ACTS - PHILIPPINE STATUTES the vendor, mortgagor, transferor, or assignor, shall be deemed to be a sale and

transfer in bulk, in contemplation of this Act: Provided, however, That if such

ACT No. 3952
THE BULK SALES LAW (as amended)
AN ACT TO REGULATE THE SALE, TRANSFER, MORTGAGE OR
ASSIGNMENT OF GOODS, WARES, MERCHANDISE, PROVISIONS
OR MATERIALS, IN BULK, AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES FOR
THE VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS THEREOF
Section 1. This Act shall be known as "The Bulk Sales Law."
Sec. 2. Sale and transfer in bulk. — Any sale, transfer, mortgage or assignment
of a stock of goods, wares, merchandise, provisions, or materials otherwise than
in the ordinary course of trade and the regular prosecution of the business of the
vendor, mortgagor, transferor, or assignor, or sale, transfer, mortgage or
assignment of all, or substantially all, of the business or trade theretofore
conducted by the vendor, mortgagor, transferor, or assignor, or of all, or
substantially all, of the fixtures and equipment used in and about the business of
vendor, mortgagor, transferor or assignor, produces and delivers a written
waiver of the provisions of this Act from his creditors as shown by verified
statements, then, and in that case, the provisions of this section shall not apply.
Sec. 3. Statement of creditors. — It shall be the duty of every person who shall
sell, mortgage, transfer, or assign any stock of goods, wares, merchandise,
provisions or materials in bulk, for cash or on credit, before receiving from the
vendee, mortgagee, or his, or its agent or representative any part of the purchase
price thereof, or any promissory note, memorandum, or other evidence therefor,
to deliver to such vendee, mortgagee, or agent, or if the vendee, mortgagee, or
agent be a corporation, then to the president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary
or manager of said corporation, or, if such vendee or mortgagee be a partnership
firm, then to a member thereof, a written statement, sworn to substantially as
hereinafter provided, of the names and addresses of all creditors to whom said
vendor or mortgagor may be indebted, together with the amount of indebtedness
due or owing, or to become due or owing by said vendor or mortgagor to each of
said creditors, which statement shall be verified by an oath to the following
effect:

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
PROVINCE OR CITY OF _________________}

Before me, the undersigned authority, personally appeared __________________ (vendor, mortgagor, agent or representative, as the case may be), bearing
cedula No. ____________ issued at ___________ on the day of _____________ who, by me being first duly sworn, upon his oath, deposes and states that the
foregoing statement contains the names of all of the creditors of ________________ (vendor, or mortgagor) together with their addresses, and that the amount set
opposite each of said respective names, is the amount now due and owing, and which shall become due and owing by _____________ (vendor or mortgagor) to
such creditors, and that there are no creditors holding claims due or which shall become due, for or on account of goods, wares, merchandise, provisions or
materials purchased upon credit or on account of money borrowed, to carry on the business of which said goods, wares, merchandise, provisions or materials are
a part, other than as set forth in said statement.

______________________ Subscribed and sworn to before me this _______ day of ______, 19___, at ________

Sec. 4. Fraudulent and void sale, transfer or mortgage. — Whenever any of indebtedness for said purchase price or advance upon mortgage, without
person shall sell, mortgage, transfer, or assign any stock of goods, wares, having first delivered to the vendee or mortgagee or to his or its agent or
merchandise, provisions or materials, in bulk, for cash or on credit, and shall representative, the sworn statement provided for in section three hereof, and
receive any part of the purchase price, or any promissory note, or other evidence without applying the purchase or mortgage money of the said property to the pro
rata payment of the bona fide claim or claims of the creditors of the vendor or
mortgagor, as shown upon such sworn statement, he shall be deemed to have
violated this Act, and any such sale, transfer or mortgage shall be fraudulent and
void.
Sec. 5. Inventory. — It shall be the duty of every vendor, transferor, mortgagor,
or assignor, at least ten days before the sale, transfer or execution of a mortgage
upon any stock of goods, wares, merchandise, provisions or materials, in bulk,
to make a full detailed inventory thereof and to preserve the same showing the
quantity and, so far as is possible with the exercise of reasonable diligence, the
cost price to the vendor, transferor, mortgagor or assignor of each article to be
included in the sale, transfer or mortgage, and notify every creditor whose name
and address is set forth in the verified statement of the vendor, transferor,
mortgagor, or assignor, at least ten days before transferring possession thereof,
personally or by registered mail, of the price, terms conditions of the sale,
transfer, mortgage, or assignment.
Sec. 6. Any vendor, transferor, mortgagor or assignor of any stock of goods,
wares, merchandise, provisions or materials, in bulk, or any person acting for, or
on behalf of any such vendor, transferor, mortgagor, or assignor, who shall
knowingly or willfully make, or deliver or cause to be made or delivered, a
statement, as provided for in section three hereof, which shall not include the
names of all such creditors, with the correct amount due and to become due to
each of
them, or shall contain any false or untrue statement, shall be deemed to have
violated the provisions of this Act.
ACT No. 3815      (December 8, 1930)
AN ACT REVISING THE PENAL CODE AND OTHER PENAL LAWS
Preliminary Article - This law shall be known as "The Revised Penal Code."
BOOK ONE
GENERAL PROVISIONS REGARDING THE DATE OF
Sec. 7. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation, as owner of any
stock of goods, wares, merchandise, provisions or materials, in bulk, to transfer
title to the same without consideration or for a nominal consideration only.
Sec. 8. Nothing in this Act contained shall apply to executors, administrators,
receivers, assignees in insolvency, or public officers, acting under judicial
process.
Sec. 9. The sworn statement containing the names and addresses of all creditors
of the vendor or mortgagor provided for in section three of this Act, shall be
registered in the Bureau of Commerce. For the registration of each such sworn
statement a fee of five pesos shall be charged to the vendor or mortgagor of the
stock of goods, wares, merchandise, provisions or materials, in bulk.
Sec. 10. The provisions of this Act shall be administered by the Director of the
Bureau of Commerce and Industry, who is hereby empowered, with the
approval of the Department Head, to prescribe and adopt from time to time such
rules and regulations as may be deemed necessary for the proper and efficient
enforcement of the provisions of this Act.
Sec. 11. Any person violating any provision of this Act shall, upon conviction
thereof, be punished by imprisonment not less than six months, nor more than
five years, or fined in sum not exceeding five thousand pesos, or both such
imprisonment and fine, in the discretion of the court.
Sec. 12. This Act shall take effect on its approval.
Approved: 01 December 1972
ENFORCEMENT AND APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS
CODE, AND REGARDING THE OFFENSES, THE PERSONS LIABLE
AND THE PENALTIES
Preliminary Title
DATE OF EFFECTIVENESS AND APPLICATION OF THE
PROVISIONS OF THIS CODE
Article 1. Time when Act takes effect. - This Code shall take effect on the first
day of January, nineteen hundred and thirty-two.
Article 2. Application of its provisions. - Except as provided in the treaties and
laws of preferential application, the provisions of this Code shall be enforced not
only within the Philippine Archipelago, including its atmosphere, its interior
waters and maritime zone, but also outside of its jurisdiction, against those who:
1. Should commit an offense while on a Philippine ship or airship
2. Should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of the
Philippine Islands or obligations and securities issued by the
Government of the Philippine Islands;
3. Should be liable for acts connected with the introduction into these
islands of the obligations and securities mentioned in the presiding
number;
4. While being public officers or employees, should commit an offense
in the exercise of their functions; or
5. Should commit any of the crimes against national security and the
law of nations, defined in Title One of Book Two of this Code.
Title One
FELONIES AND CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH AFFECT CRIMINAL
LIABILITY
Chapter One
FELONIES
Article 3. Definitions. - Acts and omissions punishable by law are felonies
(delitos).
Felonies are committed not only be means of deceit (dolo) but also by means of
fault (culpa).
There is deceit when the act is performed with deliberate intent and there is fault
when the wrongful act results from imprudence, negligence, lack of foresight, or
lack of skill.
Article 4. Criminal liability. - Criminal liability shall be incurred:
1. By any person committing a felony (delito) although the wrongful act
done be different from that which he intended.
2. By any person performing an act which would be an offense against
persons or property, were it not for the inherent impossibility of its
accomplishment or an account of the employment of inadequate or
ineffectual means.
Article 5. Duty of the court in connection with acts which should be repressed
but which are not covered by the law, and in cases of excessive penalties. -
Whenever a court has knowledge of any act which it may deem proper to repress
and which is not punishable by law, it shall render the proper decision, and shall
report to the Chief Executive, through the Department of Justice, the reasons
which induce the court to believe that said act should be made the subject of
legislation.
In the same way, the court shall submit to the Chief Executive, through the
Department of Justice, such statement as may be deemed proper, without
suspending the execution of the sentence, when a strict enforcement of the
provisions of this Code would result in the imposition of a clearly excessive
penalty, taking into consideration the degree of malice and the injury caused by
the offense.
Article 6. Consummated, frustrated, and attempted felonies. - Consummated
felonies as well as those which are frustrated and attempted, are punishable.
A felony is consummated when all the elements necessary for its execution and
accomplishment are present; and it is frustrated when the offender performs all
the acts of execution which would produce the felony as a consequence but
which, nevertheless, do not produce it by reason of causes independent of the
will of the perpetrator.
There is an attempt when the offender commences the commission of a felony
directly or over acts, and does not perform all the acts of execution which should
produce the felony by reason of some cause or accident other than this own
spontaneous desistance.
Article 7. When light felonies are punishable. - Light felonies are punishable
only when they have been consummated, with the exception of those committed
against person or property.
Article 8. Conspiracy and proposal to commit felony. - Conspiracy and proposal
to commit felony are punishable only in the cases in which the law specially
provides a penalty therefor.
A conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an agreement
concerning the commission of a felony and decide to commit it.
There is proposal when the person who has decided to commit a felony proposes
its execution to some other person or persons.
Article 9. Grave felonies, less grave felonies and light felonies. - Grave felonies
are those to which the law attaches the capital punishment or penalties which in
any of their periods are afflictive, in accordance with Art. 25 of this Code.
Less grave felonies are those which the law punishes with penalties which in
their maximum period are correctional, in accordance with the above-mentioned
Art..
Light felonies are those infractions of law for the commission of which a penalty
of arrest menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos or both; is provided.
Article 10. Offenses not subject to the provisions of this Code. - Offenses which
are or in the future may be punishable under special laws are not subject to the
provisions of this Code. This Code shall be supplementary to such laws, unless
the latter should specially provide the contrary.
Chapter Two
JUSTIFYING CIRCUMSTANCES AND CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH
EXEMPT FROM CRIMINAL LIABILITY
Article 11. Justifying circumstances. - The following do not incur any criminal
liability:
1. Anyone who acts in defense of his person or rights, provided that the
following circumstances concur;
First. Unlawful aggression.
Second. Reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent
or repel it.
Third. Lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person
defending himself.
2. Any one who acts in defense of the person or rights of his spouse,
ascendants, descendants, or legitimate, natural or adopted brothers or
sisters, or his relatives by affinity in the same degrees and those
consanguinity within the fourth civil degree, provided that the first and
second requisites prescribed in the next preceding circumstance are
present, and the further requisite, in case the revocation was given by
the person attacked, that the one making defense had no part therein.
3. Anyone who acts in defense of the person or rights of a stranger,
provided that the first and second requisites mentioned in the first
circumstance of this Article are present and that the person defending be
not induced by revenge, resentment, or other evil motive.
4. Any person who, in order to avoid an evil or injury, does not act
which causes damage to another, provided that the following requisites
are present;
First. That the evil sought to be avoided actually exists;
Second. That the injury feared be greater than that done to avoid
it;
Third. That there be no other practical and less harmful means
of preventing it.
5. Any person who acts in the fulfillment of a duty or in the lawful
exercise of a right or office.
6. Any person who acts in obedience to an order issued by a superior for
some lawful purpose.
Article 12. Circumstances which exempt from criminal liability. - the following
are exempt from criminal liability:
1. An imbecile or an insane person, unless the latter has acted during a
lucid interval.
When the imbecile or an insane person has committed an act which the
law defines as a felony (delito), the court shall order his confinement in
one of the hospitals or asylums established for persons thus afflicted,
which he shall not be permitted to leave without first obtaining the
permission of the same court.
2. A person under nine years of age.
 3. A person over nine years of age and under fifteen, unless he has acted
with discernment, in which case, such minor shall be proceeded against
in accordance with the provisions of Art. 80 of this Code.
When such minor is adjudged to be criminally irresponsible, the court,
in conformably with the provisions of this and the preceding paragraph,
shall commit him to the care and custody of his family who shall be
charged with his surveillance and education otherwise, he shall be
committed to the care of some institution or person mentioned in said
Art. 80.
4. Any person who, while performing a lawful act with due care, causes
an injury by mere accident without fault or intention of causing it.
5. Any person who act under the compulsion of irresistible force.
6. Any person who acts under the impulse of an uncontrollable fear of
an equal or greater injury.
7. Any person who fails to perform an act required by law, when
prevented by some lawful insuperable cause.
Chapter Three
CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH MITIGATE CRIMINAL LIABILITY
Article 13. Mitigating circumstances. - The following are mitigating
circumstances;
1. Those mentioned in the preceding chapter, when all the requisites
necessary to justify or to exempt from criminal liability in the respective
cases are not attendant.
2. That the offender is under eighteen year of age or over seventy years.
In the case of the minor, he shall be proceeded against in accordance
with the provisions of Art. 80.
3. That the offender had no intention to commit so grave a wrong as that
committed.
4. That sufficient provocation or threat on the part of the offended party
immediately preceded the act.
5. That the act was committed in the immediate vindication of a grave
offense to the one committing the felony (delito), his spouse,
ascendants, or relatives by affinity within the same degrees.
6. That of having acted upon an impulse so powerful as naturally to
have produced passion or obfuscation.
7. That the offender had voluntarily surrendered himself to a person in
authority or his agents, or that he had voluntarily confessed his guilt
before the court prior to the presentation of the evidence for the
prosecution;
8. That the offender is deaf and dumb, blind or otherwise suffering some
physical defect which thus restricts his means of action, defense, or
communications with his fellow beings.
9. Such illness of the offender as would diminish the exercise of the
will-power of the offender without however depriving him of the
consciousness of his acts.
10. And, finally, any other circumstances of a similar nature and
analogous to those above mentioned.
Chapter Four
CIRCUMSTANCE WHICH AGGRAVATE CRIMINAL LIABILITY
Article 14. Aggravating circumstances. - The following are aggravating
circumstances:
1. That advantage be taken by the offender of his public position.
2. That the crime be committed in contempt or with insult to the public
authorities.
3. That the act be committed with insult or in disregard of the respect
due the offended party on account of his rank, age, or sex, or that is be
committed in the dwelling of the offended party, if the latter has not
given provocation.
4. That the act be committed with abuse of confidence or obvious
ungratefulness.
5. That the crime be committed in the palace of the Chief Executive or
in his presence, or where public authorities are engaged in the discharge
of their duties, or in a place dedicated to religious worship.
6. That the crime be committed in the night time, or in an uninhabited
place, or by a band, whenever such circumstances may facilitate the
commission of the offense.
Whenever more than three armed malefactors shall have acted together
in the commission of an offense, it shall be deemed to have been
committed by a band.
7. That the crime be committed on the occasion of a conflagration,
shipwreck, earthquake, epidemic or other calamity or misfortune.
8. That the crime be committed with the aid of armed men or persons
who insure or afford impunity.
9. That the accused is a recidivist.
A recidivist is one who, at the time of his trial for one crime, shall have
been previously convicted by final judgment of another crime embraced
in the same title of this Code.
10. That the offender has been previously punished by an offense to
which the law attaches an equal or greater penalty or for two or more
crimes to which it attaches a lighter penalty.
11. That the crime be committed in consideration of a price, reward, or
promise.
12. That the crime be committed by means of inundation, fire, poison,
explosion, stranding of a vessel or international damage thereto,
derailment of a locomotive, or by the use of any other artifice involving
great waste and ruin.
13. That the act be committed with evidence premeditation.
14. That the craft, fraud or disguise be employed.
15. That advantage be taken of superior strength, or means be employed
to weaken the defense.
16. That the act be committed with treachery (alevosia).
There is treachery when the offender commits any of the crimes against
the person, employing means, methods, or forms in the execution
thereof which tend directly and specially to insure its execution, without
risk to himself arising from the defense which the offended party might
make.
17. That means be employed or circumstances brought about which add
ignominy to the natural effects of the act.
18. That the crime be committed after an unlawful entry.
There is an unlawful entry when an entrance of a crime a wall, roof,
floor, door, or window be broken.
20. That the crime be committed with the aid of persons under fifteen
years of age or by means of motor vehicles, motorized watercraft,
airships, or other similar means. (As amended by RA 5438).
21. That the wrong done in the commission of the crime be deliberately
augmented by causing other wrong not necessary for its commissions.
Chapter Five
ALTERNATIVE CIRCUMSTANCES
Article 15. Their concept. - Alternative circumstances are those which must be
taken into consideration as aggravating or mitigating according to the nature and
effects of the crime and the other conditions attending its commission. They are
the relationship, intoxication and the degree of instruction and education of the
offender.
The alternative circumstance of relationship shall be taken into consideration
when the offended party in the spouse, ascendant, descendant, legitimate,
natural, or adopted brother or sister, or relative by affinity in the same degrees of
the offender.
The intoxication of the offender shall be taken into consideration as a mitigating
circumstances when the offender has committed a felony in a state of
intoxication, if the same is not habitual or subsequent to the plan to commit said
felony but when the intoxication is habitual or intentional, it shall be considered
as an aggravating circumstance.
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 principals
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 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.
Article 23. Effect of pardon by the offended party. - A pardon of 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 nor 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 Arresto menor,
in order to institute proceedings. Public censure.

4. Fines and other corrective measures which, in the exercise of their Penalties common to the three preceding classes:
administrative disciplinary powers, superior officials may impose upon
their subordinates. Fine, and
Bond to keep the peace.
5. Deprivation of rights and the reparations which the civil laws may
establish in penal form. Accessory Penalties

Chapter Two Perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification,

CLASSIFICATION OF PENALTIES Perpetual or temporary special disqualification,
Suspension from public office, the right to vote and be voted for, the
Article 25. Penalties which may be imposed. - The penalties which may be profession or calling.
imposed according to this Code, and their different classes, are those included in Civil interdiction,
the following: Indemnification,
Forfeiture or confiscation of instruments and proceeds of the offense,
Scale Payment of costs.

Principal Penalties Article 26. When afflictive, correctional, or light penalty. - A fine, whether
imposed as a single of as an alternative penalty, shall be considered an afflictive
Capital punishment: 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 less than 200
Death. pesos.

Afflictive penalties: Chapter Three

DURATION AND EFFECTS OF PENALTIES
Reclusion perpetua,
Reclusion temporal, Section One. - Duration of Penalties
Perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification,
Perpetual or temporary special disqualification, Article 27. Reclusion perpetua. - Any person sentenced to any of the perpetual
Prision mayor. 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
Correctional penalties: considered by the Chief Executive as unworthy of pardon.

