- Company Profile
- Our Team
- Senior Partners
- Antero M. Sison, JR.
- Antonio L Cardino
- Leonardo A. Aurelio
- Carlito P. Egana
- Emerson S. Panganiban
- Royce Nieville P. Abes
- Henson M. Montalvo
- Daley Rose A. Limosinero
- Dolores G. Gallo
- Taxation
- Investments, Mergers and Acquisitions
- Ligitation and Arbitration
- Corporate Secretarial Services
- Taxation
- Republic Act No. 8424(1)
- Republic Act No. 8424(2)
- Republic Act No. 8424(3)
- Republic Act No. 8424(4)
- Republic Act No. 8424(5)
- Republic Act No. 8424(6)
- Republic Act No. 8424(7)
- Republic Act No. 8424(8)
- Republic Act No. 8424(9)
- Republic Act No. 8424(10)
- Civil Code of the Philippines(1)
- Civil Code of the Philippines(2)
- Civil Code of the Philippines(3)
- Civil Code of the Philippines(4)
- The Family Code of the Philippines(1)
- The Family Code of the Philippines(2)
- The Family Code of the Philippines(3)
- Labor Code Law of the Philippines(1)
- Labor Code of the Philippines (2)
- Labor Code Law of the Philippines (3)
- Labor Code Law of the Philippines (4)
- Labor Code Law of the Philippines (5)
- Labor Code Law of the Philippines (6)
- Labor Code Law of the Philippines (7)
- Revised Penal Code of the Philippines
- Republic Act No. 9262
Quicklinks
- Revised Penal Code of the Philippines
- Republic Act No. 9262
Revised Penal Code of the Philippines
ACT NO. 3815
AN ACT REVISING THE PENAL CODE AND OTHER PENAL LAWS
PRELIMINARY ARTICLE
This law shall be known as “The Revised Penal Code.”
General Provisions Regarding the Date of Enforcement and Application of the Provisions of this Code, and Regarding the Offenses, the Persons Liable and the Penalties
Date of Effectiveness and Application of the Provisions of This Code
ARTICLE 1. Time When Act Takes Effect. — This Code shall take effect on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and thirty-two.
ARTICLE 2. Application of Its Provisions. — Except as provided in the treaties and laws of preferential application, the provisions of this Code shall be enforced not only within the Philippine Archipelago, including its atmosphere, its interior waters and maritime zone, but also outside of its jurisdiction, against those who:
1. Should commit an offense while on a Philippine ship or airship;
2. Should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of the Philippine Islands or obligations and securities issued by the Government of the Philippine Islands;
3. Should be liable for acts connected with the introduction into these islands of the obligations and securities mentioned in the preceding number;
4. While being public officers or employees, should commit an offense in the exercise of their functions; or
5. Should commit any of the crimes against national security and the law of nations, defined in Title One of Book Two of this Code.
Felonies and Circumstances Which Affect Criminal Liability
ARTICLE 3. Definition. — Acts and omissions punishable by law are felonies (delitos).
Felonies are committed not only by means of deceit (dolo) but also by means of fault (culpa).
There is deceit when the act is performed with deliberate intent; and there is fault when the wrongful act results from imprudence, negligence, lack of foresight, or lack of skill.
ARTICLE 4. Criminal Liability. — Criminal liability shall be incurred:
1. By any person committing a felony (delito) although the wrongful act done be different from that which he intended.
2. By any person performing an act which would be an offense against persons or property, were it not for the inherent impossibility of its accomplishment or on account of the employment of inadequate or ineffectual means.
ARTICLE 5. Duty of the Court in Connection with Acts Which Should Be Repressed but Which are Not Covered by the Law, and in Cases of Excessive Penalties. — Whenever a court has knowledge of any act which it may deem proper to repress and which is not punishable by law, it shall render the proper decision, and shall report to the Chief Executive, through the Department of Justice, the reasons which induce the court to believe that said act should be made the subject of penal legislation.
In the same way the court shall submit to the Chief Executive, through the Department of Justice, such statement as may be deemed proper, without suspending the execution of the sentence, when a strict enforcement of the provisions of this Code would result in the imposition of a clearly excessive penalty, taking into consideration the degree of malice and the injury caused by the offense.
ARTICLE 6. Consummated,, Frustrated, and Attempted Felonies. — Consummated felonies, as well as those which are frustrated and attempted, are punishable.
A felony is consummated when all the elements necessary for its execution and accomplishment are present; and it is frustrated when the offender performs all the acts of execution which would produce the felony as a consequence but which, nevertheless, do not produce it by reason of causes independent of the will of the perpetrator.
There is an attempt when the offender commences the commission of a felony directly by overt acts, and does not perform all the acts of execution which should produce the felony by reason of some cause or accident other than his own spontaneous desistance.
ARTICLE 7. When Light Felonies are Punishable. — Light felonies are punishable only when they have been consummated, with the exception of those committed against person or property.
ARTICLE 8. Conspiracy and Proposal to Commit Felony. — Conspiracy and proposal to commit felony are punishable only in the cases in which the law specially provides a penalty therefor.
A conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the commission of a felony and decide to commit it.
There is proposal when the person who has decided to commit a felony proposes its execution to some other person or persons.
