RA 7659

01/22/2016

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7659

AN ACT TO IMPOSE THE DEATH PENALTY ON CERTAIN
HEINOUS CRIMES, AMENDING FOR THAT PURPOSE THE REVISED
PENAL LAWS, AS AMENDED, OTHER SPECIAL PENAL LAWS, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES
WHEREAS, the Constitution, specifically Article III, Section 19
paragraph (1) thereof, states Excessive fines shall not be imposed nor cruel,
degrading or inhuman punishment inflicted. Neither shall death penalty be
imposed, unless, for compelling reasons involving heinous crimes, the
Congress hereafter provides for it. . .;
WHEREAS, the crimes punishable by death under this Act are heinous
for being grievous, odious and hateful offenses and which, by reason of their
inherent or manifest wickedness, viciousness, atrocity and perversity are
repugnant and outrageous to the common standards and norms of decency
and morality in a just, civilized and ordered society;
WHEREAS, due to the alarming upsurge of such crimes which has
resulted not only in the loss of human lives and wanton destruction of
property but also affected the nations efforts towards sustainable economic
development and prosperity while at the same time has undermined the
peoples faith in the Government and the latters ability to maintain peace
and order in the country;
WHEREAS, the Congress, in the justice, public order and the rule of
law, and the need to rationalize and harmonize the penal sanctions for
heinous crimes, finds compelling reasons to impose the death penalty for
said crimes;
Now, therefore,
Section 1. Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared the policy of
the State to foster and ensure not only obedience to its authority, but also to
adopt such measures as would effectively promote the maintenance of peace
and order, the protection of life, liberty and property, and the promotion of
the general welfare which are essential for the enjoyment by all the people
of the blessings of democracy in a just and humane society;
Section 2. Article 114 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, is
hereby amended to read as follows:
Art. 114. Treason. Any Filipino citizen who levies war against the
Philippines or adheres to her enemies giving them aid or comfort within the
Philippines or elsewhere, shall be punished by reclusion perpetua to death
and shall pay a fine not to exceed 100,000 pesos.
No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two
witnesses at least to the same overt act or on confession of the accused in
open court.

Likewise, an alien, residing in the Philippines, who commits acts of

treason as defined in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be punished by
reclusion temporal to death and shall pay a fine not to exceed 100,000
pesos.
Section 3. Section Three, Chapter One, Title One of Book Two of the
same Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
Section Three. Piracy and mutiny on the high seas or in the
Philippine waters
Art. 122. Piracy in general and mutiny on the high seas or in Philippine
waters. The penalty of reclusion perpetua shall be inflicted upon any
person who, on the high seas, or in Philippine waters, shall attack or seize a
vessel or, not being a member of its complement nor a passenger, shall seize
the whole or part of the cargo of said vessel, its equipment or passengers.
The same penalty shall be inflicted in case of mutiny on the high seas
or in Philippine waters.
Art. 123. Qualified piracy. The penalty of reclusion perpetua to death
shall be imposed upon those who commit any of the crimes referred to in the
preceding article, under any of the following circumstances:
1. Whenever they have seized a vessel by boarding or firing upon the
same;
2. Whenever the pirates have abandoned their victims without means
of saving themselves or;
3. Whenever the crime is accompanied by murder, homicide, physical
injuries or rape.
Section 4. There shall be incorporated after Article 211 of the same
Code a new article to read as follows:
Art. 211-A. Qualified Bribery. If any public officer is entrusted with
law enforcement and he refrains from arresting or prosecuting an offender
who has committed a crime punishable by reclusion perpetua and/or death
in consideration of any offer, promise, gift or present, he shall suffer the
penalty for the offense which was not prosecuted.
If it is the public officer who asks or demands such gift or present, he
shall suffer the penalty of death.
Section 5. The penalty of death for parricide under Article 246 of the
same Code is hereby restored, so that it shall read as follows:
Art. 246. Parricide. Any person who shall kill his father, mother, or
child, whether legitimate of 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.
Section 6. Article 248 of the same Code is hereby amended to read as
follows:

Art. 248. Murder. Any person who, not falling within the provisions
of Article 246 shall kill another, shall be guilty of murder and shall be
punished by reclusion perpetua, to death if committed with any of the
following attendant circumstances:
1. With treachery, taking advantage of superior strength, with the aid
of armed men, or employing means to weaken the defense or of means or
persons to insure or afford impunity.
2. In consideration of a price, reward or promise.
3. By means of inundation, fire, poison, explosion, shipwreck,
stranding of a vessel, derailment or assault upon a railroad, fall of an airship,
or by means of motor vehicles, or with the use of any other means involving
great waste and ruin.
4. On occasion of any of the calamities enumerated in the preceding
paragraph, or of an earthquake, eruption of a volcano, destructive cyclone,
epidemic or other public calamity.
5. With evident premeditation.
6. With cruelty, by deliberately and inhumanly augmenting the
suffering of the victim, or outraging or scoffing at his person or corpse.
Section 7. Article 255 of the same Code is hereby amended to read as
follows:
Art. 255. Infanticide. The penalty provided for parricide in Article
246 and for murder in Article 248 shall be imposed upon any person who
shall kill any child less than three days of age.
If any crime penalized in this Article be committed by the mother of
the child for the purpose of concealing her dishonor, she shall suffer the
penalty of prision mayor in its medium and maximum periods, and if said
crime be committed for the same purpose by the maternal grandparents or
either of them, the penalty shall be reclusion temporal.
Section 8. Article 267 of the same Code is hereby amended to read as
follows:
Art. 267. Kidnapping and serious illegal detention. Any private
individual who shall kidnap or detain another, or in any other manner deprive
him of his liberty, shall suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death:
1. If the kidnapping or detention shall have lasted more than three
days.
2. If it shall have been committed simulating public authority.
3. If any serious physical injuries shall have been inflicted upon the
person kidnapped or detained; or if threats to kill him shall have been made.
4. If the person kidnapped or detained shall be a minor, except when
the accused is any of the parents, female or a public officer.

The penalty shall be death penalty where the kidnapping or detention

was committed for the purpose of extorting ransom from the victim or any
other person, even if none of the circumstances above-mentioned were
present in the commission of the offense.
When the victim is killed or dies as a consequence of the detention or
is raped, or is subjected to torture or dehumanizing acts, the maximum
penalty shall be imposed.
Section 9. Article 294 of the same Code is hereby amended to read as
follows:
Art. 294. Robbery with violence against or intimidation of persons
Penalties. Any person guilty of robbery with the use of violence against or
intimidation of any person shall suffer:
1. The penalty of reclusion perpetua to death, when by reason or on
occasion of the robbery, the crime of homicide shall have been committed,
or when the robbery shall have been accompanied by rape or intentional
mutilation or arson.
2. The penalty of reclusion temporal in its medium period to reclusion
perpetua, when or if by reason or on occasion of such robbery, any of the
physical injuries penalized in subdivision I of Article 263 shall have been
inflicted.
3. The penalty of reclusion temporal, when by reason or on occasion of
the robbery, any of the physical injuries penalized in subdivision 2 of the
article mentioned in the next preceding paragraph, shall have been inflicted.
4. The penalty of prision mayor in its maximum period to reclusion
temporal in its medium period, if the violence or intimidation employed in
the commission of the robbery shall have been carried to a degree clearly
unnecessary for the commission of the crime, or when in the course of its
execution, the offender shall have inflicted upon any person not responsible
for its commission any of the physical injuries covered by subdivisions 3 and
4 of said Article 263.
5. The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period to prision
mayor in its medium period in other cases.
Section 10. Article 320 of the same Code is hereby amended to read
as follows:
Art. 320. Destructive Arson. The penalty of reclusion perpetua to
death shall be imposed upon any person who shall burn:
1. One (1) or more buildings or edifices, consequent to one single act
of burning, or as a result of simultaneous burnings, committed on several or
different occasions.

