THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC ) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
~ 
1 
First Regular Session 
1 
.. 
.fJjij -3 P 3 2 4  
Introduced by SenatoriMiriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The country has witnessed the escalation of crimes with syndicates habitually committing 
crimes to the detriment of peace and order and the public welfare. Individuals and families have 
been victimized and brutalized in heinous crimes, with criminals committing them with impunity 
due to their political connections. To aggravate the situation, law enforcement personnel who are 
supposed to be the protectors of the people take advantage of their positions also in the pursuit of 
lawless undertakings. 
The identification of the criminal elements that are often out in the open is therefore 
essential for the eradication of crime. Law enforcement could quickly resolve cases being 
investigated if they have immediate access to updated criminal records. This can be done if there 
is a national crime database, which will therefore not only be used for obtaining the necessary 
job or police clearance. 
This bill seeks to establish a national crime database, which will be useful in the 
I elimination of crime and criminal elements,; in consonance with the priorities of the present 
administration. 


THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC ) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
BUG -3 P3 2 4  
First Regular Session 
1 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL CRIME DATABASE 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the, House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “National Crime Database 
Act.” 
SECTION 2. Purposes. -The purposes of this Act are: 
(1) to create a complete and accurate nationwide criminal record database that is 
an essential element in fighting crime; and 
(2) to require the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National 
Police to provide information and records for the National Identification Index and the National 
Fingerprint File in order to provide criminal history records in a timely fashion, to create 
criminal history records repositories, and for non-criminal justice purposes, to update existing 
criminal records systems that are currently outdated and contain incomplete or incorrect 
information; and 
(3) to make accessible detailed databases o f c riminal history records, including 
arrests and dispositions. 
SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. As used in this Act: 
(1) “Crime database officer” means, an official so designated by the Director of 
the NBI as the chief administrator of the region’s criminal history record repository or a designee 
who is a regular full-time employee of that repository. 
(2) “ Criminal history records” means infomation collected by criminal justice 
agencies on individuals consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, 


detentions, indictments, or other formal criminal charges, and any disposition arising therefrom, 
including acquittal, sentencing, correctional supervision, or release. The term does not include 
identification information such as fingerprint records if such information does not indicate 
involvement of the individual with the criminal justice system. 
(3) “Criminal history record repository” means the agency designated by the 
appropriate executive official or the legislature to perform centralized record-keeping fimctions 
for criminal-history records and services in the State. 
(4) “Criminal justice” encompasses any of the following activities: detection, 
apprehension, detention, pre-trial  release,^ post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, 
correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders. The 
administration o f  justice shall include criminal identification activities and the collection, storage 
and dissemination of criminal history records. 
(5) “ Criminal-justice agency” means (1) Courts; (2) a governmental agency or 
sub-unit thereof which performs the administration of criminal justice pursuant to a statute or 
executive order, and which allocates a substantial part of its annual budget to the administration 
of criminal justice. 
(6) “Criminal justice services” means services provided by the NBI to criminal 
justice agencies in response to a request for information about a particular individual or as an 
update to information previously provided for criminal justice purposes. 
(7) “Direct access” means access to the National Identification Index by computer 
terminal or other automated means not requiring the assistance of or intervention by any other 
party or agency. 
(8) “NBI” means the National Bureau of Investigation. 
(9) “PNF”’ means the Philippine National Police. 
(10) 
“Interregional Identification Index System” or ‘‘ID System” means the 
system for the storage of criminal history records and includes the National Identification Index, 
I 
the National Fingerprint File, and the criminal history record repositories of the NBI, the PNP, 
the Courts, and other criminal justice agencies. 


(11) 
“National Fingerprint File” means a database of fingerprints, or other 
uniquely personal identifying information, about an arrested or charged individual maintained by 
the NBI to provide positive identification ofrecord subjects indexed in the El System. 
(12) 
‘Wational Identification Index” means ani index maintained by the NBI 
consisting o f n ames, i dentifymg numbers, and other descriptive information relating to record 
subjects about whom there are criminal-history records in the El System. 
(13) 
“National indices” means the National Identification Index and the 
National Fingerprint File. 
(14) 
“Non-criminal justice purposes” means uses of criminal history records 
for crime prevention and other legitimate law enforcement purposes authorized by law including, 
but not limited to, employmenti suitability or licensing determinations, immigration and 
naturalization matters, and nationall security clearances. 
(1 5) 
“Positive identification” means a determination, based upon a comparison 
of fingerprints or other equally reliable biometric identification techniques, that the subject of a 
record search is the same person as1 the subject of a criminal-history record or records indexed in 
the III System. 
(16) 
“Regional unit” means the NBI or PNP regional units covering the 
fourteen (14) geographical regions in the Philippines, unless otherwise specified. 
(17) 
‘“E31 National Office” means the main office which shall have control 
over the national indices of the national crime database. 
SECTION 4. Establishment lof National Crime Database Council. - 
(1) There is hereby established a National Crime Database Council which shall 
have the authority to promulgate rules and procedures governing the use of the III System for 
criminal justice and non-criminal justice purposes. The Council shall be located, for 
administrative purposes, within the NBI main office. The Council shall be organized and its first 
meeting held as soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act. 
(2) The Council shall consist of the eight (8) members: 
(A) Director of the National Bureau of Investigation; 
(B) Secretary of Justice; 


