What I find immoral and unconstitional in Republic Act No. 10071 (AN ACT STRENGTHENING AND RATIONALIZED THE NATIONAL PROSECUTION SERVICE - "Prosecution Service Act of 2010") is this provision:
"Subject to Section 20 hereof, the salaries and allowances of regional, provincial and city prosecutors and their assistants, and the members of the prosecution staff, including the prosecution attorneys, shall be paid entirely out of national funds and included in the annual appropriations of the DOJ: Provided, however, That this provision is without prejudice to the grant of allowances to the above-mentioned prosecutors by their respective local governments in amounts not exceeding fifty percent (50%) of their basic salaries; Provided, further, That the whole of the allowances or portion thereof, whether granted by the national or local government shall be exempt from the income tax."
Here are some of its salient parts:
Section 3. Creation of the National Prosecution Service. - There is hereby created and established a National Prosecution Service to be composed of the prosecution staff in the Office of the Secretary of Justice and such number of regional prosecution offices, offices of the provincial prosecutor and offices of the prosecutor as are hereinafter Provided, which shall be primarily responsible for the preliminary investigation and prosecution of all cases involving violations of penal laws under the supervision of the Secretary of Justice, subject to the provisions of Sections 4, 5 and 7 hereof.
Section 4. Power of the Secretary of Justice. - The power vested in the Secretary of Justice includes authority to act directly on any matter involving national security or a probable miscarriage of Justice within the jurisdiction of the prosecution staff, regional prosecution office, and the provincial prosecutor or the city prosecutor and to review, reverse, revise, modify or affirm on appeal or petition for review as the law or the rules of the Department of Justice (DOJ) may provide, final judgements and orders of the prosecutor general, regional prosecutors, provincial prosecutors, and city prosecutors.
For purposes of determining the cases which may be acted on, directly by the Secretary of Justice, the phrase "national security" shall refer to crimes against national security as Provided under the Penal Code, Book II, Title 1, and other cases involving acts of terrorism as defined under the Human Security Act under Republic Act No. 9372.
Section 8. The Provincial Prosecutor or City Prosecutor. - There still be for each province or city a Provincial Prosecutor or city Prosecutor, as the case may be, who shall be assisted by at least one (1) Deputy Provincial Prosecutor or Deputy City Prosecutor and such number of assistant and associate prosecutors as provided for hereinafter. Provided, however, That whenever a new province or city is created, it shall have a provincial prosecutor or city prosecutor, a deputy provincial prosecutor or deputy city prosecutor and such number of assistant and associate prosecutors as there are court branches therein at the ratio of two (2) prosecutors for each branch of regional trial court, one (1) prosecutor for each branch of metropolitan trial court or municipal trial court in cities, and one (1) prosecutor for every two (2) municipal trial courts in municipalities or branches thereof municipal circuit trial courts.
Section 9. Powers and Functions of the Provincial Prosecutor or City Prosecutor. - The provincial prosecutor shall:
(a) Be the law officer of the province or city, as the case may be:
(b) Investigate and/or cause to be investigated all charges of crimes, misdemeanors and violations of penal laws and ordinances within their respective jurisdictions, and have the necessary information or complaint prepared or made and filed against the persons accused. In the conduct of such investigations he or any of his/her assistants shall receive the statements under oath or take oral evidence of witnesses, and for this purpose may by subpoena summon witnesses to appear and testify under oath before him/her, and the attendance or evidence of an absent or recalcitrant witness may be enforced by application to any trial court;
(c) Have charge of the prosecution of all crimes, misdemeanors and violations of city or municipal ordinances in the courts at the province or city and therein discharge all the duties incident to the institution of criminal actions, subject to the provisions of second paragraph of Section 5 hereof.
Section 13. Automatic Creation of Positions of Prosecutor. - Whenever new courts or branches thereof are created, there shall be automatically created for the province or city where such courts or branches are seated positions of assistant and associate prosecutors in such number determined pursuant to the ratio established in Section 8 hereof: Provided, however, That if the branches of a regional trial court shall be seated at a city outside the metropolitan area established by law, the number of positions shall be distributed between the city and the province where the city is located according to the territorial jurisdiction covered by such branch: Provided, further, That in case the branches created are of regional trial court, not less than one-half of the corresponding prosecutors shall have the rank of Prosecutor III If the province or city has at least twenty-five (25) prosecutors, including the additional, or the city is in a metropolitan area established by law, and the rest, Prosecutor II; otherwise, they may have the ranks of Prosecutor II and Prosecutor I.
Section 14. Qualifications, Rank and Appointment of the Prosecutor General. - The Prosecutor General shall have the same qualifications for appointment, rank, category, prerogatives, salary grade and salaries, allowances, emoluments, and other privileges, shall be subject to the same inhibitions and disqualifications, and shall enjoy the same retirement and other benefits as those of the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals and shall be appointed by the President.
Section 16. Qualifications, Ranks, and Appointments of Prosecutors, and other Prosecution Officers. - Prosecutor with the rank of Prosecutor V shall have the same qualification for appointment, rank, category, prerogatives, salary grade, and salaries, allowances, and emoluments and other privileges, shall be subject to the same inhibitions and disqualifications, and shall enjoy the same retirement and other benefits as those of a n associate justice of the Court of Appeals.