2. Any building of public or private ownership, devoted to the public in

general or where people usually gather or congregate for a definite purpose
such as, but not limited to, official governmental function or business,
private transaction, commerce, trade, workshop, meetings and conferences,
or merely incidental to a definite purpose such as but not limited to hotels,
motels, transient dwellings, public conveyances or stops or terminals,
regardless of whether the offender had knowledge that there are persons in
said building or edifice at the time it is set on fire and regardless also of
whether the building is actually inhabited or not.
3. Any train or locomotive, ship or vessel, airship or airplane, devoted
to transportation or conveyance, or for public use, entertainment or leisure.
4. Any building, factory, warehouse installation and any appurtenances
thereto, which are devoted to the service of public utilities.
5. Any building the burning of which is for the purpose of concealing or
destroying evidence of another violation of law, or for the purpose of
concealing bankruptcy or defrauding creditors or to collect from insurance.
Irrespective of the application of the above enumerated qualifying
circumstances, the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death shall likewise be
imposed when the arson is perpetrated or committed by two (2) or more
persons or by a group of persons, regardless of whether their purpose is
merely to burn or destroy the building or the burning merely constitutes an
overt act in the commission or another violation of law.
The penalty of reclusion perpetua to death shall also be imposed upon
any person who shall burn:
1. Any arsenal, shipyard, storehouse or military powder or fireworks
factory, ordnance, storehouse, archives or general museum of the
Government.
2. In an inhabited place, any storehouse or factory of inflammable or
explosive materials.
If as a consequence of the commission of any of the acts penalized
under this Article, death results, the mandatory penalty of death shall be
imposed.
Section 11. Article 335 of the same Code is hereby amended to read
as follows:
Art. 335. When and how rape is committed. Rape is committed by
having carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following
circumstances:
1. By using force or intimidation;
2. When the woman is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious;
and
3. When the woman is under twelve years of age or is demented.
The crime of rape shall be punished by reclusion perpetua.

Whenever the crime of rape is committed with the use of a deadly

weapon or by two or more persons, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua
to death.
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has become
insane, the penalty shall be death.
When the rape is attempted or frustrated and a homicide is committed
by reason or on the occasion thereof, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua
to death.
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, a homicide is
committed, the penalty shall be death.
The death penalty shall also be imposed if the crime of rape is
committed with any of the following attendant circumstances:
1. when the victim is under eighteen (18) years of age and the
offender is a parent, ascendant, step-parent, guardian, relative by
consanguinity or affinity within the third civil degree, or the common-lawspouse of the parent of the victim.
2. when the victim is under the custody of the police or military
authorities.
3. when the rape is committed in full view of the husband, parent, any
of the children or other relatives within the third degree of consanguinity.
4. when the victim is a religious or a child below seven (7) years old.
5. when the offender knows that he is afflicted with Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) disease.
6. when committed by any member of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines or the Philippine National Police or any law enforcement agency.
7. when by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has
suffered permanent physical mutilation.
Section 12. Section 2 of Republic Act No. 7080 (An Act Defining and
Penalizing the Crime of Plunder) is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 2. Definition of the Crime of Plunder; Penalties. Any public

officer who, by himself or in connivance with members of his family, relatives
by affinity or consanguinity, business associates, subordinates or other
persons, amasses, accumulates or acquires ill-gotten wealth through a
combination or series of overt criminal acts as described in Section 1 (d)
hereof in the aggregate amount or total value of at least Fifty million pesos
(P50,000,000.00) shall be guilty of the crime of plunder and shall be
punished by reclusion perpetua to death. Any person who participated with
the said public officer in the commission of an offense contributing to the
crime of plunder shall likewise be punished for such offense. In the
imposition of penalties, the degree of participation and the attendance of
mitigating and extenuating circumstances, as provided by the Revised Penal
Code, shall be considered by the court. The court shall declare any and all illgotten wealth and their interests and other incomes and assets including the
properties and shares of stocks derived from the deposit or investment
thereof forfeited in favor of the State.
Section 13. Sections 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9, of Article II of Republic Act
No. 6425, as amended, known as the Dangerous Drugs Act 1972, are hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3. Importation of Prohibited Drugs. The penalty of reclusion
perpetua to death and a fine ranging from five hundred thousand pesos to
ten million pesos shall be imposed upon any person who, unless authorized
by law, shall import or bring into the Philippines any prohibited drug.
Sec. 4. Sale, Administration, Delivery, Distribution and Transportation
of Prohibited Drugs. The penalty of reclusion perpetua to death and a fine
from five hundred thousand pesos to ten million pesos shall be imposed
upon any person who, unless authorized by law, shall sell, administer,
deliver, give away to another, distribute, dispatch in transit or transport any
prohibited drug, or shall act as a broker in any of such transactions.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 20 of this Act to the
contrary, if the victim of the offense is a minor, or should a prohibited drug
involved in any offense under this Section be the proximate cause of the
death of a victim thereof, the maximum penalty herein provided shall be
imposed.
Sec. 5. Maintenance of a Den, Dive or Resort for Prohibited Drug
Users. The penalty of reclusion perpetua to death and a fine ranging from
five hundred thousand pesos to ten million pesos shall be imposed upon any
person or group of persons who shall maintain a den, dive or resort where
any prohibited drug is used in any form or where such prohibited drugs in
quantities specified in Section 20, Paragraph 1 of this Act are found.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 20 of this Act to the

contrary, the maximum of the penalty shall be imposed in every case where
a prohibited drug is administered, delivered or sold to a minor who is
allowed to use the same in such place.
Should a prohibited drug be the proximate cause of the death of a
person using the same in such den, dive or resort, the maximum penalty
herein provided shall be imposed on the maintainer notwithstanding the
provisions of Section 20 of this Act to the contrary.
Sec. 7. Manufacture of Prohibited Drug. The penalty of reclusion
perpetua to death and fine ranging from five hundred thousand pesos to ten
million pesos shall be imposed upon any person who, unless authorized by
law, shall engage in the manufacture of any prohibited drug.
Sec. 8. Possession or Use of Prohibited Drugs. The penalty of
reclusion perpetua to death and a fine ranging from five hundred thousand
pesos to ten million pesos shall be imposed upon any person who, unless
authorized by law, shall possess or use any prohibited drug subject to the
provisions of Section 20 hereof.
Sec. 9. Cultivation of Plants which are Sources of Prohibited Drugs.
The penalty of reclusion perpetua to death and a fine ranging from five
hundred thousand pesos to ten million pesos shall be imposed upon any
person who shall plant, cultivate or culture any medium Indian hemp, opium
poppy (papaver somniferum), or any other plant which is or may hereafter
be classified as dangerous drug or from which any dangerous drug may be
manufactured or derived.
The land or portions hereof, and/or greenhouses on which any of said
plants is cultivated or cultured shall be confiscated and escheated to the
State, unless the owner thereof can prove that he did not know such
cultivation or culture despite the exercise of due diligence on his part.
If the land involved in is part of the public domain, the maximum of
the penalties herein provided shall be imposed upon the offender.
Section 14. Sections 14, 14-A, and 15 of Article III of Republic Act
No. 6425, as amended, known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972, are
hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 14. Importation of Regulated Drugs. The penalty of reclusion
perpetua to death and a fine ranging from five hundred thousand pesos to
ten million pesos shall be imposed upon any person who, unless authorized
by law, shall import or bring any regulated drug in the Philippines.
Sec. 14-A. Manufacture of Regulated Drugs. The penalty of
reclusion perpetua to death and a fine ranging from five hundred thousand
pesos to ten million pesos shall be imposed upon any person who, unless
authorized by law, shall engage in the manufacture of any regulated drug.

Sec. 15. Sale, Administration, Dispensation, Delivery, Transportation

and Distribution of Regulated Drugs. The penalty of reclusion perpetua to
death and a fine ranging from five hundred thousand pesos to ten million
pesos shall be imposed upon any person who, unless authorized by law, shall
sell, dispense, deliver, transport or distribute any regulated drug.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 20 of this Act to the
contrary, if the victim of the offense is a minor, or should a regulated drug
involved in any offense under this Section be the proximate cause of the
death of a victim thereof, the maximum penalty herein provided shall be
imposed.
Section 15. There shall be incorporated after Section 15 of Article III
of Republic Act No. 6425, as amended, known as the Dangerous Drug Act of
1972, a new section to read as follows:
Sec. 15-a. Maintenance of a den, dive or resort for regulated drug
users. The penalty of reclusion perpetua to death and a fine ranging from
five hundred thousand pesos to ten million pesos shall be imposed upon any
person or group of persons who shall maintain a den, dive or resort where
any regulated drugs is used in any form, or where such regulated drugs in
quantities specified in Section 20, paragraph 1 of this Act are found.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 20 of this Act to the
contrary, the maximum penalty herein provided shall be imposed in every
case where a regulated drug is administered, delivered or sold to a minor
who is allowed to use the same in such place.
Should a regulated drug be the proximate cause of the death of a
person using the same in such den, dive or resort, the maximum penalty
herein provided shall be imposed on the maintainer notwithstanding the
provisions of Section 20 of this Act to the contrary.
Section 16. Section 16 of Article III of Republic Act No. 6425, as
amended, known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 16. Possession or Use of Regulated Drugs. The penalty of
reclusion perpetua to death and a fine ranging from five hundred thousand
pesos to ten million pesos shall be imposed upon any person who shall
possess or use any regulated drug without the corresponding license or
prescription, subject to the provisions of Section 20 hereof.
Section 17. Section 20, Article IV of Republic Act No. 6425, as
amended, known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972, is hereby amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 20. Application of Penalties, Confiscation and Forfeiture of the
Proceeds or Instruments of the Crime. The penalties for offenses under
Section 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9 of Article II and Sections 14, 14-A, 15 and 16 of
Article III of this Act shall be applied if the dangerous drugs involved is in
any of the following quantities :

