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Filoteo vs Sandiganbayan

JOSE D. FILOTEO, JR., petitioner, vs. SANDIGANBAYAN and THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondents.

G.R. No. 79543 | 1996-10-16

D E C I S I O N

PANGANIBAN, J.:

A person under investigation for the commission of an offense is constitutionally guaranteed certain rights. One of the most cherished of these is the right "to have competent and independent counsel preferably of his choice". The 1987 Constitution, unlike its predecessors, expressly covenants that such guarantee "cannot be waived except in writing and in the presence of counsel". In the present case, petitioner claims that such proscription against an uncounselled waiver of the right to counsel is applicable to him retroactively, even though his custodial investigation took place in 1983...