CHEATING A FACT-FINDING BOARD WITH PLENARY POWERS TO INVESTIGATE THE TRAGEDY WHICH OCCURRED ON AUGUST 21, 1983

WHEREAS, the treacherous and vicious assassination of former
Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. on August 21, 1983, has to all Filipinos become a
national tragedy and national shame specially because of the early distortions
and exaggerations in both foreign and local media so that all right thinking and
honest men desire to ventilate the truth through free, independent and
dispassionate investigation by prestigious and free investigators;

WHEREAS, to avoid any bias or partiality in the conduct of
an investigation, there is a need to create an independent ad hoc fact-finding
Board with plenary powers to determine the facts and circumstances surrounding
the killing and to allow for a free, unlimited and exhaustive investigation into
all the aspects of said tragedy;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Republic of the Philippines, pursuant to the powers vested in me by the
Constitution, do hereby order and decree:

SECTION. 1. There is herby created an independent ad hoc
fact-finding Board, which shall be independent from the three departments of the
Government, to determine all the facts and circumstances surrounding the said
killing. The Board shall be composed of a Chairman and at least four (4) but not
exceeding six (6) members including two representatives of the Batasang
Pambansa, The Batasang Pambansa may, by resolution, designate two (2) of its
members as representatives to the Board in whatever capacity to conform with the
provisions of Article VII, Section 10 of the 1973 Constitution mandating that a
member of the Batasang Pambansa shall not hold any other office or employment in
the Government, or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof,
including government-owned or controlled corporations, during his tenure.

With the exception of the two representatives of the Batasang Pambansa, the
members of the Board shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines from
among the recommendees of the various sectors of society, such as but not
limited to legal or bar associations, civic/service organizations, and the
business, education, student, labor and other sectors. The President shall
appoint/designate the Chairman from among the members of the Board upon its
recommendation.

The positions of the Chairman and member of the Board shall be honorary. The
Chairman and the members of the Board shall only be entitled to transportation
allowance of Three Thousand Pesos (P3,000.00) and Two Thousand Pesos (2,000.000
a monthly respectively. The chairman and the members of the Board shall be
disqualified from appointment to any public office within one (1) year from and
after the date of the Board has become functus officio.

SEC. 2. The following persons shall be disqualified from
becoming Chairman of the Board:

1. Persons financially interested, directly or indirectly, in any transaction
   or contract with the National Government and its subdivisions, instrumentalities
   and agencies, including government-owned or controlled corporations; and
2. Persons who have in any manner commented, theorized, or made any public
   statement, pronouncement, opinion or view on the circumstances surrounding the
   tragedy, or who have directly or indirectly prejudged preconceived or in any
   manner arrived at any conclusion on the tragedy or any aspect thereof.

SEC. 3. The Board shall have the power to review the
evidence already submitted and determine which to accept and which to hear anew,
to issue subpoena duces tecum and other compulsory processed requiring the
attendance and testimony of witnesses and production of any evidence relative to
any matter under investigation by the Board.

The board, or any member thereof, or its duly authorized representative may
administer oaths and affirmations, examine witnesses and receive evidence.

The Board may appoint sheriffs and deputize any law enforcement agency as may
be necessary to en sure compliance with its orders and processes.

SEC. 4. The Board may hold any person in direct or indirect
contempt, and impose appropriate penalties therefore.

A person guilty of misbehavior in the presence of or so near the Board as to
obstruct or interrupt the proceedings before the same, including disrespect
towards its officials, offensive personalities towards others, or refusal to be
sworn or to answer as a witness or to subscribe to an affidavit or disposition
when lawfully required to do so may be summarily adjudged in direct contempt by
the Board and punished with a fine not exceeding P200.00 or imprisonment not
exceeding thirty (30) days or both.

Judgment of the Board on direct contempt shall be final and unappealable.

Indirect contempt shall be dealt with by the Board in the manner prescribed
under Rule 71 of the Rules of the Court.