1. 40 grams or more of opium;

2. 40 grams or more of morphine;
3. 200 grams or more of shabu or methylamphetamine hydrochloride;
4. 40 grams or more of heroin;
5. 750 grams or more of indian hemp or marijuana;
6. 50 grams or more of marijuana resin or marijuana resin oil;
7. 40 grams or more of cocaine or cocaine hydrochloride; or
8. In the case of other dangerous drugs, the quantity of which is far
beyond therapeutic requirements, as determined and promulgated by the
Dangerous Drugs Board, after public consultations/hearings conducted for
the purpose.
Otherwise, if the quantity involved is less than the foregoing
quantities, the penalty shall range from prision correccional to reclusion
perpetua depending upon the quantity.
Every penalty imposed for the unlawful importation, sale,
administration, delivery, transportation or manufacture of dangerous drugs,
the cultivation of plants which are sources of dangerous drugs and the
possession of any opium pipe and other paraphernalia for dangerous drugs
shall carry with it the confiscation and forfeiture, in favor of the Government,
of all the proceeds of the crime including but not limited to money and other
obtained thereby and the instruments or tools with which it was committed,
unless they are the property of a third person not liable for the offense, but
those which are not of lawful commerce shall be ordered destroyed without
delay. Dangerous drugs and plant sources of such drugs as well as the
proceeds or instruments of the crime so confiscated and forfeited in favor of
the Government shall be turned over to the Board for proper disposal
without delay.
Any apprehending or arresting officer who misappropriates or
misapplies or fails to account for seized or confiscated dangerous drugs or
plant-sources of dangerous drugs or proceeds or instruments of the crime as
are herein defined shall after conviction be punished by the penalty of
reclusion perpetua to death and a fine ranging from five hundred thousand
pesos to ten million pesos.
Section 18. There shall be incorporated after Section 20 of Republic
Act No. 6425, as amended, known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972, a
new section to read as follows:
Sec. 20-A. Plea-bargaining Provisions. Any person charged under
any provision of this Act where the imposable penalty is reclusion perpetua
to death shall not be allowed to avail of the provision on plea bargaining.
Section 19. Section 24 of Republic Act No. 6425, as amended, known
as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972, is hereby amended to read as follows :

Sec. 24. Penalties for Government Official and Employees and Officers
and Members of Police Agencies and the Armed Forces, Planting of
Evidence. The maximum penalties provided for Section 3, 4(1), 5(1), 6, 7,
8, 9, 11, 12 and 13 of Article II and Sections 14, 14-A, 15(1), 16 and 19 of
Article III shall be imposed, if those found guilty of any of the said offenses
are government officials, employees or officers, including members of police
agencies and the armed forces.
Any such above government official, employee or officer who is found
guilty of planting any dangerous drugs punished in Sections 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
and 13 of Article II and Sections 14, 14-A, 15 and 16 of Article III of this Act
in the person or in the immediate vicinity of another as evidence to implicate
the latter, shall suffer the same penalty as therein provided.
Section 20. Sec. 14 of Republic Act No. 6539, as amended, known as
the Anti-Carnapping Act of 1972, is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 14. Penalty for Carnapping. Any person who is found guilty of
carnapping, as this term is defined in Section Two of this Act, shall,
irrespective of the value of motor vehicle taken, be punished by
imprisonment for not less than fourteen years and eight months and not
more than seventeen years and four months, when the carnapping is
committed without violence or intimidation of persons, or force upon things;
and by imprisonment for not less than seventeen years and four months and
not more than thirty years, when the carnapping is committed by means of
violence against or intimidation of any person, or force upon things; and the
penalty of reclusion perpetua to death shall be imposed when the owner,
driver or occupant of the carnapped motor vehicle is killed or raped in the
course of the commission of the carnapping or on the occasion thereof.
Section 21. Article 27 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, is
hereby amended to read as follows:
Art. 27. Reclusion perpetua. The penalty of reclusion perpetua shall
be from twenty years and one day to forty years.
Reclusion temporal. The penalty of reclusion temporal shall be from
twelve years and one day to twenty years.
Prision mayor and temporary disqualification. The duration of the
penalties of prision mayor and temporary disqualification shall be from six
years and one day to twelve years, except when the penalty of
disqualification is imposed as an accessory penalty, in which case, it shall be
that of the principal penalty.
Prision correccional, suspension, and destierro. The duration of the
penalties of prision correccional, suspension, and destierro shall be from six
months and one day to six years, except when the suspension is imposed as
an accessory penalty, in which case, its duration shall be that of the principal
penalty.

Arresto mayor. The duration of the penalty of arresto mayor shall be

from one month and one day to six months.
Arresto menor. The duration of the penalty of arresto menor shall be
from one day to thirty days.
Bond to keep the peace. The bond to keep the peace shall be
required to cover such period of time as the court may determine.
Section 22. Article 47 of the same Code is hereby amended to read
as follows:
Art. 47. In what cases the death penalty shall not be imposed;
Automatic review of the Death Penalty Cases. The death penalty shall be
imposed in all cases in which it must be imposed under existing laws, except
when the guilty person is below eighteen (18) years of age at the time of the
commission of the crime or is more than seventy years of age or when upon
appeal or automatic review of the case by the Supreme Court, the required
majority vote is not obtained for the imposition of the death penalty, in
which cases the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua.
In all cases where the death penalty is imposed by the trial court, the
records shall be forwarded to the Supreme Court for automatic review and
judgment by the Court en banc, within twenty (20) days but not earlier than
fifteen (15) days after promulgation of the judgment or notice of denial of
any motion for new trial or reconsideration. The transcript shall also be
forwarded within ten (10) days from the filing thereof by the stenographic
reporter.
Section 23. Article 62 of the same Code, as amended, is hereby
amended to read as follows :
Art. 62. Effects of the attendance of mitigating or aggravating
circumstances and of habitual delinquency. Mitigating or aggravating
circumstances and habitual delinquency shall be taken into account for the
purpose of diminishing or increasing the penalty in conformity with the
following rules:
1. Aggravating circumstances which in themselves constitute a crime
specially punishable by law or which are included by the law in defining a
crime and prescribing the penalty therefor shall not be taken into account for
the purpose of increasing the penalty.
1(a). When in the commission of the crime, advantage was taken by
the offender of his public position, the penalty to be imposed shall be in its
maximum regardless of mitigating circumstances.
The maximum penalty shall be imposed if the offense was committed
by any group who belongs to an organized/syndicated crime group.
An organized/syndicated crime group means a group of two or more
persons collaborating, confederating or mutually helping one another for
purposes of gain in the commission of any crime.

2. The same rule shall apply with respect to any aggravating

circumstances inherent in the crime to such a degree that it must of
necessity accompany the commission thereof.
3. Aggravating or mitigating circumstances which arise from the moral
attributes of the offender, or from his private relations with the offended
party, or from any other personal cause, shall only serve to aggravate or
mitigate the liability of the principals, accomplices and accessories as to
whom such circumstances are attendant.
4. The circumstances which consist in the material execution of the
act, or in the means employed to accomplish it, shall serve to aggravate or
mitigate the liability of those persons only who had knowledge of them at
the time of the execution of the act or their cooperation therein.
5. Habitual delinquency shall have the following effects :
(a) Upon a third conviction the culprit shall be sentenced to the
penalty provided by law for the last crime of which he be found guilty and to
the additional penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum
periods;
(b) Upon a fourth conviction, the culprit shall be sentenced to the
penalty provided for the last crime of which he be found guilty and to the
additional penalty of prision mayor in its minimum and medium periods; and
(c) Upon a fifth or additional conviction, the culprit shall be sentenced
to the penalty provided for the last crime of which he be found guilty and to
the additional penalty of prision mayor in its maximum period to reclusion
temporal in its minimum period.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this article, the total of the two
penalties to be imposed upon the offender, in conformity herewith, shall in
no case exceed 30 years.
For purposes of this article, a person shall be deemed to be a habitual
delinquent, if within a period of ten years from the date of his release or last
conviction of the crimes of serious or less serious physical injuries, robo,
hurto, estafa or falsification, he is found guilty of any of said crimes a third
time or oftener.
Section 24. Article 81 of the same Code, as amended, is hereby
amended to read as follows :
Art. 81. When and how the death penalty is to be executed. The
death sentence shall be executed with preference to any other and shall
consist in putting the person under sentence to death by electrocution. The
death sentence shall be executed under the authority of the Director of
Prisons, endeavoring so far as possible to mitigate the sufferings of the
person under the sentence during electrocution as well as during the
proceedings prior to the execution.
If the person under sentence so desires, he shall be anaesthetized at
the moment of the execution.