Prision correccional, Reclusion temporal. - The penalty of reclusion temporal shall be from twelve
Arresto mayor, years and one day to twenty years.
Suspension,
Destierro. Prision mayor and temporary disqualification. - The duration of the penalties of
prision mayor and temporary disqualification shall be from six years and one
Light penalties: 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.
Prision correccional, suspension, and destierro. - The duration of the penalties
of prision correccional, suspension 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 of 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. Period of 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 the full time during which they have undergone preventive imprisonment,
if the detention prisoner agrees voluntarily in writing to abide by the same
disciplinary rules imposed upon convicted prisoners, except in the following
cases:
1. When they are recidivists or have been convicted previously twice or
more times of any crime; and
2. When upon being summoned for the execution of their sentence they
have failed to surrender voluntarily.
If the detention prisoner does not agree to abide by the same disciplinary rules
imposed upon convicted prisoners, he shall be credited in the service of his
sentence with four-fifths of the time during which he has undergone preventive
imprisonment. (As amended by Republic Act 6127, June 17, 1970).
Whenever an accused has undergone preventive imprisonment for a period equal
to or more than the possible maximum imprisonment of the offense charged to
which he may be sentenced and his case is not yet terminated, he shall be
released immediately without prejudice to the continuation of the trial thereof or
the proceeding on appeal, if the same is under review. In case the maximum
penalty to which the accused may be sentenced is destierro, he shall be released
after thirty (30) days of preventive imprisonment. (As amended by E.O. No.
214, July 10, 1988).
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
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 rights to retirement pay or other pension for any office
formerly held.
Article 31. Effect of the penalties of perpetual or temporary special
disqualification. - The penalties of perpetual or temporal 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. Effect 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 the 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, is 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 effect. - 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. Cost; 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 cost of the proceedings.
Article 39. Subsidiary penalty. - If the convict has no property with which to
meet the fine mentioned in the paragraph 3 of the nest preceding article, he shall
be subject to a subsidiary personal liability at the rate of one day for each eight
pesos, subject to the following rules:
1. If the principal penalty imposed be prision correccional or arresto and
fine, he shall remain under confinement until his fine referred to in the
preceding paragraph is 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 imposed is higher than prision 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 the fine in case
his financial circumstances should improve. (As amended by RA 5465,
April 21, 1969).
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 sentence, unless such accessory penalties have been
expressly remitted in the pardon.
Article 41. Reclusion perpetua and reclusion temporal; Their accessory
penalties. - The penalties of reclusion perpetua and reclusion 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. Prision mayor; Its accessory penalties. - The penalty of prision
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. Prision correccional; Its accessory penalties. - The penalty of
prision 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 the 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 too 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 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 is 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 been disqualified from
taking part in the consideration of the case, in which even 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 grave or less grave felonies, 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 attempted 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. - A
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 consummated crime. -
The penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for the
consummated 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 imposed upon accomplices in a frustrated crime. - The
penalty next lower in degree than prescribed by law for the frustrated felony
shall be imposed upon the accomplices in the commission of a frustrated felony.
accomplices or accessories.
Article 61. Rules for graduating penalties. - For the purpose of graduating the penalties which, according to the provisions of Articles 50 to 57, inclusive, of this Code,
are to be imposed upon persons guilty as principals of any frustrated or attempted felony, or as accomplices or accessories, the following rules shall be observed:
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 attempted
felony 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 paragraphs 3 of Article 19 of this Code
who should act with abuse of their public functions, shall suffer the additional
penalty of 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 from 200 to 500 pesos.
Article 60. Exception to the rules established in Articles 50 to 57. - The
provisions contained in Articles 50 to 57, inclusive, of this Code shall not be
applicable to cases in which the law expressly prescribes the penalty provided
for a frustrated or attempted felony, or to be imposed upon
1. When the penalty prescribed for the felony is single and indivisible, the penalty next lower in degrees shall be that immediately following that indivisible
penalty in the respective graduated scale prescribed in Article 71 of this Code.

2. When the penalty prescribed for the crime is composed of two indivisible penalties, or of one or more divisible penalties to be impose to their full extent, the
penalty next lower in degree shall be that immediately following the lesser of the penalties prescribed in the respective graduated scale.

3. When the penalty prescribed for the crime is composed of one or two indivisible penalties and the maximum period of another divisible penalty, the penalty
next lower in degree shall be composed of the medium and minimum periods of the proper divisible penalty and the maximum periods of the proper divisible
penalty and the maximum period of that immediately following in said respective graduated scale.

4. when the penalty prescribed for the crime is composed of several periods, corresponding to different divisible penalties, the penalty next lower in degree shall
be composed of the period immediately following the minimum prescribed and of the two next following, which shall be taken from the penalty prescribed, if
possible; otherwise from the penalty immediately following in the above mentioned respective graduated scale.

5. When the law prescribes a penalty for a crime in some manner not especially provided for in the four preceding rules, the courts, proceeding by analogy, shall
impose corresponding penalties upon those guilty as principals of the frustrated felony, or of attempt to commit the same, and upon accomplices and accessories.

TABULATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE CHAPTER

Penalty to be imposed upon the

Penalty to be imposed upon Penalty to be imposed upon
principal in an attempted crime, the Penalty to be imposed
Penalty Prescribe for the principal in a frustrated the accessory in a frustrated
accessory in the consummated crime upon the accessory in
the crime crime, and accomplice in a crime, and the accomplices
and the accomplices in a frustrated an attempted crime
consummated crime in an attempted crime
crime.
First
Death Reclusion Perpetua Reclusion Temporal Prision Mayor Prision Correccional
Case
Second Reclusion Perpetua to
Reclusion Temporal Prision Mayor Prision Correccional Arresto Mayor
Case Death
Third Reclusion Temporal in Prision Mayor in its Prision correccional in its maximum Arresto Mayor in it's Fine and Arresto
Case its maximum period to maximum period to reclusion period to prision mayor in its maximum period to prision Mayor in its minimum

death temporal in its medium period medium period
Prision Mayor in its
Prision correccional in its Arresto mayor in its maximum
Fourth maximum period to
maximum period to prision period to prision correccional in its
Case reclusion temporal in
mayor in its medium period. medium period.
its medium period.
Section Two. - Rules for the application of penalties with regard to the
mitigating and aggravating circumstances, and habitual delinquency.
Article 62. Effect of the attendance of mitigating or aggravating circumstances
and of habitual delinquency. - Mitigating or aggravating circumstances and
habitual delinquency shall be taken into account for the purpose of diminishing
or increasing the penalty in conformity with the following rules:
1. Aggravating circumstances which in themselves constitute a crime
specially punishable by law or which are included by the law in defining
a crime and prescribing the penalty therefor shall not be taken into
account for the purpose of increasing the penalty.
(a) Upon a third conviction the culprit shall be sentenced to the
penalty provided by law for the last crime of which he be found
guilty and to the additional penalty of prision correccional in its
medium and maximum periods;
(b) Upon a fourth conviction, the culprit shall be sentenced to
the penalty provided for the last crime of which he be found
guilty and to the additional penalty of prision mayor in its
minimum and medium periods; and
(c) Upon a fifth or additional conviction, the culprit shall be
sentenced to the penalty provided for the last crime of which he
be found guilty and to the additional penalty of prision mayor in
its maximum period to reclusion temporal in its minimum
period.
correccional in its medium
and medium periods
period
Fine and Arresto Mayor in its
minimum and medium Fine.
periods
2. The same rule shall apply with respect to any aggravating
circumstance inherent in the crime to such a degree that it must of
necessity accompany the commission thereof.
3. Aggravating or mitigating circumstances which arise from the moral
attributes of the offender, or from his private relations with the offended
party, or from any other personal cause, shall only serve to aggravate or
mitigate the liability of the principals, accomplices and accessories as to
whom such circumstances are attendant.
4. The circumstances which consist in the material execution of the act,
or in the means employed to accomplish it, shall serve to aggravate or
mitigate the liability of those persons only who had knowledge of them
at the time of the execution of the act or their cooperation therein.
5. Habitual delinquency shall have the following effects:
Notwithstanding the provisions of this article, the total of the two penalties to be
imposed upon the offender, in conformity herewith, shall in no case exceed 30
years.
For the purpose of this article, a person shall be deemed to be habitual
delinquent, is within a period of ten years from the date of his release or last
conviction of the crimes of serious or less serious physical injuries, robo, hurto,
estafa or falsification, he is found guilty of any of said crimes a third time or
oftener.
Article 63. Rules for the application of indivisible penalties. - In all cases in
which the law prescribes a single indivisible penalty, it shall be applied by the
courts regardless of any mitigating or aggravating circumstances that may have
attended the commission of the deed.
In all cases in which the law prescribes a penalty composed of two indivisible
penalties, the following rules shall be observed in the application thereof:
 1. When in the commission of the deed there is present only one
aggravating circumstance, the greater penalty shall be applied.
2. When there are neither mitigating nor aggravating circumstances and
there is no aggravating circumstance, the lesser penalty shall be applied.
3. When the commission of the act is attended by some mitigating
circumstances and there is no aggravating circumstance, the lesser
penalty shall be applied.
4. When both mitigating and aggravating circumstances attended the
commission of the act, the court shall reasonably allow them to offset
one another in consideration of their number and importance, for the
purpose of applying the penalty in accordance with the preceding rules,
according to the result of such compensation.
Article 64. Rules for the application of penalties which contain three periods. -
In cases in which the penalties prescribed by law contain three periods, whether
it be a single divisible penalty or composed of three different penalties, each one
of which forms a period in accordance with the provisions of Articles 76 and 77,
the court shall observe for the application of the penalty the following rules,
according to whether there are or are not mitigating or aggravating
circumstances:
1. When there are neither aggravating nor mitigating circumstances,
they shall impose the penalty prescribed by law in its medium period.
2. When only a mitigating circumstances is present in the commission of
the act, they shall impose the penalty in its minimum period.
3. When an aggravating circumstance is present in the commission of
the act, they shall impose the penalty in its maximum period.
4. When both mitigating and aggravating circumstances are present, the
court shall reasonably offset those of one class against the other
according to their relative weight.
5. When there are two or more mitigating circumstances and no
aggravating circumstances are present, the court shall impose the
penalty next lower to that prescribed by law, in the period that it may
deem applicable, according to the number and nature of such
circumstances.
6. Whatever may be the number and nature of the aggravating
circumstances, the courts shall not impose a greater penalty than that
prescribed by law, in its maximum period.
7. Within the limits of each period, the court shall determine the extent
of the penalty according to the number and nature of the aggravating
and mitigating circumstances and the greater and lesser extent of the
evil produced by the crime.
Article 65. Rule in cases in which the penalty is not composed of three
periods. - In cases in which the penalty prescribed by law is not composed of
three periods, the courts shall apply the rules contained in the foregoing articles,
dividing into three equal portions of time included in the penalty prescribed, and
forming one period of each of the three portions.
Article 66. Imposition of fines. - In imposing fines the courts may fix any
amount within the limits established by law; in fixing the amount in each case
attention shall be given, not only to the mitigating and aggravating
circumstances, but more particularly to the wealth or means of the culprit.
Article 67. Penalty to be imposed when not all the requisites of exemption of the
fourth circumstance of Article 12 are present. - When all the conditions required
in circumstances Number 4 of Article 12 of this Code to exempt from criminal
liability are not present, the penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to
prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon the culprit if
he shall have been guilty of a grave felony, and arresto mayor in its minimum
and medium periods, if of a less grave felony.
Article 68. Penalty to be imposed upon a person under eighteen years of age. -
When the offender is a minor under eighteen years and his case is one coming
under the provisions of the paragraphs next to the last of Article 80 of this Code,
the following rules shall be observed:
1. Upon a person under fifteen but over nine years of age, who is not
exempted from liability by reason of the court having declared that he
acted with discernment, a discretionary penalty shall be imposed, but
always lower by two degrees at least than that prescribed by law for the
crime which he committed.
2. Upon a person over fifteen and under eighteen years of age the
penalty next lower than that prescribed by law shall be imposed, but
always in the proper period.
Article 69. Penalty to be imposed when the crime committed is not wholly
excusable. - A penalty lower by one or two degrees than that prescribed by law
shall be imposed if the deed is not wholly excusable by reason of the lack of
some of the conditions required to justify the same or to exempt from criminal
liability in the several cases mentioned in Article 11 and 12, provided that the
majority of such conditions be present. The courts shall impose the penalty in
the period which may be deemed proper, in view of the number and nature of
the conditions of exemption present or lacking.
Article 70. Successive service of sentence. - When the culprit has to serve two or
more penalties, he shall serve them simultaneously if the nature of the penalties
will so permit otherwise, the following rules shall be observed:
In the imposition of the penalties, the order of their respective severity shall be
followed so that they may be executed successively or as nearly as may be
possible, should a pardon have been granted as to the penalty or penalties first
imposed, or should they have been served out.
For the purpose of applying the provisions of the next preceding paragraph the
respective severity of the penalties shall be determined in accordance with the
following scale:
1. Death,
2. Reclusion perpetua,
3. Reclusion temporal,
4. Prision mayor,
5. Prision correccional,
6. Arresto mayor,
7. Arresto menor,
8. Destierro,
9. Perpetual absolute disqualification,
10 Temporal absolute disqualification.
11. Suspension from public office, the right to vote and be voted for, the
right to follow a profession or calling, and
12. Public censure.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the rule next preceding, the maximum
duration of the convict's sentence shall not be more than three-fold the length of
time corresponding to the most severe of the penalties imposed upon him. No
other penalty to which he may be liable shall be inflicted after the sum total of
those imposed equals the same maximum period.
Such maximum period shall in no case exceed forty years.
In applying the provisions of this rule the duration of perpetual penalties (pena
perpetua) shall be computed at thirty years. (As amended).
Article 71. Graduated scales. - In the case in which the law prescribed a penalty
lower or higher by one or more degrees than another given penalty, the rules
prescribed in Article 61 shall be observed in graduating such penalty.
The lower or higher penalty shall be taken from the graduated scale in which is
comprised the given penalty.
The courts, in applying such lower or higher penalty, shall observe the following
graduated scales:
SCALE NO. 1
1. Death,
2. Reclusion perpetua,
3. Reclusion temporal,
4. Prision mayor,
5. Prision correccional,
6. Arresto mayor,
7. Destierro,
8. Arresto menor,
 9. Public censure, Article 74. Penalty higher than reclusion perpetua in certain cases. - In cases in
which the law prescribes a penalty higher than another given penalty, without
10. Fine. specially designating the name of the former, if such higher penalty should be
that of death, the same penalty and the accessory penalties of Article 40, shall be
SCALE NO. 2 considered as the next higher penalty.

1. Perpetual absolute disqualification, Article 75. Increasing or reducing the penalty of fine by one or more degrees. -
Whenever it may be necessary to increase or reduce the penalty of fine by one or
2. Temporal absolute disqualification more degrees, it shall be increased or

3. Suspension from public office, the right to vote and be voted reduced, respectively, for each degree, by one-fourth of the maximum amount
for, the right to follow a profession or calling, prescribed by law, without however, changing the minimum.

4. Public censure, The same rules shall be observed with regard of fines that do not consist of a
fixed amount, but are made proportional.
5. Fine.

