TITLE THREE

PENALTIES

CHAPTER ONE
PENALTIES IN GENERAL

Art. 21. Penalties that may be imposed. No felony shall be punishable by any penalty not prescribed by law prior to
its commission.

Art. 22. Retroactive effect of penal laws. - Penal Laws shall have a retroactive effect insofar as they favor the
persons 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.

CRIMINAL LIABILITY UNDER THE REPEALED LAW SUBSISTS –

1. When the provisions of the former law are reenacted
2. When the repeal is by implication
3. When there is a saving clause

Art. 23. Effect of pardon by the offended party.

GENERAL RULE –
Pardon by the offended party does not extinguish the criminal liability of the offender

EXCEPTION –
Pardon by the offended party will bar criminal prosecution in the following cases (Art. 344)
1. Adultery and concubinage
2. Seduction, abduction, acts of lasciviousness
3. Rape (subsequent valid marriage will extinguish criminal liability)

Art. 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 of public office during the trial or in order to institute proceedings.
4. Fines and other corrective measures which, in the exercise of their administrative 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.

OTHER PREVENTIVE MEASURES –

1. Commitment of a drug dependent to a center for rehabilitation
2. Commitment of a child in conflict with the law to a rehabilitation center
 CHAPTER TWO
CLASSIFICATION OF PENALTIES

Art. 25. Penalties which may be imposed.

CLASSIFICATION OF PENALTIES BASED ON THEIR NATURE –

1. PRINCIPAL: those expressly imposed by the court if, the judgment of conviction. It can be further classified
as follows:
a. Divisible: those which have fixed duration and are always divisible into three periods, namely:
maximum, medium, and minimum, e.g. prision mayor;
b. indivisible: those which have no fixed duration.
These are:
 Death
 Reclusion Perpetua
 Perpetual absolute or special disqualification, and
 Public censure

2. ACCESSORY: those that are deemed included in the imposition of the principal penalties, namely:
a. Perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification
b. Perpetual or temporary special disqualification
c. Suspension from public office, the right to vote and be voted for, the profession or calling
d. Civil Interdiction
e. Indemnification, and
f. Forfeiture or confiscation of instruments and proceeds of the offense

ACCORDING TO SUBJECT-MATTER –
1. Corporal (death)
2. Deprivation of freedom (reclusion, prision, arresto)
3. Restriction of freedom (destierro)
4. Deprivation of rights (disqualification and suspension)
5. 5. Pecuniary (fine)

ACCORDING TO THEIR GRAVITY –

1. Capital
a. Death
2. Afflictive
a. Reclusion perpetua
b. Reclusion temporal
c. Perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification
d. Perpetual or temporary special disqualification
e. Prision mayor
3. Correctional
a. Prision correctional
b. Arresto mayor
c. Suspension
d. Destierro
4. Light
a. Arresto menor
b. Public censure
5. Penalties common to the three preceding classes
a. Fine
b. Bond to keep the peace

Art. 26. Fine – When afflictive, correctional, or light penalty.

FINE –
1. Afflictive - if it exceeds P1,200,000
2. Correctional -P40,000 to P1,200,000
3. Light- less than P40,000

BOND TO KEEP THE PEACE IS BY ANALOGY –

1. Afflictive - if it exceeds P1,200,000
2. Correctional- P40,000 to P1,200,000
3. Light - less than P40,000

For light penalties, if exact P40,000, still to be considered a light penalty

 CHAPTER THREE
DURATION AND EFFECTS

PENALTY DURATION
Reclusion perpetua 20 years and 1 day to 40 years
Reclusion temporal 12 years and 1 day to 20 years
Prision Mayor and temporary disqualification 6 years and 1 day to 12 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
Prision correccional, suspension, and destierro 6 months and 1 day to 6 years, except when
suspension is imposed as an accessory penalty, in
which case, its duration shall be that of the principal
penalty
Arresto mayor 1 month and 1 days to 6 months
Arresto menor 1 day to 30 days
Bonds to keep the peace Such period as the court may determine

CASES WHEN DESTIERRO IS IMPOSED –

1. Serious physical injured or death under exceptional circumstances (Art. 247)
2. In case of failure to give bond for good behavior (Art. 284)
3. As a penalty for the concubine in concubinage (Art. 334)
4. In case where after reducing the penalty by one or more degrees, destierro is the proper penalty

Art. 28. Computation of penalties.