As soon as facilities are provided by the Bureau of Prisons, the method

of carrying out the sentence shall be changed to gas poisoning.
The death sentence shall be carried out not later than one (1) year
after the judgment has become final.
Section 25. Article 83 of the same Code is hereby amended to read
as follows:
Art. 83. Suspension of the execution of the death sentence. The
death sentence shall not be inflicted upon a woman while she is pregnant or
within one (1) year after delivery, nor upon any person over seventy years of
age. In this last case, the death sentence shall be commuted to the penalty
of reclusion perpetua with the accessory penalties provided in Article 40.
In all cases where the death sentence has become final, the records of
the case shall be forwarded immediately by the Supreme Court to the Office
of the President for possible exercise of the pardoning power.
Section. 26. All laws, presidential decrees and issuances, executive
orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions
of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Section 27. If, for any reason or reasons, any part of the provision of
this Act shall be held to be unconstitutional or invalid, other parts or
provisions hereof which are not affected thereby shall continue to be in full
force and effect.
Section 28. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation. The
publication shall not be later than seven (7) days after the approval hereof.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9346]

AN ACT PROHIBITING THE IMPOSITION OF DEATH PENALTY IN THE
PHILIPPINES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
Philippines in Congress assembled:
SECTION 1. The imposition of the penalty of death is hereby
prohibited. Accordingly, Republic Act No. Eight Thousand One Hundred
Seventy-Seven (R.A. No. 8177), otherwise known as the Act Designating
Death by Lethal Injection is hereby repealed, Republic Act No. Seven
Thousand Six Hundred Fifty-Nine (R.A. No. 7659), otherwise known as the
Death Penalty Law, and all other laws, executive orders and decrees, insofar
as they impose the death penalty are hereby repealed or amended
accordingly.
SEC. 2. In lieu of the death penalty, the following shall be imposed:
(a) the penalty of reclusion perpetua, when the law violated makes use
of the nomenclature of the penalties of the Revised Penal Code; or

(b) the penalty of life imprisonment, when the law violated does not
make use of the nomenclature of the penalties of the Revised Penal Code.
SEC. 3. Persons convicted of offenses punished with reclusion
perpetua, or whose sentences will be reduced to reclusion perpetua, by
reason of this Act, shall not be eligible for parole under Act No. 4103,
otherwise known as the Indeterminate Sentence Law, as amended.
SEC. 4. The Board of Pardons and Parole shall cause the publication at
least once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general
circulation of the names of persons convicted of offenses punished
with reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment by reason of this Act who are
being considered or recommended for commutation or pardon: Provided,
however; That nothing herein shall limit the power of the President to grant
executive clemency under Section 19, Article VII of the Constitution.
SEC. 5. This Act shall take effect immediately after its publication in
two national newspapers of general circulation.
COMMONWEALTH ACT NO. 616
AN ACT TO PUNISH ESPIONAGE AND OTHER OFFENSES AGAINST THE
NATIONAL SECURITY
SECTION 1. Unlawfully obtaining or permitting to be obtained
information affecting national defense. (a) Whoever, for the purposes of
obtaining information respecting the national defense with intent or reason
to believe that the information to be obtained is to be used to the injury of
the Philippines or of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign
nation, goes upon, enters, flies over, or otherwise obtains information
concerning any vessel, aircraft, work of defense, navy yard, naval station,
submarine base, coaling station, fort, battery, torpedo station, dockyard,
canal, railroad, arsenal, camp, factory, mine, telegraph, telephone, wireless,
or signal station, building, office, or other place connected with the national
defense, owned or constructed, or in progress of construction by the
Philippines or by the United States or under the control of the Philippines or
of the United States, or any of its officers or agents, or within the exclusive
jurisdiction of the Philippines or of the United States, or any place in which
any vessel, aircraft, arms, munitions, or other materials or instruments for
the use in time of war are being made, prepared, repaired, or stored, under
any contract or agreement with the Philippines or the United States, or with
any person on behalf of the Philippines or the United States, or otherwise on
behalf of the Philippines or the United States, or any prohibited place within
the meaning of section six hereof; or

(b) Whoever, for the purpose aforesaid, and with like intent or reason
to believe, copies, takes, makes, or obtains, or attempts, or induces or aids
another to copy, take, make, or obtain, any sketch, photograph,
photographic negative, blue print, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance,
document, writing, or note of anything connected with the national defense;
or
(c) Whoever, for the purpose aforesaid, receives or obtains or agrees
or attempts or induces or aids another to receive or obtain from any person,
or from any source whatever, any document, writing, code book, signal
book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blue print, plan, map,
model, instrument, appliance, or note of anything connected with the
national defense, knowing or having reason to believe, at the time he
receives or obtains, or agrees or attempts or induces or aids another to
receive or obtain it, that it has been or will be obtained, taken, made, or
disposed of by any person contrary to the provisions of this Act; or
(d) Whoever, lawfully or unlawfully having possession of, access to,
control over, or being intrusted with any document, writing, code book,
signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blue print, plan,
map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense,
wilfully communicates or transmits or attempts to communicate or transmit
the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or wilfully retains the same
and fails to deliver it on demand to the officer or employee of the Philippines
or of the United States entitled to receive it; or
(e) Whoever, being intrusted with or having lawful possession or
control of any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch,
photograph, photographic negative, blue print, plan, map, model, note or
information, relating to the national defense, through gross negligence
permits the same to be removed from its proper place of custody or
delivered to anyone in violation of this trust or to be lost, stolen, abstracted,
or destroyed, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than ten years
and may, in addition thereto, be fined not more than ten thousand pesos.

SECTION 2. Unlawful disclosing information affecting national defense.

(a) Whoever, with the intent or reason to believe that it is to be used to
the injury of the Philippines or of the United States or to the advantage of a
foreign nation, communicates, delivers, or transmits, or attempts to, or aids
or induces another to, communicate, deliver, or transmit to any foreign
government, or any faction or party or military or naval force within a
foreign country, whether recognized or unrecognized by the Philippines or by
the United States, or to any representative, officer, agent, employee,
subject, or citizen thereof, either directly or indirectly, any document,
writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative,
blue print, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or information relating
to the national defense, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more
than twenty years, if the offense is committed in time of peace, or by death
or imprisonment for not more than thirty years, if it is in time of war.
(b) Whoever, in time of war with intent that the same shall be
communicated to the enemy, shall collect, record, publish, or communicate,
or attempt to elicit any information with respect to the movement, number,
description, condition, or disposition of any of the armed forces, ships,
aircraft, or war materials of the Philippines or of the United States, or with
respect to the plans or conduct, or supposed plans or conduct of any
military, naval, or air operations, or with respect to any works or measures
undertaken for or connected with, or intended for the fortification or defense
of any place, or any other information relating to the public defense which
might be useful to the enemy, shall be punished by death or by
imprisonment for not more than thirty years.
SECTION 3. Disloyal acts or works in time of peace. It shall be
unlawful for any person, with intent to interfere with, impair, or influence the
loyalty, morale, or discipline of the military, naval, or air forces of the
Philippines or of the United States: (a) to advise, counsel, urge, or in any
manner cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty by any
member of the military, naval, or air forces of the Philippines or of the United
States; or (b) to distribute any written or printed matter which advises,
counsels, or urges insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty by
any member of the military, naval, or air forces of the Philippines or of the
United States. The violation of this section shall be punished by
imprisonment for not more than ten years, or by fine not more than ten
thousand pesos, or both.

