Criminal Law: Penalties

Credits to the owner of the image.

TITLE THREE

Penalties

CHAPTER ONE

Penalties in General

ARTICLE 21. Penalties that May Be Imposed. — No felony shall be punishable by any penalty not prescribed by law prior to its commission.

ARTICLE 22. Retroactive Effect of Penal Laws. — Penal laws shall have a retroactive effect in so far as they favor the person guilty of a felony, who is not a habitual criminal, as this term is defined in rule 5 of article 62 of this Code, although at the time of the publication of such laws a final sentence has been pronounced and the convict is serving the same.

ARTICLE 23. Effect of Pardon by the Offended Party. — A pardon by the offended party does not extinguish criminal action except as provided in article 344 of this Code; but civil liability with regard to the interest of the injured party is extinguished by his express waiver.

ARTICLE 24. Measures of Prevention or Safety Which are Not Considered Penalties. — The following shall not be considered as penalties:

1. The arrest and temporary detention of accused persons, as well as their detention by reason of insanity or imbecility, or illness requiring their confinement in a hospital.

2. The commitment of a minor to any of the institutions mentioned in article 80 and for the purposes specified therein.

3. Suspension from the employment or public office during the trial or in order to institute proceedings.

4. Fines and other corrective measures which, in the exercise of their administrative or disciplinary powers, superior officials may impose upon their subordinates.

5. Deprivation of rights and the reparations which the civil laws may establish in penal form.

CHAPTER TWO

Classification of Penalties

ARTICLE 25. Penalties Which May Be Imposed. — The penalties which may be imposed, according to this Code, and their different classes, are those included in the following:

Scale

Principal Penalties

Capital punishment:

Death.

Afflictive penalties:

Reclusión perpetua,

Reclusión temporal,

Perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification,

Perpetual or temporary special disqualification,

Prisión mayor.

Correctional penalties:

Prisión correccional,

Arresto mayor,

Suspensión,

Destierro.

Light penalties:

Arresto menor,

Public censure.

Penalties common to the three preceding classes:

Fine, and

Bond to keep the peace.

Accessory Penalties

Perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification,

Perpetual or temporary special disqualification,

Suspension from public office, the right to vote and be voted for, the profession or calling.

Civil interdiction,

Indemnification,

Forfeiture or confiscation of instruments and proceeds of the offense,

Payment of costs.

ARTICLE 26. Fine — When Afflictive, Correctional or Light Penalty. — A fine, whether imposed as a single or as an alternative penalty, shall be considered an afflictive penalty, if it exceeds 6,000 pesos; a correctional penalty, if it does not exceed 6,000 pesos but is not less than 200 pesos; and a light penalty, if it be less than 200 pesos.

CHAPTER THREE

Duration and Effect of Penalties

SECTION ONE

Duration of Penalties

ARTICLE 27. Reclusión Perpetua. — Any person sentenced to any of the perpetual penalties shall be pardoned after undergoing the penalty for thirty years, unless such person by reason of his conduct or some other serious cause shall be considered by the Chief Executive as unworthy of pardon.

Reclusión temporal. — The penalty of reclusión temporal shall be from twelve years and one day to twenty years.

Prisión mayor and temporary disqualification. — The duration of the penalties of prisión mayor and temporary disqualification shall be from six years and one day to twelve years, except when the penalty of disqualification is imposed as an accessory penalty, in which case its duration shall be that of the principal penalty.

Prisión correccional, suspensión, and destierro. — The duration of the penalties of prision correccional, suspensión and destierro shall be from six months and one day to six years, except when suspension is imposed as an accessory penalty, in which case, its duration shall be that of the principal penalty.

Arresto mayor. — The duration of the penalty or arresto mayor shall be from one month and one day to six months.

Arresto menor. — The duration of the penalty of arresto menor shall be from one day to thirty days.

Bond to keep the peace. — The bond to keep the peace shall be required to cover such period of time as the court may determine.

ARTICLE 28. Computation of Penalties. — If the offender shall be in prison the term of the duration of the temporary penalties shall be computed from the day on which the judgment of conviction shall have become final.

If the offender be not in prison, the term of the duration of the penalty consisting of deprivation of liberty shall be computed from the day that the offender is placed at the disposal of the judicial authorities for the enforcement of the penalty. The duration of the other penalties shall be computed only from the day on which the defendant commences to serve his sentence.

ARTICLE 29. One-half of the Period of the Preventive Imprisonment Deducted from Term of Imprisonment. — Offenders who have undergone preventive imprisonment shall be credited in the service of their sentence consisting of deprivation of liberty, with one-half of the time during which they have undergone preventive imprisonment, except in the following cases:

1. When they are recidivists, or have been convicted previously twice or more times of any crime;

2. When upon being summoned for the execution of their sentence they have failed to surrender voluntarily;

3. When they have been convicted of robbery, theft, estafa, malversation of public funds, falsification, vagrancy, or prostitution.

SECTION TWO

Effects of the Penalties According to Their Respective Nature

ARTICLE 30. Effects of the Penalties of Perpetual or Temporary Absolute Disqualification. — The penalties of perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification for public office shall produce the following effects:

1. The deprivation of the public offices and employments which the offender may have held, even if conferred by popular election.