Article 72 Preference in the payment of the civil liabilities. - The civil liabilities
of a person found guilty of two or more offenses shall be satisfied by following Article 76. Legal period of duration of divisible penalties. - The legal period of
the chronological order of the dates of the judgments rendered against him, duration of divisible penalties shall be considered as divided into three parts,
beginning with the first in order of time. forming three periods, the minimum, the medium, and the maximum in the
manner shown in the following table:
Section Three. - Provisions common in the last two preceding sections
TABLE SHOWING THE DURATION OF DIVISIBLE PENALTIES AND
Article 73. Presumption in regard to the imposition of accessory penalties. - THE TIME INCLUDED IN EACH OF THEIR PERIODS
Whenever the courts shall impose a penalty which, by provision of law, carries
with it other penalties, according to the provisions of Articles 40, 41, 42, 43 and
44 of this Code, it must be understood that the accessory penalties are also
imposed upon the convict.
Penalties Time Time Time Time
included in the penalty in its
included in its minimum period included in its medium period included in its maximum
entirety
From 12 years and 1 day to 20 From 12 years and 1 day to 14 From 14 years, 8 months and 1 From 17 years, 4 months and 1
Reclusion temporal
years. years and 8 months. day to 17 years and 4 months. day to 20 years.
Prision mayor, absolute
From 6 years and 1 day to 12 From 6 years and 1 day to 8 From 8 years and 1 day to 10 From 10 years and 1 day to 12
disqualification and special
years. years. years. years.
temporary disqualification
Prision correccional, suspension From 6 months and 1 day to 6 From 6 months and 1 day to 2 From 2 years, 4 months and 1 From 4 years, 2 months and 1
and destierro years. years and 4 months. day to 4 years and 2 months. day to 6 years.
 From 1 month and 1 day to
Arresto mayor From 1 to 2 months.
months.
Arresto menor From 1 to 30 days. From 1 to 10 days.
Article 77. When the penalty is a complex one composed of three distinct
penalties. - In cases in which the law prescribes a penalty composed of three
distinct penalties, each one shall form a period; the lightest of them shall be the
minimum the next the medium, and the most severe the maximum period.
Whenever the penalty prescribed does not have one of the forms specially
provided for in this Code, the periods shall be distributed, applying by analogy
the prescribed rules.
Chapter Five
EXECUTION AND SERVICE OF PENALTIES
Section One. - General Provisions
Article 78. When and how a penalty is to be executed. - No penalty shall be
executed except by virtue of a final judgment.
A penalty shall not be executed in any other form than that prescribed by law,
nor with any other circumstances or incidents than those expressly authorized
thereby.
In addition to the provisions of the law, the special regulations prescribed for the
government of the institutions in which the penalties are to be suffered shall be
observed with regard to the character of the work to be performed, the time of its
performance, and other incidents connected therewith, the relations of the
convicts among themselves and other persons, the relief which they may
receive, and their diet.
From 2 months and 1 day to 4 From 4 months and 1 day to 6
months. months.
From 11 to 20 days. From 21 to 30 days.
The regulations shall make provision for the separation of the sexes in different
institutions, or at least into different departments and also for the correction and
reform of the convicts.
Article 79. Suspension of the execution and service of the penalties in case of
insanity. - When a convict shall become insane or an imbecile after final
sentence has been pronounced, the execution of said sentence shall be suspended
only with regard to the personal penalty, the provisions of the second paragraph
of circumstance number 1 of Article 12 being observed in the corresponding
cases.
If at any time the convict shall recover his reason, his sentence shall be
executed, unless the penalty shall have prescribed in accordance with the
provisions of this Code.
The respective provisions of this section shall also be observed if the insanity or
imbecility occurs while the convict is serving his sentence.
Article 80. Suspension of sentence of minor delinquents. - Whenever a minor of
either sex, under sixteen years of age at the date of the commission of a grave or
less grave felony, is accused thereof, the court, after hearing the evidence in the
proper proceedings, instead of pronouncing judgment of conviction, shall
suspend all further proceedings and shall commit such minor to the custody or
care of a public or private, benevolent or charitable institution, established under
the law of the care, correction or education of orphaned, homeless, defective,
and delinquent children, or to the custody or care of any other responsible
person in any other place subject to visitation and supervision by the Director of
Public Welfare or any of his agents or representatives, if there be any, or
otherwise by the superintendent of public schools or his representatives, subject
to such conditions as are prescribed hereinbelow until such minor shall have
reached his majority age or for such less period as the court may deem proper.
The court, in committing said minor as provided above, shall take into
consideration the religion of such minor, his parents or next of kin, in order to
avoid his commitment to any private institution not under the control and
supervision of the religious sect or denomination to which they belong.
The Director of Public Welfare or his duly authorized representatives or agents,
the superintendent of public schools or his representatives, or the person to
whose custody or care the minor has been committed, shall submit to the court
every four months and as often as required in special cases, a written report on
the good or bad conduct of said minor and the moral and intellectual progress
made by him.
The suspension of the proceedings against a minor may be extended or
shortened by the court on the recommendation of the Director of Public Welfare
or his authorized representative or agents, or the superintendent of public
schools or his representatives, according as to whether the conduct of such
minor has been good or not and whether he has complied with the conditions
imposed upon him, or not. The provisions of the first paragraph of this article
shall not, however, be affected by those contained herein.
If the minor has been committed to the custody or care of any of the institutions
mentioned in the first paragraph of this article, with the approval of the Director
of Public Welfare and subject to such conditions as this official in accordance
with law may deem proper to impose, such minor may be allowed to stay
elsewhere under the care of a responsible person.
If the minor has behaved properly and has complied with the conditions imposed
upon him during his confinement, in accordance with the provisions of this
article, he shall be returned to the court in order that the same may order his
final release.
In case the minor fails to behave properly or to comply with the regulations of
the institution to which he has been committed or with the conditions imposed
upon him when he was committed to the care of a responsible person, or in case
he should be found incorrigible or his continued stay in such institution should
be inadvisable, he shall be returned to the court in order that the same may
render the judgment corresponding to the crime committed by him.
The expenses for the maintenance of a minor delinquent confined in the
institution to which he has been committed, shall be borne totally or partially by
his parents or relatives or those persons liable to support him, if they are able to
do so, in the discretion of the court; Provided, That in case his parents or
relatives or those persons liable to support him have not been ordered to pay said
expenses or are found indigent and cannot pay said expenses, the municipality in
which the offense was committed shall pay one-third of said expenses; the
province to which the municipality belongs shall pay one-third; and the
remaining one-third shall be borne by the National Government: Provided,
however, That whenever the Secretary of Finance certifies that a municipality is
not able to pay its share in the expenses above mentioned, such share which is
not paid by said municipality shall be borne by the National Government.
Chartered cities shall pay two-thirds of said expenses; and in case a chartered
city cannot pay said expenses, the internal revenue allotments which may be due
to said city shall be withheld and applied in settlement of said indebtedness in
accordance with section five hundred and eighty-eight of the Administrative
Code.
Section Two. - Execution of principal penalties.
Article 81. When and how the death penalty is to be executed. - The death
sentence shall be executed with reference to any other and shall consist in
putting the person under sentence to death by electrocution. The death sentence
shall be executed under the authority of the Director of Prisons, endeavoring so
far as possible to mitigate the sufferings of the person under sentence during
electrocution as well as during the proceedings prior to the execution.
If the person under sentence so desires, he shall be anaesthetized at the moment
of the electrocution.
Article 82. Notification and execution of the sentence and assistance to the
culprit. - The court shall designate a working day for the execution but not the
hour thereof; and such designation shall not be communicated to the offender
before sunrise of said day, and the execution shall not take place until after the
expiration of at least eight hours following the notification, but before sunset.
During the interval between the notification and the execution, the culprit shall,
in so far as possible, be furnished such assistance as he may request in order to
be attended in his last moments by priests or ministers of the religion he
professes and to consult lawyers, as well as in order to make a will and confer
with members of his family or persons in charge of the management of his
business, of the administration of his property, or of the care of his descendants.
Article 83. Suspension of the execution of the death sentence. - The death
sentence shall not be inflicted upon a woman within the three years next
following the date of the sentence or while she is pregnant, nor upon any person
over seventy years of age. In this last case, the death sentence shall be
commuted to the penalty of reclusion perpetua with the accessory penalties
provided in Article 40.
Article 84. Place of execution and persons who may witness the same. - The
execution shall take place in the penitentiary of Bilibid in a space closed to the
public view and shall be witnessed only by the priests assisting the offender and
by his lawyers, and by his relatives, not exceeding six, if he so request, by the
physician and the necessary personnel of the penal establishment, and by such
persons as the Director of Prisons may authorize.
Article 85. Provisions relative to the corpse of the person executed and its 3. By amnesty, which completely extinguishes the penalty and all its
burial. - Unless claimed by his family, the corpse of the culprit shall, upon the effects;
completion of the legal proceedings subsequent to the execution, be turned over
to the institute of learning or scientific research first applying for it, for the 4. By absolute pardon;
purpose of study and investigation, provided that such institute shall take charge
of the decent burial of the remains. Otherwise, the Director of Prisons shall 5. By prescription of the crime;
order the burial of the body of the culprit at government expense, granting
permission to be present thereat to the members of the family of the culprit and 6. By prescription of the penalty;
the friends of the latter. In no case shall the burial of the body of a person
sentenced to death be held with pomp. 7. By the marriage of the offended woman, as provided in Article 344 of
this Code.
Article 86. Reclusion perpetua, reclusion temporal, prision mayor, prision
correccional and arresto mayor. - The penalties of reclusion perpetua, reclusion Article 90. Prescription of crime. - Crimes punishable by death, reclusion
temporal, prision mayor, prision correccional and arresto mayor, shall be perpetua or reclusion temporal shall prescribe in twenty years.
executed and served in the places and penal establishments provided by the
Administrative Code in force or which may be provided by law in the future.
Crimes punishable by other afflictive penalties shall prescribe in fifteen years.
Article 87. Destierro. - Any person sentenced to destierro shall not be permitted
Those punishable by a correctional penalty shall prescribe in ten years; with the
to enter the place or places designated in the sentence, nor within the radius
exception of those punishable by arresto mayor, which shall prescribe in five
therein specified, which shall be not more than 250 and not less than 25
years.
kilometers from the place designated.
The crime of libel or other similar offenses shall prescribe in one year.
Article 88. Arresto menor. - The penalty of arresto menor shall be served in the
municipal jail, or in the house of the defendant himself under the surveillance of
an officer of the law, when the court so provides in its decision, taking into The crime of oral defamation and slander by deed shall prescribe in six months.
consideration the health of the offender and other reasons which may seem
satisfactory to it. Light offenses prescribe in two months.

