December 13, 1993
AN ACT TO IMPOSE THE DEATH PENALTY ON CERTAIN HEINOUS CRIMES, AMENDING FOR THAT PURPOSE THE REVISED 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,
Sec. 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;
Sec. 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."
Sec. 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 the Philippine waters. - The penalty
of reclusion perpetua shall be inflicted upon any person who, on the high seas,
or in the 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 the 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 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 appurtances 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."
Sec. 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.
The death penalty shall also be imposed it 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 13. Sections
3, 4, 5, 6, 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 16. Section
16 of Article III of Republic Act No. 6425, as amended, known as the Dangerous
Drugs Act No. 6425, 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 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, of 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 or 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.
Sec. 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
anaesthesized 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."
Sec. 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."
Sec. 26. All
laws, presidential decrees and issuances, executive orders, rules and
regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Sec. 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.
Sec. 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