Further Amending General Order No. 12, as Amended

March 31, 1973

GENERAL ORDER NO. 26

FURTHER AMENDING GENERAL ORDER NO. 12, AS AMENDED

WHEREAS, banks and the banking community play a major role in the economy of the country; CAacTH

WHEREAS, it has been established that banks in the country have suffered considerable financial losses due to acts of swindling by various means which if not prevented, will adversely affect the banking industry and ultimately, the national economy;

WHEREAS, under existing laws, crimes against banks such as swindling, forgery and falsification of commercial papers are triable only by civil courts where the offenders are easily able to post bail giving freedom to continue their nefarious activities during the trial of their cases.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972 and General Order No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, as amended, do hereby order and decree that General Order No. 12, dated September 30, 1972, as amended, is hereby further amended to include the following among the cases to be tried and decided by military tribunals authorized to be constituted under General Order No. 8, dated September 27, 1972, exclusive of the civil courts:

"22. Those involving crimes against public interest, as defined and penalized under the Revised Penal Code, when a bank is an offended party, such as swindling forgery and falsification of commercial papers."

DONE in the City of Manila, this 31st day of March, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-three.