Title Four When the penalty fixed by law is a compound one, the highest penalty shall be
made the basis of the application of the rules contained in the first, second and
EXTINCTION OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY third paragraphs of this article. (As amended by RA 4661, approved June 19,
1966).
Chapter One
TOTAL EXTINCTION OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY Article 91. Computation of prescription of offenses. - The period of prescription
shall commence to run from the day on which the crime is discovered by the
offended party, the authorities, or their agents, and shall be interrupted by the
Article 89. How criminal liability is totally extinguished. - Criminal liability is
filing of the complaint or information, and shall commence to run again when
totally extinguished:
such proceedings terminate without the accused being convicted or acquitted, or
are unjustifiably stopped for any reason not imputable to him.
1. By the death of the convict, as to the personal penalties and as to
pecuniary penalties, liability therefor is extinguished only when the
The term of prescription shall not run when the offender is absent from the
death of the offender occurs before final judgment.
Philippine Archipelago.
2. By service of the sentence;
Article 92. When and how penalties prescribe. - The penalties imposed by final
sentence prescribe as follows:
1. Death and reclusion perpetua, in twenty years;
2. Other afflictive penalties, in fifteen years;
3. Correctional penalties, in ten years; with the exception of the penalty
of arresto mayor, which prescribes in five years;
4. Light penalties, in one year.
Article 93. Computation of the prescription of penalties. - The period of
prescription of penalties shall commence to run from the date when the culprit
should evade the service of his sentence, and it shall be interrupted if the
defendant should give himself up, be captured, should go to some foreign
country with which this Government has no extradition treaty, or should commit
another crime before the expiration of the period of prescription.
Chapter Two
PARTIAL EXTINCTION OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY
Article 94. Partial Extinction of criminal liability. - Criminal liability is
extinguished partially:
1. By conditional pardon;
2. By commutation of the sentence; and
3. For good conduct allowances which the culprit may earn while he is
serving his sentence.
Article 95. Obligation incurred by person granted conditional pardon. - Any
person who has been granted conditional pardon shall incur the obligation of
complying strictly with the conditions imposed therein otherwise, his non-
compliance with any of the conditions specified shall result in the revocation of
the pardon and the provisions of Article 159 shall be applied to him.
Article 96. Effect of commutation of sentence. - The commutation of the original
sentence for another of a different length and nature shall have the legal effect of
substituting the latter in the place of the former.
Article 97. Allowance for good conduct. - The good conduct of any prisoner in
any penal institution shall entitle him to the following deductions from the
period of his sentence:
1. During the first two years of his imprisonment, he shall be allowed a
deduction of five days for each month of good behavior;
2. During the third to the fifth year, inclusive, of his imprisonment, he
shall be allowed a deduction of eight days for each month of good
behavior;
3. During the following years until the tenth year, inclusive, of his
imprisonment, he shall be allowed a deduction of ten days for each
month of good behavior; and
4. During the eleventh and successive years of his imprisonment, he
shall be allowed a deduction of fifteen days for each month of good
behaviour.
Article 98. Special time allowance for loyalty. - A deduction of one-fifth of the
period of his sentence shall be granted to any prisoner who, having evaded the
service of his sentence under the circumstances mentioned in Article 58 of this
Code, gives himself up to the authorities within 48 hours following the issuance
of a proclamation announcing the passing away of the calamity or catastrophe to
in said article.
Article 99. Who grants time allowances. - Whenever lawfully justified, the
Director of Prisons shall grant allowances for good conduct. Such allowances
once granted shall not be revoked.
Title Five
CIVIL LIABILITY
Chapter One
PERSON CIVILLY LIABLE FOR FELONIES
Article 100. Civil liability of a person guilty of felony. - Every person criminally
liable for a felony is also civilly liable.
Article 101. Rules regarding civil liability in certain cases. - The exemption
from criminal liability established in subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of Article 12
and in subdivision 4 of Article 11 of this Code does not include exemption from
civil liability, which shall be enforced subject to the following rules:
First. In cases of subdivisions 1, 2, and 3 of Article 12, the civil liability for acts
committed by an imbecile or insane person, and by a person under nine years of
age, or by one over nine but under fifteen years of age, who has acted without
discernment, shall devolve upon those having such person under their legal
authority or control, unless it appears that there was no fault or negligence on
their part.
Should there be no person having such insane, imbecile or minor under his
authority, legal guardianship or control, or if such person be insolvent, said
insane, imbecile, or minor shall respond with their own property, excepting
property exempt from execution, in accordance with the civil law.
Second. In cases falling within subdivision 4 of Article 11, the persons for
whose benefit the harm has been prevented shall be civilly liable in proportion
to the benefit which they may have received.
The courts shall determine, in sound discretion, the proportionate amount for
which each one shall be liable.
When the respective shares cannot be equitably determined, even
approximately, or when the liability also attaches to the Government, or to the
majority of the inhabitants of the town, and, in all events, whenever the damages
have been caused with the consent of the authorities or their agents,
indemnification shall be made in the manner prescribed by special laws or
regulations.
Third. In cases falling within subdivisions 5 and 6 of Article 12, the persons
using violence or causing the fears shall be primarily liable and secondarily, or,
if there be no such persons, those doing the act shall be liable, saving always to
the latter that part of their property exempt from execution.
Article 102. Subsidiary civil liability of innkeepers, tavernkeepers and
proprietors of establishments. - In default of the persons criminally liable,
innkeepers, tavernkeepers, and any other persons or corporations shall be civilly
liable for crimes committed in their establishments, in all cases where a
violation of municipal ordinances or some general or special police regulation
shall have been committed by them or their employees.
Innkeepers are also subsidiarily liable for the restitution of goods taken by
robbery or theft within their houses from guests lodging therein, or for the
payment of the value thereof, provided that such guests shall have notified in
advance the innkeeper himself, or the person representing him, of the deposit of
such goods within the inn; and shall furthermore have followed the directions
which such innkeeper or his representative may have given them with respect to
the care and vigilance over such goods. No liability shall attach in case of
robbery with violence against or intimidation of persons unless committed by
the innkeeper's employees.
Article 103. Subsidiary civil liability of other persons. - The subsidiary liability
established in the next preceding article shall also apply to employers, teachers,
persons, and corporations engaged in any kind of industry for felonies
committed by their servants, pupils, workmen, apprentices, or employees in the
discharge of their duties.
Chapter Two
WHAT CIVIL LIABILITY INCLUDES
Article 104. What is included in civil liability. - The civil liability established in
Articles 100, 101, 102, and 103 of this Code includes:
1. Restitution;
2. Reparation of the damage caused;
3. Indemnification for consequential damages.
Article 105. Restitution; How made. - The restitution of the thing itself must be
made whenever possible, with allowance for any deterioration, or diminution of
value as determined by the court.
The thing itself shall be restored, even though it be found in the possession of a
third person who has acquired it by lawful means, saving to the latter his action
against the proper person, who may be liable to him.
This provision is not applicable in cases in which the thing has been acquired by
the third person in the manner and under the requirements which, by law, bar an
action for its recovery.
Article 106. Reparation; How made. - The court shall determine the amount of
damage, taking into consideration the price of the thing, whenever possible, and
its special sentimental value to the injured party, and reparation shall be made
accordingly.
Article 107. Indemnification; What is included. - Indemnification for
consequential damages shall include not only those caused the injured party, but
also those suffered by his family or by a third person by reason of the crime.
Article 108. Obligation to make restoration, reparation for damages, or
indemnification for consequential damages and actions to demand the same;
Upon whom it devolves. - The obligation to make restoration or reparation for
damages and indemnification for consequential damages devolves upon the
heirs of the person liable.
The action to demand restoration, reparation, and indemnification likewise
descends to the heirs of the person injured.
Article 109. Share of each person civilly liable. - If there are two or more
persons civilly liable for a felony, the courts shall determine the amount for
which each must respond.
Article 110. Several and subsidiary liability of principals, accomplices and
accessories of a felony; Preference in payment. - Notwithstanding the provisions
of the next preceding article, the principals, accomplices, and accessories, each
within their respective class, shall be liable severally (in solidum) among
themselves for their quotas, and subsidiaries for those of the other persons liable.
The subsidiary liability shall be enforced, first against the property of the
principals; next, against that of the accomplices, and, lastly, against that of the
accessories.
Whenever the liability in solidum or the subsidiary liability has been enforced,
the person by whom payment has been made shall have a right of action against
the others for the amount of their respective shares.
Article 111. Obligation to make restitution in certain cases. - Any person who
has participated gratuitously in the proceeds of a felony shall be bound to make
restitution in an amount equivalent to the extent of such participation.
Chapter Three
EXTINCTION AND SURVIVAL OF CIVIL LIABILITY
Article 112. Extinction of civil liability. - Civil liability established in Articles
100, 101, 102, and 103 of this Code shall be extinguished in the same manner as
obligations, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Law.
Article 113. Obligation to satisfy civil liability. - Except in case of extinction of
his civil liability as provided in the next preceding article the offender shall
continue to be obliged to satisfy the civil liability resulting from the crime
committed by him, notwithstanding the fact that he has served his sentence
consisting of deprivation of liberty or other rights, or has not been required to
serve the same by reason of amnesty, pardon, commutation of sentence or any
other reason.
BOOK TWO
CRIMES AND PENALTIES
Title One
CRIMES AGAINST NATIONAL SECURITY AND THE LAW OF
NATIONS
Chapter One
CRIMES AGAINST NATIONAL SECURITY
Section One. - Treason and espionage
Article 114. Treason. - Any person who, owing allegiance to (the United States
or) the Government of the Philippine Islands, not being a foreigner, levies war
against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid or comfort within the
Philippine Islands or elsewhere, shall be punished by reclusion temporal to death
and shall pay a fine not to exceed P20,000 pesos.
No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two
witnesses at least to the same overt act or on confession of the accused in open
court.
Likewise, an alien, residing in the Philippine Islands, who commits acts of
treason as defined in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be punished by prision
mayor to death and shall pay a fine not to exceed P20,000 pesos. (As amended
by E.O. No. 44, May 31, 1945).
Article 115. Conspiracy and proposal to commit treason; Penalty. - The
conspiracy or proposal to commit the crime of treason shall be punished
respectively, by prision mayor and a fine not exceeding P10,000 pesos, and
prision correccional and a fine not exceeding P5,000 pesos.
Article 116. Misprision of treason. - Every person owing allegiance to (the
United States) the Government of the Philippine Islands, without being a
foreigner, and having knowledge of any conspiracy against them, conceals or
does not disclose and make known the same, as soon as possible to the governor
or fiscal of the province, or the mayor or fiscal of the city in which he resides, as
the case may be, shall be punished as an accessory to the crime of treason.
Article 117. Espionage. - The penalty of prision correccional shall be inflicted
upon any person who:
1. Without authority therefor, enters a warship, fort, or naval or military
establishment or reservation to obtain any information, plans,
photographs, or other data of a confidential nature relative to the defense
of the Philippine Archipelago; or
2. Being in possession, by reason of the public office he holds, of the
articles, data, or information referred to in the preceding paragraph,
discloses their contents to a representative of a foreign nation.
The penalty next higher in degree shall be imposed if the offender be a public
officer or employee.
Section Two. - Provoking war and disloyalty in case of war
Article 118. Inciting to war or giving motives for reprisals. - The penalty of
reclusion temporal shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee, and
that of prision mayor upon any private individual, who, by unlawful or
unauthorized acts provokes or gives occasion for a war involving or liable to
involve the Philippine Islands or exposes Filipino citizens to reprisals on their
persons or property.
Article 119. Violation of neutrality. - The penalty of prision correccional shall
be inflicted upon anyone who, on the occasion of a war in which the
Government is not involved, violates any regulation issued by competent
authority for the purpose of enforcing neutrality.
Article 120. Correspondence with hostile country. - Any person who in time of
war, shall have correspondence with an enemy country or territory occupied by
enemy troops shall be punished:
1. By prision correccional, if the correspondence has been prohibited by
the Government;
2. By prision mayor, if such correspondence be carried on in ciphers or
conventional signs; and
3. By reclusion temporal, if notice or information be given thereby
which might be useful to the enemy. If the offender intended to aid the
enemy by giving such notice or information, he shall suffer the penalty
of reclusion temporal to death.
Article 121. Flight to enemy country. - The penalty of arresto mayor shall be
inflicted upon any person who, owing allegiance to the Government, attempts to
flee or go to an enemy country when prohibited by competent authority.
Section Three. - Piracy and mutiny on the high seas or in Philippine waters
Article 122. Piracy in general and mutiny on the high seas. - The penalty of
reclusion temporal shall be inflicted upon any person who, on the high seas,
shall attack or seize a vessel or, not being a member of its complement nor a
passenger, shall seize the whole or part of the cargo of said vessel, its
equipment, or personal belongings of its complement or passengers.
The same penalty shall be inflicted in case of mutiny on the high seas or in
Philippine waters.
Article 123. Qualified piracy. - The penalty of reclusion temporal to death shall
be imposed upon those who commit any of the crimes referred to in the
preceding article, under any of the following circumstances:
1. Whenever they have seized a vessel by boarding or firing upon the
same;
2. Whenever the pirates have abandoned their victims without means of
saving themselves; or
3. Whenever the crime is accompanied by murder, homicide, physical
injuries or rape.
Title Two
CRIMES AGAINST THE FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF THE STATE
Chapter One
ARBITRARY DETENTION OR EXPULSION, VIOLATION OF
DWELLING, PROHIBITION, INTERRUPTION, AND DISSOLUTION
OF PEACEFUL MEETINGS AND CRIMES AGAINST RELIGIOUS
WORSHIP
Section One. - Arbitrary detention and expulsion
Article 124. Arbitrary detention. - Any public officer or employee who, without
legal grounds, detains a person, shall suffer;
1. The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision
correccional in its minimum period, if the detention has not exceeded
three days;
2. The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum
periods, if the detention has continued more than three but not more
than fifteen days;
3. The penalty of prision mayor, if the detention has continued for more
than fifteen days but not more than six months; and
4. That of reclusion temporal, if the detention shall have exceeded six
months.
The commission of a crime, or violent insanity or any other ailment requiring
the compulsory confinement of the patient in a hospital, shall be considered
legal grounds for the detention of any person.
Article 125. Delay in the delivery of detained persons to the proper judicial
authorities. - The penalties provided in the next preceding article shall be
imposed upon the public officer or employee who shall detain any person for
some legal ground and shall fail to deliver such person to the proper judicial
authorities within the period of; twelve (12) hours, for crimes or offenses
punishable by light penalties, or their equivalent; eighteen (18) hours, for crimes
or offenses punishable by correctional penalties, or their equivalent and thirty-
six (36) hours, for crimes, or offenses punishable by afflictive or capital
penalties, or their equivalent. In every case, the person detained shall be
informed of the cause of his detention and shall be allowed upon his request, to
communicate and confer at any time with his attorney or counsel. (As amended
by E.O. Nos. 59 and 272, Nov. 7, 1986 and July 25, 1987, respectively).
Article 126. Delaying release. - The penalties provided for in Article 124 shall
be imposed upon any public officer or employee who delays for the period of
time specified therein the performance of any judicial or executive order for the
release of a prisoner or detention prisoner, or unduly delays the service of the
notice of such order to said prisoner or the proceedings upon any petition for the
liberation of such person.
Article 127. Expulsion. - The penalty of prision correccional shall be imposed
upon any public officer or employee who, not being thereunto authorized by
law, shall expel any person from the Philippine Islands or shall compel such
person to change his residence.
Section Two. - Violation of domicile
Article 128. Violation of domicile. - The penalty of prision correccional in its
minimum period shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee who, not
being authorized by judicial order, shall enter any dwelling against the will of
the owner thereof, search papers or other effects found therein without the
previous consent of such owner, or having surreptitiously entered said dwelling,
and being required to leave the premises, shall refuse to do so.
If the offense be committed in the night-time, or if any papers or effects not
constituting evidence of a crime be not returned immediately after the search
made by the offender, the penalty shall be prision correccional in its medium
and maximum periods.
Article 129. Search warrants maliciously obtained and abuse in the service of
those legally obtained. - In addition to the liability attaching to the offender for
the commission of any other offense, the penalty of arresto mayor in its
maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period and a fine not
exceeding P1,000 pesos shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee
who shall procure a search warrant without just cause, or, having legally
procured the same, shall exceed his authority or use unnecessary severity in
executing the same.
Article 130. Searching domicile without witnesses. - The penalty of arresto
mayor in its medium and maximum periods shall be imposed upon a public
officer or employee who, in cases where a search is proper, shall search the
domicile, papers or other belongings of any person, in the absence of the latter,
any member of his family, or in their default, without the presence of two
witnesses residing in the same locality.
Section Three. - Prohibition, interruption and dissolution of peaceful meetings
Article 131. Prohibition, interruption and dissolution of peaceful meetings. -
The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed
upon any public officer or employee who, without legal ground, shall prohibit or
interrupt the holding of a peaceful meeting, or shall dissolve the same.
The same penalty shall be imposed upon a public officer or employee who shall
hinder any person from joining any lawful association or from attending any of
its meetings.
The same penalty shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee who
shall prohibit or hinder any person from addressing, either alone or together with
others, any petition to the authorities for the correction of abuses or redress of
grievances.
Section Four. - Crimes against religious worship
Article 132. Interruption of religious worship. - The penalty of prision
correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon any public officer or
employee who shall prevent or disturb the ceremonies or manifestations of any
religion.
If the crime shall have been committed with violence or threats, the penalty shall
be prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods.
Article 133. Offending the religious feelings. - The penalty of arresto mayor in
its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period shall be
imposed upon anyone who, in a place devoted to religious worship or during the
celebration of any religious ceremony shall perform acts notoriously offensive to
the feelings of the faithful.
Title Three
CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER
Chapter One
REBELLION, SEDITION AND DISLOYALTY
Article 134. Rebellion or insurrection; How committed. - The crime of rebellion
or insurrection is committed by rising publicly and taking arms against the
Government for the purpose of removing from the allegiance to said
Government or its laws, the territory of the Philippine Islands or any part
thereof, of any body of land, naval or other armed forces, depriving the Chief
Executive or the Legislature, wholly or partially, of any of their powers or
prerogatives. (As amended by R.A. 6968).
Article 134-A. Coup d'etat; How committed. - The crime of coup d'etat is a
swift attack accompanied by violence, intimidation, threat, strategy or stealth,
directed against duly constituted authorities of the Republic of the Philippines,
or any military camp or installation, communications network, public utilities or
other facilities needed for the exercise and continued possession of power,
singly or simultaneously carried out anywhere in the Philippines by any person
or persons, belonging to the military or police or holding any public office of
employment with or without civilian support or participation for the purpose of
seizing or diminishing state power. (As amended by R.A. 6968).
Article 135. Penalty for rebellion, insurrection or coup d'etat. - Any person
who promotes, maintains, or heads rebellion or insurrection shall suffer the
penalty of reclusion perpetua.
Any person merely participating or executing the commands of others in a
rebellion shall suffer the penalty of reclusion temporal.
Any person who leads or in any manner directs or commands others to
undertake a coup d'etat shall suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua.
Any person in the government service who participates, or executes directions or
commands of others in undertaking a coup d'etat shall suffer the penalty of
prision mayor in its maximum period.
Any person not in the government service who participates, or in any manner
supports, finances, abets or aids in undertaking a coup d'etat shall suffer the
penalty of reclusion temporal in its maximum period.
When the rebellion, insurrection, or coup d'etat shall be under the command of
unknown leaders, any person who in fact directed the others, spoke for them,
signed receipts and other documents issued in their name, as performed similar
acts, on behalf or the rebels shall be deemed a leader of such a rebellion,
insurrection, or coup d'etat. (As amended by R.A. 6968, approved on October
24, 1990).
Article 136. Conspiracy and proposal to commit coup d'etat, rebellion or
insurrection. - The conspiracy and proposal to commit coup d'etat shall be
punished by prision mayor in minimum period and a fine which shall not exceed
eight thousand pesos (P8,000.00).
The conspiracy and proposal to commit rebellion or insurrection shall be
punished respectively, by prision correccional in its maximum period and a fine
which shall not exceed five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) and by prision
correccional in its medium period and a fine not exceeding two thousand pesos
(P2,000.00). (As amended by R.A. 6968, approved October 24, 1990).
Article 137. Disloyalty of public officers or employees. - The penalty of prision
correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon public officers or
employees who have failed to resist a rebellion by all the means in their power,
or shall continue to discharge the duties of their offices under the control of the
rebels or shall accept appointment to office under them. (Reinstated by E.O. No.
187).
Article 138. Inciting a rebellion or insurrection. - The penalty of prision mayor
in its minimum period shall be imposed upon any person who, without taking
arms or being in open hostility against the Government, shall incite others to the
execution of any of the acts specified in article 134 of this Code, by means of
speeches, proclamations, writings, emblems, banners or other representations
tending to the same end. (Reinstated by E.O. No. 187).
Article 139. Sedition; How committed. - The crime of sedition is committed by
persons who rise publicly and tumultuously in order to attain by force,
intimidation, or by other means outside of legal methods, any of the following
objects:
1. To prevent the promulgation or execution of any law or the holding of
any popular election;
2. To prevent the National Government, or any provincial or municipal
government or any public officer thereof from freely exercising its or
his functions, or prevent the execution of any administrative order;
3. To inflict any act of hate or revenge upon the person or property of
any public officer or employee;
4. To commit, for any political or social end, any act of hate or revenge
against private persons or any social class; and
5. To despoil, for any political or social end, any person, municipality or
province, or the National Government (or the Government of the United
States), of all its property or any part thereof.
Article 140. Penalty for sedition. - The leader of a sedition shall suffer the
penalty of prision mayor in its minimum period and a fine not exceeding 10,000
pesos.
Other persons participating therein shall suffer the penalty of prision
correccional in its maximum period and a fine not exceeding 5,000 pesos.