ARTICLE 9. Grave Felonies, Less Grave Felonies and Light Felonies. — Grave felonies are those to which the law attaches the capital punishment or penalties which in any of their periods are afflictive, in accordance with article 25 of this Code.
Less grave felonies are those which the law punishes with penalties which in their maximum period are correctional, in accordance with the abovementioned article.
Light felonies are those infractions of law for the commission of which the penalty of arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos or both, is provided.
ARTICLE 10. Offenses Not Subject to the Provisions of this Code. — Offenses which are or in the future may be punishable under special laws are not subject to the provisions of this Code. This Code shall be supplementary to such laws, unless the latter should specially provide the contrary.
Justifying Circumstances and Circumstances which Exempt from Criminal Liability
ARTICLE 11. Justifying Circumstances. — The following do not incur any criminal liability:
1. Anyone who acts in defense of his person or rights, provided that the following circumstances concur:
First. Unlawful aggression;
Second. Reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel it;
Third. Lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person defending himself.
2. Anyone who acts in defense of the person or rights of his spouse, ascendants, descendants, or legitimate, natural or adopted brothers or sisters, or of his relatives by affinity in the same degrees, and those by consanguinity within the fourth civil degree, provided that the first and second requisites prescribed in the next preceding circumstance are present, and the further requisite, in case the provocation was given by the person attacked, that the one making defense had no part therein.
3. Anyone who acts in defense of the person or rights of a stranger, provided that the first and second requisites mentioned in the first circumstance of this article are present and that the person defending be not induced by revenge, resentment, or other evil motive.
4. Any person who, in order to avoid an evil or injury, does an act which causes damage to another, provided that the following requisites are present:
First. That the evil sought to be avoided actually exists;
Second. That the injury feared be greater than that done to avoid it;
Third. That there be no other practical and less harmful means of preventing it.
5. Any person who acts in the fulfillment of a duty or in the lawful exercise of a right or office.
6. Any person who acts in obedience to an order issued by a superior for some lawful purpose.
ARTICLE 12. Circumstances Which Exempt from Criminal Liability. — The following are exempt from criminal liability:
1. An imbecile or an insane person, unless the latter has acted during a lucid interval.
When the imbecile or an insane person has committed an act which the law defines as a felony (delito), the court shall order his confinement in one of the hospitals or asylums established for persons thus afflicted, which he shall not be permitted to leave without first obtaining the permission of the same court.
2. A person under nine years of age.
3. A person over nine years of age and under fifteen, unless he has acted with discernment, in which case, such minor shall be proceeded against in accordance with the provisions of article 80 of this Code.
When such minor is adjudged to be criminally irresponsible, the court, in conformity with the provisions of this and the preceding paragraph, shall commit him to the care and custody of his family who shall be charged with his surveillance and education; otherwise, he shall be committed to the care of some institution or person mentioned in said article 80.
4. Any person who, while performing a lawful act with due care, causes an injury by mere accident without fault or intention of causing it.
5. Any person who acts under the compulsion of an irresistible force.
6. Any person who acts under the impulse of an uncontrollable fear of an equal or greater injury.
7. Any person who fails to perform an act required by law, when prevented by some lawful or insuperable cause.
Circumstances Which Mitigate Criminal Liability
ARTICLE 13. Mitigating Circumstances. — The following are mitigating circumstances:
1. Those mentioned in the preceding chapter, when all the requisites necessary to justify the act or to exempt from criminal liability in the respective cases are not attendant.
2. That the offender is under eighteen years of age or over seventy years. In the case of the minor, he shall be proceeded against in accordance with the provisions of article 80.
3. That the offender had no intention to commit so grave a wrong as that committed.
4. That sufficient provocation or threat on the part of the offended party immediately preceded the act.
5. That the act was committed in the immediate vindication of a grave offense to the one committing the felony (delito), his spouse, ascendants, descendants, legitimate, natural, or adopted brothers or sisters, or relatives by affinity within the same degrees.
6. That of having acted upon an impulse so powerful as naturally to have produced passion or obfuscation.
7. That the offender had voluntarily surrendered himself to a person in authority or his agents, or that he had voluntarily confessed his guilt before the court prior to the presentation of the evidence for the prosecution.
8. That the offender is deaf and dumb, blind or otherwise suffering some physical defect which thus restricts his means of action, defense, or communication with his fellow beings.
9. Such illness of the offender as would diminish the exercise of the will-power of the offender without however depriving him of consciousness of his acts.
10. And, finally, any other circumstance of a similar nature and analogous to those above mentioned.
Circumstances Which Aggravate Criminal Liability
ARTICLE 14. Aggravating Circumstances. — The following are aggravating circumstances:
1. That advantage be taken by the offender of his public position.
2. That the crime be committed in contempt of or with insult to the public authorities.
3. That the act be committed with insult or in disregard of the respect due to the offended party on account of his rank, age, or sex, or that it be committed in the dwelling of the offended party, if the latter has not given provocation.
4. That the act be committed with abuse of confidence or obvious ungratefulness.
5. That the crime be committed in the palace of the Chief Executive, or in his presence, or where public authorities are engaged in the discharge of their duties, or in a place dedicated to religious worship.
6. That the crime be committed in the nighttime, or in an uninhabited place, or by a band, whenever such circumstances may facilitate the commission of the offense.
Whenever more than three armed malefactors shall have acted together in the commission of an offense it shall be deemed to have been committed by a band.
7. That the crime be committed on the occasion of a conflagration, shipwreck, earthquake, epidemic or other calamity or misfortune.
8. That the crime be committed with the aid of armed men or persons who insure or afford impunity.
9. That the accused is a recidivist.
A recidivist is one who, at the time of his trial for one crime, shall have been previously convicted by final judgment of another crime embraced in the same title of this Code.
10. That the offender has been previously punished for an offense to which the law attaches an equal or greater penalty or for two or more crimes to which it attaches a lighter penalty.
11. That the crime be committed in consideration of a price, reward, or promise.
12. That the crime be committed by means of inundation, fire, poison, explosion, stranding of a vessel or intentional damage thereto, derailment of a locomotive, or by the use of any other artifice involving great waste and ruin.
13. That the act be committed with evident premeditation.
14. That craft, fraud, or disguise be employed.
15. That advantage be taken of superior strength, or means be employed to weaken the defense.
16. That the act be committed with treachery (alevosia).
There is treachery when the offender commits any of the crimes against the person, employing means, methods, or forms in the execution thereof which tend directly and specially to insure its execution, without risk to himself arising from the defense which the offended party might make.
17. That means be employed or circumstances brought about which add ignominy to the natural effects of the act.
18. That the crime be committed after an unlawful entry.
There is an unlawful entry when an entrance is effected by a way not intended for the purpose.
19. That as a means to the commission of a crime a wall, roof, floor, door, or window be broken.
20. That the crime be committed with the aid of persons under fifteen years of age or by means of motor vehicles, airships, or other similar means.
21. That the wrong done in the commission of the crime be deliberately augmented by causing other wrong not necessary for its commission.
ARTICLE 15. Their Concept. — Alternative circumstances are those which must be taken into consideration as aggravating or mitigating according to the nature and effects of the crime and the other conditions attending its commission. They are the relationship, intoxication and the degree of instruction and education of the offender.
The alternative circumstance of relationship shall be taken into consideration when the offended party is the spouse, ascendant, descendant, legitimate, natural, or adopted brother or sister, or relative by affinity in the same degrees of the offender.
The intoxication of the offender shall be taken into consideration as a mitigating circumstance when the offender has committed a felony in a state of intoxication, if the same is not habitual or subsequent to the plan to commit said felony; but when the intoxication is habitual or intentional it shall be considered as an aggravating circumstance.
Persons Criminally Liable for Felonies
ARTICLE 16. Who are Criminally Liable. — The following are criminally liable for grave and less grave felonies:
The following are criminally liable for light felonies:
ARTICLE 17. Principals. — The following are considered principals:
1. Those who take a direct part in the execution of the act;
2. Those who directly force or induce others to commit it;
3. Those who cooperate in the commission of the offense by another act without which it would not have been accomplished.
ARTICLE 18. Accomplices. — Accomplices are those persons who, not being included in article 17, cooperate in the execution of the offense by previous or simultaneous acts.
ARTICLE 19. Accessories. — Accessories are those who, having knowledge of the commission of the crime, and without having participated therein, either as principals or accomplices, take part subsequent to its commission in any of the following manners:
1. By profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the crime.
2. By concealing or destroying the body of the crime, or the effects or instruments thereof, in order to prevent its discovery.
3. By harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the principal of the crime, provided the accessory acts with abuse of his public functions or whenever the author of the crime is guilty of treason, parricide, murder, or an attempt to take the life of the Chief Executive, or is known to be habitually guilty of some other crime.
ARTICLE 20. Accessories Who are Exempt from Criminal Liability. — The penalties prescribed for accessories shall not be imposed upon those who are such with respect to their spouses, ascendants, descendants, legitimate, natural, and adopted brothers and sisters, or relatives by affinity within the same degrees, with the single exception of accessories falling within the provisions of paragraph 1 of the next preceding article.
Penalties in General
ARTICLE 21. Penalties that May Be Imposed. — No felony shall be punishable by any penalty not prescribed by law prior to its commission.
ARTICLE 22. Retroactive Effect of Penal Laws. — Penal laws shall have a retroactive effect in so far as they favor the person guilty of a felony, who is not a habitual criminal, as this term is defined in rule 5 of article 62 of this Code, although at the time of the publication of such laws a final sentence has been pronounced and the convict is serving the same.
ARTICLE 23. Effect of Pardon by the Offended Party. — A pardon by the offended party does not extinguish criminal action except as provided in article 344 of this Code; but civil liability with regard to the interest of the injured party is extinguished by his express waiver.
ARTICLE 24. Measures of Prevention or Safety Which are Not Considered Penalties. — The following shall not be considered as penalties:
1. The arrest and temporary detention of accused persons, as well as their detention by reason of insanity or imbecility, or illness requiring their confinement in a hospital.
2. The commitment of a minor to any of the institutions mentioned in article 80 and for the purposes specified therein.
3. Suspension from the employment or public office during the trial or in order to institute proceedings.
4. Fines and other corrective measures which, in the exercise of their administrative or disciplinary powers, superior officials may impose upon their subordinates.
5. Deprivation of rights and the reparations which the civil laws may establish in penal form.
Classification of Penalties
ARTICLE 25. Penalties Which May Be Imposed. — The penalties which may be imposed, according to this Code, and their different classes, are those included in the following:
Perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification,
Perpetual or temporary special disqualification,
Penalties common to the three preceding classes:
Bond to keep the peace.
Perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification,
Perpetual or temporary special disqualification,
Suspension from public office, the right to vote and be voted for, the profession or calling.
Forfeiture or confiscation of instruments and proceeds of the offense,
Payment of costs.
ARTICLE 26. Fine — When Afflictive, Correctional or Light Penalty. — A fine, whether imposed as a single or as an alternative penalty, shall be considered an afflictive penalty, if it exceeds 6,000 pesos; a correctional penalty, if it does not exceed 6,000 pesos but is not less than 200 pesos; and a light penalty, if it be less than 200 pesos.
Duration and Effect of Penalties
Duration of Penalties
ARTICLE 27. Reclusión Perpetua. — Any person sentenced to any of the perpetual penalties shall be pardoned after undergoing the penalty for thirty years, unless such person by reason of his conduct or some other serious cause shall be considered by the Chief Executive as unworthy of pardon.
Reclusión temporal. — The penalty of reclusión temporal shall be from twelve years and one day to twenty years.
Prisión mayor and temporary disqualification. — The duration of the penalties of prisión 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 its duration shall be that of the principal penalty.
Prisión correccional, suspensión, and destierro. — The duration of the penalties of prision correccional, suspensión and destierro shall be from six months and one day to six years, except when 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 or 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.
ARTICLE 28. Computation of Penalties. — If the offender shall be in prison the term of the duration of the temporary penalties shall be computed from the day on which the judgment of conviction shall have become final.
If the offender be not in prison, the term of the duration of the penalty consisting of deprivation of liberty shall be computed from the day that the offender is placed at the disposal of the judicial authorities for the enforcement of the penalty. The duration of the other penalties shall be computed only from the day on which the defendant commences to serve his sentence.
ARTICLE 29. One-half of the Period of the Preventive Imprisonment Deducted from Term of Imprisonment. — Offenders who have undergone preventive imprisonment shall be credited in the service of their sentence consisting of deprivation of liberty, with one-half of the time during which they have undergone preventive imprisonment, except in the following cases:
1. When they are recidivists, or have been convicted previously twice or more times of any crime;
2. When upon being summoned for the execution of their sentence they have failed to surrender voluntarily;
3. When they have been convicted of robbery, theft, estafa, malversation of public funds, falsification, vagrancy, or prostitution.
Effects of the Penalties According to Their Respective Nature
ARTICLE 30. Effects of the Penalties of Perpetual or Temporary Absolute Disqualification. — The penalties of perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification for public office shall produce the following effects:
1. The deprivation of the public offices and employments which the offender may have held, even if conferred by popular election.
2. The deprivation of the right to vote in any election for any popular elective office or to be elected to such office.
3. The disqualification for the offices or public employments and for the exercise of any of the rights mentioned.
In case of temporary disqualification, such disqualification as is comprised in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this article shall last during the term of the sentence.
4. The loss of all right to retirement pay or other pension for any office formerly held.
ARTICLE 31. Effects of the Penalties of Perpetual or Temporary Special Disqualification. — The penalties of perpetual or temporary special disqualification for public office, profession or calling shall produce the following effects:
1. The deprivation of the office, employment, profession or calling affected;
2. The disqualification for holding similar offices or employments either perpetually or during the term of the sentence, according to the extent of such disqualification.
ARTICLE 32. Effects of the Penalties of Perpetual or Temporary Special Disqualification for the Exercise of the Right of Suffrage. — The perpetual or temporary special disqualification for the exercise of the right of suffrage shall deprive the offender perpetually or during the term of the sentence, according to the nature of said penalty, of the right to vote in any popular election for any public office or to be elected to such office. Moreover, the offender shall not be permitted to hold any public office during the period of his disqualification.
ARTICLE 33. Effects of the Penalties of Suspension from Any Public Office, Profession or Calling, or the Right of Suffrage. — The suspension from public office, profession or calling, and the exercise of the right of suffrage shall disqualify the offender from holding such office or exercising such profession or calling or right of suffrage during the term of the sentence.
The person suspended from holding public office shall not hold another having similar functions during the period of his suspension.
ARTICLE 34. Civil Interdiction. — Civil interdiction shall deprive the offender during the time of his sentence of the rights of parental authority, or guardianship, either as to the person or property of any ward, of marital authority, of the right to manage his property and of the right to dispose of such property by any act or any conveyance inter vivos.
ARTICLE 35. Effects of Bond to Keep the Peace. — It shall be the duty of any person sentenced to give bond to keep the peace, to present two sufficient sureties who shall undertake that such person will not commit the offense sought to be prevented, and that in case such offense be committed they will pay the amount determined by the court in its judgment, or otherwise to deposit such amount in the office of the clerk of the court to guarantee said undertaking.
The court shall determine, according to its discretion, the period of duration of the bond.
Should the person sentenced fail to give the bond as required he shall be detained for a period which shall in no case exceed six months, if he shall have been prosecuted for a grave or less grave felony, and shall not exceed thirty days, if for a light felony.
ARTICLE 36. Pardon; Its Effects. — A pardon shall not work the restoration of the right to hold public office, or the right of suffrage, unless such rights be expressly restored by the terms of the pardon.