2. The deprivation of the right to vote in any election for any popular elective office or to be elected to such office.

3. The disqualification for the offices or public employments and for the exercise of any of the rights mentioned.

In case of temporary disqualification, such disqualification as is comprised in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this article shall last during the term of the sentence.

4. The loss of all right to retirement pay or other pension for any office formerly held.

ARTICLE 31. Effects of the Penalties of Perpetual or Temporary Special Disqualification. — The penalties of perpetual or temporary special disqualification for public office, profession or calling shall produce the following effects:

1. The deprivation of the office, employment, profession or calling affected;

2. The disqualification for holding similar offices or employments either perpetually or during the term of the sentence, according to the extent of such disqualification.

ARTICLE 32. Effects of the Penalties of Perpetual or Temporary Special Disqualification for the Exercise of the Right of Suffrage. — The perpetual or temporary special disqualification for the exercise of the right of suffrage shall deprive the offender perpetually or during the term of the sentence, according to the nature of said penalty, of the right to vote in any popular election for any public office or to be elected to such office. Moreover, the offender shall not be permitted to hold any public office during the period of his disqualification.

ARTICLE 33. Effects of the Penalties of Suspension from Any Public Office, Profession or Calling, or the Right of Suffrage. — The suspension from public office, profession or calling, and the exercise of the right of suffrage shall disqualify the offender from holding such office or exercising such profession or calling or right of suffrage during the term of the sentence.

The person suspended from holding public office shall not hold another having similar functions during the period of his suspension.

ARTICLE 34. Civil Interdiction. — Civil interdiction shall deprive the offender during the time of his sentence of the rights of parental authority, or guardianship, either as to the person or property of any ward, of marital authority, of the right to manage his property and of the right to dispose of such property by any act or any conveyance inter vivos.

ARTICLE 35. Effects of Bond to Keep the Peace. — It shall be the duty of any person sentenced to give bond to keep the peace, to present two sufficient sureties who shall undertake that such person will not commit the offense sought to be prevented, and that in case such offense be committed they will pay the amount determined by the court in its judgment, or otherwise to deposit such amount in the office of the clerk of the court to guarantee said undertaking.

The court shall determine, according to its discretion, the period of duration of the bond.

Should the person sentenced fail to give the bond as required he shall be detained for a period which shall in no case exceed six months, if he shall have been prosecuted for a grave or less grave felony, and shall not exceed thirty days, if for a light felony.

ARTICLE 36. Pardon; Its Effects. — A pardon shall not work the restoration of the right to hold public office, or the right of suffrage, unless such rights be expressly restored by the terms of the pardon.

A pardon shall in no case exempt the culprit from the payment of the civil indemnity imposed upon him by the sentence.

ARTICLE 37. Costs — What are Included. — Costs shall include fees and indemnities in the course of the judicial proceedings, whether they be fixed or unalterable amounts previously determined by law or regulations in force, or amounts not subject to schedule.

ARTICLE 38. Pecuniary Liabilities — Order of Payment. — In case the property of the offender should not be sufficient for the payment of all his pecuniary liabilities, the same shall be met in the following order:

1. The reparation of the damage caused.

2. Indemnification of consequential damages.

3. The fine.

4. The costs of the proceedings.

ARTICLE 39. Subsidiary Penalty. — If the convict has no property with which to meet the pecuniary liabilities mentioned in paragraphs 1st, 2nd and 3rd of the next preceding article, he shall be subject to a subsidiary personal liability at the rate of one day for each 2 pesos and 50 centavos, subject to the following rules:

1. If the principal penalty imposed be prisión correccional or arresto and fine, he shall remain under confinement until his fine and pecuniary liabilities referred in the preceding paragraph are satisfied, but his subsidiary imprisonment shall not exceed one-third of the term of the sentence, and in no case shall it continue for more than one year, and no fraction or part of a day shall be counted against the prisoner.

2. When the principal penalty imposed be only a fine, the subsidiary imprisonment shall not exceed six months, if the culprit shall have been prosecuted for a grave or less grave felony, and shall not exceed fifteen days, if for a light felony.

3. When the principal penalty imposed is higher than prisión correccional no subsidiary imprisonment shall be imposed upon the culprit.

4. If the principal penalty imposed is not to be executed by confinement in a penal institution, but such penalty is of fixed duration, the convict, during the period of time established in the preceding rules, shall continue to suffer the same deprivations as those of which the principal penalty consists.

5. The subsidiary personal liability which the convict may have suffered by reason of his insolvency shall not relieve him from reparation of the damaged caused, nor from indemnification for the consequential damages in case his financial circumstances should improve; but he shall be relieved from pecuniary liability as to the fine.

SECTION THREE

Penalties in Which Other Accessory Penalties are Inherent

ARTICLE 40. Death — Its Accessory Penalties. — The death penalty, when it is not executed by reason of commutation or pardon shall carry with it that of perpetual absolute disqualification and that of civil interdiction during thirty years following the date of sentence, unless such accessory penalties have been expressly remitted in the pardon.

ARTICLE 41. Reclusión Perpetua and Reclusión Temporal — Their accessory penalties. — The penalties of reclusión perpetua and reclusión temporal shall carry with them that of civil interdiction for life or during the period of the sentence as the case may be, and that of perpetual absolute disqualification which the offender shall suffer even though pardoned as to the principal penalty, unless the same shall have been expressly remitted in the pardon.

ARTICLE 42. Prisión Mayor — Its Accessory Penalties. — The penalty of prisión mayor shall carry with it that of temporary absolute disqualification and that of perpetual special disqualification from the right of suffrage which the offender shall suffer although pardoned as to the principal penalty, unless the same shall have been expressly remitted in the pardon.

ARTICLE 43. Prisión Correccional — Its Accessory Penalties. — The penalty of prisión correccional shall carry with it that of suspension from public office, from the right to follow a profession or calling, and that of perpetual special disqualification from the right of suffrage, if the duration of said imprisonment shall exceed eighteen months. The offender shall suffer the disqualification provided in this article although pardoned as to the principal penalty, unless the same shall have been expressly remitted in the pardon.

ARTICLE 44. Arresto — Its Accessory Penalties. — The penalty of arresto shall carry with it that of suspension of the right to hold office and the right of suffrage during the term of the sentence.

ARTICLE 45. Confiscation and Forfeiture of the Proceeds or Instruments of the Crime. — Every penalty imposed for the commission of a felony shall carry with it the forfeiture of the proceeds of the crime and the instruments or tools with which it was committed.

Such proceeds and instruments or tools shall be confiscated and forfeited in favor of the Government, unless they be the property of a third person not liable for the offense, but those articles which are not subject of lawful commerce shall be destroyed.

CHAPTER FOUR

Application of Penalties

SECTION ONE

Rules for the Application of Penalties to the Persons Criminally Liable and for the Graduation of the Same

ARTICLE 46. Penalty to be Imposed Upon Principals in General. — The penalty prescribed by law for the commission of a felony shall be imposed upon the principals in the commission of such felony.

Whenever the law prescribes a penalty for a felony in general terms, it shall be understood as applicable to the consummated felony.

ARTICLE 47. In What Cases the Death Penalty Shall Not Be Imposed. — The death penalty shall be imposed in all cases in which it must be imposed under existing laws, except in the following cases:

1. When the guilty person be more than seventy years of age.

2. When upon appeal or revision of the case by the Supreme Court, all the members thereof are not unanimous in their voting as to the propriety of the imposition of the death penalty. For the imposition of said penalty or for the confirmation of a judgment of the inferior court imposing the death sentence, the Supreme Court shall render its decision per curiam, which shall be signed by all justices of said court, unless some member or members thereof shall have become disqualified from taking part in the consideration of the case, in which event the unanimous vote and signature of only the remaining justices shall be required.

ARTICLE 48. Penalty for Complex Crimes. — When a single act constitutes two or more crimes, or when an offense is a necessary means for committing the other, the penalty for the most serious crime shall be imposed, the same to be applied in its maximum period.

ARTICLE 49. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon the Principals When the Crime Committed is Different from that Intended. — In cases in which the felony committed is different from that which the offender intended to commit, the following rules shall be observed:

1. If the penalty prescribed for the felony committed be higher than that corresponding to the offense which the accused intended to commit, the penalty corresponding to the latter shall be imposed in its maximum period.

2. If the penalty prescribed for the felony committed be lower than that corresponding to the one which the accused intended to commit, the penalty for the former shall be imposed in its maximum period.

3. The rule established by the next preceding paragraph shall not be applicable if the acts committed by the guilty person shall also constitute an attempt or frustration of another crime, if the law prescribes a higher penalty for either of the latter offenses, in which case the penalty provided for the attempt or the frustrated crime shall be imposed in its maximum period.

ARTICLE 50. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Principals of a Frustrated Crime. — The penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for the consummated felony shall be imposed upon the principal in a frustrated felony.

ARTICLE 51. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Principals of Attempted Crimes. — The penalty lower by two degrees than that prescribed by law for the consummated felony shall be imposed upon the principals in an attempt to commit a felony.

ARTICLE 52. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Accomplices in a Consummated Crime. — The penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for the consummated felony shall be imposed upon the accomplices in the commission of a consummated felony.

ARTICLE 53. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Accessories to the Commission of a Consummated Felony. — The penalty lower by two degrees than that prescribed by law for the consummated felony shall be imposed upon the accessories to the commission of a consummated felony.

ARTICLE 54. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Accomplices in a Frustrated Crime. — The penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for the frustrated felony shall be imposed upon the accomplices in the commission of a frustrated felony.

ARTICLE 55. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Accessories of a Frustrated Crime. — The penalty lower by two degrees than that prescribed by law for the frustrated felony shall be imposed upon the accessories to the commission of a frustrated felony.

ARTICLE 56. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Accomplices in an Attempted Crime. — The penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for an attempt to commit a felony shall be imposed upon the accomplices in an attempt to commit the felony.

