MAY 10, 2012 DATE

NR # 2735
REF. NO.

Solon seeks 80 percent increase of fine for slander by deed

A lawmaker is seeking to increase by 80 percent the fine for slander by deed or the act of casting dishonor, discredit or contempt upon another person. In House Bill 5831, Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco (Lone District, Marinduque), proposed the amendment of Article 359 of Act 3815 otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code so that the penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period, or a fine ranging from P16,000 to P80,000 shall be imposed upon any person who shall perform any act not included and punished in this title, which shall cast dishonor, discredit or contempt upon another person. If said act is not of serious nature, the penalty shall be arresto menor or a fine not exceeding P16,000 as proposed by Velasco. At present, the fine for slander by deed shall range from P200 to P1,000 based on the law. If the act is not of a serious nature, the fine shall not exceed P200. Velasco, a Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, said in order to uphold the full force and teeth of the countrys penal laws, the punishment for offenses or crimes, including the fine, imprisonment and civil disqualification components must be up to date. With regard to the fine component, the amounts are still based on 1930 prices, the year the Revised Penal Code was enacted. The massive inflation and devaluation our currency has gone through renders the punitive fine component of the RPC negligible, he said. In adjusting the fines accurately, the inflation rate should be computed from 1930 up to the present according to him. (30) rbb