SECTION 4. Disloyal acts or words in time of war. Whoever, when

the Philippines or the United States is at war, shall wilfully make or convey
false reports or false statements with the intent to interfere with the
operation or success of the military, naval, or air forces of the Philippines or
of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies shall wilfully
cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of
duty, in the military, naval, or air forces of the Philippines or the United
States, or shall wilfully obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service of the
Philippines or of the United States, to the injury of the service of the
Philippines or of the United States, shall be punished by imprisonment for
not more than twenty years, or by a fine of not more than twenty thousand
pesos, or both.
SECTION 5. Conspiracy to violate preceding sections. If two or more
persons conspire to violate the provisions of sections one, two, three, or four
of this Act, and one or more of such persons does any act to effect the
object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be
punished as in said sections provided in the case of the doing of the act the
accomplishment of which is the object of such conspiracy.
SECTION 6. Harboring or concealing violators of the law. Whoever
harbors or conceals any person who he knows, or has reasonable ground to
believe or suspect, has committed, or is about to commit, an offense under
this Act, shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than ten years and
may, in addition thereto, be fined not more than ten thousand pesos.
SECTION 7. Designation of prohibited places by proclamation. The
President of the Philippines in time of war or in case of national emergency
may by proclamation designate any place other than those set forth in
subsection (a) of section one hereof in which anything for the use of the
army, navy, or air forces are being prepared or constructed or stored as a
prohibited place for the purpose of this Act: Provided, That he shall
determine that information with respect thereto would be prejudicial to the
national defense.

SECTION 8. Photographing, etc., defensive installations regulated;

penalties. Whenever, in the interests of national defense, the President of
the Philippines shall define certain vital military, naval, or air installations or
equipment as requiring protection against the general dissemination of
information relative thereto, it shall be unlawful to make any photograph,
sketch, picture, drawing, map, or graphical representation of such vital
military, naval, and air installations or equipment without first obtaining
permission of the commanding officer of the military, naval, or air post,
camp, or station concerned, or higher authority, and promptly submitting the
product obtained to such commanding officer or higher authority for
censorship or such other action as he may deem necessary. Any person
found guilty of a violation of this section shall be punished by imprisonment
for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than two thousand
pesos, or both.
SECTION 9. Photographing, etc., from aircraft. Any person who uses
or permits or procures the use of an aircraft for the purpose of making a
photograph, sketch, picture, drawing, map, or graphical representation of
vital military, naval or air installations or equipment, in violation of section
eight of this Act, shall be liable to the penalty therein provided.
SECTION 10. Reproducing, publishing, selling, etc., uncensored copies.
After the President of the Philippines shall have defined any vital military,
naval, or air installation or equipment as being within the category
contemplated under section eight of this Act, it shall be unlawful for any
person to reproduce, publish, sell, or give away any photograph, sketch,
picture, drawing, map or graphical representation of the vital military, naval,
or air installations or equipment so defined, without first obtaining
permission of the commanding officer of the military, naval, or air post,
camp, or station concerned, or higher authority, unless such photograph,
sketch, picture, drawing, map, or graphical representation has clearly
indicated thereon that it has been censored by the proper military, naval, or
air authority. Any person found guilty of a violation of this section shall be
punished as provided in section eight of this Act.
SECTION 11. Destroying or injuring or attempting to injure or destroy
war material in time of war. When the Philippines or the United States is
at war, whoever, with intent to injure, interfere with, or obstruct the
Philippines or the United States or any associate nation in preparing for or
carrying on the war, or whoever, with reason to believe that his act may
injure, interfere with, or obstruct the Philippines or the United States or any
associate nation in preparing for or carrying on the war, shall wilfully injure
or destroy, or shall attempt to so injure or destroy, any war material, war
premises, or war utilities, as herein defined, shall be imprisoned not more
than thirty years or be fined not more than thirty thousand pesos, or both.

SECTION 12. Making or causing war material to be made in defective

manner. When the Philippines or the United States is at war, whoever, with
intent to injure, interfere with, or obstruct the Philippines or the United
States or any associate nation in preparing for or carrying on the war, or
whoever, with reason to believe that his act may injure, interfere with, or
obstruct the Philippines or the United States or any associate nation in
preparing for or carrying on the war, shall wilfully make or cause to be made
in a defective manner, or attempt to make or cause to be made in a
defective manner, any war material, as herein defined, or any tool,
implement, machine, utensil, or receptacle used or employed in making,
producing, manufacturing, or repairing any such war material, as herein
defined, shall be imprisoned not more than thirty years or be fined not more
than thirty thousand pesos, or both.
SECTION 13. Injuring or destroying national defense material,
premises, or utilities. Whoever, with intent to injure, interfere with, or
obstruct the national defense of the Philippines or the United States shall
wilfully injure or destroy, or shall attempt to so injure or destroy, any
national defense material, national defense premises, or national defense
utilities, as herein provided, shall be imprisoned not more than ten years or
be fined not more than ten thousand pesos, or both.
SECTION 14. Making or causing to be made in a defective manner, or
attempting to make or cause to be made in a defective manner, national
defense material. Whoever, with intent to injure, interfere with, or
obstruct the national defense of the Philippines or of the United States, shall
wilfully make or cause to be made in a defective manner, or attempt to make
or cause to be made in a defective manner, any national defense material, as
herein defined, or any tool, implement, machine, utensil, or receptacle used
or employed in making, producing, manufacturing, or repairing any such
national defense material, as herein defined, shall be imprisoned not more
than ten years, or fined not more than ten thousand pesos, or both.
SECTION 15. Definition of terms. The term aircraft as used in this
Act means any contrivance known or hereafter invented, used, or designed
for navigation or flight in the air. The expression post, camp, or station as
used in this Act shall be interpreted to include naval vessels, military and
naval aircraft, and any separate military, naval or air command.
The words war or national defense material as used herein shall
include arms, armament, ammunition, livestock, stores of clothing, food,
foodstuffs, or fuel; and shall also include supplies, munitions, and all other
articles of whatever description, and any part or ingredient thereof, intended
for, adapted to, or suitable for the use of the Philippines or the United
States, or any associate nation, in connection with the conduct of war or
national defense.

The words war or national defense premises, as used herein, shall

include all buildings, grounds, mines, or other places wherein such war or
national defense material is being produced, manufactured, repaired, stored,
mined, extracted, distributed, loaded, unloaded, or transported, together
with all machinery and appliances therein contained; and all ports, arsenals,
navy yards, prisons, camps, or other military, naval, or air stations of the
Philippines or the United States or any associate nation.
The words war or national defense utilities, as used herein, shall
include all railroads, railways, electric lines, roads of whatever description,
railroad or railway fixture, canal, lock, dam, wharf, pier, dock, bridge,
building, structure, engine, machine, mechanical contrivance, car, vehicle,
boat, or aircraft, or any other means of transportation whatsoever, whereon
or whereby such war or national defense material or any troops of the
Philippines or of the United States, or of any associate nation, are being or
may be transported either within the limits of the Philippines or the United
States or upon the high seas; and all dams, reservoirs, aqueducts, water
and gas mains, oil or gasoline stations, pipes, structures, and buildings,
whereby or in connection with which water, or gas, or oil, or gasoline, or
other fluid is being furnished, or may be furnished, to any war or national
defense premises or to the military, naval, or air forces of the Philippines or
the United States, or any associate nation, and all electric light and power,
steam or pneumatic power, telephone, and telegraph plants, poles, wires,
and fixtures and wireless stations, and the buildings connected with the
maintenance and operation thereof used to supply water, light, heat, gas, oil,
gasoline, fluid, power, or facilities of communication to any war or national
defense premises or to the military, naval, or air forces of the Philippines or
of the United States, or any associate nation.
The words associate nation, as used in this chapter, shall be deemed
to mean any nation at war with any nation with which the Philippines or the
United States is at war.
The words foreign government, as used in this Act, shall be deemed
to include any government, faction, or body of insurgents within a country
with which the Philippines or United States is at peace, which government,
faction, or body of insurgents may or may not have been recognized by the
Philippines or the United States as a government.
SECTION 16. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 532 August 8, 1974
ANTI-PIRACY AND ANTI-HIGHWAY ROBBERY LAW OF 1974
WHEREAS, reports from law-enforcement agencies reveal that lawless
elements are still committing acts of depredations upon the persons and
properties of innocent and defenseless inhabitants who travel from one place
to another, thereby distributing the peace, order and tranquility of the nation
and stunting the economic and social progress of the people;