ARTICLE 57. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Accessories of an Attempted Crime. — The penalty lower by two degrees than that prescribed by law for the attempt shall be imposed upon the accessories to the attempt to commit a felony.

ARTICLE 58. Additional Penalty to Be Imposed Upon Certain Accessories. — Those accessories falling within the terms of paragraph 3 of article 19 of this Code who should act with abuse of their public functions, shall suffer the additional penalty or absolute perpetual disqualification if the principal offender shall be guilty of a grave felony, and that of absolute temporary disqualification if he shall be guilty of a less grave felony.

ARTICLE 59. Penalty to Be Imposed in Case of Failure to Commit the Crime Because the Means Employed or the Aims Sought are Impossible. — When the person intending to commit an offense has already performed the acts for the execution of the same but nevertheless the crime was not produced by reason of the fact that the act intended was by its nature one of impossible accomplishment or because the means employed by such person are essentially inadequate to produce the result desired by him, the court, having in mind the social danger and the degree of criminality shown by the offender, shall impose upon him the penalty of arresto mayor or a fine ranging from 200 to 500 pesos.

ARTICLE 60. Exceptions to the Rules Established in Articles 50 to 57. — The provisions contained in articles 50 to 57, inclusive, of this Code shall not be applicable to cases in which the law expressly prescribes the penalty provided for a frustrated or attempted felony, or to be imposed upon accomplices or accessories.

ARTICLE 61. Rules for Graduating Penalties. — For the purpose of graduating the penalties which, according to the provisions of articles 50 to 57, inclusive, of this Code, are to be imposed upon persons guilty as principals of any frustrated or attempted felony, or as accomplices or accessories, the following rules shall be observed:

1. When the penalty prescribed for the felony is single and indivisible, the penalty next lower in degree shall be that immediately following that indivisible penalty in the scale prescribed in article 70 of this Code.

2. When the penalty prescribed for the crime is composed of two indivisible penalties, or of one or more divisible penalties to be imposed to their full extent, the penalty next lower in degree shall be that immediately following the lesser of the penalties prescribed in the above mentioned scale.

3. When the penalty prescribed for the crime is composed of one or two indivisible penalties and the maximum period of another divisible penalty, the penalty next lower in degree shall be composed of the medium and minimum periods of the proper divisible penalty and the maximum period of that immediately following in said scale.

4. When the penalty prescribed for the crime is composed of several periods, corresponding to different divisible penalties, the penalty next lower in degree shall be composed of the period immediately following the minimum prescribed and of the two next following, which shall be taken from the penalty prescribed, if possible; otherwise, from the penalty immediately following in the above mentioned scale.

5. When the law prescribes a penalty for a crime in some manner not specially provided for in the four preceding rules, the courts, proceeding by analogy, shall impose corresponding penalties upon those guilty as principals of the frustrated felony, or of attempt to commit the same, and upon accomplices and accessories.

TABULATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE CHAPTER

	Penalty Prescribe for the crime	Penalty to be imposed upon the principal in a frustrated crime, and accomplice in a consummated crime	Penalty to be imposed upon the principal in an attempted crime, the accessory in the consummated crime and the accomplices in a frustrated crime.	Penalty to be imposed upon the accessory in a frustrated crime, and the accomplices in an attempted crime	Penalty to be imposed upon the accessory in an attempted crime
First Case	Death	Reclusion Perpetua	Reclusion Temporal	Prision Mayor	Prision Correccional
Second Case	Reclusion Perpetua to Death	Reclusion Temporal	Prision Mayor	Prision Correccional	Arresto Mayor
Third Case	Reclusion Temporal in its maximum period to death	Prision Mayor in its maximum period toreclusion temporal in its medium period	Prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its medium period	Arresto Mayorin it s maximum period toprision correccional in its medium period	Fine andArresto Mayorin its minimum and medium periods
Fourth Case	Prision Mayorin its maximum period toreclusion temporal in its medium period.	Prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its medium period.	Arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccionalin its medium period.	Fine andArresto Mayorin its minimum and medium periods

SECTION TWO

Rules for the Application of Penalties with Regard to the Mitigating and Aggravating Circumstances, and Habitual Delinquency

ARTICLE 62. Effects of the Attendance of Mitigating or Aggravating Circumstances and of Habitual Delinquency. — Mitigating or aggravating circumstances and habitual delinquency shall be taken into account for the purpose of diminishing or increasing the penalty in conformity with the following rules:

1. Aggravating circumstances which in themselves constitute a crime specially punishable by law or which are included by the law in defining a crime and prescribing the penalty therefor shall not be taken into account for the purpose of increasing the penalty.

2. The same rule shall apply with respect to any aggravating circumstances inherent in the crime to such a degree that it must of necessity accompany the commission thereof.

3. Aggravating or mitigating circumstances which arise from the moral attributes of the offender, or from his private relations with the offended party, or from any other personal cause, shall only serve to aggravate or mitigate the liability of the principals, accomplices and accessories as to whom such circumstances are attendant.

