JAVIER v SANDIGANBAYAN Facts: Carolina Javier was appointed to the Governing Board as a private sector represe ntative for

a term of one (1) year in the National Book Development Board create d by law to promote and develop the book publishing industry under RA 8047. Was appointed by the Pres; formed part of a group of 11 members, 5 comin g from govt and 6 from nominees of organizations of private book publishers, pri nters, writers, book industry related activities, students and the private educa tion sector. Was also President of the Book Suppliers Association of the Philippines She was supposed to go to the Madrid International Book Fair and received 139k. She wasnt able to attend but also did not give back the money claimed after deman ds. Dr. Apolonio, the Exec Director of NBDB thus filed with the Ombudsman a complain t against petitioner for malversation of public funds and properties. Two inform ations were charged against her (1) Anti-graft law and (2) malversation of funds which were filed with the Sandiganbayan. She now contests the two informations since (1)she is not a public officer but a private sector representative since her o nly function under RA 8047 is to obtain priority status for the book publishing industry. At the time of her appointment to the NDBD Board, she was the Presid ent of the BSAP, a book publishers association (2) double jeopardy. ISSUE: WON she is a public officer? YES A public office is the right, authority and duty, created and conferred by law, by which, for a given period, either fixed by law or enduring at the pleasure of the creating power, an individual is invested with some portion of the sovereig n functions of the government, to be exercised by him for the benefit of the pub lic. The individual so invested is a public officer. Even if she came from private sector the government invested her with some of it s sovereign functions, in this case to to enhance the book publishing industry a s it has a significant role in the national development. The purpose of the law for appointing members from the private sector is to ensure that they are also properly represented in the implementation of government objectives to cultivate the book publishing industry. Also under the Anti-graft law: public officer includes elective and appointive officials and employees, permane nt or temporary, whether in the classified or unclassified or exempt service rec eiving compensation, even nominal, from the government. Thus, pursuant to the Anti-Graft Law, one is a public officer if one has been el ected or appointed to a public office. Petitioner was appointed by the Preside nt to the Governing Board of the NDBD. Regardless of term or fact she does not receive monthly compensation. RPC: any person who, by direct provision of the law, , popular election or appointmen t by competent authority, shall take part in the performance of public functions in the Government of the Philippine Islands, or shall perform in said Government or in any of its branches public duties as a n employee, agent, or subordinate official, of any rank or classes, shall be dee med to be a public officer. Where, as in this case, petitioner performs public functions in pursuance of the objectives of R.A. No. 8047, verily, she is a public officer who takes part in the performance of public functions in the government whether as an employee, ag ent, subordinate official, of any rank or classes Others: part of Sandiganbayans jurisdiction: belongs to the employees classified as SG-28 , included in the phrase all other national and local officials classified as Grad e 27 and higher under the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989 No double jeopardy: refer to offenses penalized by different statues, R.A. No. 3