WHEREAS, such acts of depredations constitute either piracy or

highway robbery/brigandage which are among the highest forms of
lawlessness condemned by the penal statutes of all countries; and,
WHEREAS, it is imperative that said lawless elements be discouraged
from perpetrating such acts of depredations by imposing heavy penalty on
the offenders, with the end in view of eliminating all obstacles to the
economic, social, educational and community progress of the people;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and
pursuant to proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972 and No.
1104, dated January 17, 1973 and General Order No. 1, dated September
22, 1972, do hereby order and decree as part of the law of the land the
following:
Section 1. Title. This Decree shall be known as the Anti-Piracy and
Anti-Highway Robbery Law of 1974.
Section 2. Definition of Terms. The following terms shall mean and be
understood, as follows:
a. Philippine Waters. It shall refer to all bodies of water, such as but
not limited to, seas, gulfs, bays around, between and connecting each of the
Islands of the Philippine Archipelago, irrespective of its depth, breadth,
length or dimension, and all other waters belonging to the Philippines by
historic or legal title, including territorial sea, the sea-bed, the insular
shelves, and other submarine areas over which the Philippines has
sovereignty or jurisdiction.
b. Vessel. Any vessel or watercraft used for transport of passengers
and cargo from one place to another through Philippine Waters. It shall
include all kinds and types of vessels or boats used in fishing.
c. Philippine Highway. It shall refer to any road, street, passage,
highway and bridges or other parts thereof, or railway or railroad within the
Philippines used by persons, or vehicles, or locomotives or trains for the
movement or circulation of persons or transportation of goods, articles, or
property or both.
d. Piracy. Any attack upon or seizure of any vessel, or the taking away
of the whole or part thereof or its cargo, equipment, or the personal
belongings of its complement or passengers, irrespective of the value
thereof, by means of violence against or intimidation of persons or force
upon things, committed by any person, including a passenger or member of
the complement of said vessel, in Philippine waters, shall be considered as
piracy. The offenders shall be considered as pirates and punished as
hereinafter provided.

e. Highway Robbery/Brigandage. The seizure of any person for

ransom, extortion or other unlawful purposes, or the taking away of the
property of another by means of violence against or intimidation of person or
force upon things of other unlawful means, committed by any person on any
Philippine Highway.
Section 3. Penalties. Any person who commits piracy or highway
robbery/brigandage as herein defined, shall, upon conviction by competents
court be punished by:
a. Piracy. The penalty of reclusion temporal in its medium and
maximum periods shall be imposed. If physical injuries or other crimes are
committed as a result or on the occasion thereof, the penalty of reclusion
perpetua shall be imposed. If rape, murder or homicide is committed as a
result or on the occasion of piracy, or when the offenders abandoned the
victims without means of saving themselves, or when the seizure is
accomplished by firing upon or boarding a vessel, the mandatory penalty of
death shall be imposed.
b. Highway Robbery/Brigandage. The penalty of reclusion temporal in
its minimum period shall be imposed. If physical injuries or other crimes are
committed during or on the occasion of the commission of robbery or
brigandage, the penalty of reclusion temporal in its medium and maximum
periods shall be imposed. If kidnapping for ransom or extortion, or murder
or homicide, or rape is committed as a result or on the occasion thereof, the
penalty of death shall be imposed.
Section 4. Aiding pirates or highway robbers/brigands or abetting
piracy or highway robbery/brigandage. Any person who knowingly and in
any manner aids or protects pirates or highway robbers/brigands, such as
giving them information about the movement of police or other peace
officers of the government, or acquires or receives property taken by such
pirates or brigands or in any manner derives any benefit therefrom; or any
person who directly or indirectly abets the commission of piracy or highway
robbery or brigandage, shall be considered as an accomplice of the principal
offenders and be punished in accordance with the Rules prescribed by the
Revised Penal Code.
It shall be presumed that any person who does any of the acts
provided in this Section has performed knowingly, unless the contrary is
proven.
Section 5. Repealing Clause. Pertinent portions of Act No. 3815,
otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code; and all laws, decrees, or orders
or instructions, or parts thereof, insofar as they are inconsistent with this
Decree are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Section 6. Effectivity. This Decree shall take effect upon approval.

AN ACT PROHIBITING CERTAIN ACTS INIMICAL TO CIVIL

AVIATION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any person to compel a change in
the course or destination of an aircraft of Philippine registry, or to seize or
usurp the control thereof, while it is in flight. An aircraft is in flight from the
moment all its external doors are closed following embarkation until any of
such doors is opened for disembarkation.
It shall likewise be unlawful for any person to compel an aircraft of
foreign registry to land in Philippine territory or to seize or usurp the control
thereof while it is within the said territory.
Section 2. Any person violating any provision of the foregoing section
shall be punished by an imprisonment of not less than twelve years but not
more than twenty years, or by a fine of not less than twenty thousand pesos
but not more than forty thousand pesos.
The penalty of imprisonment of fifteen years to death, or a fine of not
less than twenty-five thousand pesos but not more than fifty thousand pesos
shall be imposed upon any person committing such violation under any of
the following circumstances:
1. Whenever he has fired upon the pilot, member of the crew or
passenger of the aircraft;
2. Whenever he has exploded or attempted to explode any bomb or
explosive to destroy the aircraft; or
3. Whenever the crime is accompanied by murder, homicide, serious
physical injuries or rape.
Section 3. It shall be unlawful for any person, natural or juridical, to
ship, load or carry in any passenger aircraft operating as a public utility
within the Philippines, and explosive, flammable, corrosive or poisonous
substance or material.
Section 4. The shipping, loading or carrying of any substance or
material mentioned in the preceding section in any cargo aircraft operating
as a public utility within the Philippines shall be in accordance with
regulations issued by the Civil Aeronautics Administration.
Section 5. As used in this Act
(1) "Explosive" shall mean any substance, either solid or liquid,
mixture or single compound, which by chemical reaction liberates heat and
gas at high speed and causes tremendous pressure resulting in explosion.
The term shall include but not limited to dynamites, firecrackers, blasting
caps, black powders, bursters, percussions, cartridges and other explosive
materials, except bullets for firearm.

(2) "Flammable" is any substance or material that is highly

combustible and self-igniting by chemical reaction and shall include but not
limited to acrolein, allene, aluminum dyethyl monochloride, and other
aluminum compounds, ammonium chlorate and other ammonium mixtures
and other similar substances or materials.
(3) "Corrosive" is any substance or material, either liquid, solid or
gaseous, which through chemical reaction wears away, impairs or consumes
any object. It shall include but not limited to alkaline battery fluid packed
with empty storage battery, allyl chloroformate, allytrichlorosilane,
ammonium dinitro-orthocresolate and other similar materials and
substances.
(4) "Poisonous" is any substance or materials, except medicinal drug,
either liquid, solid or gaseous, which through chemical reactions kills,
injuries or impairs a living organism or person, and shall include but not
limited to allyl isothiocyanate, ammunition (chemical, non-explosive but
containing Class A, B or poison), aniline oil, arsine, bromobenzyle cyanide,
bromoacetone and other similar substances or materials.
Section 6. Any violation of Section three hereof shall be punishable by
an imprisonment of at least five years but not more than ten years or by a
fine of not less than ten thousand pesos but not more than twenty thousand
pesos:Provided, That if the violation is committed by a juridical person, the
penalty shall be imposed upon the manager, representative, director, agent
or employee who violated, or caused, directed, cooperated or participated in
the violation thereof: Provided, further, That in case the violation is
committed in the interest of a foreign corporation legally doing business in
the Philippines, the penalty shall be imposed upon its resident agent,
manager, representative or director responsible for such violation and in
addition thereto, the license of said corporation to do business in the
Philippines shall be revoked.
Any violation of Section four hereof shall be an offense punishable with
the minimum of the penalty provided in the next preceding paragraph.
Section 7. For any death or injury to persons or damage to property
resulting from a violation of Sections three and four hereof, the person
responsible therefor may be held liable in accordance with the applicable
provisions of the Revised Penal Code.
Section 8. Aircraft companies which operate as public utilities or
operators of aircraft which are for hire are authorized to open and
investigate suspicious packages and cargoes in the presence of the owner or
shipper, or his authorized representatives if present; in order to help the
authorities in the enforcement of the provisions of this Act:Provided, That if
the owner, shipper or his representative refuses to have the same opened
and inspected, the airline or air carrier is authorized to refuse the loading
thereof.

