FIFTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
FIRST REGULAR SESSION )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez and
Representative Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr.

583

House Bill No.
EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill was originally introduced as House Bill No, 2446 by the undersigned
Rufus B. Rodriguez during the Fourteenth Congress. It was approved by the
Committee on Revision of Laws as substitute House Bill No. 5816 under Committee
Report No. 1681, dated January 21, 2009. It was approved on 2 reading on February
24, 2009 and 3rd reading on March 5, 2009, It was transmitted to the Senate on March
11, 2009 where it was not acted upon.

This bill seeks to increase the prescriptive period for the filing of cases against
graft and corruption by amending certain provisions of Republic Act No. 3019
otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

In a paper submitted by then Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo entitled
“Combating Corruption in the Philippines” during the 4" Regional Anti-Corruption
Conference of the ADB/OECD Anti-Corrupt Initiative for Asia and the Pacific at
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he said that the conviction rate of the Office of the Special
Prosecutor (OSP) at the Sandiganbayan is a dismal 6%. Put differently, a high-
ranking government official accused of graft and corruption has a 94% chance of
walking away scot-free. The reason for this are practical ones, foremost of which is
the disabling lack of personnel at the OSP and lack of training program for
prosecutors to improve their skills, due to heavy caseload.

Moreover, Ombudsman Marcelo added that based on available information,
Hong Kong’s Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) has 1,326
personnel for a population of about 6.8 million and maintains eight satellite offices
with 18 district offices where the public can report incidents of corruption. In
comparison, the Philippines’ Office of the Ombudsman has only 1,141 staff for a
population of P82 million, with only four satellite offices situated in three major
cities. At ICAC, 838 field investigators are tasked exclusively with gathering
evidence; this translates to a ratio of one investigator to every 8,114 citizens. In
comparison, the Office of the Ombudsman’s 89 investigators provides a ratio of one
investigator to 921,348 Filipinos.

‘There is therefore a need to increase the prescriptive period of filing cases
against graft and corruption so as not to afford violators of the law to escape criminal
liability by mere technicality, i.e., prescription of offense.


This bill seeks to do that by providing that all offenses punishable under the
Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act shall prescribe in thirty years.

In view of the grave need to address graft and corruption in the country,
immediate passage of this proposed measure is earnestly requested.

Wy

MAXIMO B. RODRIGUEZ, JR.


FIFTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES _)
First Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTA:
House Bill No__08

Introduced by Honorable Rufus B. Rodriguez and
Honorable Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr.

AN ACT
AMENDING SECTION 11 OF REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED 3019,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “ANTI-GRAFT AND CORRUPT
PRACTICES ACT”, BY INCREASING THE PRESCRIPTIVE PERIOD FOR
ITS VIOLATION FROM FIFTEEN (15) YEARS TO THIRTY (30) YEARS

Be it enacted by the Senate of the Philippines and the House of Representatives
in Congress assembled:

SECTION. 1. Section 11 of the Republic Act No. 3019, otherwise known as the

“Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practice Act”, is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Section 11. Prescription of offenses. - All offenses punishable
under this Act shall prescribe in THIRTY years.”

SEC. 2. Repealing Clause. - All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders and
their implementing rules, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are

hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 3. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved.