The Revised Penal Code contains the general penal laws of the Philippines. First enacted in 1930, it remains in effect today, despite several amendments thereto. It does not comprise a comprehensive compendium of all Philippine penal laws. The Revised Penal Code itself was enacted as Act No. 3815, and some Philippine criminal laws have been enacted outside of the Revised Penal Code as separate Republic Acts.

Historical background

The Revised Penal Code supplanted the 1870 Spanish ''Código Penal'', which was in force in the Philippines (then a colony of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

up to 1898) from 1886 to 1930, after a failed attempt in to be implemented in 1877. The new Code was drafted by a committee created in 1927, and headed by Judge

Anacleto Díaz Anacleto Díaz (November 20, 1878 – February 10, 1945) was a Filipino jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Profile Díaz earned his law degree from the Escuela de Derecho de Manila. He was elected as a repres ...

, who would later serve on the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. Rather than engage in a wholesale codification of all penal laws in the Philippines, the committee instead revised the old Penal Code and included all other penal laws only insofar as they related to the Penal Code.

Features

The Revised Penal Code criminalizes a whole class of acts that are generally accepted as criminal, such as the taking of a life whether through murder or

homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

and

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for so ...

, and

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. The Code also penalizes other acts which are considered criminal in the Philippines, such as

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and leg ...

concubinage Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubin ...

, and

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

. It expressly defines the elements that each crime comprises, and the existence of all these elements have to be proven beyond reasonable doubt in order to secure conviction. Not all crimes in the Philippines are penalized under the Code; certain crimes, such as the

illegal possession of firearms Criminal possession of a weapon is the unlawful possession of a weapon by an individual. Many societies both past and present have placed restrictions on what forms of weaponry private citizens (and to a lesser extent police) are allowed to purc ...

, are penalized under special legislation contained in Republic Acts. The most notable crimes now excluded from the Revised Penal Code are those concerning illegal drug use or trafficking, which are penalized instead under the ''Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972'' and later the ''

Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 Comprehensive may refer to: *Comprehensive layout, the page layout of a proposed design as initially presented by the designer to a client. *Comprehensive school, a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement o ...

''. One distinct aspect of the Revised Penal Code centers on its classification of

aggravating Aggravation, in law, is "any circumstance attending the commission of a crime or tort which increases its guilt or enormity or adds to its injurious consequences, but which is above and beyond the essential constituents of the crime or tort itself. ...

, exempting and mitigating circumstances, the appreciation of which affects the gradation of

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * P ...

. Penalties under the Revised Penal Code are generally divided into three periods – the minimum period, the medium period, and the maximum period. In addition to establishing the elements of the crime, the prosecution may also establish the presence of aggravating circumstances in order to set the penalty at the maximum period, or mitigating circumstances to reduce the penalty to its minimum period. The presence of both aggravating and mitigating circumstance, or the absence of such circumstances, may result in the imposition of the penalty in its medium period. Several provisions of the Revised Penal Code have also been amended through Republic Acts. One of the more consequential amendments came in 1997, with the passage of Republic Act No. 8353, the ''Anti-Rape Law of 1997''. Prior to the 1997 amendments,

had been classified as a crime against

chastity Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains either from sexual activity considered immoral or any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for example when ma ...

and was defined as "having carnal knowledge of a woman" under enumerated circumstances that indicated lack of consent. Under the amendments, rape was reclassified as a crime against persons. The definition was further expanded from mere "carnal knowledge of a woman" and now included "an act of sexual assault by inserting his penis into other person's mouth or anal orifice, or any instrument or object, into the genital or anal orifice of another person." Additional circumstances by which the victim would be deemed incapable of giving valid consent were also integrated into this new definition of rape. With the abolition of the death penalty in 2006, the highest penalty currently possible under the Revised Penal Code is '' reclusión perpetua'', which ranges from 20 years and 1 day to 40 years' imprisonment. The penalty of

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed te ...

is not provided for in the Revised Penal Code, although it is imposed by other penal statutes such as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act. Republic Act 10951, signed by president

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

in 2017, updated the fines and penalties to the law. Previously, the law mandated fines ranging from five to 100,000 pesos; the new law updated the fines, ranging from 1,000 pesos for other coercions and unjust vexations, up to 4 million for treason. The law also amends the length of incarceration for malversation of public funds.

Preliminary article

It states that the law shall be known as the "Revised Penal Code."

Book One

A preliminary article states when it takes effect (on January 1, 1932), and where the law can be enforced, which includes the

Philippine archipelago As an archipelago, the Philippines comprises about 7,641 islands clustered into three major island groups: Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. Only about 2,000 islands are inhabited,

, and on a Philippine ship or airship, among others.

