Legal basis and related references
- The Guidelines expressly cite Section 2, Executive Order No. 101 (May 7, 1999).
- The Guidelines expressly cite Title V, Republic Act No. 8551.
- The Guidelines also cite NAPOLCOM Memorandum Circular No. 93-024.
Policy and institutional role of IAS
- The IAS must pro-actively conduct inspections and audits on PNP personnel units (Section 1).
- The IAS must investigate complaints and gather evidence to support an open investigation (Section 1).
- The IAS must conduct a summary hearing on PNP members facing administrative charges and dispose the case based on the evidence after due notice and hearing (Section 1).
- The IAS must submit periodic reports on the character and behavior of PNP personnel and units to the Chief, PNP and the Commission (Section 1).
- The IAS must file appropriate criminal cases against PNP members when evidence so warrants and assists prosecution (Section 1).
- The IAS must provide assistance to the Office of the Ombudsman in cases involving PNP personnel (Section 1).
- The IAS must provide documents or recommendations regarding promotion of PNP members or assignment to key positions (Section 1).
IAS powers and motu proprio investigations
- The IAS must conduct motu proprio, automatic investigations of incidents involving:
- a police personnel discharging a firearm (Section 2(a)),
- incidents where death, serious physical injury, or any violation of human rights occurred in the conduct of a police operation (Section 2(b)),
- incidents where evidence was compromised, tampered with, obliterated, or lost while in the custody of a police personnel (Section 2(c)),
- incidents where a suspect in police custody was seriously injured (Section 2(d)),
- incidents where established rules of engagement have been violated (Section 2(e)).
Definitions and terms used
- A Complaint is a written and sworn charge filed against any respondent PNP member (Section 3(a)).
- An Answer/Counter-Affidavit is the responsive pleading containing the respondent’s defenses (Section 3(b)).
- an Affidavit is a sworn statement voluntarily made before a notary public or other officer authorized to administer oaths (Section 3(c)).
- Breach of Internal Discipline is any offense committed by a member of the PNP involving and affecting order and discipline within the police organization (Section 3(d)).
- Motu Proprio Investigation is an investigation conducted by the IAS of its own initiative/accord (Section 3(e)).
- Probable Cause exists when, from facts and circumstances, there is a reasonable ground to believe an offense has been committed and the respondent probably committed it (Section 3(f)).
- Substantial Evidence is the amount of evidence sufficient to support a decision to an unprejudiced mind (Section 3(g)).
- Jurisdiction is the power and authority to hear and decide a case (Section 3(h)).
- Venue is the place where the investigation is to be conducted (Section 3(i)).
- Ex-Parte Investigation is a proceeding conducted without the presence of either the complainant or respondent PNP member (Section 3(j)).
- City refers only to Highly Urbanized cities (Section 3(k)).
Administrative offenses and classification
- A PNP member may be charged administratively for neglect of duty or non-feasance, irregularity in the performance of duty, misconduct or malfeasance, incompetency, oppression, dishonesty, disloyalty to the government, and violation of law (Section 4).
- Neglect of Duty or Non-feasance is the omission or refusal, without sufficient excuse, to perform an act or duty that was the peace officer’s legal obligation; it implies a duty and its breach and cannot exist without the duty (Section 4(a)).
- Irregularity in the Performance of Duty is the improper performance of an act that could be lawfully done (Section 4(b)).
- Misconduct or Malfeasance is doing through ignorance, inattention, or malice what the officer had no legal right to do at all, including acting without authority, or exceeding, ignoring, or abusing powers; it generally refers to wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated, obstinate, or intentional purpose, and it does not necessarily imply corruption or criminal intention but implies wrongful intention and not mere error of judgment (Section 4(c)).
- Incompetency is manifest lack of adequate ability and fitness to perform police duties, referring to any physical, moral, or intellectual quality whose lack substantially incapacitates one to perform duties (Section 4(d)).
- Oppression is an act of cruelty, severity, unlawful exaction, domination, or excessive use of authority; the exercise of unlawful powers or other means in the officer’s will is generally an act of oppression (Section 4(e)).
- Dishonesty is concealment or distortion of truth in a matter or act relevant to office or connected with performance of duties (Section 4(f)).
- Disloyalty to the Government consists of abandonment or renunciation of loyalty to the Government of the Philippines or advocating the overthrow of the government (Section 4(g)).
- Violation of Law presupposes conviction in court of any crime or offense penalized under the Revised Penal Code or any special law or ordinance (Section 4(h)).
- For applying penalties, administrative offenses are classified into light, less grave, and grave depending on seriousness of neglect of duty, irregularity in performance of duty, and misconduct (Section 5(a)).
- For violation of law, classification depends on seriousness of the offense charged and the gravity of the penalty imposed by courts rendering the judgment (Section 5(a)).
