A Bill to revise the REVISED PENAL CODE

[H.Wolowitz]

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MANILA, Philippines—After 81 years, the country’s criminal code appears headed for a much-needed makeover with the filing of a bill on Tuesday mandating sweeping reforms that would replace antiquated provisions and obsolete penalties that fail to address the call of the times.
One key provision of the bill that would repeal Book I of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and put in place a new criminal code is the one lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 13 years from 15 years, the bill’s author, Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., said.
Another provision prescribes a change to the universal jurisdiction of crimes instead of the current jurisdiction based on territory.
Tupas said massive changes to the RPC were necessary to make the country’s laws more responsive to the times.
Archaic crimes
“While the RPC still defines archaic crimes such as ‘challenging to a duel’ and ‘qualified theft of coconuts,’ it has largely been ineffective in addressing organized crime, transactional crime, cybercrime and such other emergent criminal activities that proliferate today,” he said in the explanatory note to the bill.
Tupas told reporters that lowering the age of criminal responsibility was necessary to prevent gangs from using children in their activities. He also said 13-year-olds today were more well-informed compared to children of the same age back in time.
“A 13-year-old in 2013 is different from a 13-year-old in the 18th century,” he said.
Under the bill, those between 13 and 18 years would be penalized depending on the nature of the crime but be given suspended sentences and referrals to diversionary programs.
Another change would be the simplification of crime categories, meaning there will be no more frustrated stage of commission. For instance, there will be no more frustrated murder, just attempted murder and murder.
Participants in a crime would also either be principals or accomplices. There will be no more accessories.
The bill also seeks to impose a new penalty scale composed of numbered levels instead of Latin terms. This would allow for an easier classification of crimes according to gravity and simplify the sentencing process.
Double jeopardy
It also proposes to rationalize the rule on double jeopardy to prevent its abuse, by adding a provision stating that an appeal from a judgment of dismissal or acquittal shall not be treated as a second jeopardy.
As he pushed for a new criminal code, Tupas filed another bill that would streamline the criminal investigation process and improve the way the government responds to injustice, by removing the layers of bureaucracy and simplifying the process.
The bill, which seeks to institutionalize a criminal investigation system, would require prosecutors to work closely with the police in gathering evidence and building a case. This would be the criminal investigation stage, the first of two steps under the preliminary investigation process.

Revised penal code revised: Criminal age lowered to 13 in House bill | Inquirer News

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mao ni sakto! dapat na usbon. one of the changes that i like is the removal of the Latin terms sa penalty scale. perte kalisod i.memorize ana. hehe

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UPDATE: After some research, it looks like the above Bill (news article) is intended for BOOK 1 only of RPC. BOOK 2 is still in the works.

The Criminal Code Committee (CCC) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) reported today that work has begun on the drafting of Book 2 of the new Criminal Code, a priority project of the current administration to simplify, codify and rationalize the set of more than 400 criminal laws.
The Code Committee previously completed the roadshow consultations on Book 1 governing general principles.

The highlights of Book 1 includes the change to universal jurisdiction of crimes instead of the current jurisdiction based on territory; simplifies the approach to criminalization based on conduct and not mental state; there is no longer a splitting of criminal and civil actions; provision on a new scale of penalties; the rule on double jeopardy has been rationalized to prevent abuses; and prescription of crime and service of sentence is now combined.

For Book 2, it will be composed of three main parts instead of the current fifteen titles. These are - crimes against property, crimes against persons, and crimes against the State.

Secretary of Justice Leila M. de Lima formed the CCC in April 2011, following the directive of President Benigno Aquino III during his first State of the Nation Address to recodify the country's laws to ensure their consistency.

The Code Committee is composed of representatives from more than 20 government agencies and private organizations spanning the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, the professional associations of lawyers, and the civil society.

Its work is organized through regular expert group meetings, focused group discussions, presentations and special lectures, writeshops including submission of policy papers when needed. Among these are Determining the Appropriate Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility (MACR) in the Philippines, Corporate Criminal Responsibility in the Philippines, Penalties under the New Criminal Code of the Philippines, and Amicable Settlement in Criminal Cases in the Philippines.

Since 2011, the CCC conducted forty-two (42) experts group meetings that involved representatives from the Office of the Ombudsman, Civil Service Commission (CSC), Commission on Election (COMELEC), Commission on Audit (COA), and Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

By the end of 2013, the CCC will be ready to submit the draft of Book 2. Meanwhile, draft Book 1 with 24 sections, was completed in October 2012 and is currently undergoing final edits in preparation for filing in the 16th Congress of the Philippines.

Recently, the DOJ signed a Framework Agreement with the Max Planck Institute (MBI) for Foreign and International Criminal Law based in Freiburg, Germany to conduct legal research and comparative law analysis.

The Hanns Seidel Foundation is the partner institution of the DOJ Criminal Code Committee.

source: Criminal Code Committee Starts Work on Book 2 of Revised Penal Code :: Department of Justice - Republic of the Philippines :: Tel: (+632) 523 8481, (+632) 523 6826

[zach]

maau ni para mahipos nana mga criminal na mga 13 y.o pataas...

[odrujahad]

maau sugdan ug 10 years old kana panggamiton para pangsnatch btaw syndicato d.ay to

[adrianna]

ok ko ani.13 yr olds nowadays are smart enough on how to get away with the law.but then again adto raman pud sila ibutang sa dswd.

[M.A.D.]

Hahahahaha luoya sa akong mga kaila na graduating ani oi hahahahaha tuon napud balik. Sunod ani usbon napud ang constitution hahahaha.

[<SMILE>]

Most important,
Life sentence for plunder and corruption.
the 50M requirement for litigation is way too laughable
and should be amended.

One could stash away 49.9999M and still could not be
penalized.

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.
PHILIPPINE LAWS AGAINST GRAFT & CORRUPTION - CHAN ROBLES VIRTUAL LAW LIBRARY

[adrianna]

E implement untag balik ang death penalty, most especially for offenses like plunder, rape, serious illegal detention, RA 3019 and 9165.

[H.Wolowitz]

Hahahahaha luoya sa akong mga kaila na graduating ani oi hahahahaha tuon napud balik. Sunod ani usbon napud ang constitution hahahaha.

hehehe.. mao jowd.. pero at least, dali ra pag-memorize sa penalty scale.

- - - Updated - - -

Most important,
Life sentence for plunder and corruption.
the 50M requirement for litigation is way too laughable
and should be amended.

One could stash away 49.9999M and still could not be
penalized.

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.
PHILIPPINE LAWS AGAINST GRAFT & CORRUPTION - CHAN ROBLES VIRTUAL LAW LIBRARY

how much yung i-recommend mo na plundered amount bro?

[<SMILE>]

how much yung i-recommend mo na plundered amount bro?

I could say control it at the lowest possible,
the act should be given more substance not the value being stolen.
I could even go down a hundred bucks.

[H.Wolowitz]

mao jud... but moreklamo ang judicial branch ana.. kay mosamot na kadaghan ilang kaso nga gunitan! hehe

in other topic... para nako ba the lowering of age to 13 does not really have that big of an impact to solve the crimes.. kay mao ra man gihapon ang penalty - suspended sentences and referrals to diversionary programs.