DUNCANO vs.

SANDIGANBAYAN
G. R. No. 191894               July 15, 2015

1) Under Section 4(A)(1) of R. A. No. 8249, the Sandiganbayan has no jurisdiction over a
Regional Director of the BIR classified as Salary Grade 26. The relevant provision reads, as
follow:

"SEC. 4. Jurisdiction.– The Sandiganbayan shall exercise exclusive original

jurisdiction in all cases involving:

xxx

(1) Officials of the executive branch occupying the positions of regional

director and higher, otherwise classified as Grade ‘27’ and higher, of the
Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989 (Republic Act No. 6758),
specifically including:

Based on the afore-quoted, the phrase "otherwise classified as Grade ‘27’ and higher"
qualifies "regional director and higher". Thus, for a Regional Director to fall under the jurisdiction
of the Sandiganbayan, his position must be classified as Salary Grade 27 or higher”. In the instant
case, the accused’s position of Regional Director is classified as Salary Grade 26, placing him
outside the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan.

2) The creation of the Sandiganbayan was mandated by Section 5, Article XIII of the 1973
Constitution. By virtue of the powers vested in him by the Constitution and pursuant to
Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, former President Ferdinand E. Marcos issued
P.D. No. 1486. The decree was later amended by P.D. No. 1606, Section 20 of Batas Pambansa
Blg. 129, P.D. No. 1860, and P.D. No. 1861.

With the advent of the 1987 Constitution, the special court was retained as provided for in
Section 4, Article XI thereof. Aside from Executive Order Nos. 1425 and 14-a, and R.A.
7080, which expanded the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan, P.D. No. 1606 was further modified
by R.A. No. 7975, R.A. No. 8249, and just this year, 2015, R.A. No. 10660.

3) To speed up trial in the Sandiganbayan, Republic Act No. 7975 was enacted for that
Court to concentrate on the "larger fish" and leave the "small fry" to the lower courts. This law
became effective on May 6, 1995 and it provided a two-pronged solution to the clogging of the
dockets of that court, to wit:

It divested the Sandiganbayan of jurisdiction over public officials whose salary grades were
at Grade "26" or lower, devolving thereby these cases to the lower courts, and retaining the
jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan only over public officials whose salary grades were at Grade
"27" or higher and over other specific public officials holding important positions in government
regardless of salary grade,

Enumerated below are some of the public officers whose positions may be lower than SG
27 but, by express provision of law, are placed under the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan: (1) a
member of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, (2) a department manager of the Philippine Health
Insurance Corporation (Philhealth), (3) a student regent of the University of the Philippines, and
(6) a Head of the Legal Department and Chief of the Documentation with corresponding ranks of
Vice-Presidents and Assistant Vice-President of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Retirement
and Separation Benefits System (AFP-RSBS).

INOCENTES vs. PEOPLE

G.R. No. 205963-64 July 7, 2016

1) Under subparagraphs (a) to (g) of Section 4(1) of P.D. No. 1606, the Sandiganbayan
exercises jurisdiction over the accused, a Branch Manager of the GSIS Tarlac City field office,
although his position is classified as Salary Grade 26. The applicable law provides that violations
of R.A. No. 3019 committed by presidents, directors or trustees, or managers of government-
owned or -controlled corporations (such as GSIS), and state universities shall be within the
exclusive original jurisdiction of the Sandganbayan.

The Sandiganbayan exercises jurisdiction over public officers specifically enumerated in (a) to (g) of
Section 4(1) of P.D. No. 1606, as amended, regardless of their salary grades. Simply put, public
officers with Salary