- Dishonesty, Disloyalty to the Government, Oppression, and Incompetence are always considered grave or serious offenses (Section 5(b).
Case initiation, referral, and venue rules
- A complaint may be initiated through a written verified complaint by any juridical or natural person, accompanied by sworn statements of witnesses and other supporting documents, including an affidavit of non-forum shopping (Section 6(a)).
- A complaint may be initiated motu proprio by the national, regional/district/city, provincial IAS, or as directed by the Inspector General (Section 6(a)).
- Complaints initiated motu proprio by IAS or by private individuals are prosecuted in the name of the Complaints, Investigation and Prosecution Office/Division of the national or regional IAS (Section 6(a)).
- Administrative complaints against PNP officers ranked Police Senior Superintendent and above are referred to the Office of the Inspector General for appropriate disposition (Section 6-A).
- Venue requires that a complaint involving offenses cognizable by the IAS be filed in the national, regional, city/provincial IAS office where the offense was committed (Section 7).
- A request to transfer venue from one province to another within the same region is approved by the IAS regional office; a request outside the region is referred to the national IAS office for approval (Section 7-A).
Pre-charge investigation and probable cause
- Within three (3) days from receipt of the complaint (or after submission of the after-mission-report in motu proprio cases), the appropriate IAS issues a notice of complaint attaching the complaint, sworn statements, and supporting documents, directing the respondent to submit a counter-affidavit and supporting documents within five (5) days from receipt (Section 8(a)).
- Within five (5) days from receipt of the counter-affidavit, the IAS sets the case for pre-charge investigation, where both parties are notified, to determine if probable cause exists for a formal investigation that, in no case, exceeds five (5) working days (Section 8(b)).
- For Provincial/District/City IAS, the IAS submits a Pre-Charge Investigation Report to the Regional IAS containing findings and recommendations for automatic review (Section 8(b).
- After automatic review, if the Regional IAS finds probable cause, it issues summons within three (3) working days requiring the respondent to submit an answer within five (5) days from receipt (Section 8(c)).
- After the answer period, the Regional IAS schedules the case for formal investigation with due notice; in cases cognizable and directly filed with the National and Regional IAS, the same procedure applies (Section 8(c)).
- The Inspector General may direct the Regional IAS to forward records of any case to the National IAS for investigation and summary hearing in the interest of justice (Section 8(c).
Effects of non-filing and preventive suspension
- If the respondent fails to submit an answer in pre-charge and formal investigation within the prescribed period, failure is treated as a general denial and the investigation proceeds ex-parte (Section 9).
- The National and Regional IAS may preventively suspend a respondent based on probable cause under these circumstances:
- when the administrative charge is serious (Section 10(a)),
- when the respondent is harassing the complainant and/or any witness, with preventive suspension not exceeding ninety (90) days, after which the respondent is automatically reinstated (Section 10(b)),
- for causes provided under Section 39, RA 8551 (Section 10(c)),
- for causes analogous to the above (Section 10(d)).
- Preventive suspension orders are coursed through the PNP office concerned for implementation (Section 10).
- Preventive suspension is lifted only on these grounds:
- in the exigency of service as certified by the respondent’s immediate superior (Section 11(a)),
- after the complainant has rested the case (Section 11(b)),
- failure to resolve the case within ninety (90) days (Section 11(c)).
Summary hearing, conferences, and decision process
- Proceedings before the IAS are summary in nature and are conducted by duly designated summary hearing offices of the national or regional IAS office (Section 12(a)).
- The summary proceedings must be terminated within fifteen (15) working days from the date of the initial hearing (Section 12(a)).
- After submission of the respondent’s answer or lapse of the reglementary period, the National or Regional IAS sets a preliminary conference (Section 13(a)).
- The preliminary conference is devoted solely to:
- identification and simplification of issues,
- admissions and stipulation of facts,
- marking documentary evidence, if any (Section 13(a)(1)).
- After the preliminary conference, the case is deemed submitted for resolution based on evidence on record and additional evidence presented during the preliminary conference (Section 13(a)).
- Parties must submit position paper/memorandum within ten (10) days from termination of preliminary conference, attaching affidavits of witnesses and all documentary evidence (Section 13(b)).
- With or without the position paper/memorandum, the case is resolved based on records of the preliminary conference and other documents on record after lapse of the ten (10) day period (Section 13(b)).
- The hearing officer may set the case for clarificatory questions when matters or issues need clarification before the case is deemed submitted (Section 13(c)).
- If the complainant fails to appear during the preliminary conference for at least three (3) scheduled hearing despite due notice, the complaint is dismissed for failure to prosecute; the preliminary conference still proceeds if the respondent’s culpability can be proven by evidence other than the complainant’s allegations, and withdrawal or affidavit of assistance does not result in outright dismissal (Section 14).
