Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
NINETEENTH CONGRES S
First Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO.
DATEEE
RECEIVED
]Al.fEP   1  9  2022
*     Tl#E;
Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE JONATHAN KEITH T. FLORES
HXPALANTORY NOTE
This  bill  seeks  to  abolish  the  Presidential  Commission  on  Good  Government
(PCGG) and transfer its remaining functions to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG)
and the Privatization and Management Office (PMO) of the Department of Finance (DOF).
When the  1987  Constitution took effect,  a transitory provision that validates the
issuance  of sequestration  or  freeze  orders under Proclamation No.  3  for an  extendible
period of eighteen (18) months was provided under Article XVIII, Section 26, to wit:
"The   authority   to   issue   sequestration   or   freeze   orders   under
Proclamation No.  3 dated March 25,  1986 in relation to the recovery Of ill-
gotten wealth shall remain operative for not more than eighteen months after
the  ratification  Of this  Constitution.  However,  in the  national  interest,  as
certified by the President, the Congress may extend said period. "
"A sequestration or freeze order shall be issued only upon showing Of
a  prima facie  case.  The  order  and  the  list  Of the  sequestered  or frozen
properties  shall forthwith be registered with the proper  court.  For  orders
issued before the ratification Of this Constitution, the corresponding judicial
action or proceeding shall be filed within six months from its ratification. For
those issued otter such ratification, the judicial action or proceeding shall be
commenced within six months from the issuance thereof The sequestration or
f reeze order is deemed automatically lif ited if no judicial action or proceeding
is commenced as herein provided. "
After the  lapse  of the  eighteen-month period,  no  subsequent law was passed by
Congress to extend the same. Possibly due to the PCGG's ensuing inability to sequester or
freeze  ill-gotten  assets to prevent their transfer or liquidation,  and the  six-month  limit
within which to file cases after the issuance of freeze orders, there was a decline of new
cases filed by the PCGG in the 1990s.


During  the  first  regular  meeting  of the  Committee  on  Justice  of the  House  of
Representatives, PCGG admitted that no new cases are expected to be flled and the pending
cases of the PCGG are currently handled by the Office of the Solicitor General and the
Office of the Ombudsman. The PCGG is left with the role as conservator of assets under
litigation and manager of previously acquired assets for disposition.
Considering that OSG and the Offlce of the Ombudsman took over its mandate to
recover ill-gotten wealth, the PCGG has clearly lost its relevance and its current function
as conservator and property manager is no longer aligned with its original puxpose and core
competency.
In  line  with  the  present  administration's   legislative  agenda  to  right-size  the
bureaucracy and streamline the processes for more efficient delivery of public services, it
will  be  a  more  judicious  use  of taxpayers'  money  to  transfer  the  management  and
conservation of the assets from the PCGG to the Privatization and Management Office of
the  Department  of Finance,  a  government  agency  that  has  the  core  competency  and
experience in carrying out such task.
In sum, the legal mandates and original functions of the PCGG are already being
carried out by other government agencies. Moreover, its residual functions can be more
efficiently undertaken by another office. In the event that new cases have to be investigated
or filed in relation to the ill-gotten properties, the same can be accomplished through the
current mandate of the OSG and other government agencies.
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought.
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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
NINETEENTH CONGRES S
First Regular Session
HOUSE BILL No.  493 4
Introduced by REPRESENTATIVH JONATHAN KEITH T. FLORES
AN ACT
ABOLISHING       THH       PRESIDENTIAL       COMMISSION       0N       GOOD
GovHRNMnNT, TRANSFERRING ITS powHRS AND FUNCTloNS To THE
OFFICE     OF     THH     SOLICITOR     GENERAL     AND     PRIVATIZATION
MANAGEMENT OFFICE AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
Be it enacted by the Senate and House Of Representatives Of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:
SECTION.  1 .  The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) created
under Executive Order No.1, Series of 1986, is hereby abolished within one (1) year after
the approval of this Act.
SECTION.    2.    The  powers  and  functions  of investigation  and prosecution  of
criminal and civil cases exercised by the PCGG are transferred to the Office of the Solicitor
General (OSG). All records and documents relating to the investigation and prosecution of
cases under the jurisdiction of the PCGG are transferred to the OSG.
The pending cases under the jurisdiction of the PCGG that are currently handled by
the Office of the Ombudsman shall remain with the Ombudsman until the said cases are
decided with finality.
SECTION.   3.   The management and the disposition of the assets  and properties
recovered by the PCGG are transferred to the Privatization and Management Office (PMO)
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of the Department of Finance. All real and personal assets and properties previously under
the control and management of the PCGG and all contracts, records and documents relating
to  the  operation  of the  PCGG  are  also  transferred  to  the  PMO:  Provz.c7ec7,   That  all
undistributed agricultural lands, if any, shall be transferred to the Department of Agrarian
Reform for distribution to qualified beneficiaries of the agrarian reform program under
Republic Act No.  6657, as amended, otherwise known as the  "Comprefee72sz.ve f4grczrz.cz7z
Ref ;orm Law Of 1988."
The PMO, in coordination with the Commission on Audit, shall conduct a physical
inventory and complete accounting of the recovered properties and assets within sixty (60)
days after the effectivity of this Act.
SECTION.  4.  All contracts and agreements entered into by the PCGG prior to the
effectivity of this Act shall remain in full force and effect unless otherwise terminated,
modified or amended for lawful cause.
Likewise, all appointed directors or nominees, asset monitors or representatives in
recovered or surrendered companies shall continue in a hold-over capacity and receive the
corresponding salaries, emoluments and benefits until the appointment of their successors.
SECTION.   5.   All persons appointed or designated as a director or nominee, asset
monitor or representative in any recovered or surrendered company or corporation shall,
within thirty (30) days from the assumption of duties, submit a written verified statement
of their net worth, assets and liabilities to the OSG and PMO. They are likewise required
to submit a similar statement within thirty (30) days after their separation from the service.
SECTION.  6.  The OSG and PMO may employ necessary personnel to effectively
cany  out their additional  functions under this Act.  The  officials  and employees  of the
PCGGmaybeabsorbedbytheOSGorthePMOonthebasisofmeritandfitness:Provz.c7ec7,
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that  separated officials  and employees  shall receive  separation or retirement and other
beneflts as provided under existing laws.
Any PCGG official or employee who has been paid gratuity but is thereafter re-
employed in the government service  shall refund the unearned portion of such gratuity
before re-employment.
SECTION.    7.    The  unexpended  appropriations  of the  PCGG under the  current
General Appropriations Act shall be transferred to the OSG .and the PMO: P7'ovz.c7ecz, That
in the allocation of the appropriation, sixty (60) and forty (40) per centum shall be allocated
for the OSG and the PMO, respectively. Thereafter, such amount as may be necessary for
the continued operation of the OSG and the PMO shall be included in the annual General
Appropriations Act.
All  properties  and  equipment  of the  PCGG  as  a  government  office  are  hereby
transferred to the PMO.
SECTION.    8.   Within  one  (1) year  from the  approval  of this  Act, the  Solicitor
General and Secretary of Finance shall issue the necessary rules and regulations for the
effective implementation of this Act.
SECTION.   9.   If  any   provision   or   part   of  this   Act   is   declared   invalid   or
unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall remain in force and
effect.
SECTION.10.   All laws, executive orders, rules and regulations inconsistent with
this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
SECTION.  11. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the
OJ7j7}cz.cz/ Gczzeffe or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,
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