4. The circumstances which consist in the material execution of the act, or in the means employed to accomplish it, shall serve to aggravate or mitigate the liability of those persons only who had knowledge of them at the time of the execution of the act or their cooperation therein.

5. Habitual delinquency shall have the following effects:

(a) Upon a third conviction the culprit shall be sentenced to the penalty provided by law for the last crime of which he be found guilty and to the additional penalty of prisión correccional in its medium and maximum periods;

(b) Upon a fourth conviction the culprit shall be sentenced to the penalty provided for the last crime of which he be found guilty and to the additional penalty of prisión mayor in its minimum and medium periods; and

(c) Upon a fifth or additional conviction, the culprit shall be sentenced to the penalty provided for the last crime of which he be found guilty and to the additional penalty of prisión mayor in its maximum period to reclusión temporal in its minimum period.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this article, the total of the two penalties to be imposed upon the offender, in conformity herewith, shall in no case exceed 30 years.

For the purpose of this article, a person shall be deemed to be habitual delinquent, if within a period of ten years from the date of his release or last conviction of the crimes robo, hurto, estafa, or falsificacion, he is found guilty of any of said crimes a third time or oftener.

ARTICLE 63. Rules for the Application of Indivisible Penalties. — In all cases in which the law prescribes a single indivisible penalty, it shall be applied by the courts regardless of any mitigating or aggravating circumstances that may have attended the commission of the deed.

In all cases in which the law prescribes a penalty composed of two indivisible penalties, the following rules shall be observed in the application thereof:

1. When in the commission of the deed there is present only one aggravating circumstance, the greater penalty shall be applied.

2. When there are neither mitigating nor aggravating circumstances in the commission of the deed, the lesser penalty shall be applied.

3. When the commission of the act is attended by some mitigating circumstance and there is no aggravating circumstance, the lesser penalty shall be applied.

4. When both mitigating and aggravating circumstances attended the commission of the act, the courts shall reasonably allow them to offset one another in consideration of their number and importance, for the purpose of applying the penalty in accordance with the preceding rules, according to the result of such compensation.

ARTICLE 64. Rules for the Application of Penalties Which Contain Three Periods. — In cases in which the penalties prescribed by law contain three periods, whether it be a single divisible penalty or composed of three different penalties, each one of which forms a period in accordance with the provisions of articles 76 and 77, the courts shall observe for the application of the penalty the following rules, according to whether there are or are not mitigating or aggravating circumstances:

1. When there are neither aggravating nor mitigating circumstances, they shall impose the penalty prescribed by law in its medium period.

2. When only a mitigating circumstance is present in the commission of the act, they shall impose the penalty in its minimum period.

3. When only an aggravating circumstance is present in the commission of the act, they shall impose the penalty in its maximum period.

4. When both mitigating and aggravating circumstances are present, the court shall reasonably offset those of one class against the other according to their relative weight.

5. When there are two or more mitigating circumstances and no aggravating circumstances are present, the court shall impose the penalty next lower to that prescribed by law, in the period that it may deem applicable, according to the number and nature of such circumstances.

6. Whatever may be the number and nature of the aggravating circumstances, the courts shall not impose a greater penalty than that prescribed by law, in its maximum period.

7. Within the limits of each period, the courts shall determine the extent of the penalty according to the number and nature of the aggravating and mitigating circumstances and the greater or lesser extent of the evil produced by the crime.

ARTICLE 65. Rule in Cases in Which the Penalty is Not Composed of Three Periods. — In cases in which the penalty prescribed by law is not composed of three periods, the courts shall apply the rules contained in the foregoing articles, dividing into three equal portions the time included in the penalty prescribed, and forming one period of each of the three portions.

ARTICLE 66. Imposition of Fines. — In imposing fines the courts may fix any amount within the limits established by law; in fixing the amount in each case attention shall be given, not only to the mitigating and aggravating circumstances, but more particularly to the wealth or means of the culprit.

ARTICLE 67. Penalty to Be Imposed When Not All the Requisites of Exemption of the Fourth Circumstance of Article 12 are Present.— When all the conditions required in circumstance number 4 of article 12 of this Code to exempt from criminal liability are not present, the penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prisión correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon the culprit if he shall have been guilty of a grave felony, and arresto mayor in its minimum and medium periods, if of a less grave felony.

ARTICLE 68. Penalty to Be Imposed Upon a Person Under Eighteen Years of Age. — When the offender is a minor under eighteen years and his case is one coming under the provisions of the paragraph next to the last of article 80 of this Code, the following rules shall be observed:

1. Upon a person under fifteen but over nine years of age, who is not exempted from liability by reason of the court having declared that he acted with discernment, a discretionary penalty shall be imposed, but always lower by two degrees at least than that prescribed by law for the crime which he committed.

2. Upon a person over fifteen and under eighteen years of age the penalty next lower than that prescribed by law shall be imposed, but always in the proper period.

ARTICLE 69. Penalty to Be Imposed When the Crime Committed is Not Wholly Excusable. — A penalty lower by one or two degrees than that prescribed by law shall be imposed if the deed is not wholly excusable by reason of the lack of some of the conditions required to justify the same or to exempt from criminal liability in the several cases mentioned in articles 11 and 12, provided that the majority of such conditions be present. The courts shall impose the penalty in the period which may be deemed proper, in view of the number and nature of the conditions of exemption present or lacking.