SEC. 5. No person shall be excused from attending and
testifying or from producing books, records, correspondence, documents, or other
evidence in obedience to a subpoena issued by the board on the ground that his
testimony or the evidence required of him may tend to incriminate him or subject
him to penalty for forfeiture; but his testimony or any evidence produced by him
shall not be used against him in connection with any transaction, matter or
thing concerning which he is compelled, after having invoked his privilege
against self-incrimination, to testify or produce evidence, except that such
individual so testifying shall not be exempt that shall not be exempt from
prosecution and punishment for perjury committed in so testifying, nor shall he
be exempt from demotion or removal from office.

SEC. 6. The Board shall have the power to enter into
contacts promulgate its rules and regulations, and to perform any and all acts
necessary in the execution and implementation of its functions.

SEC. 7. The Board, thru its Chairman, shall have the power
to engage the service of such persons or personnel as may be required for the
effective performance of its functions and responsibilities, to prescribe their
duties and fix their compensation, and to organize the structure and staffing
pattern of the Board. All persons or personnel appointed, designated or
contracted by the Board shall not be subject to the Civil Service Law, rules and
regulations.

The Board may appoint a secretary and assistant secretaries who shall be
members of the Philippine Bar and to issue summons, subpoena, and subpoena duces
tecum by authority of the Board.

SEC. 8. All government agencies including the National
Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine Constabulary Criminal Investigation
Services (PC-CIS) and all other government investigating agencies shall make
available their staff or services and facilities of their office to the Board as
may be required by the latter in the discharge of its functions.

SEC. 9. The Board shall appoint a General Counsel and such
Deputy General Counsel (s) who shall be members of the Philippine Bar to assist
the Board in the discharge of its functions.

The General Counsel and Deputy General Counsels must have all the
qualifications of a Justice of the Supreme Court.

SEC. 10. The proceedings and hearings conducted by the Board
may either public or held in closed-doors at the discretion of the majority of
the members of the Board or as may be warranted by the circumstances as where
they would affect matters of the national security or public safety, or as may
be requested by any person testifying in the said proceedings.

The board may sit either en banc in a Division of two as may be
provided in the rules and regulations to be promulgated.

Any person called to testify before the Board shall have the right to counsel
at any stage of the proceedings.

SEC. 11. The Board may allow local and/or foreign observers
in its proceedings. The presentation of the evidence and the conduct of the
proceedings or investigations shall at all times remain under the direction and
control of the General Counsel and/or his deputes.

The rules of evidence under the Rules of Court shall be followed as far as
practicable.

SEC. 12. The findings of the Board shall be made public.
Should the findings warrant the prosecution of any person, the Board may
initiate the filing of the proper complaint wit the appropriate government
agency. Thereafter, the Board shall become functus officio, and shall its assets
and properties shall revert the National Treasury.

SEC. 13. The sum of Five Million Pesos (P5,000,000.00) is
hereby appropriated out of available funds in the National Treasury for the
operational expenses of the Board. As a further assurance of its independence,
the Board shall not be subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission on Audit.
The Board, by resolution, may dispose of its funds in accordance with the
accepted principles of auditing and accounting and shall not be subject to the
rules and regulations of the Office of Budget and Management on allocations and
release of funds.

SEC. 14. The Commission created and constituted under
Administrative Order No. 469 is hereby abolished, and all its records, assets
and liabilities shall be transferred to and assumed by the Board. The Board
shall not be bound by the evidence so far submitted to or by the acts performed
by the said Commission, The Presidential Decree No. 1879, as amended, together
with the rules and regulations issued pursuant thereto and Administrative Order
No. 469 are hereby repealed.

SEC. 15. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 14th day of October, in the year of Our
Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-three.

			(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS President Republic of the Philippines
	By the President:
	(Sgd.) JUAN C. TUVERA
		Presidential Executive Assistant