The ‘revised‘ Revised Penal Code

On the whole, reading the RPC, as we lawyers commonly call it, you will notice its provisions already obsolete. The fines imposed, by today’s standards, are considered small.

Laws are made to put order in society. Without them, there would be total disorder and utter chaos. Anything goes. But what makes people comply with the law to ensure order? It is the liability people stand to face in case of infraction. The stricter the law, meaning the harsher the punishment; the more compliance is ensured. For instance, in some countries, when a person is caught stealing, his hand gets cut. So even if you inadvertently leave your bag in a public place, you are assured to find it the next day where you last left it. No one will bother getting it for fear of ending up with an arm without a hand.

In the Philippines, we have the Penal Code. It is the codification of the penal laws in our country. The code defines the crimes punishable within the Philippine territory, with their corresponding penalties. This Penal Code was revised in 1930 by virtue of Republic Act (RA) 3815. Thus, it was called the Revised Penal Code (RPC). From time to time, certain crimes of the Code, like rape for instance, were amended to introduce modifications. But on the whole, reading the RPC, as we lawyers commonly call it, you will notice its provisions already obsolete. The fines imposed, by today’s standards, are considered small. Take mutilation of coins under Article 164 of the RPC, for instance. Any person found guilty of mutilating coins shall be, aside from imprisonment, fined P2,000. Nowadays, such a penalty will not be much of a deterrent, if not at all. The penalty has, over time, become very light. And understandably so, the code was revised way back in 1930. Back then, a P2,000 penalty for such a crime was hefty.

Just to let you know, this has not gone unnoticed by our Congress. In fact, it revised our Revised Penal Code to make both amounts and penalties in keeping with the times. RA 10951 is “An Act Adjusting the Amount or the Value of Property and Damage on which a Penalty Is Based, And the Fines Imposed under the Revised Penal Code, Amending for the Purpose Act 3815, Otherwise Known as ‘The Revised Penal Code,’ As Amended.” Today, under this new law, mutilation of coins carries, aside from imprisonment, a fine of P4,000. Certainly, this discourages the would-be criminal, unlike the P2,000 fine prior to the revision.

There are many revisions introduced by the law. A notable one, falsification of documents or use of the same, which is commonly committed today, now has a fine of P1 million. Before the revision, the fine imposed was only P5,000. Use of false medical certificates now translates to a fine of P200,000; when it was only P1,000 previously. A person guilty of treason under Article 114 of the RPC is today fined P4 million. Before revision, only P20,000 could be imposed. (Do please take note that the fines are in addition to jail time).

Also, aside from fines, the amounts involved in crimes have been adjusted as well. Take theft for instance. The penalty of up to twelve years is imposed if the value of the property stolen is more than P1,200,000 but not more than P2,200,000. Penalty increases as the value goes up. Before RA 10951, such penalty would already be meted upon someone who stole property with a value of more than P12,000 to P22,000. The same with estafa, the amounts involved in the commission of the fraud now run in the millions, which were only in the thousands of pesos before.

Verily, we now again see a law revised to keep abreast of the ever-changing times. This we need to keep everyone in check. With the amounts and fines increased, this will surely encourage faithful compliance with the law. And thus, we hopefully have a more orderly society. I encourage you to go over RA 10951. It gives you a glimpse of what crimes there are and the penalties they carry. It will certainly prove helpful to be aware of them. You know the dos and don’ts and become more law-abiding. Not only that, you can share with others what you learn. That way, more people are aware. I know our world may not be perfect. But with laws in place and known to everyone, we get to live closer to perfection.