A pardon shall in no case exempt the culprit from the payment of the civil indemnity imposed upon him by the sentence.
ARTICLE 37. Costs — What are Included. — Costs shall include fees and indemnities in the course of the judicial proceedings, whether they be fixed or unalterable amounts previously determined by law or regulations in force, or amounts not subject to schedule.
ARTICLE 38. Pecuniary Liabilities — Order of Payment. — In case the property of the offender should not be sufficient for the payment of all his pecuniary liabilities, the same shall be met in the following order:
1. The reparation of the damage caused.
2. Indemnification of consequential damages.
4. The costs of the proceedings.
ARTICLE 39. Subsidiary Penalty. — If the convict has no property with which to meet the pecuniary liabilities mentioned in paragraphs 1st, 2nd and 3rd of the next preceding article, he shall be subject to a subsidiary personal liability at the rate of one day for each 2 pesos and 50 centavos, subject to the following rules:
1. If the principal penalty imposed be prisión correccional or arresto and fine, he shall remain under confinement until his fine and pecuniary liabilities referred in the preceding paragraph are satisfied, but his subsidiary imprisonment shall not exceed one-third of the term of the sentence, and in no case shall it continue for more than one year, and no fraction or part of a day shall be counted against the prisoner.
2. When the principal penalty imposed be only a fine, the subsidiary imprisonment shall not exceed six months, if the culprit shall have been prosecuted for a grave or less grave felony, and shall not exceed fifteen days, if for a light felony.
3. When the principal penalty imposed is higher than prisión correccional no subsidiary imprisonment shall be imposed upon the culprit.
4. If the principal penalty imposed is not to be executed by confinement in a penal institution, but such penalty is of fixed duration, the convict, during the period of time established in the preceding rules, shall continue to suffer the same deprivations as those of which the principal penalty consists.
5. The subsidiary personal liability which the convict may have suffered by reason of his insolvency shall not relieve him from reparation of the damaged caused, nor from indemnification for the consequential damages in case his financial circumstances should improve; but he shall be relieved from pecuniary liability as to the fine.
Penalties in Which Other Accessory Penalties are Inherent
ARTICLE 40. Death — Its Accessory Penalties. — The death penalty, when it is not executed by reason of commutation or pardon shall carry with it that of perpetual absolute disqualification and that of civil interdiction during thirty years following the date of sentence, unless such accessory penalties have been expressly remitted in the pardon.
ARTICLE 41. Reclusión Perpetua and Reclusión Temporal — Their accessory penalties. — The penalties of reclusión perpetua and reclusión temporal shall carry with them that of civil interdiction for life or during the period of the sentence as the case may be, and that of perpetual absolute disqualification which the offender shall suffer even though pardoned as to the principal penalty, unless the same shall have been expressly remitted in the pardon.
ARTICLE 42. Prisión Mayor — Its Accessory Penalties. — The penalty of prisión mayor shall carry with it that of temporary absolute disqualification and that of perpetual special disqualification from the right of suffrage which the offender shall suffer although pardoned as to the principal penalty, unless the same shall have been expressly remitted in the pardon.
ARTICLE 43. Prisión Correccional — Its Accessory Penalties. — The penalty of prisión correccional shall carry with it that of suspension from public office, from the right to follow a profession or calling, and that of perpetual special disqualification from the right of suffrage, if the duration of said imprisonment shall exceed eighteen months. The offender shall suffer the disqualification provided in this article although pardoned as to the principal penalty, unless the same shall have been expressly remitted in the pardon.
ARTICLE 44. Arresto — Its Accessory Penalties. — The penalty of arresto shall carry with it that of suspension of the right to hold office and the right of suffrage during the term of the sentence.
ARTICLE 45. Confiscation and Forfeiture of the Proceeds or Instruments of the Crime. — Every penalty imposed for the commission of a felony shall carry with it the forfeiture of the proceeds of the crime and the instruments or tools with which it was committed.
Such proceeds and instruments or tools shall be confiscated and forfeited in favor of the Government, unless they be the property of a third person not liable for the offense, but those articles which are not subject of lawful commerce shall be destroyed.
Application of Penalties
Rules for the Application of Penalties to the Persons Criminally Liable and for the Graduation of the Same
ARTICLE 46. Penalty to be Imposed Upon Principals in General. — The penalty prescribed by law for the commission of a felony shall be imposed upon the principals in the commission of such felony.
Whenever the law prescribes a penalty for a felony in general terms, it shall be understood as applicable to the consummated felony.
ARTICLE 47. In What Cases the Death Penalty Shall Not Be Imposed. — The death penalty shall be imposed in all cases in which it must be imposed under existing laws, except in the following cases:
1. When the guilty person be more than seventy years of age.
2. When upon appeal or revision of the case by the Supreme Court, all the members thereof are not unanimous in their voting as to the propriety of the imposition of the death penalty. For the imposition of said penalty or for the confirmation of a judgment of the inferior court imposing the death sentence, the Supreme Court shall render its decision per curiam, which shall be signed by all justices of said court, unless some member or members thereof shall have become disqualified from taking part in the consideration of the case, in which event the unanimous vote and signature of only the remaining justices shall be required.
ARTICLE 48. Penalty for Complex Crimes. — When a single act constitutes two or more crimes, or when an offense is a necessary means for committing the other, the penalty for the most serious crime shall be imposed, the same to be applied in its maximum period.