019 and RPC, 1) there is a complaint or information or other formal charge sufficient in form and substance to sustain a conviction; (2) the same is filed before a court of competent jurisdiction; (3) there is a valid arraignment or plea to the charges; and (4) the accused is convicted or acquitted or the case is otherwise dismissed or terminated without his express consent LAUREL v DESIERTO Pres Aquino created a Committee to prepare for the 1998 celebration which Ramos renamed as the National Centennial Commision for the centennial celebration of independence. Petitoner Laurel was appointed as the Vp. He was also the Expocor p Chief Executive Officer However, Senator Ana Dominique Coseteng delivered a privilege speech in the Sena te denouncing alleged anomalies in the construction and operation of the Centenn ial Exposition Project On February 24, 1999, President Joseph Estrada issued Administrative Order No. 3 5, creating an ad hoc and independent citizens committee to investigate all the f acts and circumstances surrounding the Philippine centennial projects They found proof of anomalies by Laurel leading to a complaint filed with the Om budsman. The petitioner contends that the complaint should be dismissed since the Ombudsm an has no jurisdiction: (1) Expocorp is not a GOCC where the alleged freedom ring project took place (2) he does not have a public office (3) he is not an officer as defined in the Anti graft and corrupt practicesact WON Laurel is a PO? HELD:YES The Ombudsman has the power to investigate any malfeasance, misfeasance and nonfeasance by a public officer or employee of the government, or of any subdivisio n, agency or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled c orporations Mechem provides the definition of a PO, and states that the most important chara cteristic is the delegation of sovereign functions. In this case, executie functions were delegated to the NCC. The executive power "is generally defined as the power to enforce and administer the laws. It is the power of carrying the laws into practical operation and enforcing their due obs ervance Carry E0 128 to effect Made by executive order - Acts of the President providing for rules of a general or permanent character in implementation or execution of constitutional or statutory powers Had a role in countrys economic development (X) torio v fontanilla town fiesta is a proprietary function: depends on circumstances Even assuming that Expocorp is a private corporation, petitioners positio n as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Expocorp arose from his Chairmanship of th e NCC. Consequently, his acts or omissions as CEO of Expocorp must be viewed in the light of his powers and functions as NCC Chair Clearly, the NCC performs sovereign functions. It is, therefore, a public office , and petitioner, as its Chair, is a public officer. Immaterial that it was without compensation since it is a mere incident to office and could be honorary also compensation has many diff meanings not just salary Definition under anti-graft act does not apply for purposes of determini ng the Ombudsmans jurisdiction, as defined by the Constitution and the Ombudsman Act of 1989. question of whether petitioner is a public officer under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act involves the appreciation of evidence and interpretati on of law, matters that are best resolved at trial Public officer has other definitions

o Under RPC o Under admin code: Officer as distinguished from "clerk" or "employee", r efers to a person whose duties not being of a clerical or manual nature, involve s the exercise of discretion in the performance of the functions of the governme nt. When used with reference to a person having authority to do a particular act or perform a particular person in the exercise of governmental power, "officer" includes any government employee, agent or body having authority to do the act or exercise that function The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Emplo yees), one may be considered a "public official" whether or not one receives com pensation PRECLARO v SANDIGANBAYAN: Chemical Mineral Division of the Industrial Technology Development Institute, a component of the DOST, employed Claro Preclaro, under a written contract of serv ices as Project Manager to supervise the construction of the ITDI-CMD (JICA) Bui lding at the DOST Compound in Bicutan. The contract was to remain in effect from October 1, 1989 up to the end of the c onstruction period unless sooner terminated. Petitioner was to be paid a monthl y salary drawn from counter-part funds duly financed by foreign-assisted project s and government funds DOST contracted the services of the Jaime Sta. Maria Construction Company with E ngr. Alexander Resoso, as the company s project engineer. Resoso informed the NB I of petitioners scheme that he can forget about the deductive provided he gets P 200,000.00, a chunk of the contractor s profit which he roughly estimated to be around P460,000.00. He was afterwards caught in an entrapment and taken in the j urisdiction of the Sandiganbayan. He contests lack of jurisdiction since (1) He is not a public officer a. Not appointed or elected b. Only hired in a contractual basis c. Not issued any appointment papers, did not use bundy clock, did nottake oath. HELD: Is a public officer Petitioner miscontrues the definition of "public officer" in R.A. No. 3019 which , according to Sec. 2(b) thereof "includes elective and appointive officials and employees, permanent or temporary, whether in the classified or unclassified or exemption service receiving compensation, even nominal, from the government The word "includes" used in defining a public officer in Sec. 2(b) indic ates that the definition is not restrictive Classified/ non-classified -> career service, non-career service by PD 8 07. o Non-career - entrance on bases other than those of the usual test of mer it and fitness utilized for the career service; and (2) tenure which is limited to a period specified by law, or which is coterminous with that of the appointin g authority or subject to his pleasure, or which is limited to the duration of a particular project for which purpose employment was made o Therefore he falls under the non-career. The fact that petitioner is not required to record his working hours by means of a bundy clock or did not take an oath of office became unessential consideratio ns in view of the above-mentioned provision of law clearly including petitioner within the definition of a public officer petitioner falls within the definition of a public officer and as such, his duti es delineated in Annex "B" of the contract of services 16 are subsumed under the phrase "wherein the public officer in his official capacity has to intervene un der the law as correctly ruled by the Sandiganbayan he has the "privilege and authority to m ake a favorable recommendation and act favorably in behalf of the government," s igning acceptance papers and approving deductives and additives are some example s -