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 nation's
efforts towards sustainable economic development and prosperity while at the
same time has undermined the people's faith in the Government and the latter's
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-law-spouse 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 ill-gotten 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. <
modified or repealed hereby are Act this of provisions the with inconsistent
thereof parts regulations and rules orders, executive issuances, decrees
presidential laws,>
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.
Approved: December 13,
1993
Source:The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation
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