Flashcards Studio

An official of a national agency, the Regional Director of the Department of Public Works and Highways for Region IV, is charged in the Regional Trial Court with (a) graft and corrupt practices under Republic Act No. 3019 for awarding a multimillion road-widening project to a private contractor in exchange for a secret benefit, and (b) falsification of public documents by certifying that inspections were conducted when they were not. The information is filed in the RTC. The Sandiganbayan has exclusive original jurisdiction over graft and corrupt-practices cases involving public officers. (a) Identify the doctrine governing exclusive vs concurrent jurisdiction and apply it to this case. (b) Which court has original jurisdiction over the graft offense and why? (c) If the information also charges a separate non-graft offense arising from the same incident, discuss whether Sandiganbayan retains exclusive jurisdiction or if the case may be proper in RTC for the offense.