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XIV. ACCOUNTABILITY OF PUBLIC OFFICERS
Statement of Policy
- Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to
the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency, act with
patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives [Sec. 1, Art. XI].
Impeachment
- Defined - A national inquest into the conduct of public men.
- Impeachable Officers
- President, Vice President, Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, Chairmen
and Members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman. The foregoing enumeration is
exclusive.
- An impeachable officer who is a member of the Philippine Bar cannot be disbarred without first
being impeached
Grounds for Impeachment
-

Culpable violation of the Constitution

Treason
Bribery
graft and corruption,
other high crimes
betrayal of the public trust. (This enumeration is also exclusive.)

Procedure for Impeachment.

Congress shall promulgate its rules on impeachment to effectively carry out the purpose.
a) Initiating impeachment case. The House of Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate
all cases of impeachment.
(i) if there is a finding by the House Committee on Justice that the verified complaint and/ or
resolution is sufficient in substance, or
(ii) once the House itself affirms or overturns the finding of the Committee on Justice that the
verified complaint and/ or resolution is not sufficient in substance, or
(iii) by the filing or endorsement before the Secretary General of the House of Representatives of
a verified complaint or a resolution of impeachment by at least 1/3 of the members of the House
clearly contravene Sec. 3(5) of Article XI of the Constitution, as they give the term initiate a
meaning different from filing. The Supreme Court then said that the impeachment case is
deemed initiated when the complaint (with the accompanying resolution of indorsement) has
been filed with the House of Representatives and referred to the appropriate Committee.
- A verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any Member of the House of Representatives or
by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any member thereof.

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- Included in the Order of Business within 10 session days, and referred to the proper Committee within 3
session days.
iia) If the verified complaint is filed by at least one-third of all the members of the House, the same shall
constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed. [There is no
need to refer the same to the proper Committee.
iii) The Committee, after hearing, and by a majority vote of all its members, shall submit its report to the
House within 60 session days from such referral, together with the corresponding resolution.
iv) A vote of at least 1/3 of all the members of the House shall be necessary either to affirm a favorable
resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee, or override its contrary resolution. The
vote of each member shall be recorded.
lva)This procedure will prevent the recurrence of the incident.
Limitation on initiating of impeachment case
Not more than once within a period of one year against the same official.
Trial and decision
The Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment. When sitting for that
purpose, the Senators shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the Philippines is on trial, the
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside, but shall not vote. A decision of conviction must be
concurred in by at least two-thirds of all the members of the Senate.
Effect of Conviction
Removal from office and disqualification to hold any office under the Republic of the Philippines. But the
party convicted shall be liable and subject to prosecution, trial and punishment according to law.
The Sandiganbayan
- The present anti-graft court known as the Sandiganbayan shall continue to function and exercise its
jurisdiction as now or hereafter may be provided by law.
1. Composition
- Under P. D. 1606, it is composed of a Presiding Justice and Eight Associate Justices, with the rank of
Justice of tjhe Court of Appeals. It sits in three [3] divisions of three members each. See R.A. 8249.
2. Jurisdiction
- The following requisites must concur in order that a case may fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the
Sandiganbayan:
[a] The offense committed is a violation of R.A. 3019, R.A. 1379, Chapter II, Sec. 2, Title VII, Book II of the
Revised Penal Code, Executive Order Nos. 1, 2, 14, and 14-A, issued in 1986, or other offenses or felonies
whether simple or complexed with other crimes;
[b] The offender committing the offenses (violating R.A. 3019, R.A. 1379, the RPC provisions, and other
offenses, isemployee holding any of the positions enumerated in par. a, Sec. 4, R.A. 8249; and

