SEC. 5. Each RDO is hereby required to file one RATE case per month;

SEC. 6. BIR Executive Order (EO) No. 175 of President Joseph Estrada is hereby amended by reverting it to the previous EO No. 430 which would effectively promote industry audit and benchmarking methods in the national and special investigations of the Bureau;

SEC. 7. The Inspection Group is hereby

deputized to proceed administratively

against BIR officials and employees with cases in the Revenue Integrity Protection Services (RIPS), alongside the criminal Ombudsman cases of the Department of

Finance.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 4th day of April, in the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Seven.

(Sgd.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA Executive Secretary

MALACAÑANG MANILA

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 177

CREATING A NATIONAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE PHILIPPINE PARTICIPATION IN EXPO 2008 ZARAGOZA,

SPAIN

WHEREAS, the Philippine Government, in its drive to enhance further the promotion of the Philippines, and sustain its presence, in the global market, has committed to participate at the International Exposition Zaragoza, Spain to be held from 14 June to 14 September 2008;

WHEREAS, the Philippine participation in Expo Zaragoza 2008 provides an excellent opportunity for the Philippines to present itself and create awareness about its natural and cultural heritage, its history and people, its business/investment potentials to a wide audience across the world;

WHEREAS, the relevance of the Expo Zaragoza 2008 theme: "Water & Sustainable Development" to the Philippines as an Archipelagic State will bolster the country's strong foothold as the world's number one

dive site and the center of marine biodiversity in the world;

WHEREAS, in addition to the trade and tourism benefits and the goodwill that will be generated from participating in Expo

Zaragoza 2008, it will likewise provide

valuable insights and new learning opportunities on the recent trends, best practices and innovative concepts on water technology that will be beneficial in improving our policy and development framework on water and sustainable development;

WHEREAS, there is a need to create a National Organizing Committee with the Department of Tourism (DOT) as the lead implementing agency for the conduct of the Philippine participation in Expo Zaragoza 2008;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGALARROYO, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. A National Organizing Committee (NOC). -A National Organizing Committee (NOC) for the Philippine participation at Expo Zaragoza 2008 is hereby created with the Department of Tourism (DOT) as the Lead Implementing Agency. The NOC shall be comprised of the following:

Chairman and Commissioner General :
Secretary of Tourism

Vice Chariman: Secretary of Foreign
Affairs

Members:

Executive Secretary, Office of the President

Secretary of Trade and Industry Secretary of Science and

Technology

Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources

Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Budget and
Management
Secretary of Health
Chairperson, National Commission

for Culture and the Arts
Director General, Philippine
Information Agency
General Manager, Philippine
Tourism Authority
Chairman, Philippine Amusement
and Gaming Corporation
Private Sector Representatives

In the event of unavailability of the abovementioned members, they may designate their representatives with full authority to commit and decide on behalf of their agency to represent them during meetings of the Committee.

Government Owned and Controlled Corporations for any assistance that may be necessary to carry out the purpose of this Administrative Order;

7. Undertake all other measures for the successful participation of the Philippines at Expo Zaragoza 2008.

SEC. 3. Expo Secretary-General.-The National Organizing Committee, through the Commissioner-General, shall designate an official of DOT or PVC, to act as Expo Secretary-General for the Philippine participation in Expo Zaragoza 2008. He shall act as the contract person for the Expo

Zaragoza 2008 Organizers, attend all activities that will be required by Expo organizers and, perform such functions that will be necessary to ensure the successful participation of the Philippines at Expo

1. Formulate directives for the planning, operation and management of the Philippine Pavilion at Expo Zaragoza 2008 to ensure efficient implementation of all activities;

2. Ensure that the economic advantages of the Philippine presentation in Expo Zaragoza 2008 are maximized through concerted and cost effective country approach;

3. Select an appropriate theme, concept and message of the Philippine participation in line with the over-all theme of Expo Zaragoza 2008;

4. Provide guidelines to ensure the safety and protection of government properties, exhibit materials, needed to complete the Philippine presentation in Expo Zaragoza 2008;

5. Determine the scale of Philippine participation; the appropriate Pavilion name, exhibition image and plan, facade plan, operational plan, entertainment plan, sales and merchandising plan and the promotions plan;

6. Call on any Department, Bureau or Office of the Government including

and regulations of the Bureau of International Exposition (BIE).

SEC. 4. Secretariat. -The CommissionerGeneral thru the Secretary-General shall form a Secretariat that shall undertake the day-to-day operation and over-all preparations for the Philippine participation in Expo Zaragoza 2008.

