. 9165 intends to do. 
Providing for a machinery to quickly dispose of cases involving violations of the 
R.A. 9165 shall not only result in the 'immediate prosecution of the said offenses and the 
unclogging of court dockets but will most definitely redound to the benefit of the general 
welfare of the people and will restore the public's trust and confidence in our justice 
system. 
By contrast, since Section 16 of the 1987 Constitution also provides that "All 
persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before all judicial, 
quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.", any person accused of violating R.A. 9165 
shall be benefitted to this end by reason of the speedy administration of justice, thus 
striking a balance between protection of private rights and those of the general public. 
Passage of this bill is therefore earnestly sought. 


FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
) 
) 
) 
SEN.v~ 
S. No. 
~;j96 
Introduced by Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. 
AN ACT EXPANDING THE JURISDICTION OF THE PHILIPPINE DRUG 
ENFORCEMENT AGENCY, DEFINING THE PROSECUTORIAL POWERS 
PROVIDED THERETO, AND AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 
9165, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE COMPREHENSIVE DANGEROUS DRUGS 
ACT OF 2002 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress, assembled: 
SECTION 1. Section 82 of R.A. 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive 
Drugs Act of 2002, is hereby amended to read as follows: 
Sec. 82. Creation of the Philippine Drug Enforcement 
Agency (PDEA). -
To carry out the provisions of this Act, the 
PDEA, which serves as the implementing arm of the Board, and 
shall be responsible for the efficient and effective law enforcement 
of all the provisions on any dangerous drug and/or controlled 
precursor and essential chemical as provided in this Act. 
The PDEA shall be headed by a Director General with the rank of 
Undersecretary, 
who shall 
be responsible for the general 
administration and management of the Agency. The Director 
General of the PDEA shall be appointed by the President of the 
Philippines and shall' perform such other duties that may be 
assigned to him/her. He/she must BE A MEMBER OF THE 
PHILIPPINE BAR AND MUST HAVE ENGAGED IN THE 
PRACTICE OF LAW FOR AT LEAST TEN (10) YEARS, AND 
MUST possess adequate knowledge, training and experience in the 
field of dangerous drugs, and in any of the following fields: law 
enforcement, [law,] medicine, criminology, psychology or social 
work. 
The Director General of the PDEA shall be assisted in the 
performance of his/her duties and responsibilities by two (2) 
deputies director general with the rank of Assistant Secretary; one 
for Operations and the other one for Administration. The two (2) 
deputies director general shall likewise be appointed by the 
President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Board. 
The two (2) deputies director general shall possess the same 
qualifications as those of the Director General of the PDEA. The 
Director General and the two (2) deputies director general shall 
receive the compensation and salaries as prescribed by law. 


A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE SHALL BE CREATED 
WHICH SHALL BE UNDER THE CONTROL AND SUPERVISION 
OF THE PDEA. THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE OF 
THE PDEA SHALL HAVE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OVER 
CASES INVOLVING VIOLATIONS OF THIS ACT WHICH ARE 
NON-BAILABLE. 
FOR 
THIS 
PURPOSE, 
SPECIAL 
PROSECUTORS SHALL ALSO BE APPOINTED BY THE 
PRESIDENT OF PHILIPPINES UPON RECOMMENDATION BY 
THE BOARD. THE SPECIAL PROSECUTORS MUST BE A 
MEMBER OF THE PHILIPPINE BAR AND MUST HAVE 
ENGAGED IN THE PRACTICE OF LAW FOR AT LEAST FIVE (5) 
YEARS. 
Sec. 2. Section 84 (h) of RA 9165 is also amended to read as follows: 
Sec. 84. Powers and Duties of the PDEA. - The PDEA shall: 
xxx 
(h) Prepare for prosecution or cause the filing of appropriate 
criminal and civil cases for violation of all laws on dangerous drugs, 
controlled precursors and essential chemicals, and other similar 
controlled substances, and assist, support and coordinate with 
other government agencies for the proper and effective prosecution 
of the 
same, 
PROVIDED, 
THAT 
THE 
PDEA 
SPECIAL 
PROSECUTORS 
OFFICE 
SHALL 
HAVE 
EXCLUSIVE 
JURISDICTION TO CONDUCT PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION 
AND PROSECUTE VIOLATIONS OF THIS ACT IN CASES 
INVOLVING OFFENSES WHICH ARE NOT BAILABLE; 
xxx 
Sec. 3. Section 90 of RA 9165 is likewise amended to read as follows: 
Sec. 90. The Supreme Court shall designate special courts 
from among the existing Regional Trial Courts in each judicial 
region to exclusively try and hear cases involving violations of this 
Act. The number of courts designated in each judicial region shall 
be based on the population and the number of cases pending in 
their respective jurisdiction. 
The DOJ shall designate special prosecutors to exclusively handle 
cases involving violations of this Act. IN CASES FALLING WITHIN 
THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF THE PDEA SPECIAL 
PROSECUTORS, IT SHALL EXERCISE THE SAME POWERS 
AND FUNCTIONS AS THOSE OR AS MAY HEREINAFTER BE 
PROVIDED BY LAW, RULES AND REGULATIONS TO PUBLIC 
PROSECUTORS IN THE CONDUCT OF INVESTIGATIONS AND 
PROSECUTION OF OFFENSES WHICH ARE NON-BAILABLE. 
The preliminary investigation of cases filed under this Act shall be 
terminated within a period of thirty (30) days from the date of their 
filing. 
When the preliminary investigation is conducted by a public 
prosecutor OVER CASES WITHIN ITS JURISDICTION and a 
2 