ARTICLE 70. Successive Service of Sentences; Exception. — When the culprit has to serve two or more penalties, he shall serve them simultaneously if the nature of the penalties will so permit; otherwise, said penalties shall be executed successively, following the order of their respective severity, which shall be determined in accordance with the following scale:

1. Death.

2. Reclusión perpetua.

3. Reclusión temporal.

4. Prisión mayor.

5. Prisión correccional.

6. Arresto mayor.

7. Arresto menor.

A person sentenced to destierro who is also sentenced to the penalty of prisión or arresto shall be required to serve these latter penalties before serving the penalty of destierro.

ARTICLE 71. Fine. — The fine shall be considered as the last of all the principal penalties listed in the preceding article.

When a fine is so imposed, the duration of the subsidiary liability corresponding thereto, by reason of the insolvency of the offender, shall not exceed that which is provided in rule 2 of article 39.

ARTICLE 72. Preference in the Payment of the Civil Liabilities. — The civil liabilities of a person found guilty of two or more offenses shall be satisfied by following the chronological order of the dates of the final judgments rendered against him, beginning with the first in order of time.

SECTION THREE

Provision Common to the Last Two Preceding Sections

ARTICLE 73. Presumption in Regard to the Imposition of Accessory Penalties. — Whenever the courts shall impose a penalty which, by provision of law, carries with it other penalties, according to the provisions of articles 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45 of this Code, it must be understood that the accessory penalties are also imposed upon the convict.

ARTICLE 74. Penalty Higher Than Reclusión Perpetua in Certain Cases. — In cases in which the law prescribes a penalty higher than another given penalty, without specifically designating the name of the former, if such higher penalty should be that of death, the same penalty and the accessory penalties of article 40, shall be considered as the next higher penalty.

ARTICLE 75. Increasing or Reducing the Penalty of Fine by One or More Degrees. — Whenever it may be necessary to increase or reduce the penalty of fine by one or more degrees, it shall be increased or reduced, respectively, for each degree, by one-fourth of the maximum amount prescribed by law, without, however, changing the minimum.

The same rules shall be observed with regard to fines that do not consist of a fixed amount, but are made proportional.

ARTICLE 76. Legal Period of Duration of Divisible Penalties. — The legal period of duration of divisible penalties shall be considered as divided into three parts, forming three periods, the minimum, the medium, and the maximum in the manner shown in the following table:

TABLE SHOWING THE DURATION OF DIVISIBLE PENALTIES AND THE TIME INCLUDED IN EACH OF THEIR PERIODS

Penalties	Time included in the penalty in its entirety	Time included in its minimum period	Time included in its medium period	Time included in its maximum
Reclusion temporal	From 12 years and 1 day to 20 years.	From 12 years and 1 day to 14 years and 8 months.	From 14 years, 8 months and 1 day to 17 years and 4 months.	From 17 years, 4 months and 1 day to 20 years.
Prision mayor, absolute disqualification and special temporary disqualification	From 6 years and 1 day to 12 years.	From 6 years and 1 day to 8 years.	From 8 years and 1 day to 10 years.	From 10 years and 1 day to 12 years.
Prision correccional, suspension anddestierro	From 6 months and 1 day to 6 years.	From 6 months and 1 day to 2 years and 4 months.	From 2 years, 4 months and 1 day to 4 years and 2 months.	From 4 years, 2 months and 1 day to 6 years.
Arresto mayor	From 1 month and 1 day to months.	From 1 to 2 months.	From 2 months and 1 day to 4 months.	From 4 months and 1 day to 6 months.
Arresto menor	From 1 to 30 days.	From 1 to 10 days.	From 11 to 20 days.	From 21 to 30 days.

ARTICLE 77. When the Penalty is a Complex One Composed of Three Distinct Penalties. — In cases in which the law prescribes a penalty composed of three distinct penalties, each one shall form a period; the lightest of them shall be the minimum, the next the medium, and the most severe the maximum period.

Whenever the penalty prescribed does not have one of the forms specially provided for in this book, the periods shall be distributed, applying by analogy the prescribed rules.

CHAPTER FIVE

Execution and Service of Penalties

SECTION ONE

General Provisions

ARTICLE 78. When and How a Penalty is to Be Executed. — No penalty shall be executed except by virtue of a final judgment.

A penalty shall not be executed in any other form than that prescribed by law, nor with any other circumstances or incidents than those expressly authorized thereby.

In addition to the provisions of the law, the special regulations prescribed for the government of the institutions in which the penalties are to be suffered shall be observed with regard to the character of the work to be performed, the time of its performance, and other incidents connected therewith, the relations of the convicts among themselves and other persons, the relief which they may receive, and their diet.

The regulations shall make provision for the separation of the sexes in different institutions, or at least into different departments, and also for the correction and reform of the convicts.