Personnel of the Secretariat shall be sourced from various units within the DOT and PCVC. Said personnel shall be provided with honoraria or allowances at rates consistent with those prescribed by law.

SEC. 5. Funding. -Funds necessary for the Philippine participation in Expo Zaragoza 2008 shall come from the following sources:

Allocation from the Department of Tourism (DOT) in the amount of Twenty Million Pesos (P20M);

Allocation from the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) in the amount of Twenty Million Pesos (20M);

Allocation from the department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the amount of Ten Million Pesos (P10M);

Allocation from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in the amount of Ten Million Pesos (P10M);

Allocation from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the amount of Five Million Pesos (P5M);

Allocation from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in the amount of One Million Pesos (P1M);

Allocation from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) in the amount of Ten Million Pesos (P10M);

Proceeds from commercial activities at the Philippine Pavilion.

The financial subsidy to be given by the various members of the National Organizing Committee shall be recorded in their books as subsidy to National Government Agencies. The Receipt of Subsidy shall be recorded by the lead implementing agency as subsidy income. The lead agency shall then issue the corresponding official receipt to acknowledge financial assistance.

All funds to be solicited for this purpose shall be placed in a separate bank account that will be opened by the NOC Secretariat as authorized by the Secretary of Tourism, with account name: Expo Zaragoza 2008. A separate book of accounts shall be maintained by the NOC for this project.

Any savings to be realized and any income to be generated from sales of the souvenir shop, royalties from restaurants, sales from pavilion exhibitries, furniture, furnishings and other donations from other

sources at the closing of the exposition, will be held in trust by the NOC and remitted to the Department of Tourism and to be utilized as mobilization fund for the Philippine Participation in the upcoming World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China.

Any equipment acquired by the NOC and undisposed shall be turned over to the Department of Tourism at the end of the event for use in future projects.

SEC. 6. Submission of Terminal Reports. - The NOC, through the Commissioner-General, shall submit a terminal report within sixty (60) days after the closing of Expo Zaragoza 2008.

SEC. 7. Cessation of the Committee.The Committee shall cease to exist sixty (60) days after submission of its terminal report as provided in Section 6 hereof, unless otherwise ordered by the President.

SEC. 8. Effectivity. - This Administrative Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 25th day of May, in the year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Seven.

(Sgd.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA Executive Secretary

[G.R. No. 167502. October 31, 2006]

THIRD DIVISION

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-appellee, VS. PABLO CUDAL, Accused-appellant. SYLLABUS

of the Ruling of the Court

1. CRIMINAL LAW; REVISED PENAL CODE; PARRICIDE. -Article 246 of the Revised Penal Code provides ["] ART. 246. Parricide. - Any person who shall kill his father, mother, or child, whether legitimate or illegitimate, or any of his ascendants, or descendants, or his spouse, shall be guilty of parricide and shall be punished by the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death.["]

2. REMEDIAL LAW; CRIMINAL PROCEDURE; ISSUE OF CREDIBILITY OF WITNESSES, APPELLATE COURT WILL NORMALLY NOT DISTURB THE FACTUAL FINDINGS OF THE TRIAL COURT; RATIONALE. -Prosecution witness Camilo Cudal narrated what he knew of the circumstances surrounding the incident[,] *** Another prosecution witness, Segundino Cudal, declared that when his brother the victim was brought to his house by Camilo, the victim who was "strong," albiet his face was bloodied, told him that he was struck with a stone by appellant. *** At the witness stand, defense witness Dr. Orence, declared [t]hat the complained act of appellant was the proximate cause of the death of the victim is evident from the above-quoted postmortem report on the body of the deceased showing the probable cause of his death as "INTERNAL HEMORRHAGE secondary to Craniocerebral Injury Secondary to Trauma" and "T/C Ruptured Viscus, abdomen," It is axiomatic in criminal jurisprudence that when the issue is one of credibility of witnesses, an appellate court will normally not disturb the factual findings of the trial court unless the latter has reached conclusions that are clearly unsupported by evidence, or unless some facts or circumstances of weight or influence were overlooked which, if considered, would affect the result of the case. The rationale for this is that trial court have superior advantages in ascertaining the truth and in detecting falsehood as they have the opportunity to observe at close range the manner and demeanor of witnesses while testifying. In the absence of any showing that the trial court,

whose findings were affirmed by the appellate court, acted arbitrarily in the appreciation of evidence, this Court respects the same.