(C) Secretary of the Interior and Local Government; 
@)Court Administrator; 
(E) Chief of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force; 
(F) Head of the Crime Prevention and Coordination Service of the 
National Police Commission; 
(G) Director of the Philippine National Police Computer Center; and 
(H) Representative of a non-governmental organization involved in crime 
prevention and eradication. 
(3) The Chairman of the Council shall be a member of and be elected by the 
members of the Council. The Chairman shall serve a two-year .term and may be re-elected to 
only one additional one-year term. 
I 
(4) The Council shall have authority to request from the NJ3I such reports, 
studies, statistics, or other information or materials as it finds necessary to enable it to perform its 
duties under this Act. The NBI, to the extent authorized by law, may provide such assistance or 
information. 
(5) The Chairman imay establish technical or other committees as may be 
necessary and may prescribe their membership, responsibilities and duration. 
SECTION 5. Development of a Plan for Establishing a National Crime Database. - 
(1) In general - Not later than forty-five (45) days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the National Crime Database Council, in coordination with other criminal-justice 
agencies, and after consultation with the different regional directors of both the National Bureau 
of Investigation and the Philippine National Police, shall develop a plan on how to create a 
national crime dafabase, using the interregional identification index system or IJI system, to 
which the criminal justice agencies shall have direct access. 
(2) Objective - The ,objective of the plan developed under paragraph (1) shall be 
to establish a national crime database, which shall include the criminal history records, with 
samples of fingerprints, and the disposition of cases, if any. The existing database of criminal 
history records being used for employment or travel clearances shall be updated and integrated 
with the proposed national crime database. 


SECTION 6. Responsibilities of Criminal Justice Agencies. - 
(1) NBI Responsibilities 
(A) The NBI Director shall appoint an NBI Crime Database Officer who 
will: 
(i) have the responsibility for administering the provisions of this 
Act within the NJ3I and the criminal justiceiagency community; 
(ii) ensure that any provision and rules, procedures and standards 
established under this Act are complied with; and 
(iii)regulate the use of records received by means of the III System 
from other crimina1,justice agencies when such records are supplied by the 
NBI directly to other criminal justice agencies. 
(B) The NBI will provide to criminal justice agencies and to regional 
criminal history record repositories, criminal-history records maintained in its 
database for non-criminal justice purposes described in Section 3, paragraph (14). 
(C) The NBI will provide a telecommunications network and maintain 
centralized facilities ,for the exchange of criminal-history records for both criminal 
justice and non-criminal justice purposes described in Section 3, paragraphs (4) 
and (14). The NBI will ensure that the exchange of these records for criminal 
justice purposes has priority over exchange for non-criminal justice purposes. 
@) The NBI shall modify or enter into user agreements with regional 
criminal-history record repositories to require them to establish record-request 
procedures conforming to those prescribed in this Act. 
(2) Responsibilities of the NBI and PNP regional units: 
(A) Each regional unit shall appoint a crime database officer who will: 
(i) have the responsibility of administering the provisions of this 
Act within that region; 
(ii) ensure that provisions, rules, procedures, and standards 
established under this Act, and other forthcoming implementing rules are 
complied with in the region; and 


(iii)regulate the in-region use of records received by means of the 
IU System from the NBI National Office or from other criminal justice 
agencies. 
(B) Each regional criminal-history record repository will: 
(i) provide information and records for the National Identification 
Index and the National Fingerprint File; 
(ii) provide the region’s III System-indexed criminal history 
records for non-criminal justice purposes described in Section 3, 
paragraph (14); and 
(iii)be managed by the regional Nl3I unit. 
(C) Each regional unit will participate in the National Fingerprint File. 
(D) Each regional unit will provide and maintain telecommunications 
and related equipment necessary to support the services set forth in this Act. 
(3) The Courts: 
1 I 
(A) The courts will provide the data concerning the disposition of cases, to 
be included in criminal history records. 
I 
cases. 
(4) Compliance with ID System Standards: 
@)The courts will provide the information as to the status of pending 
I 
In carrying out their responsibilities under this Act, criminal justice 
agencies and the NBI will comply with system rules, procedures, and standards 
duly established under this Act and any implementing rules or regulations issued 
by the National Crime Database Council, concerning record dissemination and 
lir 
use, response times, data quality, system security, and other aspects of system 
operation. 
(5) Maintenance of Record Services 
(A) Use of the III System for non-criminal justice purposes authorized in 
this Act shall be managed so as not to diminish the level of services provided in 
support of criminal-justice purposes. 