ARTICLE 49. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon the Principals When the Crime Committed is Different from that Intended. — In cases in which the felony committed is different from that which the offender intended to commit, the following rules shall be observed:
1. If the penalty prescribed for the felony committed be higher than that corresponding to the offense which the accused intended to commit, the penalty corresponding to the latter shall be imposed in its maximum period.
2. If the penalty prescribed for the felony committed be lower than that corresponding to the one which the accused intended to commit, the penalty for the former shall be imposed in its maximum period.
3. The rule established by the next preceding paragraph shall not be applicable if the acts committed by the guilty person shall also constitute an attempt or frustration of another crime, if the law prescribes a higher penalty for either of the latter offenses, in which case the penalty provided for the attempt or the frustrated crime shall be imposed in its maximum period.
ARTICLE 50. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Principals of a Frustrated Crime. — The penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for the consummated felony shall be imposed upon the principal in a frustrated felony.
ARTICLE 51. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Principals of Attempted Crimes. — The penalty lower by two degrees than that prescribed by law for the consummated felony shall be imposed upon the principals in an attempt to commit a felony.
ARTICLE 52. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Accomplices in a Consummated Crime. — The penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for the consummated felony shall be imposed upon the accomplices in the commission of a consummated felony.
ARTICLE 53. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Accessories to the Commission of a Consummated Felony. — The penalty lower by two degrees than that prescribed by law for the consummated felony shall be imposed upon the accessories to the commission of a consummated felony.
ARTICLE 54. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Accomplices in a Frustrated Crime. — The penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for the frustrated felony shall be imposed upon the accomplices in the commission of a frustrated felony.
ARTICLE 55. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Accessories of a Frustrated Crime. — The penalty lower by two degrees than that prescribed by law for the frustrated felony shall be imposed upon the accessories to the commission of a frustrated felony.
ARTICLE 56. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Accomplices in an Attempted Crime. — The penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for an attempt to commit a felony shall be imposed upon the accomplices in an attempt to commit the felony.
ARTICLE 57. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Accessories of an Attempted Crime. — The penalty lower by two degrees than that prescribed by law for the attempt shall be imposed upon the accessories to the attempt to commit a felony.
ARTICLE 58. Additional Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Certain Accessories. — Those accessories falling within the terms of paragraph 3 of article 19 of this Code who should act with abuse of their public functions, shall suffer the additional penalty or absolute perpetual disqualification if the principal offender shall be guilty of a grave felony, and that of absolute temporary disqualification if he shall be guilty of a less grave felony.
ARTICLE 59. Penalty to Be Imposed in Case of Failure to Commit the Crime Because the Means Employed or the Aims Sought are Impossible. — When the person intending to commit an offense has already performed the acts for the execution of the same but nevertheless the crime was not produced by reason of the fact that the act intended was by its nature one of impossible accomplishment or because the means employed by such person are essentially inadequate to produce the result desired by him, the court, having in mind the social danger and the degree of criminality shown by the offender, shall impose upon him the penalty of arresto mayor or a fine ranging from 200 to 500 pesos.
ARTICLE 60. Exceptions to the Rules Established in Articles 50 to 57. — The provisions contained in articles 50 to 57, inclusive, of this Code shall not be applicable to cases in which the law expressly prescribes the penalty provided for a frustrated or attempted felony, or to be imposed upon accomplices or accessories.
ARTICLE 61. Rules for Graduating Penalties. — For the purpose of graduating the penalties which, according to the provisions of articles 50 to 57, inclusive, of this Code, are to be imposed upon persons guilty as principals of any frustrated or attempted felony, or as accomplices or accessories, the following rules shall be observed:
1. When the penalty prescribed for the felony is single and indivisible, the penalty next lower in degree shall be that immediately following that indivisible penalty in the scale prescribed in article 70 of this Code.
2. When the penalty prescribed for the crime is composed of two indivisible penalties, or of one or more divisible penalties to be imposed to their full extent, the penalty next lower in degree shall be that immediately following the lesser of the penalties prescribed in the above mentioned scale.
3. When the penalty prescribed for the crime is composed of one or two indivisible penalties and the maximum period of another divisible penalty, the penalty next lower in degree shall be composed of the medium and minimum periods of the proper divisible penalty and the maximum period of that immediately following in said scale.
4. When the penalty prescribed for the crime is composed of several periods, corresponding to different divisible penalties, the penalty next lower in degree shall be composed of the period immediately following the minimum prescribed and of the two next following, which shall be taken from the penalty prescribed, if possible; otherwise, from the penalty immediately following in the above mentioned scale.
5. When the law prescribes a penalty for a crime in some manner not specially provided for in the four preceding rules, the courts, proceeding by analogy, shall impose corresponding penalties upon those guilty as principals of the frustrated felony, or of attempt to commit the same, and upon accomplices and accessories.
TABULATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE CHAPTER
Penalty Prescribe for the crime
Penalty to be imposed upon the principal in a frustrated crime, and accomplice in a consummated crime
Penalty to be imposed upon the principal in an attempted crime, the accessory in the consummated crime and the accomplices in a frustrated crime.
Penalty to be imposed upon the accessory in a frustrated crime, and the accomplices in an attempted crime
Penalty to be imposed upon the accessory in an attempted crime
Rules for the Application of Penalties with Regard to the Mitigating and Aggravating Circumstances, and Habitual Delinquency
ARTICLE 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.