probable cause is established, the corresponding information shall 
be filed in court within twenty-four (24) hours from the termination of 
the investigation. WHEN THE PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION IS 
CONDUCTED BY THE PDEA SPECIAL PROSECUTORS OVER 
OFFENSES WITHIN THEIR EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION AND A 
PROBABLE CAUSE IS ESTABLISHED, IT SHALL FILE AN 
INFORMATION IN COURT WITHIN THE SAME PERIOD AS 
PROVIDED FOR PUBLIC PROSECUTORS. [If the preliminary 
investigation is conducted by a judge and a probable cause is 
found to exist, the corresponding information shall be filed by the 
proper prosecutor within forty-eight (48) hours from the date of 
receipt of the records of the case.] 
MOTIONS FOR RECONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTIONS BY 
THE PDEA SPECIAL PROSECUTOR SHALL BE WITHIN THE 
EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF 
THE PDEA, WHICH SHALL BE FILED WITHIN A NON-
EXTENDIBLE PERIOD OF FIFTEEN (15) DAYS FROM THE 
RECEIPT OF SUCH RESOLUTION. SUCH MOTION FOR 
RECONSIDERATION MAY BE ENTERTAINED ONLY ON THE 
FOLLOWING GROUNDS: 
(A) IF THERE IS PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE OF ABUSE OF 
DISCRETION 
ON 
THE 
PART 
OF 
THE 
SPECIAL 
PROSECUTOR; 
(B) IF THE RESOLUTION WAS RENDERED THROUGH FRAUD 
OR COERCION, INCLUDING GRAFT AND CORRUPTION; 
(C) IF MADE PURELY ON QUESTIONS OF LAW; 
(D) IF SERIOUS ERRORS IN THE FINDINGS OF PROBABLE 
CAUSE ARE RAISED WHICH WOULD CAUSE GRAVE OR 
IRREPARABLE 
DAMAGE 
OR 
INJURY 
TO 
THE 
ACCUSED/RESP0NDENT. 
THE MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION SHALL BE RESOLVED 
BY THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF PDEA NOT LATER THAN 
THIRTY (30) DAYS AFTER THE FILING OF THE LAST 
PLEADING ALLOWED BY LAW OR THE RULES. 
MOTIONS FOR RECONSIDERATION FROM THE RESOLUTION 
OF THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE PDEA MAY LIKEWISE 
BE FILED WITH THE DOJ SECRETARY WITHIN A NON-
EXTENDIBLE PERIOD OF FIFTEEN (15) DAYS, WHICH MUST 
BE RESOLVED NOT LATER THAN THIRTY (30) DAYS FROM 
ITS FILING. 
Trial of the case under this Section shall be finished by the court 
not later than sixty (60) days from the date of the filing of the 
information. Decision on said cases shall be rendered within a 
period of fifteen (15) days from the date of submission of the case 
for resolution. 
Sec. 4. Separability Clause. - If for any reason any section or provision of this 
Act, or any portion thereof, or the application of such section, provision or portion thereof 
to any person, group or circumstance is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the 
remainder of this Act shall not be affected by such declaration and shall remain in force 
and effect. 
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Sec. 5. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, issuances, rules and 
regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby 
repealed, amended, or modified accordingly. 
Sec. 6. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its complete 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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