ARTICLE 79. Suspension of the Execution and Service of the Penalties in Case of Insanity. — When a convict shall become insane or an imbecile after final sentence has been pronounced, the execution of said sentence shall be suspended only with regard to the personal penalty, the provisions of the second paragraph of circumstance number 1 of article 12 being observed in the corresponding cases.

If at any time the convict shall recover his reason, his sentence shall be executed, unless the penalty shall have prescribed in accordance with the provisions of this Code.

The respective provisions of this section shall also be observed if the insanity or imbecility occurs while the convict is serving his sentence.

ARTICLE 80. Suspension of Sentence of Minor Delinquents. — Whenever a minor under eighteen years of age, of either sex, be accused of a crime, the court, after hearing the evidence in the proper proceedings, instead of pronouncing judgment, shall suspend all further proceedings and shall commit such minor to the custody or care of a public or private, benevolent or charitable institution, established under the law for the care, correction or education of orphaned, homeless, defective and delinquent children, or to the custody or care of any other responsible person in any other place subject to visitation and supervision by the Public Welfare Commissioner or any of his agents or representatives, if there be any, or otherwise by the superintendent of public schools or his representatives, subject to such conditions as are prescribed hereinbelow, until such minor shall have reached his majority or for such less period as the court may deem proper.

The court, in committing said minor as provided above, shall take into consideration the religion of such minor, his parents or next of kin, in order to avoid his commitment to any private institution not under the control and supervision of the religious sect or denomination to which they belong.

The Public Welfare Commissioner or his duly authorized representatives or agents, the superintendent of public schools or his representatives, or the person to whose custody or care the minor has been committed, shall submit to the Court every two months or as often as required, a written report on the good or bad conduct of said minor and the moral and intellectual progress made by him.

The suspension of the proceedings against a minor may be extended or shortened by the court on the recommendation of the Public Welfare Commissioner or his authorized representatives or agents, or the superintendent of public schools or his representatives, according as to whether the conduct of such minor has been good or not and whether he has complied with the conditions imposed upon him. The provisions of the first paragraph of this article shall not, however, be affected by those contained herein.

If the minor has been committed to the custody or care of any of the institutions mentioned in the first paragraph of this article, with the approval of the Public Welfare Commissioner and subject to such conditions as this official in accordance with the law may deem proper to impose, such minor may be allowed to stay elsewhere under the care of a responsible person.

If the minor has behaved properly and has complied with the conditions imposed upon him during his confinement, in accordance with the provisions of this article, he shall be returned to the court in order that the same may order his final release.

In case the minor fails to behave properly or to comply with the regulations of the institution to which he has been committed or with the conditions imposed upon him when he was committed to the care of a responsible person, or in case he should be found incorrigible or his continued stay in such institution should be inadvisable, he shall be returned to the court in order that the same may render the judgment corresponding to the crime committed by him.

The expenses for the maintenance of a minor delinquent confined in the institution to which he has been committed, shall be borne totally or partially by his parents or relatives or those persons liable to support him, if they are able to do so, in the discretion of the court.

SECTION TWO

Execution of Principal Penalties

ARTICLE 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 persons under 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 electrocution.

ARTICLE 82. Notification and Execution of the Sentence and Assistance to the Culprit. — The court shall designate a working day for the execution, but not the hour thereof; and such designation shall not be communicated to the offender before sunrise of said day, and the execution shall not take place until after the expiration of at least eight hours following the notification, but before sunset. During the interval between the notification and the execution, the culprit shall, in so far as possible, be furnished such assistance as he may request in order to be attended in his last moments by priests or ministers of the religion he professes and to consult lawyers, as well as in order to make a will and confer with members of his family or persons in charge of the management of his business, of the administration of his property, or of the care of his descendants.

ARTICLE 83. Suspension of the Execution of the Death Sentence. — The death sentence shall not be inflicted upon a woman within the three years next following the date of the sentence or while she is pregnant, nor upon any person over seventy years of age. In this last case, the death sentence shall be commuted to the penalty of reclusión perpetua with the accessory penalty provided in article 40.

ARTICLE 84. Place of Execution and Persons Who May Witness the Same. — The execution shall take place in the penitentiary of Bilibid in a space closed to the public view and shall be witnessed only by the priests assisting the offender and by his lawyers and by his relatives, not exceeding six, if he so request, by the physician and the necessary personnel of the penal establishment, and by such persons as the Director of Prisons may authorized.

ARTICLE 85. Provision Relative to the Corpse of the Person Executed and Its Burial. — Unless claimed by his family, the corpse of the culprit shall, upon the completion of the legal proceedings subsequent to the execution, be turned over to the institute of learning or scientific research first applying for it, for the purpose of study and investigation, provided that such institute shall take charge of the decent burial of the remains. Otherwise, the Director of Prisons shall order the burial of the body of the culprit at government expense, granting permission to be present thereat to the members of the family of the culprit and the friends of the latter. In no case shall the burial of the body of a person sentenced to death be held with pomp.

ARTICLE 86. Reclusión Perpetua, Reclusión Temporal, Prisión Mayor, Prisión Correccional and Arresto Mayor. — The penalties of reclusión perpetua, reclusión temporal, prisión mayor, prisión correccional, and arresto mayor, shall be executed and served in the places and penal establishments provided by the Administrative Code in force or which may be provided by law in the future.