(Reinstated by E.O. No. 187).
Article 141. Conspiracy to commit sedition. - Persons conspiring to commit the
crime of sedition shall be punished by prision correccional in its medium period
and a fine not exceeding 2,000 pesos. (Reinstated by E.O. No. 187).
Article 142. Inciting to sedition. - The penalty of prision correccional in its
maximum period and a fine not exceeding 2,000 pesos shall be imposed upon
any person who, without taking any direct part in the crime of sedition, should
incite others to the accomplishment of any of the acts which constitute sedition,
by means of speeches, proclamations, writings, emblems, cartoons, banners, or
other representations tending to the same end, or upon any person or persons
who shall utter seditious words or speeches, write, publish, or circulate
scurrilous libels against the (Government of the United States or the
Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines) or any of the duly
constituted authorities thereof, or which tend to disturb or obstruct any lawful
officer in executing the functions of his office, or which tend to instigate others
to cabal and meet together for unlawful purposes, or which suggest or incite
rebellious conspiracies or riots, or which lead or tend to stir up the people
against the lawful authorities or to disturb the peace of the community, the
safety and order of the Government, or who shall knowingly conceal such evil
practices. (Reinstated by E.O. No. 187).
Chapter Two
CRIMES AGAINST POPULAR REPRESENTATION
Section One. - Crimes against legislative bodies and similar bodies
Article 143. Act tending to prevent the meeting of the Assembly and similar
bodies. - The penalty of prision correccional or a fine ranging from 200 to 2,000
pesos, or both, shall be imposed upon any person who, by force or fraud,
prevents the meeting of the National Assembly (Congress of the Philippines) or
of any of its committees or subcommittees, constitutional commissions or
committees or divisions thereof, or of any provincial board or city or municipal
council or board. (Reinstated by E.O. No. 187).
Article 144. Disturbance of proceedings. - The penalty of arresto mayor or a
fine from 200 to 1,000 pesos shall be imposed upon any person who disturbs the
meetings of the National Assembly (Congress of the Philippines) or of any of its
committees or subcommittees, constitutional commissions or committees or
divisions thereof, or of any provincial board or city or municipal council or
board, or in the presence of any such bodies should behave in such manner as to
interrupt its proceedings or to impair the respect due it. (Reinstated by E.O. No.
187).
Section Two. - Violation of parliamentary immunity
Article 145. Violation of parliamentary immunity. - The penalty of prision
mayor shall be imposed upon any person who shall use force, intimidation,
threats, or fraud to prevent any member of the National Assembly (Congress of
the Philippines) from attending the meetings of the Assembly (Congress) or of
any of its committees or subcommittees, constitutional commissions or
committees or divisions thereof, from expressing his opinions or casting his
vote; and the penalty of prision correccional shall be imposed upon any public
officer or employee who shall, while the Assembly (Congress) is in regular or
special session, arrest or search any member thereof, except in case such
member has committed a crime punishable under this Code by a penalty higher
than prision mayor.
Chapter Three
ILLEGAL ASSEMBLIES AND ASSOCIATIONS
Article 146. Illegal assemblies. - The penalty of prision correccional in its
maximum period to prision mayor in its medium period shall be imposed upon
the organizers or leaders of any meeting attended by armed persons for the
purpose of committing any of the crimes punishable under this Code, or of any
meeting in which the audience is incited to the commission of the crime of
treason, rebellion or insurrection, sedition or assault upon a person in authority
or his agents. Persons merely present at such meeting shall suffer the penalty
of arresto mayor, unless they are armed, in which case the penalty shall be
prision correccional.
If any person present at the meeting carries an unlicensed firearm, it shall be
presumed that the purpose of said meeting, insofar as he is concerned, is to
commit acts punishable under this Code, and he shall be considered a leader or
organizer of the meeting within the purview of the preceding paragraph.
As used in this article, the word "meeting" shall be understood to include a
gathering or group, whether in a fixed place or moving. (Reinstated by E.O. No.
187).
Article 147. Illegal associations. - The penalty of prision correccional in its
minimum and medium periods and a fine not exceeding 1,000 pesos shall be
imposed upon the founders, directors, and presidents of associations totally or
partially organized for the purpose of committing any of the crimes punishable
under this Code or for some purpose contrary to public morals. Mere members
of said associations shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor. (Reinstated by
E.O. No. 187).
Chapter Four
ASSAULT UPON, AND RESISTANCE AND DISOBEDIENCE TO,
PERSONS IN AUTHORITY AND THEIR AGENTS
Article 148. Direct assaults. - Any person or persons who, without a public
uprising, shall employ force or intimidation for the attainment of any of the
purpose enumerated in defining the crimes of rebellion and sedition, or shall
attack, employ force, or seriously intimidate or resist any person in authority or
any of his agents, while engaged in the performance of official duties, or on
occasion of such performance, shall suffer the penalty of prision correccional in
its medium and maximum periods and a fine not exceeding P1,000 pesos, when
the assault is committed with a weapon or when the offender is a public officer
or employee, or when the offender lays hands upon a person in authority. If none
of these circumstances be present, the penalty of prision correccional in its
minimum period and a fine not exceeding P500 pesos shall be imposed.
Article 149. Indirect assaults. - The penalty of prision correccional in its
minimum and medium periods and a fine not exceeding P500 pesos shall be
imposed upon any person who shall make use of force or intimidation upon any
person coming to the aid of the authorities or their agents on occasion of the
commission of any of the crimes defined in the next preceding article.
Article 150. Disobedience to summons issued by the National Assembly, its
committees or subcommittees, by the Constitutional Commissions, its
committees, subcommittees or divisions. - The penalty of arresto mayor or a fine
ranging from two hundred to one thousand pesos, or both such fine and
imprisonment shall be imposed upon any person who, having been duly
summoned to attend as a witness before the National Assembly, (Congress), its
special or standing committees and subcommittees, the Constitutional
Commissions and its committees, subcommittees, or divisions, or before any
commission or committee chairman or member authorized to summon
witnesses, refuses, without legal excuse, to obey such summons, or being
present before any such legislative or constitutional body or official, refuses to
be sworn or placed under affirmation or to answer any legal inquiry or to
produce any books, papers, documents, or records in his possession, when
required by them to do so in the exercise of their functions. The same penalty
shall be imposed upon any person who shall restrain another from attending as a
witness, or who shall induce disobedience to a summon or refusal to be sworn
by any such body or official.
Article 151. Resistance and disobedience to a person in authority or the agents
of such person. - The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding 500
pesos shall be imposed upon any person who not being included in the
provisions of the preceding articles shall resist or seriously disobey any person
in authority, or the agents of such person, while engaged in the performance of
official duties.
When the disobedience to an agent of a person in authority is not of a serious
nature, the penalty of arresto menor or a fine ranging from 10 to P100 pesos
shall be imposed upon the offender.
Article 152. Persons in authority and agents of persons in authority; Who shall
be deemed as such. - In applying the provisions of the preceding and other
articles of this Code, any person directly vested with jurisdiction, whether as an
individual or as a member of some court or governmental corporation, board, or
commission, shall be deemed a person in authority. A barrio captain and a
barangay chairman shall also be deemed a person in authority.
A person who, by direct provision of law or by election or by appointment by
competent authority, is charged with the maintenance of public order and the
protection and security of life and property, such as a barrio councilman, barrio
policeman and barangay leader and any person who comes to the aid of persons
in authority, shall be deemed an agent of a person in authority.
In applying the provisions of Articles 148 and 151 of this Code, teachers,
professors and persons charged with the supervision of public or duly
recognized private schools, colleges and universities, and lawyers in the actual
performance of their professional duties or on the occasion of such performance,
shall be deemed persons in authority. (As amended by PD No. 299, Sept. 19,
1973 and Batas Pambansa Blg. 873, June 12, 1985).
Chapter Five
PUBLIC DISORDERS
Article 153. Tumults and other disturbance of public orders; Tumultuous
disturbance or interruption liable to cause disturbance. - The penalty of arresto
mayor in its medium period to prision correccional in its minimum period and a
fine not exceeding 1,000 pesos shall be imposed upon any person who shall
cause any serious disturbance in a public place, office, or establishment, or shall
interrupt or disturb public performances, functions or gatherings, or peaceful
meetings, if the act is not included in the provisions of Articles 131 and 132.
The penalty next higher in degree shall be imposed upon persons causing any
disturbance or interruption of a tumultuous character.
The disturbance or interruption shall be deemed to be tumultuous if caused by
more than three persons who are armed or provided with means of violence.
The penalty of arresto mayor shall be imposed upon any person who in any
meeting, association, or public place, shall make any outcry tending to incite
rebellion or sedition or in such place shall display placards or emblems which
provoke a disturbance of the public order.
The penalty of arresto menor and a fine not to exceed P200 pesos shall be
imposed upon these persons who in violation of the provisions contained in the
last clause of Article 85, shall bury with pomp the body of a person who has
been legally executed.
Article 154. Unlawful use of means of publication and unlawful utterances. -
The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine ranging from P200 to P1,000 pesos
shall be imposed upon:
1. Any person who by means of printing, lithography, or any other
means of publication shall publish or cause to be published as news any
false news which may endanger the public order, or cause damage to the
interest or credit of the State;
2. Any person who by the same means, or by words, utterances or
speeches shall encourage disobedience to the law or to the constituted
authorities or praise, justify, or extol any act punished by law;
3. Any person who shall maliciously publish or cause to be published
any official resolution or document without proper authority, or before
they have been published officially; or
4. Any person who shall print, publish, or distribute or cause to be
printed, published, or distributed books, pamphlets, periodicals, or
leaflets which do not bear the real printer's name, or which are classified
as anonymous.
Article 155. Alarms and scandals. - The penalty of arresto menor or a fine not
exceeding P200 pesos shall be imposed upon:
1. Any person who within any town or public place, shall discharge any
firearm, rocket, firecracker, or other explosives calculated to cause
alarm or danger;
2. Any person who shall instigate or take an active part in any charivari
or other disorderly meeting offensive to another or prejudicial to public
tranquility;
 3. Any person who, while wandering about at night or while engaged in
any other nocturnal amusements, shall disturb the public peace; or
4. Any person who, while intoxicated or otherwise, shall cause any
disturbance or scandal in public places, provided that the circumstances
of the case shall not make the provisions of Article 153 applicable.
Article 156. Delivery of prisoners from jails. - The penalty of arresto mayor in
its maximum period of prision correccional in its minimum period shall be
imposed upon any person who shall remove from any jail or penal establishment
any person confined therein or shall help the escape of such person, by means of
violence, intimidation, or bribery. If other means are used, the penalty of arresto
mayor shall be imposed.
If the escape of the prisoner shall take place outside of said establishments by
taking the guards by surprise, the same penalties shall be imposed in their
minimum period.
Chapter Six
EVASION OF SERVICE OF SENTENCE
Article 157. Evasion of service of sentence. - The penalty of prision correccional
in its medium and maximum periods shall be imposed upon any convict who
shall evade service of his sentence by escaping during the term of his
imprisonment by reason of final judgment.
However, if such evasion or escape shall have taken place by means of unlawful
entry, by breaking doors, windows, gates, walls, roofs, or floors, or by using
picklocks, false keys, deceit, violence or intimidation, or through connivance
with other convicts or employees of the penal institution, the penalty shall be
prision correccional in its maximum period.
Article 158. Evasion of service of sentence on the occasion of disorder,
conflagrations, earthquakes, or other calamities. - A convict who shall evade
the service of his sentence, by leaving the penal institution where he shall have
been confined, on the occasion of disorder resulting from a conflagration,
earthquake, explosion, or similar catastrophe, or during a mutiny in which he
has not participated, shall suffer an increase of one-fifth of the time still
remaining to be served under the original sentence, which in no case shall
exceed six months, if he shall fail to give himself up to the authorities within
forty-eight hours following the issuance of a proclamation by the Chief
Executive announcing the passing away of such calamity.
Convicts who, under the circumstances mentioned in the preceding paragraph,
shall give themselves up to the authorities within the above mentioned period of
48 hours, shall be entitled to the deduction provided in Article 98.
Article 159. Other cases of evasion of service of sentence. - The penalty of
prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon the convict
who, having been granted conditional pardon by the Chief Executive, shall
violate any of the conditions of such pardon. However, if the penalty remitted by
the granting of such pardon be higher than six years, the convict shall then suffer
the unexpired portion of his original sentence.
Chapter Seven
COMMISSION OF ANOTHER CRIME DURING SERVICE OF
PENALTY IMPOSED FOR ANOTHER PREVIOUS OFFENSE
Article 160. Commission of another crime during service of penalty imposed for
another offense; Penalty. - Besides the provisions of Rule 5 of Article 62, any
person who shall commit a felony after having been convicted by final
judgment, before beginning to serve such sentence, or while serving the same,
shall be punished by the maximum period of the penalty prescribed by law for
the new felony.
Any convict of the class referred to in this article, who is not a habitual criminal,
shall be pardoned at the age of seventy years if he shall have already served out
his original sentence, or when he shall complete it after reaching the said age,
unless by reason of his conduct or other circumstances he shall not be worthy of
such clemency.
Title Four
CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC INTEREST
Chapter One
FORGERIES
Section One. - Forging the seal of the Government of the Philippine Islands, the
signature or stamp of the Chief Executive.
Article 161. Counterfeiting the great seal of the Government of the Philippine
Islands, forging the signature or stamp of the Chief Executive. - The penalty of
reclusion temporal shall be imposed upon any person who shall forge the Great
Seal of the Government of the Philippine Islands or the signature or stamp of the
Chief Executive.
Article 162. Using forged signature or counterfeit seal or stamp. - The penalty
of prision mayor shall be imposed upon any person who shall knowingly make
use of the counterfeit seal or forged signature or stamp mentioned in the
preceding article.
Section Two. - Counterfeiting Coins
Article 163. Making and importing and uttering false coins. - Any person who
makes, imports, or utters, false coins, in connivance with counterfeiters, or
importers, shall suffer:
1. Prision mayor in its minimum and medium periods and a fine not to
exceed P10,000 pesos, if the counterfeited coin be silver coin of the
Philippines or coin of the Central Bank of the Philippines of ten centavo
denomination or above.
2. Prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods and a fine of
not to exceed P2,000 pesos, if the counterfeited coins be any of the
minor coinage of the Philippines or of the Central Bank of the
Philippines below ten-centavo denomination.
3. Prision correccional in its minimum period and a fine not to
exceed P1,000 pesos, if the counterfeited coin be currency of a foreign
country. (As amended by R.A. No. 4202, approved June 19, 1965).
Article 164. Mutilation of coins; Importation and utterance of mutilated coins. -
The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum period and a fine not to
exceed P2,000 pesos shall be imposed upon any person who shall mutilate coins
of the legal currency of the United States or of the Philippine Islands or import
or utter mutilated current coins, or in connivance with mutilators or importers.
Article 165. Selling of false or mutilated coin, without connivance. - The person
who knowingly, although without the connivance mentioned in the preceding
articles, shall possess false or mutilated coin with intent to utter the same, or
shall actually utter such coin, shall suffer a penalty lower by one degree than
that prescribed in said articles.
Section Three. - Forging treasury or bank notes, obligations and securities;
importing and uttering false or forged notes, obligations and securities.
Article 166. Forging treasury or bank notes on other documents payable to
bearer; importing, and uttering such false or forged notes and documents. - The
forging or falsification of treasury or bank notes or certificates or other
obligations and securities payable to bearer and the importation and uttering in
connivance with forgers or importers of such false or forged obligations or
notes, shall be punished as follows:
1. By reclusion temporal in its minimum period and a fine not to
exceed P10,000 pesos, if the document which has been falsified,
counterfeited, or altered, is an obligations or security of the United
States or of the Philippines Islands.
The word "obligation or security of the United States or of the
Philippine Islands" shall be held to mean all bonds, certificates of
indebtedness, national bank notes, fractional notes, certificates of
deposit, bills, checks, or drafts for money, drawn by or upon authorized
officers of the United States or of the Philippine Islands, and other
representatives of value, of whatever denomination, which have been or
may be issued under any act of the Congress of the United States or of
the Philippine Legislature.
2. By prision mayor in its maximum period and a fine not to
exceed P5,000 pesos, if the falsified or altered document is a circulating
note issued by any banking association duly authorized by law to issue
the same.
3. By prision mayor in its medium period and a fine not to
exceed P5,000 pesos, if the falsified or counterfeited document was
issued by a foreign government.
4. By prision mayor in its minimum period and a fine not to
exceed P2,000 pesos, when the forged or altered document is a
circulating note or bill issued by a foreign bank duly authorized therefor.
Article 167. Counterfeiting, importing and uttering instruments not payable to
bearer. - Any person who shall forge, import or utter, in connivance with the
forgers or importers, any instrument payable to order or other document of
credit not payable to bearer, shall suffer the penalties of prision correccional in
its medium and maximum periods and a fine not exceeding P6,000 pesos.
Article 168. Illegal possession and use of false treasury or bank notes and other
instruments of credit. - Unless the act be one of those coming under the
provisions of any of the preceding articles, any person who shall knowingly use
or have in his possession, with intent to use any of the false or falsified
instruments referred to in this section, shall suffer the penalty next lower in
degree than that prescribed in said articles.
Article 169. How forgery is committed. - The forgery referred to in this section
may be committed by any of the following means:
1. By giving to a treasury or bank note or any instrument, payable to
bearer or order mentioned therein, the appearance of a true genuine
document.
2. By erasing, substituting, counterfeiting or altering by any means the
figures, letters, words or signs contained therein.
Section Four. - Falsification of legislative, public, commercial, and
privatedocuments, and wireless, telegraph, and telephone message.
Article 170. Falsification of legislative documents. - The penalty of prision
correccional in its maximum period and a fine not exceeding P6,000 pesos shall
be imposed upon any person who, without proper authority therefor alters any
bill, resolution, or ordinance enacted or approved or pending approval by either
House of the Legislature or any provincial board or municipal council.
Article 171. Falsification by public officer, employee or notary or ecclesiastic
minister. - The penalty of prision mayor and a fine not to exceed P5,000 pesos
shall be imposed upon any public officer, employee, or notary who, taking
advantage of his official position, shall falsify a document by committing any of
the following acts:
1. Counterfeiting or imitating any handwriting, signature or rubric;
2. Causing it to appear that persons have participated in any act or
proceeding when they did not in fact so participate;
3. Attributing to persons who have participated in an act or proceeding
statements other than those in fact made by them;
4. Making untruthful statements in a narration of facts;
5. Altering true dates;
6. Making any alteration or intercalation in a genuine document which
changes its meaning;
7. Issuing in an authenticated form a document purporting to be a copy
of an original document when no such original exists, or including in
such a copy a statement contrary to, or different from, that of the
genuine original; or
8. Intercalating any instrument or note relative to the issuance thereof in
a protocol, registry, or official book.
The same penalty shall be imposed upon any ecclesiastical minister who shall
commit any of the offenses enumerated in the preceding paragraphs of this
article, with respect to any record or document of such character that its
falsification may affect the civil status of persons.
Article 172. Falsification by private individual and use of falsified documents. -
The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods and a
fine of not more than P5,000 pesos shall be imposed upon:
1. Any private individual who shall commit any of the falsifications
enumerated in the next preceding article in any public or official
document or letter of exchange or any other kind of commercial
document; and
2. Any person who, to the damage of a third party, or with the intent to
cause such damage, shall in any private document commit any of the
acts of falsification enumerated in the next preceding article.
Any person who shall knowingly introduce in evidence in any judicial
proceeding or to the damage of another or who, with the intent to cause such
damage, shall use any of the false documents embraced in the next preceding
article, or in any of the foregoing subdivisions of this article, shall be punished
by the penalty next lower in degree.
Article 173. Falsification of wireless, cable, telegraph and telephone messages,
and use of said falsified messages. - The penalty of prision correccional in its
medium and maximum periods shall be imposed upon officer or employee of the
Government or of any private corporation or concern engaged in the service of
sending or receiving wireless, cable or telephone message who utters a fictitious
wireless, telegraph or telephone message of any system or falsifies the same.
Any person who shall use such falsified dispatch to the prejudice of a third party
or with the intent of cause such prejudice, shall suffer the penalty next lower in
degree.
Section Five. - Falsification of medical certificates, certificates of merit or
services and the like.
Article 174. False medical certificates, false certificates of merits or service,
etc. - The penalties of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision
correccional in its minimum period and a fine not to exceed P1,000 pesos shall
be imposed upon:
1. Any physician or surgeon who, in connection, with the practice of his
profession, shall issue a false certificate; and
2. Any public officer who shall issue a false certificate of merit of
service, good conduct or similar circumstances.
The penalty of arresto mayor shall be imposed upon any private person who
shall falsify a certificate falling within the classes mentioned in the two
preceding subdivisions.
Article 175. Using false certificates. - The penalty of arresto menor shall be
imposed upon any one who shall knowingly use any of the false certificates
mentioned in the next preceding article.
Section Six. - Manufacturing, importing and possession of instruments or
implements intended for the commission of falsification.
Article 176. Manufacturing and possession of instruments or implements for
falsification. - The penalty of prison correctional in its medium and maximum
periods and a fine not to exceed P10,000 pesos shall be imposed upon any
person who shall make or introduce into the Philippine Islands any stamps, dies,
marks, or other instruments or implements intended to be used in the
commission of the offenses of counterfeiting or falsification mentioned in the
preceding sections of this Chapter. Any person who, with the intention of using
them, shall have in his possession any of the instruments or implements
mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, shall suffer the penalty next lower in
degree than that provided therein.
Chapter Two
OTHER FALSITIES
Section One. - Usurpation of authority, rank, title, and improper use of names,
uniforms and insignia.
Article 177. Usurpation of authority or official functions. - Any person who
shall knowingly and falsely represent himself to be an officer, agent or
representative of any department or agency of the Philippine Government or of
any foreign government, or who, under pretense of official position, shall
perform any act pertaining to any person in authority or public officer of the
Philippine Government or any foreign government, or any agency thereof,
without being lawfully entitled to do so, shall suffer the penalty of prision
correccional in its minimum and medium periods.
Article 178. Using fictitious name and concealing true name. - The penalty
of arresto mayor and a fine not to exceed 500 pesos shall be imposed upon any
person who shall publicly use a fictitious name for the purpose of concealing a
crime, evading the execution of a judgment or causing damage.