3. ID.; EVIDENCE; TESTIMONIAL EVIDENCE; PART OF THE RES GESTAE; REQUISITES; ADMISSIBILITY, WHEN PROPER; PROPER IN THE CASE AT BAR. -That Camilo and Segundino were not eyewitness to the incident does not render their testimonies inadmissible, for they may be considered part of the res gestae, an exception to the hearsay rule. For the same to be considered part of the res gestae, the following requisites must concur; (1) the principal act or res gestae must be a startling occurrence; (2) the statement is spontaneous or was made before the declarant had time to contrive or device a false statement, and the statement was made during the occurrence or immediately prior or subsequent thereto; and (3) the statement made must concern the occurrence in question and its immediately attending circumstances. The spontaneity of the utterance and its logical connection with the principal event, coupled with the fact that the utterance was made while the declarant was still "strong" and subject to the stimulus of the nervous excitement of the principal event, are deemed to preclude contrivance, deliberation, design or fabrication, and to give to the utterance an inherent guaranty of trustworthiness. The admissibility of such exclamation is based on experience that, under certain external circumstances of physical or mental shock, a stress of nervous excitement may be produced in a spectator which stills the reflective faculties and removes their control, so that the utterance which then occurs is a spontaneous and sincere response to the actual sensations and perceptions already produced by the external shock. Since this utterance is made under the immediate and uncontrolled domination of the senses, rather than reason and reflection, and during the brief period when consideration of selfinterest could not have been fully brought to bear, the utterance may be taken as expressing the real belief of the speaker as to the facts just observed by him. The victim's information to Camilo and Segundino as to the material facts was made immediately after the starting incident occurred. It is as categorical as it is spontaneous and instinctive. It cannot be concluded that in a very short span of time, taking into consideration the ripe age of the victim, his relationship to appellant, and the cruelty and suffering which immediately preceded the confession, the victim had the opportunity to concoct the facts surrounding the incident and its authorship. Besides, there appears to be no reason or motive on the part of the victim to point his son as the culprit if such were not indeed the truth.

4. CRIMINAL LAW; REVISED PENAL CODE; CRIMINAL LIABILITY; ALTERNATIVE CIRCUMSTANCES; INTOXICATION, HOW APPRECIATED; ABSENT ANY SHOWING APPELLANT'S INTOXICATION WAS HABITUAL OR INTENTIONAL, IT MAY ONLY BE CONSIDERED AS MITIGATING; PROPER PENALTY.-Appellant's intoxication at the time of the commission of the crime, being an alternative circumstances under Article 15 of the Revised Penal Code, may be appreciated as aggravating if the same is habitual or intentional, otherwise it shall be considered as a mitigating circumstance. The trial court observed: (") We now come to another matter, which is the fact that during the incident, the accused was drunk. This was testified to by Camilo Cudal and admitted by the wife of the accused. The accused himself admitted that he had been drinking with his cousins and nephews, but he claims that he did not drink much. Drunkenness is an alternative circumstance. It is aggravating if the accused is a habitual drunkard. It is mitigating if it is otherwise. The date of the incident is two (2) hours after midnight which ushered in the new year. Before that, the accused and his relatives were celebrating and they drank San Miguel gin. No evidence was presented to establish that he is a habitual drunkard. It is a legal maxim that when there is doubt, the doubt should be resolved in favor of the accused. The court[,] therefore, believes that this should be taken as a mitigating circumstances, which is favorable to the accused.["] Absent any showing then that appellant's intoxication was habitual or intentional, it may only be considered as mitigating to correctly call for the imposition of the penalty of reclusion perpetua, in accordance with Article 63, paragraph 2(3) of the Revised Penal Code.

Cudal (appellant) of parricide and meting out to him the penalty of reclusion perpetua.

About 2:00 o'clock in the morning of January 1, 1998,3 as appellant arrived home in Barangay Bonlalacao, Mangatarem, Pangasinan from a drinking spree with his cousins and nephews, he roused his 79 year old father Crispin Cudal (the victim) from his sleep. Appellant then asked money from the victim so he could go back to the drinking session and pay for the liquor that he consumed. The victim replied that he had no money, and told appellant that he was already drunk. This drew the two to a fight.5

Some 50 meters away from the place of the incident, Camilo Cudal (Camilo), appellant's first cousin who was then in the house of his mother-in-law, heard the commotion. Camilo immediately rushed to the place and there saw the victim sitting on his bed and wiping blood oozing from his forehead. When asked about what happened, the victim quickly replied that he quarreled with appellant and that he was hit by him with a stone.7

When Camilo confronted appellant, the latter reasoned out that he was asking money from his father but the latter refused.

8

Ibid;, see also TSN, April 13, 1998, p. 4.

Supra, note 3.

Id. at 5.