Title One: Felonies and criminal liability

Chapter One defines what a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that res ...

is, which are acts and omissions punishable by law, either by means of deceit, or by fault. If defines who is criminally liable, whether a felony is consummated, frustrated or attempted, when conspiracy and proposal to commit felonies are punishable, which felonies are light, less grave and grave. The succeeding chapters list which circumstances justify, exempt, mitigate and aggravate criminal liability.

Title Two: Persons criminally liable

This title discusses who are the persons liable. These include the principals, accomplices and the accessories, with the latter classification not used for light felonies.

Title Three: Penalties

All penalties relating to death are commuted to '' reclusión perpetua.''

Length of incarceration

Other penalties

* Public censure (also a light penalty) * Fines (also an afflictive penalty) *Civil interdiction: Deprive the offender during the time of his sentence of the rights of parental authority, or guardianship

Accessory penalties

* Perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification ** The deprivation of the public offices and employments which the offender may have held even if conferred by popular election. ** The deprivation of the right to vote in any election for any popular elective office or to be elected to such office, and the disqualification for the offices or public employments and for the exercise of any of the rights mentioned. *: In case of temporary disqualification, this deprivation and disqualification shall last during the term of the sentence. ** The loss of all rights to retirement pay or other pension for any office formerly held. * Perpetual or temporary special disqualification: ** The deprivation of the office, employment, profession or calling affected; ** The disqualification for holding similar offices or employments either perpetually or during the term of the sentence according to the extent of such disqualification. * Perpetual or temporary special disqualification for the exercise of the right of suffrage ** 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. * Suspension from any public office, profession or calling, or the right of suffrage ** Disqualify the offender from holding such office or exercising such profession or calling or right of suffrage during the term of the sentence

Title Four: Extinction of criminal liability and civil liability

Extinction of criminal liability

This discusses when criminal liability is extinguished. These include by death of the convict, service of the sentence, by

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offic ...

, and by absolute

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

, among others.

Prescription of crimes

This discusses when crimes can no longer be prosecuted, from the time the crime is discovered by the offended party, the authorities, or their agents.

Title Five: Civil liability

The law states that "every person criminally liable for a felony is also civilly liable."

Book Two

The code classifies crimes into different titles, each divided to one or more chapters, all of these in Book Two of the code.

Title One: Crimes against national security and the law of nations

Title Two: Crimes against the fundamental laws of the state

Title Three: Crimes against public order

Title Four: Crimes against public interest

Title Five: Crimes relative to opium and other prohibited drugs

Repealed by

Title Six: Crimes against public morals

Articles 195 to 199, which cover

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

, have been repealed by Presidential Decree 1602 as amended by Republic Act 9287.

Title Seven: Crimes committed by public officers

For purposes of this section, and elsewhere when cited, a public officer is a anyone who takes part in public functions of the

government of the Philippines The Government of the Philippines ( fil, Pamahalaan ng Pilipinas) has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and de ...

. Other crimes committed by public officers are included in the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and other laws.

Title Eight: Crimes against persons

Title Nine: Crimes against personal liberty and security

Title Ten: Crimes against property

Title Eleven: Crimes against chastity

Title Twelve: Crimes against civil status of persons

Title Thirteen: Crimes against honor

Title Fourteen: Quasi-offenses (criminal negligence)

Title Fifteen: Final provisions

This includes provisions on crimes committed prior to the code to be applied under the laws at that time, and a repealing clause.

Other penalties

* 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 reclusión 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. *

Corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

of public officials: The same penalties on the person corrupted except those of disqualification and suspension, shall be imposed upon any person who shall have made the offers or promises or given the gifts or presents as described in the preceding articles. (Chapter 2, Section 2.) *Death or physical injuries inflicted under exceptional circumstances **Any legally married person who having surprised his spouse in the act of committing sexual intercourse with another person, shall kill any of them or both of them in the act or immediately thereafter, or shall inflict upon them any serious physical injury, shall suffer the penalty of ''destierro''. **If he shall inflict upon them physical injuries of any other kind, he shall be exempt from punishment. * Dueling, if causing injury, will be treated as if it's a normal crime (as serious physical injuries or assault) * Grave

threats A threat is a communication of intent to inflict harm or loss on another person. Intimidation is a tactic used between conflicting parties to make the other timid or psychologically insecure for coercion or control. The act of intimidation for co ...

: The penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for the crime be threatened to commit, if the offender shall not have attained his purpose, the penalty lower by two degrees shall be imposed.

Amendments

The code has been amended and repealed multiple times: *Commonwealth Act No. 616, criminalized

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tang ...

