PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO.

1829
PENALIZING OBSTRUCTION OF APPREHENSION AND PROSECUTION OF CRIMINAL
OFFENDERS

Prepared by: Chiara Marie M. Barsaga

What is “Obstruction of Justice”?

The term is used to refer to the acts punished under Presidential Decree No. 1829 (“Penalizing
Obstruction of Apprehension and Prosecution of Criminal Offenders”). Full text here.

What is the stated purpose of PD 1829?

As stated in the law, its purpose is to discourage public indifference or apathy towards the
apprehension and prosecution of criminal offenders, it is necessary to penalize acts which obstruct or
frustrate or tend to obstruct or frustrate the successful apprehension and prosecution of criminal
offenders.

Who may be charged under PD 1829?

 Any person – whether private or public – who commits the acts punished under this law
 If any of the foregoing acts is committed by a public official or employee, he shall in addition
to the penalties provided thereunder, suffer perpetual disqualification from holding public
office.

What are the acts punishable under this law?

The law covers the following acts of any person who knowingly or willfully obstructs, impedes,
frustrates or delays the apprehension of suspects and the investigation and prosecution of criminal
cases:

Note:

 The word “knowingly” requires that the offender is aware of the circumstance
that the person being assisted is a suspect in a criminal case.
 To be held liable, it is not necessary that the crime was committed by a criminal
suspect.
 Obstruction of justice is committed even if the person, who is being investigated
turns out to be innocent.

a. Preventing witnesses from testifying in any criminal proceeding or from reporting the commission
of any offense or the identity of any offender/s by means of bribery, misrepresentation, deceit,
intimidation, force or threats.

b. Altering, destroying, suppressing or concealing any paper, record, document, or object with intent
to impair its verity, authenticity, legibility, availability, or admissibility as evidence in any investigation
of or official proceedings in criminal cases, or to be used in the investigation of, or official proceedings
in, criminal cases.
c. Harboring or concealing, or facilitating the escape of, any person he knows, or has reasonable
ground to believe or suspect, has committed any offense under existing penal laws in order to prevent
his arrest, prosecution and conviction.

Note:

 To be held liable under Section 1 (c) of PD 1829, the accused must have
suspected that the person assisted has committed a crime and despite such
suspicion he prevented the arrest of such suspect. Even though he has no
knowledge of the commission of the crime as long as he has reasonable
ground to believe or suspects that the person he assisted has committed a
crime. The fact that the suspect turns out to be innocent is not a defense in
this crime.

d. Publicly using a fictitious name for the purpose of concealing a crime, evading prosecution or the
execution of a judgment, or concealing his true name and other personal circumstances for the same
purpose or purposes.

Note:

 Using Fictitious Name – the specific elements of using fictitious name under PD No.
1829 are:
1. that the offender uses a name other than his true name;
2. that the offender uses the fictitious name publicly; and
3. that the offender uses the fictitious name for the purpose of concealing a
crime or evading prosecution or the execution of a judgment.

 Instances when a Filipino citizen residing in this country use an alias

legally:
1. as pseudonym in cinema and other entertainment field;
2. as pen name in literary composition or work; and
3. as a pseudonym in television and radio broadcasting

 Concealing True Name – the specific elements of concealing true name under
Section 1 (d) of PD No. 1829 are: (1) that the offender conceals his true name and all other
personal circumstances; and (2) the purpose of the offender is to conceal a crime to evade
prosecution or the execution of a judgment.

e. Delaying the prosecution of criminal cases by obstructing the service of process or court orders or
disturbing proceedings in the fiscals’ offices, in Tanodbayan, or in the courts.

f. Making, presenting or using any record, document, paper or object with knowledge of its falsity and
with intent to affect the course or outcome of the investigation of, or official proceedings in, criminal
cases.

g. Soliciting, accepting, or agreeing to accept any benefit in consideration of abstaining from,

discontinuing, or impeding the prosecution of a criminal offender.

h. Threatening directly or indirectly another with the infliction of any wrong upon his person, honor or
property or that of any immediate member or members of his family in order to prevent a person from
appearing in the investigation of, or official proceedings in, criminal cases, or imposing a condition,
whether lawful or unlawful, in order to prevent a person from appearing in the investigation of or in
official proceedings in criminal cases.

i. Giving of false or fabricated information to mislead or prevent the law enforcement agencies from
apprehending the offender or from protecting the life or property of the victim; or fabricating information
from the data gathered in confidence by investigating authorities for purposes of background
information and not for publication and publishing or disseminating the same to mislead the
investigator or the court.