QuestionsQuestions (Commonwealth Act No. 682)
Commonwealth Act No. 682 (Sept. 25, 1945) created (1) a People’s Court to try WWII-era crimes against national security and (2) an Office of Special Prosecutors to handle prosecution in those cases.
It consists of a Presiding Judge and fourteen Associate Judges. They are appointed by the President with the consent of the Commission on Appointments.
Judges must be chosen from specified judicial/related positions enumerated in Section 1 (e.g., District Judge of First Instance, Judges-at-large of First Instance, Cadastral Judges, etc.). No judge who held office under the Philippine Executive Commission or the government called Philippine Republic (or agencies of those) may be appointed to the People’s Court.
The People’s Court has jurisdiction over crimes against national security committed between December 8, 1941 and September 2, 1945.
Cases must be filed within six (6) months from the passage of the Act. If not filed within that period, they must be filed, tried, and determined by the proper Court of First Instance.
If the evidence is insufficient to support the specific offense charged, the People’s Court may still convict and sentence the accused for any crime included in the acts alleged in the information and established by the evidence.
They serve until the President certifies that all cases filed within the six-month period have been tried and disposed of. Then they cease and resume their prior offices at the time of their appointment.
No judge may be removed except for causes and in the manner provided for in existing laws with respect to the removal of Judges of First Instance.
It sits in banc as a body but may sit in five divisions of three judges each (possibly simultaneously). Nine judges constitute quorum for in banc; two judges for divisions. For in banc judgments, at least eight votes are needed; for division judgments, majority vote is required. If a division cannot reach a decision, the case is decided in banc using recorded evidence without retaking it.
For administrative purposes, it holds sessions in the City of Manila. If the in banc court finds public interest requires, it may, by resolution, hold sessions elsewhere in the Philippines.
If the Presiding Judge is present, he presides in banc or in division. If absent, the associate judge first in precedence (based on commission dates, or issuance order for same dates) presides.
A People’s Court judge may not disqualify himself or be disqualified except in accordance with existing laws, or where the accused had intervened in any previous appointment of the judge to a government position.
The President designates a District Judge of First Instance, Judge-at-large of First Instance, Cadastral Judge, Judge of the Court of Industrial Relations, Securities and Exchange Commissioner, or Public Service Commissioner who is not within the People’s Court appointment restriction, to sit and vote in lieu of the disqualified judge for the specific case.
Section 15 states that prosecution direction and control are exercised by an Office of Special Prosecutors. It is composed of fifteen members appointed by the President with Commission on Appointments consent, and the Solicitor General is Head.
They must possess the qualifications required for provincial fiscals. They may not be appointed if they held office under the Philippine Executive Commission or the government called Philippine Republic (or any branch/agency thereof).
No. Section 22 provides that in cases triable before the People’s Court, preliminary examination and/or investigation is not required.
Decisions and final orders of the People’s Court in banc are subject to Supreme Court review in accordance with Rule 46; those of a division are appealable under Rule 42. The Supreme Court sits in banc and must hear and decide promptly without placing the case on the regular calendar. If the death penalty is imposed, records are forwarded to the Supreme Court even if the defendant does not appeal, for review under Rule 118, Section 9.