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 prisión 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 prisión 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 prisión mayor in its maximum period to reclusión 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 the purpose of this article, a person shall be deemed to be habitual delinquent, if within a period of ten years from the date of his release or last conviction of the crimes robo, hurto, estafa, or falsificacion, he is found guilty of any of said crimes a third time or oftener.
ARTICLE 63. Rules for the Application of Indivisible Penalties. — In all cases in which the law prescribes a single indivisible penalty, it shall be applied by the courts regardless of any mitigating or aggravating circumstances that may have attended the commission of the deed.
In all cases in which the law prescribes a penalty composed of two indivisible penalties, the following rules shall be observed in the application thereof:
1. When in the commission of the deed there is present only one aggravating circumstance, the greater penalty shall be applied.
2. When there are neither mitigating nor aggravating circumstances in the commission of the deed, the lesser penalty shall be applied.
3. When the commission of the act is attended by some mitigating circumstance and there is no aggravating circumstance, the lesser penalty shall be applied.
4. When both mitigating and aggravating circumstances attended the commission of the act, the courts shall reasonably allow them to offset one another in consideration of their number and importance, for the purpose of applying the penalty in accordance with the preceding rules, according to the result of such compensation.
ARTICLE 64. Rules for the Application of Penalties Which Contain Three Periods. — In cases in which the penalties prescribed by law contain three periods, whether it be a single divisible penalty or composed of three different penalties, each one of which forms a period in accordance with the provisions of articles 76 and 77, the courts shall observe for the application of the penalty the following rules, according to whether there are or are not mitigating or aggravating circumstances:
1. When there are neither aggravating nor mitigating circumstances, they shall impose the penalty prescribed by law in its medium period.
2. When only a mitigating circumstance is present in the commission of the act, they shall impose the penalty in its minimum period.
3. When only an aggravating circumstance is present in the commission of the act, they shall impose the penalty in its maximum period.
4. When both mitigating and aggravating circumstances are present, the court shall reasonably offset those of one class against the other according to their relative weight.
5. When there are two or more mitigating circumstances and no aggravating circumstances are present, the court shall impose the penalty next lower to that prescribed by law, in the period that it may deem applicable, according to the number and nature of such circumstances.
6. Whatever may be the number and nature of the aggravating circumstances, the courts shall not impose a greater penalty than that prescribed by law, in its maximum period.
7. Within the limits of each period, the courts shall determine the extent of the penalty according to the number and nature of the aggravating and mitigating circumstances and the greater or lesser extent of the evil produced by the crime.
ARTICLE 65. Rule in Cases in Which the Penalty is Not Composed of Three Periods. — In cases in which the penalty prescribed by law is not composed of three periods, the courts shall apply the rules contained in the foregoing articles, dividing into three equal portions the time included in the penalty prescribed, and forming one period of each of the three portions.
ARTICLE 66. Imposition of Fines. — In imposing fines the courts may fix any amount within the limits established by law; in fixing the amount in each case attention shall be given, not only to the mitigating and aggravating circumstances, but more particularly to the wealth or means of the culprit.
ARTICLE 67. Penalty to Be Imposed When Not All the Requisites of Exemption of the Fourth Circumstance of Article 12 are Present.— When all the conditions required in circumstance number 4 of article 12 of this Code to exempt from criminal liability are not present, the penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prisión correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon the culprit if he shall have been guilty of a grave felony, and arresto mayor in its minimum and medium periods, if of a less grave felony.
ARTICLE 68. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon a Person Under Eighteen Years of Age. — When the offender is a minor under eighteen years and his case is one coming under the provisions of the paragraph next to the last of article 80 of this Code, the following rules shall be observed:
1. Upon a person under fifteen but over nine years of age, who is not exempted from liability by reason of the court having declared that he acted with discernment, a discretionary penalty shall be imposed, but always lower by two degrees at least than that prescribed by law for the crime which he committed.
2. Upon a person over fifteen and under eighteen years of age the penalty next lower than that prescribed by law shall be imposed, but always in the proper period.
ARTICLE 69. Penalty to Be Imposed When the Crime Committed is Not Wholly Excusable. — A penalty lower by one or two degrees than that prescribed by law shall be imposed if the deed is not wholly excusable by reason of the lack of some of the conditions required to justify the same or to exempt from criminal liability in the several cases mentioned in articles 11 and 12, provided that the majority of such conditions be present. The courts shall impose the penalty in the period which may be deemed proper, in view of the number and nature of the conditions of exemption present or lacking.
ARTICLE 70. Successive Service of Sentences; Exception. — When the culprit has to serve two or more penalties, he shall serve them simultaneously if the nature of the penalties will so permit; otherwise, said penalties shall be executed successively, following the order of their respective severity, which shall be determined in accordance with the following scale:
2. Reclusión perpetua.
3. Reclusión temporal.
4. Prisión mayor.
5. Prisión correccional.
6. Arresto mayor.
7. Arresto menor.
A person sentenced to destierro who is also sentenced to the penalty of prisión or arresto shall be required to serve these latter penalties before serving the penalty of destierro.
ARTICLE 71. Fine. — The fine shall be considered as the last of all the principal penalties listed in the preceding article.