(€3) Administration of the provisions of this Act shall not reduce the level 
of service available to authorized non-criminal justice users on the effective date of this 
Act. 
SECTION 7. Authorized Record Disclosures. - 
(1) To the extent authorized by our laws which authorize national indices checks, 
the NBI National Office criminal-history record repository will provide on request criminal- 
history records to regional criminalthistory record repositories for inon-criminal justice purposes. 
(2) The NBI National Office criminal history record repository, and regional 
criminal history record repositories will provide criminal history records to criminal justice 
agencies and other governmental or nongovernmental agencies for non-criminal justice purposes 
allowed by our laws, which authorize national indices checks. 
(3) Records obtained under this Act may be used only for the official purposes for 
which they were requested. Implementing rules and regulations shall be issued, that shall 
establish procedures and measures consistent with the provisions of this Act, to ensure that 
records are used only by authorized officials for authorized purposes and to require that 
subsequent record checks are requested to obtain current information whenever a new need 
arises. These procedures must ensure that record entries that may not legally be used for a 
particular non-criminal justice purpose will be deleted from the response and, if no information 
authorized for release remains, an appropriate “no record” response will be communicated to the 
requesting official. 
SECTION 8. Record-request procedures. - 
(1) Applicant fingerprints or other approved forms of positive identification will 
be submitted with all requests for criminal-history record checks for non-criminal justice 
purposes. 
(2) Requests for criminal-history record checks utilizing the National Indices 
made under any law shall be submitted through that regional criminal-history record repository. 
A regional criminal history record repository will process interregional requests for non-criminal 


justice purposes through the national indices only if such requests are transmitted through 
another regional criminal-history record repository or the NBI National Office. 
(3) Requests for criminal-history record checks utilizing the National Indices 
made under anylaw shall besubmitted through theNBINationa1 Officeor, iftherepository 
consents to process fingerprint submissions, through the repository in the region in which such 
requests originated. Direct access to the National Identification Index by entities other than the 
NBI National Office and regional criminal-history records repositories shall not be permitted for 
non-criminal justice purposes. 
I 
(4) The NBI National Office and the regional criminal-history record repository 
may charge fees for handling requests involving fingerprint processing for non-criminal justice 
purposes. No fees will be charged, however, for providing criminal-history records in response to 
an electronic request for a record that does not involve a request to process fingerprints. 
(5) If a regional repository cannot positively identify the subject of a record 
request made for non-criminal justice purposes, then the request, together with fingerprints or 
other approved identifying information, will be forwarded to the NE31 National Office for a 
search of the national indices. If, the NBI positively identifies the subject as having an IlI 
System-indexed record or records: then the NBI will so advise the regional repository that 
submitted the request. The repository will then be entitled to obtain additional criminal history 
record information from the NBI or iother regional repositories. 
SECTION 9. Criminal-history Record Upgrades. - 
The National Crime Database Council shall issue guidelines that shall require: 
(1) that all arrest reports and final disposition orders are submitted to the nearest regional 
repository, or if there is none, to the NBI National Office criminal history records repository within seven 
(7) days; 
(2) the regional repository to enter these records and orders into the database not more 
than 24 hours after the repository receives the information; 
(3) the NBI regional unit handling the repository to conduct audits, at least annually, of 
the region's criminal records to ensure that such records contain correct and complete information about 
every arrest and report the results of each audit to the National Crime Database Council; 


(4) the NE31 regional director whose unit is managing the regional repository to certify to 
the National Crime Database Council, on January 1: of each year, that the criminal justice agencies, courts, 
and records officials of the regions are in compliance with this section; and 
(5) such other conditions as the National Crime Database Council determines are 
necessary. 
SECTION 1 0. A uthovization ofAppropriations. - For the purpose o f c anying out this 
Act, there are authorized to be appropriated to the National Crime Database Council Ten Million 
Pesos (P10,000,000.00) for every fiscal year and such sums as may be necessary to carry out the 
provisions of this Act. 
SECTION 11. Separabilily Clause. - If any provision or part hereof, is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainders, of the law! or provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
valid and subsisting. 
SECTION 12. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent 
with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
SECTION 13. Efectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days aRer its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved. 
FN: 1636