TITLE TWO

Persons Criminally Liable for Felonies

ARTICLE 16. Who are Criminally Liable. — The following are criminally liable
for grave and less grave felonies:

1. Principals.

2. Accomplices.

3. Accessories.

The following are criminally liable for light felonies:

1. Principals.

2. Accomplices.

ARTICLE 17. Principals. — The following are considered principals:

1. Those who take a direct part in the execution of the act;

2. Those who directly force or induce others to commit it;

3. Those who cooperate in the commission of the offense by another act

without which it would not have been accomplished.

ARTICLE 18. Accomplices. — Accomplices are those persons who, not being
included in article 17, cooperate in the execution of the offense by previous
or simultaneous acts.

ARTICLE 19. Accessories. — Accessories are those who, having knowledge of

the commission of the crime, and without having participated therein, either
as principals or accomplices, take part subsequent to its commission in any
of the following manners:

1. By profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of

the crime.

2. By concealing or destroying the body of the crime, or the effects or

instruments thereof, in order to prevent its discovery.

3. By harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the principal of the

crime, provided the accessory acts with abuse of his public functions or
whenever the author of the crime is guilty of treason, parricide, murder, or
an attempt to take the life of the Chief Executive, or is known to be
habitually guilty of some other crime.

ARTICLE 20. Accessories Who are Exempt from Criminal Liability. — The
penalties prescribed for accessories shall not be imposed upon those who
are such with respect to their spouses, ascendants, descendants, legitimate,
natural, and adopted brothers and sisters, or relatives by affinity within the
same degrees, with the single exception of accessories falling within the
provisions of paragraph 1 of the next preceding article.

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.