Question & AnswerQ&A (Act No. 1697)
The Governor-General may designate a suitable person to investigate any action or conduct of any person in the Insular, provincial, or municipal service, and authorize them to take testimony, subpoena witnesses, require documentary evidence, and administer oaths.
They have powers similar to Courts of First Instance in criminal actions, including subpoenaing witnesses, requiring production of documentary evidence, administering oaths, and invoking summary processes for contempt.
Interpreters must be duly sworn to interpret truthfully between counsel, witnesses, and the designated person. Stenographers must be sworn to make true transcripts of the testimony given.
Witnesses are entitled to the same compensation as those in criminal actions in Courts of First Instance, payable upon the certificate of the board or officer conducting the investigation.
Perjury occurs when a person willfully states or subscribes any material matter they do not believe to be true after taking an oath to testify or certify truthfully.
A fine of up to two thousand pesos, imprisonment for up to five years, and disqualification from holding public office or giving testimony in any Philippine court until the judgment is reversed.
It is the act of causing or procuring another person to commit perjury, and it is punishable with the same penalties as perjury.
Section two of Act Numbered Fifteen hundred and sixty-two is repealed.
The Act took effect immediately upon its passage on August 23, 1907.
The designated person may invoke summary processes of Courts of First Instance for punishing contempt in cases of failure to appear, produce evidence, or give testimony.