Rules observed by the Director of Prisons or the warden in computation of penalties imposed upon the convicts:
1. RULE NO. 1 when the offender is in prison - the duration of temporary penalties is from the day on which
the judgment of conviction becomes final, and not from the day of his detention.
a. This rule applies in cases of temporary penalties (e.g. temporary absolute disqualification temporary
special disqualification, and. suspension) and the offender is under detention (as when he is
undergoing preventive imprisonment)

Reason: Under Art. 24, the arrest and temporary detention of the accused is not considered a penalty.

2. RULE NO. 2 when the offender is not in prison - the duration of penalties consisting in deprivation of
liberty, is from the day that the offender is placed at tl1e disposal of judicial authorities for the enforcement
of the penalty.
a. This rule applies in cases of penalties consisting in deprivation of liberty (e.g. imprisonment and
destierro) and the offender is not in prison.

3. RULE NO. 3 the duration of other penalties - the duration is from the day on which the offender
commences to serve his sentence
a. This rule applies in cases of
i. (Penalties consisting in deprivation of liberty) and the offender is undergoing preventive
imprisonment; but the offender is entitled to a deduction of full time or 4/5 of the time of his
detention.
ii. (Temporary penalties) and the offender is not under detention, because the offender has been
released on ball.

Arts. 30-35. Effects of the penalties according to their nature.

EFFECTS OF THE PENALTIES OF PERPETUAL OR TEMPORARY ABSOLUTE DISQUALIFICATION (ART. 30)

1. Deprivation of the public offices and employments which the offender may have held, even if conferred by
popular election
2. Deprivation of the right to vote in any election for any popular elective office or to be elected to such office
3. Disqualification for the offices or public employments and for the exercise of any of the rights mentioned
4. Loss of all rights to retirement pay or other pension for any office formerly held

EFFECTS OF THE PENALTIES OF PERPETUAL OR TEMPORARY SPECIAL DISQUALIFICATION (ART. 31)

1. Deprivation of the office, employment, profession or calling affected
2. Disqualification for holding similar offices or employments perpetually or during the term of the sentence

EFFECTS OF THE PENALTIES OF PERPETUAL OR TEMPORARY SPECIAL DISQUALIFICATION FOR THE

EXERCISE OF THE RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE (ART. 32)
1. Deprivation of the right to vote or to be elected to any public office
2. Cannot hold any public office during the period of disqualification
EFFECTS OF THE PENALTIES OF SUSPENSION FROM ANY PUBLIC OFFICE, PROFESSION, OR CALLING, OR THE
RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE (ART. 33)
1. Disqualification from holding such office or exercising such profession or calling or right of suffrage during
the term of the sentence
2. If suspended from public office, the offender cannot hold another office having similar functions during the
period of suspension

EFFECTS OF CIVIL INTERDICTION (ART. 34)

1. Deprivation of the rights of parental authority or guardianship of any ward
2. Deprivation of marital authority
3. Deprivation of the right to manage his property and of the right to dispose of such property by any act or
any conveyance inter vivos
a. But he can dispose of such property by will or donation mortis causa
b. He can also manage or dispose of his property by acts inter vivos, if done in his behalf by a judicial
guardian appointed for him as an "incompetent." (Sec. 2, Rule 92, Rules of Court)

Civil interdiction is an accessory penalty to the following principal penalties

1. lf death penalty is commuted to life imprisonment
2. Reclusion perpetua
3. Reclusion temporal

EFFECTS OF BONDS TO KEEP THE PEACE (ART 35)

1. The offender must present 2 sufficient sureties who shall undertake that the offender 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, or
2. The offender must deposit such amount with the Clerk of Court to guarantee said undertaking, or
3. The offender may be detained, if he cannot give the bond, for a period not to exceed 6 months if prosecuted
for grave or less grave felony, or for a period not to exceed 30 days, if for a light felony.
a. Bond to keep the peace is different from bail bond which is posted for the provisional release of a
person arrested for or accused of a crime. Bond to keep the peace or for good behavior is imposed as a
penalty in threats.
b. Justice Regalado: It is believed that this punitive sanction cannot be applied since this bond is required
only in the crime of threats and if the offender fails to comply therewith, the penalty imposable Is
destierro (Art. 284). Neither can this penalty apply to crimes under special laws as only "felonies" (i.e.
crime punished under RPC) are contemplated therein.