When a fine is so imposed, the duration of the subsidiary liability corresponding thereto, by reason of the insolvency of the offender, shall not exceed that which is provided in rule 2 of article 39.
ARTICLE 72. Preference in the Payment of the Civil Liabilities. — The civil liabilities of a person found guilty of two or more offenses shall be satisfied by following the chronological order of the dates of the final judgments rendered against him, beginning with the first in order of time.
Provision Common to the Last Two Preceding Sections
ARTICLE 73. Presumption in Regard to the Imposition of Accessory Penalties. — Whenever the courts shall impose a penalty which, by provision of law, carries with it other penalties, according to the provisions of articles 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45 of this Code, it must be understood that the accessory penalties are also imposed upon the convict.
ARTICLE 74. Penalty Higher Than Reclusión Perpetua in Certain Cases. — In cases in which the law prescribes a penalty higher than another given penalty, without specifically designating the name of the former, if such higher penalty should be that of death, the same penalty and the accessory penalties of article 40, shall be considered as the next higher penalty.
ARTICLE 75. Increasing or Reducing the Penalty of Fine by One or More Degrees. — Whenever it may be necessary to increase or reduce the penalty of fine by one or more degrees, it shall be increased or reduced, respectively, for each degree, by one-fourth of the maximum amount prescribed by law, without, however, changing the minimum.
The same rules shall be observed with regard to fines that do not consist of a fixed amount, but are made proportional.
ARTICLE 76. Legal Period of Duration of Divisible Penalties. — The legal period of duration of divisible penalties shall be considered as divided into three parts, forming three periods, the minimum, the medium, and the maximum in the manner shown in the following table:
TABLE SHOWING THE DURATION OF DIVISIBLE PENALTIES AND THE TIME INCLUDED IN EACH OF THEIR PERIODS
Time included in the penalty in its entirety
Time included in its minimum period
Time included in its medium period
Time included in its maximum
ARTICLE 77. When the Penalty is a Complex One Composed of Three Distinct Penalties. — In cases in which the law prescribes a penalty composed of three distinct penalties, each one shall form a period; the lightest of them shall be the minimum, the next the medium, and the most severe the maximum period.
Whenever the penalty prescribed does not have one of the forms specially provided for in this book, the periods shall be distributed, applying by analogy the prescribed rules.
Execution and Service of Penalties
ARTICLE 78. When and How a Penalty is to Be Executed. — No penalty shall be executed except by virtue of a final judgment.
A penalty shall not be executed in any other form than that prescribed by law, nor with any other circumstances or incidents than those expressly authorized thereby.
In addition to the provisions of the law, the special regulations prescribed for the government of the institutions in which the penalties are to be suffered shall be observed with regard to the character of the work to be performed, the time of its performance, and other incidents connected therewith, the relations of the convicts among themselves and other persons, the relief which they may receive, and their diet.
The regulations shall make provision for the separation of the sexes in different institutions, or at least into different departments, and also for the correction and reform of the convicts.
ARTICLE 79. Suspension of the Execution and Service of the Penalties in Case of Insanity. — When a convict shall become insane or an imbecile after final sentence has been pronounced, the execution of said sentence shall be suspended only with regard to the personal penalty, the provisions of the second paragraph of circumstance number 1 of article 12 being observed in the corresponding cases.
If at any time the convict shall recover his reason, his sentence shall be executed, unless the penalty shall have prescribed in accordance with the provisions of this Code.
The respective provisions of this section shall also be observed if the insanity or imbecility occurs while the convict is serving his sentence.
ARTICLE 80. Suspension of Sentence of Minor Delinquents. — Whenever a minor under eighteen years of age, of either sex, be accused of a crime, the court, after hearing the evidence in the proper proceedings, instead of pronouncing judgment, shall suspend all further proceedings and shall commit such minor to the custody or care of a public or private, benevolent or charitable institution, established under the law for the care, correction or education of orphaned, homeless, defective and delinquent children, or to the custody or care of any other responsible person in any other place subject to visitation and supervision by the Public Welfare Commissioner or any of his agents or representatives, if there be any, or otherwise by the superintendent of public schools or his representatives, subject to such conditions as are prescribed hereinbelow, until such minor shall have reached his majority or for such less period as the court may deem proper.
The court, in committing said minor as provided above, shall take into consideration the religion of such minor, his parents or next of kin, in order to avoid his commitment to any private institution not under the control and supervision of the religious sect or denomination to which they belong.
The Public Welfare Commissioner or his duly authorized representatives or agents, the superintendent of public schools or his representatives, or the person to whose custody or care the minor has been committed, shall submit to the Court every two months or as often as required, a written report on the good or bad conduct of said minor and the moral and intellectual progress made by him.
The suspension of the proceedings against a minor may be extended or shortened by the court on the recommendation of the Public Welfare Commissioner or his authorized representatives or agents, or the superintendent of public schools or his representatives, according as to whether the conduct of such minor has been good or not and whether he has complied with the conditions imposed upon him. The provisions of the first paragraph of this article shall not, however, be affected by those contained herein.
If the minor has been committed to the custody or care of any of the institutions mentioned in the first paragraph of this article, with the approval of the Public Welfare Commissioner and subject to such conditions as this official in accordance with the law may deem proper to impose, such minor may be allowed to stay el
- Senior Partners