Section 9. Every ticket issued to a passenger by the airline or air

carrier concerned shall contain among others the following condition printed
thereon: "Holder hereof and his hand-carried luggage(s) are subject to
search for, and seizure of, prohibited materials or substances. Holder
refusing to be searched shall not be allowed to board the aircraft," which
shall constitute a part of the contract between the passenger and the air
carrier.
Section 10. The Civil Aeronautics Administration is hereby directed to
promulgate within one month after the approval of this Act such regulations
as are provided in Section four hereof and cause the publication of such
rules and regulations in the Official Gazette and in a newspaper of national
circulation for at least once a week for three consecutive weeks. Such
regulations shall take effect fifteen days after publication in the Official
Gazette.
Section 11. This Act shall take effect after the publication mentioned
in the preceding section.
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 272
AUTHORIZING THE CREATION OF THE SOCIAL HOUSING
FINANCE CORPORATION AND DIRECTING THE TRANSFER OF THE
COMMUNITY MORTGAGE PROGRAM, ABOT-KAYA PABAHAY FUND
PROGRAM, AND OTHER SOCIAL HOUSING POWERS AND FUNCTIONS
OF THE NATIONAL HOME MORTGAGE FINANCE CORPORATION TO
THE SOCIAL HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION
WHEREAS, the Constitution mandates the State to undertake a
continuing program of urban land reform and housing which will make
available, at affordable cost, decent housing and basic services to
underprivileged and homeless citizens in urban centers and resettlement
areas;
WHEREAS, the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation
[NHMFC] was created under Presidential Decree No. 1267 with the primary
purpose of developing and providing a secondary market for home
mortgages granted by public and/or private home financing institutions;
WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 6846 [RA 6846], otherwise known as the
Social Housing Support Fund Act of 1990, as amended by Republic Act No.
7835 [RA 7835], otherwise known as the Comprehensive and Integrated
Shelter Financing Act of 1994, created the Abot-Kaya Pabahay Fund [AKPF]
to enhance the affordability of low-cost housing by low-income families,
provide developmental financing for low-cost housing projects, and eliminate
the risks for the government funding agencies involved in housing, and
designated the NHMFC to act as the trustee of the AKPF and exercise
administration and control over the AKPF amortization support program and
AKPF developmental financing program;

WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 7279 [RA 7279], otherwise known as the
Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, adopted the Community
Mortgage Program [CMP] as a component of the National Shelter Program to
assist legally-organized associations of underprivileged and homeless
citizens to purchase and develop a tract of land and to own lots they occupy
or where they choose to relocate to, under the concept of community
ownership, and designated the NHMFC as the administrator of the CMP;
WHEREAS, the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council
[HUDCC] Secretariat, through the HUDCC Chairman, has recommended the
creation of the Social Housing Finance Corporation [SHFC] as a whollyowned subsidiary of the NHMFC, to perform the latters powers and functions
relating to the administration, management and development of the CMP
and the AKPF Program (amortization support program and developmental
financing program), as well as other social housing functions of the NHMFC,
in order to allow the NHMFC to devote full attention to its mandate to
develop and provide a secondary market for home mortgages granted by
public and/or private home financing institutions;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of
the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby
order:
SECTION 1. Authority to Establish the Social Housing Finance
Corporation. The National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation [NHMFC] is
hereby authorized to organize and establish a body corporate to be known
as the Social Housing Finance Corporation [SHFC], as a wholly-owned
subsidiary, to be formed in accordance with the Corporation Code and
pertinent rules and regulations issued by the Securities and Exchange
Commission [SEC]. Upon its incorporation, the SHFC shall be under the
administrative supervision of the HUDCC.
SECTION 2. Mandate. The SHFC shall be the lead government
agency to undertake social housing programs that will cater to the formal
and informal sectors in the low-income bracket and shall take charge of
developing and administering social housing program schemes, particularly
the CMP and the AKPF Program (amortization support program and
developmental financing program).
SECTION 3. Capitalization, Powers and Functions of the SHFC. The
NHMFC, as the incorporator and holding company of the SHFC, shall
determine the capitalization, powers and functions of the SHFC.
SECTION 4. Board of Directors of the SHFC. The Board of Directors
of the SHFC shall be composed of the following:

a. HUDCC Chairman as ex-officio Chairman;

b. SHFC President as ex-officio Vice Chairman;
c. Secretary of the Department of Finance or his designated representative;
d. Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, or his
designated representative;
e. Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management, or his
designated representative;
f. Representative from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas [BSP] designated by
the BSP Governor;
g. Representative from the NHMFC designated by the Board of Directors of
NHMFC; and
h. Four (4) representatives from the private sector, who shall be nominated
by the President of the Republic of the Philippines.
SECTION 5. President of the SHFC. The President of the SHFC shall
be nominated by the President of the Republic of the Philippines.
SECTION 6. Transfer. Upon the incorporation of the SHFC, the
following funds and programs directed towards social housing shall be
transferred from the NHMFC to the SHFC:
(a) The CMP, including all funds appropriated for the CMP;
(b) The AKPF Program (amortization support program and the
developmental financing program); and
(c) Such other funds, programs and functions related to social housing as
may be determined by the NHMFC Board.
Upon such transfer, all powers, functions, rights and duties previously
exercised by the NHMFC relating to the administration, management and
development of the CMP and the AKPF Program (amortization support
program and the developmental financing program), whether as
administrator or as trustee, as well as the other social housing functions of
the NHMFC to be determined by the NHMFC Board, shall be transferred to
and exercised by the SHFC.
SECTION 7. Transfer Committee. A Transfer Committee composed
of the HUDCC Chairman, the NHMFC President, a representative from the
DBM, and two (2) representatives from the HUDCC, shall prepare the
necessary plans and measures to effect the transfer of all assets, liabilities
and records of the CMP and the AKPF Program (amortization support
program and the developmental financing program) to the SHFC within thirty
(30) days from the issuance of this Executive Order.

The NHMFC, SHFC and the Transfer Committee are hereby directed to
take all the necessary steps towards effecting the efficient transfer of the
CMP and the AKPF Program (amortization support program and the
developmental financing program) from the NHMFC to the SHFC and shall
jointly submit a report to the President on all actions taken to implement the
provisions of this Executive Order within thirty (30) days after the SHFC shall
have been organized and established.
SECTION 8. Personnel. The SHFC position structure and staffing
pattern shall be subject to the approval of the DBM. To ensure the continued
implementation of the CMP and the AKPF Program (amortization support
program and the developmental financing program) during the period of
transfer and transition, the NHMFC personnel who are performing the
functions transferred to the SHFC shall continue to perform such duties;
provided, that those personnel whose positions or job descriptions are not
included in the SHFC position structure and staffing pattern may, at their
option, remain with the NHMFC, retire, or be separated from the service, and
shall be entitled to the benefits provided by law at the time of retirement or
separation.
SECTION 9. Existing Policies and Rules. Existing policies, guidelines,
rules and regulations with respect to the functions of the NHMFC which have
been transferred to the SHFC shall continue in effect until amended or
modified accordingly.
SECTION 10. Repealing Clause. All executive issuances, guidelines,
rules and regulations, or parts thereof which are contrary or inconsistent
with the provisions of this Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly.
SECTION 11. Effectivity. This Executive Order shall take effect
immediately.
Republic Act No. 7438
April 27, 1992
AN ACT DEFINING CERTAIN RIGHTS OF PERSON ARRESTED,
DETAINED OR UNDER CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION AS WELL AS THE
DUTIES OF THE ARRESTING, DETAINING AND INVESTIGATING
OFFICERS, AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled::
Section 1. Statement of Policy. It is the policy of the Senate to
value the dignity of every human being and guarantee full respect for human
rights.
Section 2. Rights of Persons Arrested, Detained or Under
Custodial Investigation; Duties of Public Officers.
(a) Any person arrested detained or under custodial investigation shall
at all times be assisted by counsel.