Prosecutors with the rank of Prosecutor IV shall have the same qualifications for appointment, rank, category, prerogatives, salary grade and salaries, allowances, emoluments and other privileges, shall be subject to the same inhibitions and disqualifications, and shall enjoy the same retirement and other benefit as those of a Judge of the Regional Trial Court.
Prosecutor with the rank of Prosecutor III shall have the same qualifications for appointment, rank, category, prerogatives, salary grade and salaries, allowances, emoluments and other privileges, shall be subject to the same inhibitions and disqualifications, and shall enjoy the same retirement and other benefit as those of a Judge of the Metropolitan Trial Court.
Prosecutor with the rank of Prosecutor II shall have the same qualifications for appointment, rank, category, prerogatives, salary grade and salaries, allowances, emoluments and other privileges, shall be subject to the same inhibitions and disqualifications, and shall enjoy the same retirement and other benefit as those of a Judge of the Municipal Trial Court in cities.
Prosecutor with the rank of Prosecutor III shall have the same qualifications for appointment, rank, category, prerogatives, salary grade and salaries, allowances, emoluments and other privileges, shall be subject to the same inhibitions and disqualifications, and shall enjoy the same retirement and other benefit as those of a Judge of the Metropolitan Trial Court in municipalities.
Any increase after the approval of this Act in the salaries, allowances or retirement benefits or any upgrading of the grades or levels thereof of any or all of the Justices or Judges referred to herein to whom said emoluments are assimilated shall apply to the corresponding prosecutors.
All the above prosecutors shall be selected from among qualified and professionally trained members of the legal profession who are of proven integrity and competence. They shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Secretary of Justice and shall serve until they reach the age of sixty five (65) years old x x x.
A prosecution attorney or special counsel shall be a member of the bar in good standing and shall have a salary under Salary Grade 25. Such prosecution officer shall be appointed by the Secretary of Justice: Provided, however, That with respect to a special counsel, his/her appointment shall be upon the recommendation of the provincial governor or city mayor and with the endorsement of the provincial prosecutor or city prosecutor, as the case may be.
Subject to Section 20 hereof, the salaries and allowances of regional, provincial and city prosecutors and their assistants, and the members of the prosecution staff, including the prosecution attorneys, shall be paid entirely out of national funds and included in the annual appropriations of the DOJ: Provided, however, That this provision is without prejudice to the grant of allowances to the above-mentioned prosecutors by their respective local governments in amounts not exceeding fifty percent (50%) of their basic salaries; Provided, further, That the whole of the allowances or portion thereof, whether granted by the national or local government shall be exempt from the income tax.
Section 19. No Undermining of Security of Tenure. - Nothing in this Act shall be construed to allow the transfer, except as Provided herein or in case of temporary assignment, as public interest may require, of any prosecutor to any place or station or to undermine the security of tenure of incumbent prosecutors as provided in the laws. Such temporary assignment shall not exceed three (3) months without his or her written consent. No Provincial Prosecutor or City Prosecutor shall be detailed or assigned to another office or station, except in a concurrent capacity and with his or her written consent.lawphil
Section 20. Special Allowances. - The special allowances granted to the members of the National Prosecution Service under Republic Act No. 9279 shall continue to be given to them subject to the provisions hereof: Provided, however, that the amount not supported by the funding source specified in Section3 thereof to complete the equivalent of hundred percent (100%) of the basic salary shall be paid through appropriations included in the budget of the DOJ: Provided, further, That when the amount being supported by the said funding source shall have been also included in the General Appropriations, the fees authorized under said Section 3 shall no longer be collected.
Section 21. Retirement Benefits. - When a prosecutor, who has rendered at least fifteen (15) years of service either in the National Prosecution Service or in any branch of government, or in both, retires for having attained the age of sixty-five (65) years or resigns by reason of incapacity to discharge the duties of his/her office, he/she shall, during the residue of his/her natural life, in the manner hereinafter Provided, receive a retirement pension based on the highest monthly salary, plus the highest monthly aggregate of transportation, living and representation allowances, which he/she was receiving at the time of his/her retirement or resignation.
When a prosecutor has attained the age of sixty (60) years and has rendered at least fifteen (15) years of service in government, the last five (5) years of which must have been continuously rendered in the prosecution service, he/she shall likewise be entitled to retire and receive during the residue of his/her natural life the same benefits Provided for in this section: Provided, however, that those with less than fifteen (15) years of service in the government shall be entitled to a pro-rata pension xxx.
Section 22. Conditions. - To maintain entitlement to the pension herein Provided, no prosecutor, during the time he/she is receiving said pension, shall appear as counsel before any judicial or quasi-judicial or quasi-judicial agency in any civil case wherein the Government or any agency, subdivision, or instrumentality thereof is an adverse party, or in any criminal case wherein any officer or employee of the Government is accused of an offense committed in relation to his/her office, or collect any fee for his/her appearance in any administrative proceedings to maintain an interest adverse to the government , whether national, provincial, or municipal or to any of its legally constituted officers. When a prosecutor covered under this Act shall assume an elective public office, he/she shall not, upon assumption of office and during his/her term, retrieve the monthly pension or any of the allowance due to him/her.