- No motion for postponement is entertained except for extremely meritorious grounds such as illness or physical incapacity of the parties or counsels (Section 15).
- When one or both parties are not represented by counsel, the Summary Hearing Officer must ask classificatory questions of all witnesses (Section 16).
- The Inspector General or the Director of the Regional IAS renders a written decision within twenty (20) days after the lapse of the period for submission of the memorandum with or without memorandum (Section 17).
- The decision must include: names of parties, offense charged, brief statement of material and relevant facts, findings and conclusion, disposition, and applicable laws, rules and regulations (Section 18).
- IAS decisions are served to the respondent either personally or by registered mail at the respondent’s place of assignment or address in the Personal Data Sheet, and to the complainant at his record address; proof of service must be attached to the records; a copy must be coursed to the PNP office concerned for implementing orders subject to Section 49(b) of RA 8551 (Section 19).
- If parties are represented by counsel, service on counsel is deemed service on the parties (Section 19).
Motions for reconsideration, appeals, and finality
- Any aggrieved party may file a Motion for reconsideration within ten (10) days from receipt of the decision; only one (1) motion for reconsideration is allowed (Section 20).
- An aggrieved party may appeal the decision of the Regional IAS to the Office of the Inspector General within ten (10) days from receipt of the decision or upon receipt of the resolution denying the motion for reconsideration (Section 21).
- Decisions of the Inspector General may be appealed to the National Appellate Board (NAB) of the National Police Commission within the same period in cases involving DISMISSAL, DEMOTION, or FORCED RESIGNATION (Section 21).
- Decisions imposing dismissal, demotion in rank, or forced resignation are immediately executory (Section 22).
- If the respondent is exonerated on appeal, the respondent is immediately reinstated without loss of rank and seniority and is entitled to payment of back salaries, allowances and other benefits not previously received (Section 22).
- For demotion in rank, the respondent is immediately restored to the former rank with payment of difference in salary not received (Section 22).
- A record of proceedings must be kept, containing a substantial account of the hearing, and must be duly certified correct by the hearing officer (Section 23).
Penalties, schedules, and aggravating/mitigating rules
- Police administrative cases may impose the following penalties: Suspension, Demotion of not more than one rank or Forced resignation, and Dismissal (Section 24).
- Penalty schedules apply by offense class:
- Light Offenses: Minimum 1 to 10 days; Medium 11 to 20 days; Maximum 21 to 30 days (Section 25(A)),
- Less Grave Offense: Minimum 31 to 45 days; Medium 46 to 60 days; Maximum 61 to 90 days (Section 25(B)),
- Grave Offense: Minimum 91 to 180 days; Medium Demotion/Forced Resignation; Maximum Dismissal (Section 25(C)).
- Mitigating circumstances include:
- physical illness,
- good faith,
- length of service in the government,
- analogous circumstances (Section 26).
- Aggravating circumstances include:
- taking advantage of official position,
- taking undue advantage of subordinate,
- undue disclosure of confidential information,
- use of government property in commission of the offense,
- habituality,
- offense committed during office hours and/or within the premises of the working office or building,
- employment of fraudulent means to commit or conceal the offense,
- analogous circumstances (Section 26).
- Penalties must follow these guidelines:
- Like penalties for like offense; only one penalty per case, where “case” means one administrative case that may involve one or more charges or counts (Section 27(a)),
- impose the minimum when only mitigating and no aggravating circumstances exist (Section 27(b)),
- impose the medium when no mitigating and no aggravating circumstances exist (Section 27(c)),
- impose the maximum when only aggravating and no mitigating circumstances exist (Section 27(d)),
- where aggravating and mitigating circumstances exist: apply more mitigating → rule on minimum; equally offset → medium; more aggravating → maximum (Section 27(e)),
- if found guilty of two (2) or more charges or counts, impose the penalty corresponding to the most serious charge or count, and treat the rest as aggravating circumstances (Section 27(f)),
- aggravating or mitigating circumstances must be invoked or pleaded by the concerned party; otherwise they are not considered (Section 27(g)),
- if the disciplinary authority finds the penalty imposable is beyond its jurisdiction after required investigation, it must refer the case with complete records to the proper disciplinary authority for disposition (Section 27(h)).
Administrative disabilities resulting from penalties
- Dismissal carries cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of leave credits and retirement benefits, and disqualification for re-employment in the police service (Section 28(a)).
- Suspension carries disqualification for promotion corresponding to the period of suspension (Section 28(b)).
Coverage and ongoing force
- The Amended Guidelines govern all investigations before the IAS (Section 29).
- The Guidelines remain in force and effect unless revised, revoked, or otherwise amended (Section 29).
- The Guidelines take effect on the date of issuance (Section 30).