Any person who conceals his true name and other personal circumstances shall
be punished by arresto menor or a fine not to exceed 200 pesos.
Article 179. Illegal use of uniforms or insignia. - The penalty of arresto
mayor shall be imposed upon any person who shall publicly and improperly
make use of insignia, uniforms or dress pertaining to an office not held by such
person or to a class of persons of which he is not a member.
Section Two. - False testimony
Article 180. False testimony against a defendant. - Any person who shall give
false testimony against the defendant in any criminal case shall suffer:
1. The penalty of reclusion temporal, if the defendant in said case shall
have been sentenced to death;
2. The penalty of prision mayor, if the defendant shall have been
sentenced to reclusion temporal or reclusion perpetua;
3. The penalty of prision correccional, if the defendant shall have been
sentenced to any other afflictive penalty; and
4. The penalty of arresto mayor, if the defendant shall have been
sentenced to a correctional penalty or a fine, or shall have been
acquitted.
In cases provided in subdivisions 3 and 4 of this article the offender shall further
suffer a fine not to exceed 1,000 pesos.
Article 181. False testimony favorable to the defendants. - Any person who
shall give false testimony in favor of the defendant in a criminal case, shall
suffer the penalties of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision
correccional in its minimum period a fine not to exceed 1,000 pesos, if the
prosecution is for a felony punishable by an afflictive penalty, and the penalty
of arresto mayor in any other case.
Article 182. False testimony in civil cases. - Any person found guilty of false
testimony in a civil case shall suffer the penalty of prision correccional in its
minimum period and a fine not to exceed 6,000 pesos, if the amount in
controversy shall exceed 5,000 pesos, and the penalty of arresto mayor in its
maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period and a fine not to
exceed 1,000 pesos, if the amount in controversy shall not exceed said amount
or cannot be estimated.
Article 183. False testimony in other cases and perjury in solemn affirmation. -
The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in
its minimum period shall be imposed upon any person, who knowingly makes
untruthful statements and not being included in the provisions of the next
preceding articles, shall testify under oath, or make an affidavit, upon any
material matter before a competent person authorized to administer an oath in
cases in which the law so requires.
Any person who, in case of a solemn affirmation made in lieu of an oath, shall
commit any of the falsehoods mentioned in this and the three preceding articles
of this section, shall suffer the respective penalties provided therein.
Article 184. Offering false testimony in evidence. - Any person who shall
knowingly offer in evidence a false witness or testimony in any judicial or
official proceeding, shall be punished as guilty of false testimony and shall
suffer the respective penalties provided in this section.
Chapter Three
FRAUDS
Section One. - Machinations, monopolies and combinations
Article 185. Machinations in public auctions. - Any person who shall solicit any
gift or promise as a consideration for refraining from taking part in any public
auction, and any person who shall attempt to cause bidders to stay away from an
auction by threats, gifts, promises, or any other artifice, with intent to cause the
reduction of the price of the thing auctioned, shall suffer the penalty of prision
correccional in its minimum period and a fine ranging from 10 to 50 per centum
of the value of the thing auctioned.
Article 186. Monopolies and combinations in restraint of trade. - The penalty of
prision correccional in its minimum period or a fine ranging from 200 to 6,000
pesos, or both, shall be imposed upon:
1. Any person who shall enter into any contract or agreement or shall
take part in any conspiracy or combination in the form of a trust or
otherwise, in restraint of trade or commerce or to prevent by artificial
means free competition in the market;
2. Any person who shall monopolize any merchandise or object of trade
or commerce, or shall combine with any other person or persons to
monopolize and merchandise or object in order to alter the price thereof
by spreading false rumors or making use of any other article to restrain
free competition in the market;
3. Any person who, being a manufacturer, producer, or processor of any
merchandise or object of commerce or an importer of any merchandise
or object of commerce from any foreign country, either as principal or
agent, wholesaler or retailer, shall combine, conspire or agree in any
manner with any person likewise engaged in the manufacture,
production, processing, assembling or importation of such merchandise
or object of commerce or with any other persons not so similarly
engaged for the purpose of making transactions prejudicial to lawful
commerce, or of increasing the market price in any part of the
Philippines, of any such merchandise or object of commerce
manufactured, produced, processed, assembled in or imported into the
Philippines, or of any article in the manufacture of which such
manufactured, produced, or imported merchandise or object of
commerce is used.
If the offense mentioned in this article affects any food substance, motor fuel or
lubricants, or other articles of prime necessity, the penalty shall be that of
prision mayor in its maximum and medium periods it being sufficient for the
imposition thereof that the initial steps have been taken toward carrying out the
purposes of the combination.
Any property possessed under any contract or by any combination mentioned in
the preceding paragraphs, and being the subject thereof, shall be forfeited to the
Government of the Philippines.
Whenever any of the offenses described above is committed by a corporation or
association, the president and each one of its agents or representatives in the
Philippines in case of a foreign corporation or association, who shall have
knowingly permitted or failed to prevent the commission of such offense, shall
be held liable as principals thereof.
Section Two. - Frauds in commerce and industry
Article 187. Importation and disposition of falsely marked articles or
merchandise made of gold, silver, or other precious metals or their alloys. - The
penalty of prision correccional or a fine ranging from 200 to 1,000 pesos, or
both, shall be imposed on any person who shall knowingly import or sell or
dispose of any article or merchandise made of gold, silver, or other precious
metals, or their alloys, with stamps, brands, or marks which fail to indicate the
actual fineness or quality of said metals or alloys.
Any stamp, brand, label, or mark shall be deemed to fail to indicate the actual
fineness of the article on which it is engraved, printed, stamped, labeled or
attached, when the rest of the article shows that the quality or fineness thereof is
less by more than one-half karat, if made of gold, and less by more than four
one-thousandth, if made of silver, than what is shown by said stamp, brand,
label or mark. But in case of watch cases and flatware made of gold, the actual
fineness of such gold shall not be less by more than three one-thousandth than
the fineness indicated by said stamp, brand, label, or mark.
Article 188. Subsisting and altering trade-mark, trade-names, or service
marks. - The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum period or a fine
ranging from 50 to 2,000 pesos, or both, shall be imposed upon:
1. Any person who shall substitute the trade name or trade-mark of
some other manufacturer or dealer or a colorable imitation thereof, for
the trademark of the real manufacturer or dealer upon any article of
commerce and shall sell the same;
2. Any person who shall sell such articles of commerce or offer the
same for sale, knowing that the trade-name or trade- mark has been
fraudulently used in such goods as described in the preceding
subdivision;
3. Any person who, in the sale or advertising of his services, shall use or
substitute the service mark of some other person, or a colorable
imitation of such mark; or
4. Any person who, knowing the purpose for which the trade-name,
trade-mark, or service mark of a person is to be used, prints, lithographs,
or in any way reproduces such trade-name, trade-mark, or service mark,
or a colorable imitation thereof, for another person, to enable that other
person to fraudulently use such trade-name, trade-mark, or service mark
on his own goods or in connection with the sale or advertising of his
services.
A trade-name or trade-mark as herein used is a word or words, name, title,
symbol, emblem, sign or device, or any combination thereof used as an
advertisement, sign, label, poster, or otherwise, for the purpose of enabling the
public to distinguish the business of the person who owns and uses said trade-
name or trade-mark.
A service mark as herein used is a mark used in the sale or advertising of
services to identify the services of one person and distinguish them from the
services of others and includes without limitation the marks, names, symbols,
titles, designations, slogans, character names, and distinctive features of radio or
other advertising.
Article 189. Unfair competition, fraudulent registration of trade-mark, trade-
name or service mark, fraudulent designation of origin, and false description. -
The penalty provided in the next proceeding article shall be imposed upon:
1. Any person who, in unfair competition and for the purposes of
deceiving or defrauding another of his legitimate trade or the public in
general, shall sell his goods giving them the general appearance of
goods of another manufacturer or dealer, either as to the goods
themselves, or in the wrapping of the packages in which they are
contained or the device or words thereon or in any other features of their
appearance which would be likely to induce the public to believe that
the goods offered are those of a manufacturer or dealer other than the
actual manufacturer or dealer or shall give other persons a chance or
opportunity to do the same with a like purpose.
2. Any person who shall affix, apply, annex or use in connection with
any goods or services or any container or containers for goods a false
designation of origin or any false description or representation and shall
sell such goods or services.
3. Any person who by means of false or fraudulent representation or
declarations orally or in writing or by other fraudulent means shall
procure from the patent office or from any other office which may
hereafter be established by law for the purposes the registration of a
trade-name, trade-mark or service mark or of himself as the owner of
such trade-name, trade-mark or service mark or an entry respecting a
trade-name, trade-mark or service mark.
Title Five
CRIMES RELATIVE TO OPIUM AND OTHER PROHIBITED DRUGS
Article 190. Possession, preparation and use of prohibited drugs and
maintenance of opium dens. - The penalty of arresto mayor in its medium period
to prision correccional in its minimum period and a fine ranging from 300 to
1,000 pesos shall be imposed upon:
1. Anyone who unless lawfully authorized shall possess, prepare,
administer, or otherwise use any prohibited drug.
"Prohibited drug," as used herein includes opium, cocaine, alpha and
beta eucaine,
Indian hemp, their derivatives, and all preparations made from them or
any of them, and such other drugs, whether natural or synthetic, having
physiological action as a narcotic drug.
"Opium" embraces every kind, class, and character of opium, whether
crude or prepared; the ashes on refuse of the same; narcotic preparations
thereof or therefrom; morphine or any alkaloid of opium, preparation in
which opium, morphine or any kind of opium, enter as an ingredient,
and also opium leaves or wrappings of opium leaves, whether prepared
or not for their use.
"Indian hemp" otherwise known as marijuana, cannabis, Americana,
hashish, bhang, guaza, churruz, and ganjah embraces every kind, class
and character of Indian hemp, whether dried or fresh, flowering or
fruiting tops of the pistillate plant cannabis satival, from which the resin
has not been extracted, including all other geographic varieties whether
used as reefers, resin, extract, tincture or in any other form whatsoever.
By narcotic drug is meant a drug that produces a condition of
insensibility and melancholy dullness of mind with delusions and may
be habit-forming.
2. Anyone who shall maintain a dive or resort where any prohibited
drug is used in any form, in violation of the law.
Article 191. Keeper, watchman and visitor of opium den. - The penalty
of arresto mayor and a fine ranging from 100 to 300 pesos shall be imposed
upon:
1. Anyone who shall act as a keeper or watchman of a dive or resort
where any prohibited drug is used in any manner contrary to law; and
2. Any person who, not being included in the provisions of the next
preceding article, shall knowingly visit any dive or resort of the
character referred to above.
Article 192. Importation and sale of prohibited drugs. - The penalty of prision
correccional in its medium and maximum periods and a fine ranging from 300 to
10,000 pesos shall be imposed upon any person who shall import or bring into
the Philippine Islands any prohibited drug.
The same penalty shall be imposed upon any person who shall unlawfully sell or
deliver to another prohibited drug.
Article 193. Illegal possession of opium pipe or other paraphernalia for the use
of any prohibited drug. - The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding
500 pesos shall be imposed upon any person who, not being authorized by law,
shall possess any opium pipe or other paraphernalia for smoking, injecting,
administering or using opium or any prohibited drug.
The illegal possession of an opium pipe or other paraphernalia for using any
other prohibited drug shall be prima facie evidence that its possessor has used
said drug.
Article 194. Prescribing opium unnecessary for a patient. - The penalty of
prision correccional or a fine ranging from 300 to 10,000 pesos, or both shall be
imposed upon any physician or dentist who shall prescribe opium for any person
whose physical condition does not require the use of the same.
Title Six
CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC MORALS
Chapter One
GAMBLING AND BETTING
Article 195. What acts are punishable in gambling. - (a) The penalty of arresto
mayor or a fine not exceeding two hundred pesos, and, in case of recidivism, the
penalty of arresto mayor or a fine ranging from two hundred or six thousand
pesos, shall be imposed upon:
1. Any person other than those referred to in subsections (b) and (c)
who, in any manner shall directly, or indirectly take part in any game of
monte, jueteng or any other form of lottery, policy, banking, or
percentage game, dog races, or any other game of scheme the result of
 which depends wholly or chiefly upon chance or hazard; or wherein
wagers consisting of money, articles of value or representative of value
are made; or in the exploitation or use of any other mechanical invention
or contrivance to determine by chance the loser or winner of money or
any object or representative of value.
2. Any person who shall knowingly permit any form of gambling
referred to in the preceding subdivision to be carried on in any
unhabited or uninhabited place of any building, vessel or other means of
transportation owned or controlled by him. If the place where gambling
is carried on has the reputation of a gambling place or that prohibited
gambling is frequently carried on therein, the culprit shall be punished
by the penalty provided for in this article in its maximum period.
(b) The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum degree shall be imposed
upon the maintainer, conductor, or banker in a game of jueteng or any similar
game.
(c) The penalty of prision correccional in its medium degree shall be imposed
upon any person who shall, knowingly and without lawful purpose, have in his
possession and lottery list, paper or other matter containing letters, figures, signs
or symbols which pertain to or are in any manner used in the game of jueteng or
any similar game which has taken place or about to take place.
Article 196. Importation, sale and possession of lottery tickets or
advertisements. - The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision
correccional in its minimum period or a fine ranging from 200 to 2,000 pesos, or
both, in the discretion of the court, shall be imposed upon any person who shall
import into the Philippine Islands from any foreign place or port any lottery
ticket or advertisement or, in connivance with the importer, shall sell or
distribute the same.
Any person who shall knowingly and with intent to use them, have in his
possession lottery tickets or advertisements, or shall sell or distribute the same
without connivance with the importer of the same, shall be punished by arresto
menor, or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos, or both, in the discretion of the court.
The possession of any lottery ticket or advertisement shall be prima facie
evidence of an intent to sell, distribute or use the same in the Philippine Islands.
Article 197. Betting in sports contests. - The penalty of arresto menor or a fine
not exceeding 200 pesos, or both, shall be imposed upon any person who shall
bet money or any object or article of value or representative of value upon the
result of any boxing or other sports contests.
Article 198. Illegal betting on horse race. - The penalty of arresto menor or a
fine not exceeding 200 pesos, or both, shall be imposed upon any person who
except during the period allowed by law, shall be on horse races. The penalty
of arresto mayor or a fine ranging from 200 to 2,000 pesos, or both, shall be
imposed upon any person who, under the same circumstances, shall maintain or
employ a totalizer or other device or scheme for betting on horse races or
realizing any profit therefrom.
For the purposes of this article, any race held in the same day at the same place
shall be held punishable as a separate offense, and if the same be committed by
any partnership, corporation or association, the president and the directors or
managers thereof shall be deemed to be principals in the offense if they have
consented to or knowingly tolerated its commission.
Article 199. Illegal cockfighting. - The penalty of arresto menor or a fine not
exceeding 200 pesos, or both, in the discretion of the court, shall be imposed
upon:
1. Any person who directly or indirectly participates in cockfights, by
betting money or other valuable things, or who organizes cockfights at
which bets are made, on a day other than those permitted by law.
2. Any person who directly or indirectly participates in cockfights, at a
place other than a licensed cockpit.
Chapter Two
OFFENSES AGAINST DECENCY AND GOOD CUSTOMS
Article 200. Grave scandal. - The penalties of arresto mayor and public censure
shall be imposed upon any person who shall offend against decency or good
customs by any highly scandalous conduct not expressly falling within any other
article of this Code.
Article 201. Immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibitions and
indecent shows. - The penalty of prision mayor or a fine ranging from six
thousand to twelve thousand pesos, or both such imprisonment and fine, shall be
imposed upon:
(1) Those who shall publicly expound or proclaim doctrines openly
contrary to public morals;
(2) (a) the authors of obscene literature, published with their knowledge
in any form; the editors publishing such literature; and the
owners/operators of the establishment selling the same;
 (b) Those who, in theaters, fairs, cinematographs or any other
place, exhibit, indecent or immoral plays, scenes, acts or shows,
whether live or in film, which are prescribed by virtue hereof,
shall include those which (1) glorify criminals or condone
crimes; (2) serve no other purpose but to satisfy the market for
violence, lust or pornography; (3) offend any race or religion;
(4) tend to abet traffic in and use of prohibited drugs; and (5)
are contrary to law, public order, morals, and good customs,
established policies, lawful orders, decrees and edicts;
(3) Those who shall sell, give away or exhibit films, prints, engravings,
sculpture or literature which are offensive to morals. (As amended by
PD Nos. 960 and 969).
Article 202. Vagrants and prostitutes; Penalty. - The following are vagrants:
1. Any person having no apparent means of subsistence, who has the
physical ability to work and who neglects to apply himself or herself to
some lawful calling;
2. Any person found loitering about public or semi-public buildings or
places or trampling or wandering about the country or the streets
without visible means of support;
3. Any idle or dissolute person who ledges in houses of ill fame; ruffians
or pimps and those who habitually associate with prostitutes;
4. Any person who, not being included in the provisions of other articles
of this Code, shall be found loitering in any inhabited or uninhabited
place belonging to another without any lawful or justifiable purpose;
5. Prostitutes.
For the purposes of this article, women who, for money or profit, habitually
indulge in sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct, are deemed to be prostitutes.
Any person found guilty of any of the offenses covered by this articles shall be
punished by arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos, and in case of
recidivism, by arresto mayor in its medium period to prision correccional in its
minimum period or a fine ranging from 200 to 2,000 pesos, or both, in the
discretion of the court.
Title Seven
CRIMES COMMITTED BY PUBLIC OFFICERS
Chapter One
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
Article 203. Who are public officers. - For the purpose of applying the
provisions of this and the preceding titles of this book, any person who, by direct
provision of the law, popular election or appointment by competent authority,
shall take part in the performance of public functions in the Government of the
Philippine Islands, of shall perform in said Government or in any of its branches
public duties as an employee, agent or subordinate official, of any rank or class,
shall be deemed to be a public officer.
Chapter Two
MALFEASANCE AND MISFEASANCE IN OFFICE
Section One. - Dereliction of duty
Article 204. Knowingly rendering unjust judgment. - Any judge who shall
knowingly render an unjust judgment in any case submitted to him for decision,
shall be punished by prision mayor and perpetual absolute disqualification.
Article 205. Judgment rendered through negligence. - Any judge who, by
reason of inexcusable negligence or ignorance shall render a manifestly unjust
judgment in any case submitted to him for decision shall be punished by arresto
mayor and temporary special disqualification.
Article 206. Unjust interlocutory order. - Any judge who shall knowingly
render an unjust interlocutory order or decree shall suffer the penalty of arresto
mayor in its minimum period and suspension; but if he shall have acted by
reason of inexcusable negligence or ignorance and the interlocutory order or
decree be manifestly unjust, the penalty shall be suspension.
Article 207. Malicious delay in the administration of justice. - The penalty of
prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon any judge
guilty of malicious delay in the administration of justice.
Article 208. Prosecution of offenses; negligence and tolerance. - The penalty of
prision correccional in its minimum period and suspension shall be imposed
upon any public officer, or officer of the law, who, in dereliction of the duties of
his office, shall maliciously refrain from instituting prosecution for the
punishment of violators of the law, or shall tolerate the commission of offenses.
Article 209. Betrayal of trust by an attorney or solicitor. - Revelation of secrets.
- In addition to the proper administrative action, the penalty of prision
correccional in its minimum period, or a fine ranging from 200 to 1,000 pesos,
or both, shall be imposed upon any attorney-at-law or solicitor ( procurador
judicial) who, by any malicious breach of professional duty or of inexcusable
negligence or ignorance, shall prejudice his client, or reveal any of the secrets of
the latter learned by him in his professional capacity.
The same penalty shall be imposed upon an attorney-at-law or solicitor
(procurador judicial) who, having undertaken the defense of a client or having
received confidential information from said client in a case, shall undertake the
defense of the opposing party in the same case, without the consent of his first
client.
Section Two. - Bribery
Article 210. Direct bribery. - Any public officer who shall agree to perform an
act constituting a crime, in connection with the performance of this official
duties, in consideration of any offer, promise, gift or present received by such
officer, personally or through the mediation of another, shall suffer the penalty
of prision mayor in its medium and maximum periods and a fine of not less than
the value of the gift and] not less than three times the value of the gift in
addition to the penalty corresponding to the crime agreed upon, if the same shall
have been committed.
If the gift was accepted by the officer in consideration of the execution of an act
which does not constitute a crime, and the officer executed said act, he shall
suffer the same penalty provided in the preceding paragraph; and if said act shall
not have been accomplished, the officer shall suffer the penalties of prision
correccional, in its medium period and a fine of not less than twice the value of
such gift.
If the object for which the gift was received or promised was to make the public
officer refrain from doing something which it was his official duty to do, he
shall suffer the penalties of prision correccional in its maximum period and a
fine of not less than the value of the gift and not less than three times the value
of such gift.
In addition to the penalties provided in the preceding paragraphs, the culprit
shall suffer the penalty of special temporary disqualification.
The provisions contained in the preceding paragraphs shall be made applicable
to assessors, arbitrators, appraisal and claim commissioners, experts or any other
persons performing public duties. (As amended by Batas Pambansa Blg. 871,
approved May 29, 1985).
Article 211. Indirect bribery. - The penalties of prision correccional in its
medium and maximum periods, and public censure shall be imposed upon any
public officer who shall accept gifts offered to him by reason of his office. (As
amended by Batas Pambansa Blg. 871, approved May 29, 1985).
Article 211-A. Qualified bribery. - If any public officer is entrusted with law
enforcement and he refrains from arresting or prosecuting an offender who has
committed a crime punishable by reclusion perpetua and/or death in
consideration of any offer, promise, gift or present, he shall suffer the penalty
for the offense which was not prosecuted.
If it is the public officer who asks or demands such gift or present, he shall
suffer the penalty of death. (As added by Sec. 4, RA No. 7659).
Article 212. Corruption of public officials. - The same penalties imposed upon
the officer corrupted, except those of disqualification and suspension, shall be
imposed upon any person who shall have made the offers or promises or given
the gifts or presents as described in the preceding articles.
Chapter Three
FRAUDS AND ILLEGAL EXACTIONS AND TRANSACTIONS
Article 213. Frauds against the public treasury and similar offenses. - The
penalty of prision correccional in its medium period to prision mayor in its
minimum period, or a fine ranging from 200 to 10,000 pesos, or both, shall be
imposed upon any public officer who:
1. In his official capacity, in dealing with any person with regard to
furnishing supplies, the making of contracts, or the adjustment or
settlement of accounts relating to public property or funds, shall enter
