Issuing authority and legal amendments
- Section 1 amends Section 1674 of the Revised Administrative Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 282.
- Section 2 amends Section 1687 of the Administrative Code (as a referenced provision under the Revised Administrative Code framework).
Assistant provincial fiscals: staffing and salaries
- Section 1674 establishes assistant provincial fiscals in the following provinces, with the number of assistant provincial fiscals fixed as follows: Abra (1), Agusan (1), Albay (3), Antique (1), Bataan (1), Batangas (3), Bohol (3), Bukidnon (1), Bulacan (3), Cagayan (2), Camarines Norte (1), Camarines Sur (2), Capiz (2), Cavite (2), Cebu (7), Cotabato (2), Davao (1), Ilocos Norte (2), Ilocos Sur (2), Iloilo (5), Isabela (1), Laguna (2), Lanao (2), La Union (2), Leyte (6), Marinduque (1), Masbate (1), Mountain Province (1), Nueva Ecija (4), Nueva Vizcaya (1), Occidental Mindoro (1), Oriental Mindoro (1), Occidental Misamis (1), Oriental Misamis (1), Occidental Negros (5), Oriental Negros (2), Palawan (1), Pampanga (4), Pangasinan (5), Quezon (3), Rizal (6), Romblon (1), Samar (3), Sorsogon (2), Sulu (1), Surigao (1), Tarlac (3), Zambales (1), Zamboanga (1).
- Assistant provincial fiscals receive salaries fixed by provincial classification:
- In first class provinces A and B, the first assistant provincial fiscal receives PHP 4,500 per annum, the second assistant provincial fiscal receives PHP 4,250 per annum, and the other assistant provincial fiscals receive PHP 3,600 each per annum.
- In first class provinces (general first class provision), the first assistant provincial fiscal receives PHP 4,200 each per annum, and the other assistant provincial fiscals receive PHP 3,600 each per annum.
- In second, third, fourth, and fifth class provinces, assistant provincial fiscals receive PHP 3,600 each per annum.
- Assistant provincial fiscals are appointed by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments of the Congress of the Philippines.
- Provinces pay assistant provincial fiscal salaries, and the salary must be included in the province’s annual appropriation in the same manner as the provincial fiscal’s salary.
Qualifications and treatment of incumbents
- To be eligible for appointment as assistant provincial fiscal, a person must be a citizen of the Philippines, duly admitted to practice law in the Court of said Islands, and must have been in actual practice for at least five years prior to appointment.
- Incumbent assistant provincial fiscals whose appointments were duly acted upon and approved by the Commission on Appointments of the Congress of the Philippines prior to the approval of Republic Act No. 732 are deemed reappointed, their appointments are confirmed, and they are entitled to the benefits of Republic Act No. 732.
Provincial fiscal powers: investigations and preliminary investigation
- A provincial fiscal has authority to conduct an investigation into any crime or misdemeanor and to prepare or make the necessary information or complaint against persons charged with the commission of the offense.
- If the offense charged falls within the original jurisdiction of the Court of First Instance, the defendant is not entitled as a matter of right to preliminary investigation in cases where the provincial fiscal, after due investigation of the facts made in the presence of the accused (if the accused so requests), presents an information in proper form:
- The information must be certified under oath by the provincial fiscal that the provincial fiscal conducted a proper preliminary investigation.
- With due notice to the accused, the provincial fiscal may:
- Summon reputed witnesses; and
- Require them to appear, testify, and be cross-examined under oath by the accused upon the accused’s request.
- Enforcing witness attendance or evidence:
- Attendance or evidence of absent or recalcitrant witnesses summoned or whose testimony may be required by the provincial fiscal is enforced by proper process.
- The process is issued upon application by the provincial fiscal to any Judge of First Instance of the Judicial District.
- A witness summoned under this authority is not compelled to give testimony that would incriminate himself.
Sudden deaths, autopsies, and medico-legal aid
- The provincial fiscal must also investigate the cause of sudden deaths that have not been satisfactorily explained.
- The provincial fiscal must investigate when there is suspicion that the cause arose from:
- the unlawful acts or omissions of other persons, or
- foul play.
- For these investigations, the provincial fiscal may cause autopsies to be made.
- The provincial fiscal is entitled to demand and receive, for purposes of investigations or autopsies, the aid of:
- the medico-legal section of the National Bureau of Investigation, or
- the District Health Officer, and
- the different presidents of the sanitary divisions of the province.