(b) Any public officer or employee, or anyone acting under his order or
his place, who arrests, detains or investigates any person for the commission
of an offense shall inform the latter, in a language known to and understood
by him, of his rights to remain silent and to have competent and
independent counsel, preferably of his own choice, who shall at all times be
allowed to confer privately with the person arrested, detained or under
custodial investigation. If such person cannot afford the services of his own
counsel, he must be provided with a competent and independent counsel by
the investigating officer.lawphi1
(c) The custodial investigation report shall be reduced to writing by the
investigating officer, provided that before such report is signed, or
thumbmarked if the person arrested or detained does not know how to read
and write, it shall be read and adequately explained to him by his counsel or
by the assisting counsel provided by the investigating officer in the language
or dialect known to such arrested or detained person, otherwise, such
investigation report shall be null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
(d) Any extrajudicial confession made by a person arrested, detained
or under custodial investigation shall be in writing and signed by such person
in the presence of his counsel or in the latter's absence, upon a valid waiver,
and in the presence of any of the parents, elder brothers and sisters, his
spouse, the municipal mayor, the municipal judge, district school supervisor,
or priest or minister of the gospel as chosen by him; otherwise, such
extrajudicial confession shall be inadmissible as evidence in any proceeding.
(e) Any waiver by a person arrested or detained under the provisions
of Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code, or under custodial investigation,
shall be in writing and signed by such person in the presence of his counsel;
otherwise the waiver shall be null and void and of no effect.
(f) Any person arrested or detained or under custodial investigation
shall be allowed visits by or conferences with any member of his immediate
family, or any medical doctor or priest or religious minister chosen by him or
by any member of his immediate family or by his counsel, or by any national
non-governmental organization duly accredited by the Commission on
Human Rights of by any international non-governmental organization duly
accredited by the Office of the President. The person's "immediate family"
shall include his or her spouse, fianc or fiance, parent or child, brother or
sister, grandparent or grandchild, uncle or aunt, nephew or niece, and
guardian or ward.
As used in this Act, "custodial investigation" shall include the practice
of issuing an "invitation" to a person who is investigated in connection with
an offense he is suspected to have committed, without prejudice to the
liability of the "inviting" officer for any violation of law.

Section 3. Assisting Counsel. Assisting counsel is any lawyer,

except those directly affected by the case, those charged with conducting
preliminary investigation or those charged with the prosecution of crimes.
The assisting counsel other than the government lawyers shall be
entitled to the following fees;
(a) The amount of One hundred fifty pesos (P150.00) if the suspected
person is chargeable with light felonies;lawphi1alf
(b) The amount of Two hundred fifty pesos (P250.00) if the suspected
person is chargeable with less grave or grave felonies;
(c) The amount of Three hundred fifty pesos (P350.00) if the
suspected person is chargeable with a capital offense.
The fee for the assisting counsel shall be paid by the city or
municipality where the custodial investigation is conducted, provided that if
the municipality of city cannot pay such fee, the province comprising such
municipality or city shall pay the fee: Provided, That the Municipal or City
Treasurer must certify that no funds are available to pay the fees of assisting
counsel before the province pays said fees.
In the absence of any lawyer, no custodial investigation shall be
conducted and the suspected person can only be detained by the
investigating officer in accordance with the provisions of Article 125 of the
Revised Penal Code.
Section 4. Penalty Clause. (a) Any arresting public officer or
employee, or any investigating officer, who fails to inform any person
arrested, detained or under custodial investigation of his right to remain
silent and to have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own
choice, shall suffer a fine of Six thousand pesos (P6,000.00) or a penalty of
imprisonment of not less than eight (8) years but not more than ten (10)
years, or both. The penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification shall also
be imposed upon the investigating officer who has been previously convicted
of a similar offense.
The same penalties shall be imposed upon a public officer or
employee, or anyone acting upon orders of such investigating officer or in
his place, who fails to provide a competent and independent counsel to a
person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation for the
commission of an offense if the latter cannot afford the services of his own
counsel.

(b) Any person who obstructs, prevents or prohibits any lawyer, any
member of the immediate family of a person arrested, detained or under
custodial investigation, or any medical doctor or priest or religious minister
chosen by him or by any member of his immediate family or by his counsel,
from visiting and conferring privately with him, or from examining and
treating him, or from ministering to his spiritual needs, at any hour of the
day or, in urgent cases, of the night shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment
of not less than four (4) years nor more than six (6) years, and a fine of four
thousand pesos (P4,000.00).lawphi1
The provisions of the above Section notwithstanding, any security
officer with custodial responsibility over any detainee or prisoner may
undertake such reasonable measures as may be necessary to secure his
safety and prevent his escape.
Section 5. Repealing Clause. Republic Act No. No. 857, as
amended, is hereby repealed. Other laws, presidential decrees, executive
orders or rules and regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act are repealed or modified accordingly.
Section 6. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
following its publication in the Official Gazette or in any daily newspapers of
general circulation in the Philippines.
RULE 126
Search and Seizure
Section 1. Search warrant defined. A search warrant is an order in
writing issued in the name of the People of the Philippines, signed by a judge
and directed to a peace officer, commanding him to search for personal
property described therein and bring it before the court. (1)
Section 2. Court where application for search warrant shall be filed.
An application for search warrant shall be filed with the following:
a) Any court within whose territorial jurisdiction a crime was
committed.
b) For compelling reasons stated in the application, any court within
the judicial region where the crime was committed if the place of the
commission of the crime is known, or any court within the judicial region
where the warrant shall be enforced.
However, if the criminal action has already been filed, the application
shall only be made in the court where the criminal action is pending. (n)
Section 3. Personal property to be seized. A search warrant may be
issued for the search and seizure of personal property:
(a) Subject of the offense;
(b) Stolen or embezzled and other proceeds, or fruits of the offense;
or

(c) Used or intended to be used as the means of committing an

offense. (2a)
Section 4. Requisites for issuing search warrant. A search warrant
shall not issue except upon probable cause in connection with one specific
offense to be determined personally by the judge after examination under
oath or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may produce,
and particularly describing the place to be searched and the things to be
seized which may be anywhere in the Philippines. (3a)
Section 5. Examination of complainant; record. The judge must,
before issuing the warrant, personally examine in the form of searching
questions and answers, in writing and under oath, the complainant and the
witnesses he may produce on facts personally known to them and attach to
the record their sworn statements, together with the affidavits submitted.
(4a)
Section 6. Issuance and form of search warrant. If the judge is
satisfied of the existence of facts upon which the application is based or that
there is probable cause to believe that they exist, he shall issue the warrant,
which must be substantially in the form prescribed by these Rules. (5a)
Section 7. Right to break door or window to effect search. The
officer, if refused admittance to the place of directed search after giving
notice of his purpose and authority, may break open any outer or inner door
or window of a house or any part of a house or anything therein to execute
the warrant or liberate himself or any person lawfully aiding him when
unlawfully detained therein. (6)
Section 8. Search of house, room, or premise to be made in presence
of two witnesses. No search of a house, room, or any other premise shall
be made except in the presence of the lawful occupant thereof or any
member of his family or in the absence of the latter, two witnesses of
sufficient age and discretion residing in the same locality. (7a)
Section 9. Time of making search. The warrant must direct that it
be served in the day time, unless the affidavit asserts that the property is on
the person or in the place ordered to be searched, in which case a direction
may be inserted that it be served at any time of the day or night. (8)
Section 10. Validity of search warrant. A search warrant shall be
valid for ten (10) days from its date. Thereafter it shall be void. (9a)
Section 11. Receipt for the property seized. The officer seizing
property under the warrant must give a detailed receipt for the same to the
lawful occupant of the premises in whose presence the search and seizure
were made, or in the absence of such occupant, must, in the presence of at
least two witnesses of sufficient age and discretion residing in the same
locality, leave a receipt in the place in which he found the seized property.
(10a)

Section 12. Delivery of property and inventory thereof to

court; return and proceedings thereon. (a) The officer must forthwith
deliver the property seized to the judge who issued the warrant, together
with a true inventory thereof duly verified under oath.
(b) Ten (10) days after issuance of the search warrant, the issuing
judge shall ascertain if the return has been made, and if none, shall summon
the person to whom the warrant was issued and require him to explain why
no return was made. If the return has been made, the judge shall ascertain
whether section 11 of this Rule has been complained with and shall require
that the property seized be delivered to him. The judge shall see to it that
subsection (a) hereof has been complied with.
(c) The return on the search warrant shall be filed and kept by the
custodian of the log book on search warrants who shall enter therein the
date of the return, the result, and other actions of the judge.
A violation of this section shall constitute contempt of court.(11a)
Section 13. Search incident to lawful arrest. A person lawfully
arrested may be searched for dangerous weapons or anything which may
have been used or constitute proof in the commission of an offense without
a search warrant. (12a)
Section 14. Motion to quash a search warrant or to suppress
evidence; where to file. A motion to quash a search warrant and/or to
suppress evidence obtained thereby may be filed in and acted upon only by
the court where the action has been instituted. If no criminal action has
been instituted, the motion may be filed in and resolved by the court that
issued the search warrant. However, if such court failed to resolve the
motion and a criminal case is subsequent filed in another court, the motion
shall be resolved by the latter court. (n)