into an agreement with any interested party or speculator or make use of
any other scheme, to defraud the Government;
2. Being entrusted with the collection of taxes, licenses, fees and other
imposts, shall be guilty or any of the following acts or omissions:
(a) Demanding, directly, or indirectly, the payment of sums
different from or larger than those authorized by law.
 (b) Failing voluntarily to issue a receipt, as provided by law, for
any sum of money collected by him officially.
(c) Collecting or receiving, directly or indirectly, by way of
payment or otherwise things or objects of a nature different
from that provided by law.
When the culprit is an officer or employee of the Bureau of Internal Revenue or
the Bureau of Customs, the provisions of the Administrative Code shall be
applied.
Article 214. Other frauds. - In addition to the penalties prescribed in the
provisions of Chapter Six, Title Ten, Book Two, of this Code, the penalty of
temporary special disqualification in its maximum period to perpetual special
disqualification shall be imposed upon any public officer who, taking advantage
of his official position, shall commit any of the frauds or deceits enumerated in
said provisions.
Article 215. Prohibited transactions. - The penalty of prision correccional in its
maximum period or a fine ranging from 200 to 1,000 pesos, or both, shall be
imposed upon any appointive public officer who, during his incumbency, shall
directly or indirectly become interested in any transaction of exchange or
speculation within the territory subject to his jurisdiction.
Article 216. Possession of prohibited interest by a public officer. - The penalty
of arresto mayor in its medium period to prision correccional in its minimum
period, or a fine ranging from 200 to 1,000 pesos, or both, shall be imposed
upon a public officer who directly or indirectly, shall become interested in any
contract or business in which it is his official duty to intervene.
This provisions is applicable to experts, arbitrators and private accountants who,
in like manner, shall take part in any contract or transaction connected with the
estate or property in appraisal, distribution or adjudication of which they shall
have acted, and to the guardians and executors with respect to the property
belonging to their wards or estate.
Chapter Four
MALVERSATION OF PUBLIC FUNDS OR PROPERTY
Article 217. Malversation of public funds or property; Presumption of
malversation. - Any public officer who, by reason of the duties of his office, is
accountable for public funds or property, shall appropriate the same or shall take
or misappropriate or shall consent, through abandonment or negligence, shall
permit any other person to take such public funds, or property, wholly or
partially, or shall otherwise be guilty of the misappropriation or malversation of
such funds or property, shall suffer:
1. The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum
periods, if the amount involved in the misappropriation or malversation
does not exceed two hundred pesos.
2. The penalty of prision mayor in its minimum and medium periods, if
the amount involved is more than two hundred pesos but does not
exceed six thousand pesos.
3. The penalty of prision mayor in its maximum period to reclusion
temporal in its minimum period, if the amount involved is more than six
thousand pesos but is less than twelve thousand pesos.
4. The penalty of reclusion temporal, in its medium and maximum
periods, if the amount involved is more than twelve thousand pesos but
is less than twenty-two thousand pesos. If the amount exceeds the latter,
the penalty shall be reclusion temporal in its maximum period to
reclusion perpetua.
In all cases, persons guilty of malversation shall also suffer the penalty of
perpetual special disqualification and a fine equal to the amount of the funds
malversed or equal to the total value of the property embezzled.
The failure of a public officer to have duly forthcoming any public funds or
property with which he is chargeable, upon demand by any duly authorized
officer, shall be prima facie evidence that he has put such missing funds or
property to personal use. (As amended by RA 1060).
Article 218. Failure of accountable officer to render accounts. - Any public
officer, whether in the service or separated therefrom by resignation or any other
cause, who is required by law or regulation to render account to the Insular
Auditor, or to a provincial auditor and who fails to do so for a period of two
months after such accounts should be rendered, shall be punished by prision
correccional in its minimum period, or by a fine ranging from 200 to 6,000
pesos, or both.
Article 219. Failure of a responsible public officer to render accounts before
leaving the country. - Any public officer who unlawfully leaves or attempts to
leave the Philippine Islands without securing a certificate from the Insular
Auditor showing that his accounts have been finally settled, shall be punished
by arresto mayor, or a fine ranging from 200 to 1,000 pesos or both.
Article 220. Illegal use of public funds or property. - Any public officer who
shall apply any public fund or property under his administration to any public
use other than for which such fund or property were appropriated by law or
ordinance shall suffer the penalty of prision correccional in its minimum period
or a fine ranging from one-half to the total of the sum misapplied, if by reason of
such misapplication, any damages or embarrassment shall have resulted to the
public service. In either case, the offender shall also suffer the penalty of
temporary special disqualification.
If no damage or embarrassment to the public service has resulted, the penalty
shall be a fine from 5 to 50 per cent of the sum misapplied.
Article 221. Failure to make delivery of public funds or property. - Any public
officer under obligation to make payment from Government funds in his
possession, who shall fail to make such payment, shall be punished by arresto
mayor and a fine from 5 to 25 per cent of the sum which he failed to pay.
This provision shall apply to any public officer who, being ordered by
competent authority to deliver any property in his custody or under his
administration, shall refuse to make such delivery.
The fine shall be graduated in such case by the value of the thing, provided that
it shall not less than 50 pesos.
Article 222. Officers included in the preceding provisions. - The provisions of
this chapter shall apply to private individuals who in any capacity whatever,
have charge of any insular, provincial or municipal funds, revenues, or property
and to any administrator or depository of funds or property attached, seized or
deposited by public authority, even if such property belongs to a private
individual.
Chapter Five
INFIDELITY OF PUBLIC OFFICERS
Section One. - Infidelity in the custody of prisoners
Article 223. Conniving with or consenting to evasion. - Any public officer who
shall consent to the escape of a prisoner in his custody or charge, shall be
punished:
1. By prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods and
temporary special disqualification in its maximum period to perpetual
special disqualification, if the fugitive shall have been sentenced by
final judgment to any penalty.
2. By prision correccional in its minimum period and temporary special
disqualification, in case the fugitive shall not have been finally
convicted but only held as a detention prisoner for any crime or
violation of law or municipal ordinance.
Article 224. Evasion through negligence. - If the evasion of the prisoner shall
have taken place through the negligence of the officer charged with the
conveyance or custody of the escaping prisoner, said officer shall suffer the
penalties of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its
minimum period and temporary special disqualification.
Article 225. Escape of prisoner under the custody of a person not a public
officer. - Any private person to whom the conveyance or custody or a prisoner
or person under arrest shall have been confided, who shall commit any of the
offenses mentioned in the two preceding articles, shall suffer the penalty next
lower in degree than that prescribed for the public officer.
Section Two. - Infidelity in the custody of document
Article 226. Removal, concealment or destruction of documents. - Any public
officer who shall remove, destroy or conceal documents or papers officially
entrusted to him, shall suffer:
1. The penalty of prision mayor and a fine not exceeding 1,000 pesos,
whenever serious damage shall have been caused thereby to a third
party or to the public interest.
2. The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium
period and a fine not exceeding 1,000 pesos, whenever the damage to a
third party or to the public interest shall not have been serious.
In either case, the additional penalty of temporary special disqualification in its
maximum period to perpetual disqualification shall be imposed.
Article 227. Officer breaking seal. - Any public officer charged with the
custody of papers or property sealed by proper authority, who shall break the
seals or permit them to be broken, shall suffer the penalties of prision
correccional in its minimum and medium periods, temporary special
disqualification and a fine not exceeding 2,000 pesos.
Article 228. Opening of closed documents. - Any public officer not included in
the provisions of the next preceding article who, without proper authority, shall
open or shall permit to be opened any closed papers, documents or objects
entrusted to his custody, shall suffer the penalties or arresto mayor, temporary
special disqualification and a fine of not exceeding 2,000 pesos.
Section Three. - Revelation of secrets
Article 229. Revelation of secrets by an officer. - Any public officer who shall
reveal any secret known to him by reason of his official capacity, or shall
wrongfully deliver papers or copies of papers of which he may have charge and
which should not be published, shall suffer the penalties of prision correccional
in its medium and maximum periods, perpetual special disqualification and a
fine not exceeding 2,000 pesos if the revelation of such secrets or the delivery of
such papers shall have caused serious damage to the public interest; otherwise,
the penalties of prision correccional in its minimum period, temporary special
disqualification and a fine not exceeding 50 pesos shall be imposed.
Article 230. Public officer revealing secrets of private individual. - Any public
officer to whom the secrets of any private individual shall become known by
reason of his office who shall reveal such secrets, shall suffer the penalties
of arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding 1,000 pesos.
Chapter Six
OTHER OFFENSES OR IRREGULARITIES BY PUBLIC OFFICERS
Article 231. Open disobedience. - Any judicial or executive officer who shall
openly refuse to execute the judgment, decision or order of any superior
authority made within the scope of the jurisdiction of the latter and issued with
all the legal formalities, shall suffer the penalties of arresto mayor in its medium
period to prision correccional in its minimum period, temporary special
disqualification in its maximum period and a fine not exceeding 1,000 pesos.
Article 232. Disobedience to order of superior officers, when said order was
suspended by inferior officer. - Any public officer who, having for any reason
suspended the execution of the orders of his superiors, shall disobey such
superiors after the latter have disapproved the suspension, shall suffer the
penalties of prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods and
perpetual special disqualification.
Article 233. Refusal of assistance. - The penalties of arresto mayor in its
medium period to prision correccional in its minimum period, perpetual special
disqualification and a fine not exceeding 1,000 pesos, shall be imposed upon a
public officer who, upon demand from competent authority, shall fail to lend his
cooperation towards the administration of justice or other public service, if such
failure shall result in serious damage to the public interest, or to a third party;
otherwise, arresto mayor in its medium and maximum periods and a fine not
exceeding 500 pesos shall be imposed.
Article 234. Refusal to discharge elective office. - The penalty of arresto
mayor or a fine not exceeding 1,000 pesos, or both, shall be imposed upon any
person who, having been elected by popular election to a public office, shall
refuse without legal motive to be sworn in or to discharge the duties of said
office.
Article 235. Maltreatment of prisoners. - The penalty of arresto mayor in its
medium period to prision correccional in its minimum period, in addition to his
liability for the physical injuries or damage caused, shall be imposed upon any
public officer or employee who shall overdo himself in the correction or
handling of a prisoner or detention prisoner under his charge, by the imposition
of punishment not authorized by the regulations, or by inflicting such
punishment in a cruel and humiliating manner.
If the purpose of the maltreatment is to extort a confession, or to obtain some
information from the prisoner, the offender shall be punished by prision
correccional in its minimum period, temporary special disqualification and a
fine not exceeding 500 pesos, in addition to his liability for the physical injuries
or damage caused.
Section Two. - Anticipation, prolongation and abandonment of the duties and
powers of public office.
Article 236. Anticipation of duties of a public office. - Any person who shall
assume the performance of the duties and powers of any public officer or
employment without first being sworn in or having given the bond required by
law, shall be suspended from such office or employment until he shall have
complied with the respective formalities and shall be fined from 200 to 500
pesos.
Article 237. Prolonging performance of duties and powers. - Any public officer
shall continue to exercise the duties and powers of his office, employment or
commission, beyond the period provided by law, regulation or special provisions
applicable to the case, shall suffer the penalties of prision correccional in its
minimum period, special temporary disqualification in its minimum period and a
fine not exceeding 500 pesos.
Article 238. Abandonment of office or position. - Any public officer who, before
the acceptance of his resignation, shall abandon his office to the detriment of the
public service shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor.
If such office shall have been abandoned in order to evade the discharge of the
duties of preventing, prosecuting or punishing any of the crime falling within
Title One, and Chapter One of Title Three of Book Two of this Code, the
offender shall be punished by prision correccional in its minimum and medium
periods, and by arresto mayor if the purpose of such abandonment is to evade
the duty of preventing, prosecuting or punishing any other crime.
Section Three. - Usurpation of powers and unlawful appointments
Article 239. Usurpation of legislative powers. - The penalties of prision
correccional in its minimum period, temporary special disqualification and a
fine not exceeding 1,000 pesos, shall be imposed upon any public officer who
shall encroach upon the powers of the legislative branch of the Government,
either by making general rules or regulations beyond the scope of his authority,
or by attempting to repeal a law or suspending the execution thereof.
Article 240. Usurpation of executive functions. - Any judge who shall assume
any power pertaining to the executive authorities, or shall obstruct the latter in
the lawful exercise of their powers, shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor in
its medium period to prision correccional in its minimum period.
Article 241. Usurpation of judicial functions. - The penalty of arresto mayor in
its medium period to prision correccional in its minimum period and shall be
imposed upon any officer of the executive branch of the Government who shall
assume judicial powers or shall obstruct the execution of any order or decision
rendered by any judge within its jurisdiction.
Article 242. Disobeying request for disqualification. - Any public officer who,
before the question of jurisdiction is decided, shall continue any proceeding after
having been lawfully required to refrain from so doing, shall be punished
by arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding 500 pesos.
Article 243. Orders or requests by executive officers to any judicial authority. -
Any executive officer who shall address any order or suggestion to any judicial
authority with respect to any case or business coming within the exclusive
jurisdiction of the courts of justice shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor and
a fine not exceeding 500 pesos.
Article 244. Unlawful appointments. - Any public officer who shall knowingly
nominate or appoint to any public office any person lacking the legal
qualifications therefor, shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor and a fine not
exceeding 1,000 pesos.
Section Four. - Abuses against chastity
Article 245. Abuses against chastity; Penalties. - The penalties of prision
correccional in its medium and maximum periods and temporary special
disqualification shall be imposed:
1. Upon any public officer who shall solicit or make immoral or
indecent advances to a woman interested in matters pending before such
officer for decision, or with respect to which he is required to submit a
report to or consult with a superior officer;
2. Any warden or other public officer directly charged with the care and
custody of prisoners or persons under arrest who shall solicit or make
immoral or indecent advances to a woman under his custody.
If the person solicited be the wife, daughter, sister of relative within the same
degree by affinity of any person in the custody of such warden or officer, the
penalties shall be prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods and
temporary special disqualification.
Title Eight
CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS
Chapter One
DESTRUCTION OF LIFE
Section One. - Parricide, murder, homicide
Article 246. Parricide. - Any person who shall kill his father, mother, or child,
whether legitimate or illegitimate, or any of his ascendants, or descendants, or
his spouse, shall be guilty of parricide and shall be punished by the penalty of
reclusion perpetua to death.
Article 247. Death or physical injuries inflicted under exceptional
circumstances. - Any legally married person who having surprised his spouse in
the act of committing sexual intercourse with another person, shall kill any of
them or both of them in the act or immediately thereafter, or shall inflict upon
them any serious physical injury, shall suffer the penalty of destierro.
If he shall inflict upon them physical injuries of any other kind, he shall be
exempt from punishment.
These rules shall be applicable, under the same circumstances, to parents with
respect to their daughters under eighteen years of age, and their seducer, while
the daughters are living with their parents.
Any person who shall promote or facilitate the prostitution of his wife or
daughter, or shall otherwise have consented to the infidelity of the other spouse
shall not be entitled to the benefits of this article.
Article 248. Murder. - Any person who, not falling within the provisions of
Article 246 shall kill another, shall be guilty of murder and shall be punished by
reclusion temporal in its maximum period to death, if committed with any of the
following attendant circumstances:
1. With treachery, taking advantage of superior strength, with the aid of
armed men, or employing means to weaken the defense or of means or
persons to insure or afford impunity.
2. In consideration of a price, reward, or promise.
3. By means of inundation, fire, poison, explosion, shipwreck, stranding
of a vessel, derailment or assault upon a street car or locomotive, fall of
an airship, by means of motor vehicles, or with the use of any other
means involving great waste and ruin.
4. On occasion of any of the calamities enumerated in the preceding
paragraph, or of an earthquake, eruption of a volcano, destructive
cyclone, epidemic or other public calamity.
5. With evident premeditation.
6. With cruelty, by deliberately and inhumanly augmenting the suffering
of the victim, or outraging or scoffing at his person or corpse.
Article 249. Homicide. - Any person who, not falling within the provisions of
Article 246, shall kill another without the attendance of any of the circumstances
enumerated in the next preceding article, shall be deemed guilty of homicide and
be punished by reclusion temporal.
Article 250. Penalty for frustrated parricide, murder or homicide. - The courts,
in view of the facts of the case, may impose upon the person guilty of the
frustrated crime of parricide, murder or homicide, defined and penalized in the
preceding articles, a penalty lower by one degree than that which should be
imposed under the provision of Article 50.
The courts, considering the facts of the case, may likewise reduce by one degree
the penalty which under Article 51 should be imposed for an attempt to commit
any of such crimes.
Article 251. Death caused in a tumultuous affray. - When, while several
persons, not composing groups organized for the common purpose of assaulting
and attacking each other reciprocally, quarrel and assault each other in a
confused and tumultuous manner, and in the course of the affray someone is
killed, and it cannot be ascertained who actually killed the deceased, but the
person or persons who inflicted serious physical injuries can be identified, such
person or persons shall be punished by prision mayor.
If it cannot be determined who inflicted the serious physical injuries on the
deceased, the penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum
periods shall be imposed upon all those who shall have used violence upon the
person of the victim.
Article 252. Physical injuries inflicted in a tumultuous affray. - When in a
tumultuous affray as referred to in the preceding article, only serious physical
injuries are inflicted upon the participants thereof and the person responsible
thereof cannot be identified, all those who appear to have used violence upon the
person of the offended party shall suffer the penalty next lower in degree than
that provided for the physical injuries so inflicted.
When the physical injuries inflicted are of a less serious nature and the person
responsible therefor cannot be identified, all those who appear to have used any
violence upon the person of the offended party shall be punished by arresto
mayor from five to fifteen days.
Article 253. Giving assistance to suicide. - Any person who shall assist another
to commit suicide shall suffer the penalty of prision mayor; if such person leads
his assistance to another to the extent of doing the killing himself, he shall suffer
the penalty of reclusion temporal.
However, if the suicide is not consummated, the penalty of arresto mayor in its
medium and maximum periods, shall be imposed.
Article 254. Discharge of firearms. - Any person who shall shoot at another
with any firearm shall suffer the penalty of prision correccional in its minimum
and medium periods, unless the facts of the case are such that the act can be held
to constitute frustrated or attempted parricide, murder, homicide or any other
crime for which a higher penalty is prescribed by any of the articles of this
Code.
Section Two. - Infanticide and abortion.
Article 255. Infanticide. - The penalty provided for parricide in Article 246 and
for murder in Article 248 shall be imposed upon any person who shall kill any
child less than three days of age.
If the crime penalized in this article be committed by the mother of the child for
the purpose of concealing her dishonor, she shall suffer the penalty of prision
correccional in its medium and maximum periods, and if said crime be
committed for the same purpose by the maternal grandparents or either of them,
the penalty shall be prision mayor.
Article 256. Intentional abortion. - Any person who shall intentionally cause an
abortion shall suffer:
1. The penalty of reclusion temporal, if he shall use any violence upon
the person of the pregnant woman.
2. The penalty of prision mayor if, without using violence, he shall act
without the consent of the woman.
3. The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum
periods, if the woman shall have consented.
Article 257. Unintentional abortion. - The penalty of prision correccional in its
minimum and medium period shall be imposed upon any person who shall cause
an abortion by violence, but unintentionally.
Article 258. Abortion practiced by the woman herself of by her parents. - The
penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods shall be
imposed upon a woman who shall practice abortion upon herself or shall consent
that any other person should do so.
Any woman who shall commit this offense to conceal her dishonor, shall suffer
the penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods.
If this crime be committed by the parents of the pregnant woman or either of
them, and they act with the consent of said woman for the purpose of concealing
her dishonor, the offenders shall suffer the penalty of prision correccional in its
medium and maximum periods.
Article 259. Abortion practiced by a physician or midwife and dispensing of
abortives. - The penalties provided in Article 256 shall be imposed in its
maximum period, respectively, upon any physician or midwife who, taking
advantage of their scientific knowledge or skill, shall cause an abortion or assist
in causing the same.
Any pharmacist who, without the proper prescription from a physician, shall
dispense any abortive shall suffer arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding 1,000
pesos.
Section Three. - Duel
Article 260. Responsibility of participants in a duel. - The penalty of reclusion
temporal shall be imposed upon any person who shall kill his adversary in a
duel.
If he shall inflict upon the latter physical injuries only, he shall suffer the penalty
provided therefor, according to their nature.
In any other case, the combatants shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor,
although no physical injuries have been inflicted.
The seconds shall in all events be punished as accomplices.
Article 261. Challenging to a duel. - The penalty of prision correccional in its
minimum period shall be imposed upon any person who shall challenge another,
or incite another to give or accept a challenge to a duel, or shall scoff at or decry
another publicly for having refused to accept a challenge to fight a duel.
Chapter Two
PHYSICAL INJURIES
Article 262. Mutilation. - The penalty of reclusion temporal to reclusion
perpetua shall be imposed upon any person who shall intentionally mutilate
another by depriving him, either totally or partially, or some essential organ of
reproduction.
Any other intentional mutilation shall be punished by prision mayor in its
medium and maximum periods.
Article 263. Serious physical injuries. - Any person who shall wound, beat, or
assault another, shall be guilty of the crime of serious physical injuries and shall
suffer:
 1. The penalty of prision mayor, if in consequence of the physical
injuries inflicted, the injured person shall become insane, imbecile,
impotent, or blind;
2. The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum
periods, if in consequence of the physical injuries inflicted, the person
injured shall have lost the use of speech or the power to hear or to smell,
or shall have lost an eye, a hand, a foot, an arm, or a leg or shall have
lost the use of any such member, or shall have become incapacitated for
the work in which he was therefor habitually engaged;
3. The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium
periods, if in consequence of the physical injuries inflicted, the person
injured shall have become deformed, or shall have lost any other part of