ARTICLE 87. Destierro. — Any person sentenced to destierro shall not be permitted to enter the place or places designated in the sentence, nor within the radius therein specified, which shall be not more than 250 and not less than 25 kilometers from the place designated.

ARTICLE 88. Arresto Menor. — The penalty of arresto menor shall be served in the municipal jail, or in the house of the defendant himself under the surveillance of an officer of the law, when the court so provides in its decision, taking into consideration the health of the offender and other reasons which may seem satisfactory to it.

TITLE FOUR

Extinction of Criminal Liability and of Civil Liability Resulting from Crime

CHAPTER ONE

Extinction of Criminal Liability

SECTION ONE

Total Extinction of Criminal Liability

ARTICLE 89. How Criminal Liability is Totally Extinguished. — Criminal liability is totally extinguished:

1. By the death of the convict, as to the personal penalties; and as to pecuniary penalties, liability therefor is extinguished only when the death of the offender occurs before final judgment.

2. By service of the sentence.

3. By amnesty, which completely extinguishes the penalty and all its effects.

4. By absolute pardon.

5. By prescription of the crime.

6. By prescription of the penalty.

7. By the marriage of the offended woman, as provided in article 344 of this Code.

ARTICLE 90. Prescription of Crimes. — Crimes punishable by death, reclusión perpetua or reclusión temporal shall prescribe in twenty years.

Crimes punishable by other afflictive penalties shall prescribe in fifteen years.

Those punishable by a correctional penalty shall prescribe in ten years; with the exception of those punishable by arresto mayor, which shall prescribe in five years.

The crime of libel or other similar offenses shall prescribe in two years.

The offenses of oral defamation and slander by deed shall prescribe in six months.

Light offenses prescribe in two months.

When the penalty fixed by law is a compound one the highest penalty shall be made the basis of the application of the rules contained in the first, second and third paragraphs of this article.

ARTICLE 91. Computation of Prescription of Offenses. — The period of prescription shall commence to run from the day on which the crime is discovered by the offended party, the authorities, or their agents, and shall be interrupted by the filing of the complaint or information, and shall commence to run again when such proceedings terminate without the accused being convicted or acquitted, or are unjustifiably stopped for any reason not imputable to him.

The term of prescription shall not run when the offender is absent from the Philippine Archipelago.

ARTICLE 92. When and How Penalties Prescribe. — The penalties imposed by final sentence prescribe as follows:

1. Death and reclusión perpetua, in twenty years;

2. Other afflictive penalties, in fifteen years;

3. Correctional penalties, in ten years; with the exception of the penalty of arresto mayor, which prescribes in five years;

4. Light penalties, in one year.

ARTICLE 93. Computation of the Prescription of Penalties. — The period of prescription of penalties shall commence to run from the date when the culprit should evade the service of his sentence, and it shall be interrupted if the defendant should give himself up, be captured, should go to some foreign country with which this Government has no extradition treaty, or should commit another crime before the expiration of the period of prescription.

SECTION TWO

Partial Extinction of Criminal Liability

ARTICLE 94. Partial Extinction of Criminal Liability. — Criminal liability is extinguished partially:

1. By conditional pardon;

2. By commutation of the sentence; and

3. For good conduct allowances which the culprit may earn while he is serving his sentence.

ARTICLE 95. Obligation Incurred by Person Granted Conditional Pardon. — Any person who has been granted conditional pardon shall incur the obligation of complying strictly with the conditions imposed therein; otherwise, his non-compliance with any of the conditions specified shall result in the revocation of the pardon and the provisions of article 159 shall be applied to him.

ARTICLE 96. Effect of Commutation of Sentence. — The commutation of the original sentence for another of a different length and nature shall have the legal effect of substituting the latter in the place of the former.

ARTICLE 97. Allowance for Good Conduct. — The good conduct of any prisoner in any penal institution shall entitle him to the following deductions from the period of his sentence:

1. During the first two years of his imprisonment, he shall be allowed a deduction of five days for each month of good behavior;

2. During the third to the fifth year, inclusive, of his imprisonment, he shall be allowed a deduction of eight days for each month of good behavior;

3. During the following years until the tenth year, inclusive, of his imprisonment, he shall be allowed a deduction of ten days for each month of good behavior; and

4. During the eleventh and successive years of his imprisonment, he shall be allowed a deduction of fifteen days for each month of good behavior.

ARTICLE 98. Special Time Allowance for Loyalty. — A deduction of one-fifth of the period of his sentence shall be granted to any prisoner who, having evaded the service of his sentence under the circumstances mentioned in article 158 of this Code, gives himself up to the authorities within 48 hours following the issuance of a proclamation announcing the passing away of the calamity or catastrophe referred to in said article.

ARTICLE 99. Who Grants Time Allowances. — Whenever lawfully justified the Director of Prisons shall grant allowances for good conduct. Such allowances once granted shall not be revoked.

Source: Revised Penal Code

www.gov.ph