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[c] The offense committed is in relation to the office
Decisions/Review
- The unanimous vote of all the three members shall be required for the pronouncement of judgment by
a division. Decisions of the Sandiganbayan shall be reviewable by the Supreme Court on a petition for
certiorari.
The Ombudsman
Composition
- An Ombudsman to be known as the Tanodbayan, one overall Deputy and at least one Deputy
each for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. A separate Deputy for the military establishment may
likewise be appointed.
Qualifications
- The Ombudsman and his Deputies must be natural born citizens of the Philippines, at least 40 years of
age, of recognized probity and independence, members of the Philippine Bar, and must not have been
candidates for any elective office in the immediately preceding election. The Ombudsman must have
been a judge or engaged in the practice of law for ten years or more.
Appointment of the Ombudsman and his Deputies
- By the President from a list of at least six nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council, and from
a list of at least three nominees for every vacancy thereafter. All vacancies to be filled in three months.
a) Term of Office: Seven years without reappointment.
b) Rank and Salary: The Ombudsman and his Deputies shall have the
rank and salary of Chairman and Members, respectively, of the Constitutional Commissions, and their
salary shall not be decreased during their term of office.
Fiscal Autonomy
The Office of the Ombudsman shall enjoy fiscal autonomy.
Disqualifications/lnhibitions
During their tenure, shall not hold any other office or employment; shall not engage in the practice of
any profession or in the active management or control of any business which in any way may be
affected by the functions of his office; shall not bedirectly or indirectly, in any contract with, or in any
franchise or privilege granted by the Government, or any of its subdivisions, etc.; and shall not be
qualified to run for any office in the election immediately succeeding their cessation from office.
Over the years the scope of the powers of the Ombudsman under Section 12 has been clarified thus
settling various disputed issues:
1. The ombudsman can investigate only officers of government owned corporations with original
charter. PAL, even when still owned by the government, did not have original charter.
2. The jurisdiction of the Ombudsman over disciplinary cases involving public school teachers
3. The Ombudsman Act authorizes the Ombudsman to impose penalties in administrative cases.

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4. The Special Prosecutor may not file an information without authority from the Ombudsman.
5. The Ombudsman has been conferred rule making power to govern procedures under it.
6. The power to investigate or conduct a preliminary investigation on any Ombudsman case may be
exercised by an investigator or prosecutor of the Office of the Ombudsman, or by any Provincial or City
Prosecutor or their assistance, either in their regular capacities or as deputized Ombudsman prosecutors.
7. A preventive suspension will only last ninety (90) days, not the entire duration of the criminal case like
petitioners seem to think. Indeed, it would be constitutionally proscribed if the suspension were to be of
an indefinite duration or for an unreasonable length of time. The Court has thus laid down the rule that
preventive suspension may not exceed the maximum period of ninety (90) days, in consonance with
Presidential Decree No. 807, now Section 52 of the Administrative Code of 1987

The Special Prosecutor

The existing Tanodbayan (at the time of the adoption of the 1987 Constitution) shall hereafter be known
as the Office of the Special Prosecutor. It shall continue to function and exercise its powers as now or
hereafter provided by law, except those conferred on the Office of the Ombudsman created under the
Constitution.
Ill-gotten Wealth
The right of the State to recover properties unlawfully acquired by public officials or employees, from
them or from their nominees or transferees, shall not be barred by prescription, laches or estoppel.
1. This provision applies only to civil actions for recovery of ill- gotten wealth and not to criminal cases.
Thus, prosecution of offenses
Restriction on Loans
No loan, guaranty, or other form of financial accommodation for any business purpose may be granted,
directly or indirectly, by any government-owned or controlled bank or financial institution to the
President, Vice President, the Members of the Cabinet, the Congress, the Supreme Court, and the
Constitutional Commissions, the Ombudsman, or to any firm or entity in which they have controlling
interest, during their tenure.
Statement of assets, liabilities and net worth
A public officer or employee shall, upon assumption of office and as often thereafter as may be
required by law, submit a declaration under oath of his assets, liabilities and net worth. In the case of the
President, the Vice President, the Members of the Cabinet, the Congress, the Supreme Court, the
Constitutional Commissions and other constitutional offices, and officers of the armed forces of general
or flag rank, the declaration shall be disclosed to the public in the manner provided by law.
Allegiance to the State and to the Constitution
Public officers and employees owe the State and this Constitution allegiance at all times, and any
public officer or employee who seeks to change his citizenship or acquire the status of an immigrant of
another country during his tenure shall be dealt with by law.