*Republic Act No. 10, criminalized usurpation of public authority *Republic Act No. 1700, outlawed the

Communist Party of the Philippines The Communist Party of the Philippines ( fil, Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas) is a far-left, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist revolutionary organization and communist party in the Philippines, formed by Jose Maria Sison on 26 December 1968. It is des ...

and its successors (later repealed by Republic Act No. 7636) *Republic Act No. 3019, created the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act *Republic Act No. 4200, criminalized

wiretapping Telephone tapping (also wire tapping or wiretapping in American English) is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitori ...

* *Republic Act No. 6425, criminalized

illegal drug The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. While some drugs are illegal to possess, many governments regulate the ...

s (later amended by Republic Act No. 9165, otherwise known as the

) *Republic Act No. 6539, criminalized

carnapping Carjacking is a robbery in which the item taken over is a motor vehicle.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is ...

(later amended by Republic Act No. 10883, otherwise known as the New Anti-Carnapping Act of 2016) *Presidential Decree No. 90, criminalized

rumor A rumor (American English), or rumour (British English; see spelling differences; derived from Latin:rumorem - noise), is "a tall tale of explanations of events circulating from person to person and pertaining to an object, event, or issue in p ...

-mongering *Presidential Decree No. 449, regulated

cockfight A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ent ...

s *Presidential Decree No. 483, criminalized

sports betting Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basket ...

point shaving In organized sports, point shaving is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators try to change the final score of a game without changing who wins. This is typically done by players colluding with gamblers to prevent a team from covering a p ...

match fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...

and the like *Presidential Decree No. 519, outlawed pinball machines *Presidential Decree No. 532, criminalized

highway robbery A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to foot ...

*Presidential Decree No. 749, granted immunity to givers of bribes *Presidential Decree No. 818, increased penalties for estafa *Presidential Decree No. 1602, increased penalties for

illegal gambling Gaming law is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, ...

(later amended by Republic Act No. 9287) *Presidential Decree No. 1613, amended the law on

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

*Presidential Decree No. 1866, regulated firearms (later amended by Republic Act No. 10591, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act) *Republic Act No. 6968, criminalized coup d'etats *Republic Act No. 8353, amended the law on

and increased the penalties for it *Republic Act No. 9208, established the Intellectual Property Office *Republic Act No. 9262, criminalized

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against woman, women or Girl, girls, usually by Man, men or Boy, boys. Such ...

and their children *Republic Act No. 9287, criminalized

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extr ...

(later expanded by Republic Act No. 10364, otherwise known as the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012) *Republic Act No. 9372 or the Human Security Act, criminalized

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

(later amended by Republic Act No. 11479, otherwise known as the "

Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, officially designated as Republic Act No. 11479, is a counter-terrorism law intended to prevent, prohibit, and penalize terrorism in the Philippines. The law was passed by the 18th Congress and signed by Presid ...

") *Republic Act No. 9851, criminalized crimes against international humanitarian law,

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the L ...

and crimes against humanity *Republic Act No. 10158, decriminalized

vagrancy Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, tem ...

*Republic Act No. 10175, criminalized acts in cyberspace via the

Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, officially recorded as Republic Act No. 10175, is a law in the Philippines that was approved on September 12, 2012. It aims to address legal issues concerning online interactions and the Internet in the ...

*Republic Act No. 10592, amended the law on increasing the good conduct time allowance for prisoners (this remained controversial after the near-release of former Calauan, Laguna mayor Antonio Sanchez, the mastermind in the June 1993 rape-slay of UPLB college student Mary Eileen Sarmenta and killing of her companion Allan Gomez) *Republic Act No. 10951, updated the values of damages in certain crimes, and the value of fines

References

External links

{{Wikisource, Act No. 3815, Full text of the original Revised Penal Code (Act No. 3815)
Act No. 3815

Act No. 3815, December 08, 1930

Republic Act No. 10951

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10951, August 29, 2017

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Philippine criminal law 1930 in law

Historical background

Features

Preliminary article

Book One

Title One: Felonies and criminal liability

Title Two: Persons criminally liable

Title Three: Penalties

Length of incarceration

Other penalties

Accessory penalties

Title Four: Extinction of criminal liability and civil liability

Extinction of criminal liability

Prescription of crimes

Title Five: Civil liability

Book Two

Title One: Crimes against national security and the law of nations

Title Two: Crimes against the fundamental laws of the state

Title Three: Crimes against public order

Title Four: Crimes against public interest

Title Five: Crimes relative to opium and other prohibited drugs

Title Six: Crimes against public morals

Title Seven: Crimes committed by public officers

Title Eight: Crimes against persons

Title Nine: Crimes against personal liberty and security

Title Ten: Crimes against property

Title Eleven: Crimes against chastity

Title Twelve: Crimes against civil status of persons

Title Thirteen: Crimes against honor

Title Fourteen: Quasi-offenses (criminal negligence)

Title Fifteen: Final provisions

Other penalties

Amendments

See also

References

External links