his body, or shall have lost the use thereof, or shall have been ill or
incapacitated for the performance of the work in which he as habitually
engaged for a period of more than ninety days;
4. The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision
correccional in its minimum period, if the physical injuries inflicted
shall have caused the illness or incapacity for labor of the injured person
for more than thirty days.
If the offense shall have been committed against any of the persons enumerated
in Article 246, or with attendance of any of the circumstances mentioned in
Article 248, the case covered by subdivision number 1 of this Article shall be
punished by reclusion temporal in its medium and maximum periods; the case
covered by subdivision number 2 by prision correccional in its maximum period
to prision mayor in its minimum period; the case covered by subdivision number
3 by prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods; and the case
covered by subdivision number 4 by prision correccional in its minimum and
medium periods.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not be applicable to a parent
who shall inflict physical injuries upon his child by excessive chastisement.
Article 264. Administering injurious substances or beverages. - The penalties
established by the next preceding article shall be applicable in the respective
case to any person who, without intent to kill, shall inflict upon another any
serious, physical injury, by knowingly administering to him any injurious
substance or beverages or by taking advantage of his weakness of mind or
credulity.
Article 265. Less serious physical injuries. - Any person who shall inflict upon
another physical injuries not described in the preceding articles, but which shall
incapacitate the offended party for labor for ten days or more, or shall require
medical assistance for the same period, shall be guilty of less serious physical
injuries and shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor.
Whenever less serious physical injuries shall have been inflicted with the
manifest intent to kill or offend the injured person, or under circumstances
adding ignominy to the offense in addition to the penalty of arresto mayor, a
fine not exceeding 500 pesos shall be imposed.
Any less serious physical injuries inflicted upon the offender's parents,
ascendants, guardians, curators, teachers, or persons of rank, or persons in
authority, shall be punished by prision correccional in its minimum and medium
periods, provided that, in the case of persons in authority, the deed does not
constitute the crime of assault upon such person.
Article 266. Slight physical injuries and maltreatment. - The crime of slight
physical injuries shall be punished:
1. By arresto menor when the offender has inflicted physical injuries
which shall incapacitate the offended party for labor from one to nine
days, or shall require medical attendance during the same period.
2. By arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 20 pesos and censure when
the offender has caused physical injuries which do not prevent the
offended party from engaging in his habitual work nor require medical
assistance.
3. By arresto menor in its minimum period or a fine not exceeding 50
pesos when the offender shall ill-treat another by deed without causing
any injury.
Title Nine
CRIMES AGAINST PERSONAL LIBERTY AND SECURITY
Chapter One
CRIMES AGAINST LIBERTY
Section One. - Illegal Detention
Article 267. Kidnapping and serious illegal detention. - Any private individual
who shall kidnap or detain another, or in any other manner deprive him of his
liberty, shall suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death:
1. If the kidnapping or detention shall have lasted more than five days.
2. If it shall have been committed simulating public authority.
3. If any serious physical injuries shall have been inflicted upon the
person kidnapped or detained; or if threats to kill him shall have been
made.
4. If the person kidnapped or detained shall be a minor, female or a
public officer.
The penalty shall be death where the kidnapping or detention was committed for
the purpose of extorting ransom from the victim or any other person, even if
none of the circumstances above-mentioned were present in the commission of
the offense.
Article 268. Slight illegal detention. - The penalty of reclusion temporal shall be
imposed upon any private individual who shall commit the crimes described in
the next preceding article without the attendance of any of circumstances
enumerated therein.
The same penalty shall be incurred by anyone who shall furnish the place for the
perpetration of the crime.
If the offender shall voluntarily release the person so kidnapped or detained
within three days from the commencement of the detention, without having
attained the purpose intended, and before the institution of criminal proceedings
against him, the penalty shall be prision mayor in its minimum and medium
periods and a fine not exceeding seven hundred pesos.
Article 269. Unlawful arrest. - The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine not
exceeding 500 pesos shall be imposed upon any person who, in any case other
than those authorized by law, or without reasonable ground therefor, shall arrest
or detain another for the purpose of delivering him to the proper authorities.
Section Two. - Kidnapping of minors
Article 270. Kidnapping and failure to return a minor. - The penalty of
reclusion perpetua shall be imposed upon any person who, being entrusted with
the custody of a minor person, shall deliberately fail to restore the latter to his
parents or guardians.
Article 271. Inducing a minor to abandon his home. - The penalty of prision
correccional and a fine not exceeding seven hundred pesos shall be imposed
upon anyone who shall induce a minor to abandon the home of his parent or
guardians or the persons entrusted with his custody.
If the person committing any of the crimes covered by the two preceding articles
shall be the father or the mother of the minor, the penalty shall be arresto
mayor or a fine not exceeding three hundred pesos, or both.
Section Three. - Slavery and Servitude
Article 272. Slavery. - The penalty of prision mayor and a fine of not exceeding
10,000 pesos shall be imposed upon anyone who shall purchase, sell, kidnap or
detain a human being for the purpose of enslaving him.
If the crime be committed for the purpose of assigning the offended party to
some immoral traffic, the penalty shall be imposed in its maximum period.
Article 273. Exploitation of child labor. - The penalty of prision correccional in
its minimum and medium periods and a fine not exceeding 500 pesos shall be
imposed upon anyone who, under the pretext of reimbursing himself of a debt
incurred by an ascendant, guardian or person entrusted with the custody of a
minor, shall, against the latter's will, retain him in his service.
Article 274. Services rendered under compulsion in payment of debt. - The
penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its
minimum period shall be imposed upon any person who, in order to require or
enforce the payment of a debt, shall compel the debtor to work for him, against
his will, as household servant or farm laborer.
Chapter Two
CRIMES AGAINST SECURITY
Section One. - Abandonment of helpless persons and exploitation of minors.
Article 275. Abandonment of person in danger and abandonment of one's own
victim. - The penalty of arresto mayor shall be imposed upon:
1. Any one who shall fail to render assistance to any person whom he
shall find in an uninhabited place wounded or in danger of dying, when
 he can render such assistance without detriment to himself, unless such
omission shall constitute a more serious offense.
2. Anyone who shall fail to help or render assistance to another whom
he has accidentally wounded or injured.
3. Anyone who, having found an abandoned child under seven years of
age, shall fail to deliver said child to the authorities or to his family, or
shall fail to take him to a safe place.
Article 276. Abandoning a minor. - The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine not
exceeding 500 pesos shall be imposed upon any one who shall abandon a child
under seven years of age, the custody of which is incumbent upon him.
When the death of the minor shall result from such abandonment, the culprit
shall be punished by prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods;
but if the life of the minor shall have been in danger only, the penalty shall be
prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods.
The provisions contained in the two preceding paragraphs shall not prevent the
imposition of the penalty provided for the act committed, when the same shall
constitute a more serious offense.
Article 277. Abandonment of minor by person entrusted with his custody;
indifference of parents. - The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding
500 pesos shall be imposed upon anyone who, having charge of the rearing or
education of a minor, shall deliver said minor to a public institution or other
persons, without the consent of the one who entrusted such child to his care or in
the absence of the latter, without the consent of the proper authorities.
The same penalty shall be imposed upon the parents who shall neglect their
children by not giving them the education which their station in life require and
financial conditions permit.
Article 278. Exploitation of minors. - The penalty of prision correccional in its
minimum and medium periods and a fine not exceeding 500 pesos shall be
imposed upon:
1. Any person who shall cause any boy or girl under sixteen years of age
to perform any dangerous feat of balancing, physical strength, or
contortion.
2. Any person who, being an acrobat, gymnast, rope-walker, diver, wild-
animal tamer or circus manager or engaged in a similar calling, shall
employ in exhibitions of these kinds children under sixteen years of age
who are not his children or descendants.
3. Any person engaged in any of the callings enumerated in the next
paragraph preceding who shall employ any descendant of his under
twelve years of age in such dangerous exhibitions.
4. Any ascendant, guardian, teacher or person entrusted in any capacity
with the care of a child under sixteen years of age, who shall deliver
such child gratuitously to any person following any of the callings
enumerated in paragraph 2 hereof, or to any habitual vagrant or beggar.
If the delivery shall have been made in consideration of any price,
compensation, or promise, the penalty shall in every case be imposed in
its maximum period.
In either case, the guardian or curator convicted shall also be removed
from office as guardian or curator; and in the case of the parents of the
child, they may be deprived, temporarily or perpetually, in the discretion
of the court, of their parental authority.
5. Any person who shall induce any child under sixteen years of age to
abandon the home of its ascendants, guardians, curators, or teachers to
follow any person engaged in any of the callings mentioned in
paragraph 2 hereof, or to accompany any habitual vagrant or beggar.
Article 279. Additional penalties for other offenses. - The imposition of the
penalties prescribed in the preceding articles, shall not prevent the imposition
upon the same person of the penalty provided for any other felonies defined and
punished by this Code.
Section Two. - Trespass to dwelling
Article 280. Qualified trespass to dwelling. - Any private person who shall enter
the dwelling of another against the latter's will shall be punished by arresto
mayor and a fine not exceeding 1,000 pesos.
If the offense be committed by means of violence or intimidation, the penalty
shall be prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods and a fine not
exceeding 1,000 pesos.
The provisions of this article shall not be applicable to any person who shall
enter another's dwelling for the purpose of preventing some serious harm to
himself, the occupants of the dwelling or a third person, nor shall it be
applicable to any person who shall enter a dwelling for the purpose of rendering
some service to humanity or justice, nor to anyone who shall enter cafes,
taverns, inn and other public houses, while the same are open.
Article 281. Other forms of trespass. - The penalty of arresto menor or a fine
not exceeding 200 pesos, or both, shall be imposed upon any person who shall
enter the closed premises or the fenced estate of another, while either or them
are uninhabited, if the prohibition to enter be manifest and the trespasser has not
secured the permission of the owner or the caretaker thereof.
Section Three. - Threats and Coercion
Article 282. Grave threats. - Any person who shall threaten another with the
infliction upon the person, honor or property of the latter or of his family of any
wrong amounting to a crime, shall suffer:
1. The penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for the
crime be threatened to commit, if the offender shall have made the
threat demanding money or imposing any other condition, even though
not unlawful, and said offender shall have attained his purpose. If the
offender shall not have attained his purpose, the penalty lower by two
degrees shall be imposed.
If the threat be made in writing or through a middleman, the penalty
shall be imposed in its maximum period.
2. The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding 500 pesos, if
the threat shall not have been made subject to a condition.
Article 283. Light threats. - Any threat to commit a wrong not constituting a
crime, made in the manner expressed in subdivision 1 of the next preceding
article, shall be punished by arresto mayor.
Article 284. Bond for good behavior. - In all cases falling within the two next
preceding articles, the person making the threats may also be required to give
bail not to molest the person threatened, or if he shall fail to give such bail, he
shall be sentenced to destierro.
Article 285. Other light threats. - The penalty of arresto menor in its minimum
period or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos shall be imposed upon:
1. Any person who, without being included in the provisions of the next
preceding article, shall threaten another with a weapon or draw such
weapon in a quarrel, unless it be in lawful self-defense.
2. Any person who, in the heat of anger, shall orally threaten another
with some harm not constituting a crime, and who by subsequent acts
show that he did not persist in the idea involved in his threat, provided
that the circumstances of the offense shall not bring it within the
provisions of Article 282 of this Code.
3. Any person who shall orally threaten to do another any harm not
constituting a felony.
Article 286. Grave coercions. - The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine not
exceeding 500 pesos shall be imposed upon any person who, without authority
of law, shall, by means of violence, prevent another from doing something not
prohibited by law, or compel him to do something against his will, whether it be
right or wrong.
If the coercion be committed for the purpose of compelling another to perform
any religious act or to prevent him from so doing, the penalty next higher in
degree shall be imposed.
Article 287. Light coercions. - Any person who, by means of violence, shall
seize anything belonging to his debtor for the purpose of applying the same to
the payment of the debt, shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor in its
minimum period and a fine equivalent to the value of the thing, but in no case
less than 75 pesos.
Any other coercions or unjust vexations shall be punished by arresto menor or a
fine ranging from 5 pesos to 200 pesos, or both.
Article 288. Other similar coercions; (Compulsory purchase of merchandise
and payment of wages by means of tokens.) - The penalty of arresto mayor or a
fine ranging from 200 to 500 pesos, or both, shall be imposed upon any person,
agent or officer, of any association or corporation who shall force or compel,
directly or indirectly, or shall knowingly permit any laborer or employee
employed by him or by such firm or corporation to be forced or compelled, to
purchase merchandise or commodities of any kind.
The same penalties shall be imposed upon any person who shall pay the wages
due a laborer or employee employed by him, by means of tokens or objects
other than the legal tender currency of the laborer or employee.
Article 289. Formation, maintenance and prohibition of combination of capital
or labor through violence or threats. - The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine
not exceeding 300 pesos shall be imposed upon any person who, for the purpose
of organizing, maintaining or preventing coalitions or capital or labor, strike of
laborers or lock-out of employees, shall employ violence or threats in such a
degree as to compel or force the laborers or employers in the free and legal
exercise of their industry or work, if the act shall not constitute a more serious
offense in accordance with the provisions of this Code.
Chapter Three
DISCOVERY AND REVELATION OF SECRETS
Article 290. Discovering secrets through seizure of correspondence. - The
penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods and a fine
not exceeding 500 pesos shall be imposed upon any private individual who in
order to discover the secrets of another, shall seize his papers or letters and
reveal the contents thereof.
If the offender shall not reveal such secrets, the penalty shall be arresto
mayor and a fine not exceeding 500 pesos.
The provision shall not be applicable to parents, guardians, or persons entrusted
with the custody of minors with respect to the papers or letters of the children or
minors placed under their care or study, nor to spouses with respect to the papers
or letters of either of them.
Article 291. Revealing secrets with abuse of office. - The penalty of arresto
mayor and a fine not exceeding 500 pesos shall be imposed upon any manager,
employee, or servant who, in such capacity, shall learn the secrets of his
principal or master and shall reveal such secrets.
Article 292. Revelation of industrial secrets. - The penalty of prision
correccional in its minimum and medium periods and a fine not exceeding 500
pesos shall be imposed upon the person in charge, employee or workman of any
manufacturing or industrial establishment who, to the prejudice of the owner
thereof, shall reveal the secrets of the industry of the latter.
Title Ten
CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY
Chapter One
ROBBERY IN GENERAL
Article 293. Who are guilty of robbery. - Any person who, with intent to gain,
shall take any personal property belonging to another, by means of violence or
intimidation of any person, or using force upon anything shall be guilty of
robbery.
Section One. - Robbery with violence or intimidation of persons.
Article 294. Robbery with violence against or intimidation of persons;
Penalties. - Any person guilty of robbery with the use of violence against or
intimidation of any person shall suffer:
1. The penalty of reclusion perpetua to death, when by reason or on
occasion of the robbery, the crime of homicide shall have been
committed.
2. The penalty of reclusion temporal in its medium period to reclusion
perpetua when the robbery shall have been accompanied by rape or
intentional mutilation, or if by reason or on occasion of such robbery,
any of the physical injuries penalized in subdivision 1 of Article 263
shall have been inflicted; Provided, however, that when the robbery
accompanied with rape is committed with a use of a deadly weapon or
by two or more persons, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua to death
(As amended by PD No. 767).
3. The penalty of reclusion temporal, when by reason or on occasion of
the robbery, any of the physical injuries penalized in subdivision 2 of
the article mentioned in the next preceding paragraph, shall have been
inflicted.
4. The penalty of prision mayor in its maximum period to reclusion
temporal in its medium period, if the violence or intimidation employed
in the commission of the robbery shall have been carried to a degree
clearly unnecessary for the commission of the crime, or when the course
of its execution, the offender shall have inflicted upon any person not
responsible for its commission any of the physical injuries covered by
sub-divisions 3 and 4 of said Article 23.
5. The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period to prision
mayor in its medium period in other cases. (As amended by R. A. 18).
Article 295. Robbery with physical injuries, committed in an uninhabited place
and by a band, or with the use of firearm on a street, road or alley. - If the
offenses mentioned in subdivisions three, four, and five of the next preceding
article shall have been committed in an uninhabited place or by a band, or by
attacking a moving train, street car, motor vehicle or airship, or by entering the
passenger's compartments in a train or, in any manner, taking the passengers
thereof by surprise in the respective conveyances, or on a street, road, highway,
or alley, and the intimidation is made with the use of a firearm, the offender
shall be punished by the maximum period of the proper penalties.
In the same cases, the penalty next higher in degree shall be imposed upon the
leader of the band.
Article 296. Definition of a band and penalty incurred by the members thereof. -
When more than three armed malefactors take part in the commission of a
robbery, it shall be deemed to have been committed by a band. When any of the
arms used in the commission of the offense be an unlicensed firearm, the penalty
to be imposed upon all the malefactors shall be the maximum of the
corresponding penalty provided by law, without prejudice of the criminal
liability for illegal possession of such unlicensed firearms.
Any member of a band who is present at the commission of a robbery by the
band, shall be punished as principal of any of the assaults committed by the
band, unless it be shown that he attempted to prevent the same.
Article 297. Attempted and frustrated robbery committed under certain
circumstances. - When by reason or on occasion of an attempted or frustrated
robbery a homicide is committed, the person guilty of such offenses shall be
punished by reclusion temporal in its maximum period to reclusion perpetua,
unless the homicide committed shall deserve a higher penalty under the
provisions of this Code.
Article 298. Execution of deeds by means of violence or intimidation. - Any
person who, with intent to defraud another, by means of violence or
intimidation, shall compel him to sign, execute or deliver any public instrument
or documents, shall be held guilty of robbery and punished by the penalties
respectively prescribed in this Chapter.
Section Two. - Robbery by the use of force upon things
Article 299. Robbery in an inhabited house or public building or edifice devoted
to worship. - Any armed person who shall commit robbery in an inhabited house
or public building or edifice devoted to religious worship, shall be punished by
reclusion temporal, if the value of the property taken shall exceed 250 pesos,
and if:
(a) The malefactors shall enter the house or building in which the
robbery was
committed, by any of the following means:
1. Through a opening not intended for entrance or egress.
2. By breaking any wall, roof, or floor or breaking any door or
window.
3. By using false keys, picklocks or similar tools.
4. By using any fictitious name or pretending the exercise of
public authority.
Or if -
(b) The robbery be committed under any of the following
circumstances:
1. By the breaking of doors, wardrobes, chests, or any other
kind of locked or sealed furniture or receptacle;
2. By taking such furniture or objects to be broken or forced
open outside the place of the robbery.
When the offenders do not carry arms, and the value of the property taken
exceeds 250 pesos, the penalty next lower in degree shall be imposed.
The same rule shall be applied when the offenders are armed, but the value of
the property taken does not exceed 250 pesos.
When said offenders do not carry arms and the value of the property taken does
not exceed 250 pesos, they shall suffer the penalty prescribed in the two next
preceding paragraphs, in its minimum period.
If the robbery be committed in one of the dependencies of an inhabited house,
public building, or building dedicated to religious worship, the penalties next
lower in degree than those prescribed in this article shall be imposed.
Article 300. Robbery in an uninhabited place and by a band. - The robbery
mentioned in the next preceding article, if committed in an uninhabited place
and by a band, shall be punished by the maximum period of the penalty
provided therefor.
Article 301. What is an inhabited house, public building or building dedicated
to religious worship and their dependencies. - Inhabited house means any
shelter, ship or vessel constituting the dwelling of one or more persons, even
though the inhabitants thereof shall temporarily be absent therefrom when the
robbery is committed.
All interior courts, corrals, waterhouses, granaries, barns, coach-houses, stables
or other departments or inclosed places contiguous to the building or edifice,
having an interior entrance connected therewith, and which form part of the
whole, shall be deemed dependencies of an inhabited house, public building or
building dedicated to religious worship.
Orchards and other lands used for cultivation or production are not included in
the terms of the next preceding paragraph, even if closed, contiguous to the
building and having direct connection therewith.
The term "public building" includes every building owned by the Government or
belonging to a private person not included used or rented by the Government,
although temporarily unoccupied by the same.
Article 302. Robbery is an uninhabited place or in a private building. - Any
robbery committed in an uninhabited place or in a building other than those
mentioned in the first paragraph of Article 299, if the value of the property taken
exceeds 250 pesos, shall be punished by prision correccional if any of the
following circumstances is present:
1. If the entrance has been effected through any opening not intended
for entrance or egress.
2. If any wall, roof, flour or outside door or window has been broken.
3. If the entrance has been effected through the use of false keys,
picklocks or other similar tools.
4. If any dorm, wardrobe, chest or by sealed or closed furniture or
receptacle has been broken.
5. If any closed or sealed receptacle, as mentioned in the preceding
paragraph, has been removed even if the same to broken open
elsewhere.
When the value of the property takes does not exceed 250 pesos, the penalty
next lower in degree shall be imposed.
In the cases specified in Articles 294, 295, 297, 299, 300, and 302 of this Code,
when the property taken is mail matter or large cattle, the offender shall suffer
the penalties next higher in degree than those provided in said articles.
Article 303. Robbery of cereals, fruits, or firewood in an uninhabited place or
private building. - In the cases enumerated in Articles 299 and 302, when the
robbery consists in the taking of cereals, fruits, or firewood, the culprit shall
suffer the penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed in said articles.
Article 304. Possession of picklocks or similar tools. - Any person who shall
without lawful cause have in his possession picklocks or similar tools especially
adopted to the commission of the crime of robbery, shall be punished by arresto
mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period.
The same penalty shall be imposed upon any person who shall make such tools.
If the offender be a locksmith, he shall suffer the penalty of prision correccional
in its medium and maximum periods.
Article 305. False keys. - The term "false keys" shall be deemed to include:
1. The tools mentioned in the next preceding articles.
2. Genuine keys stolen from the owner.
3. Any keys other than those intended by the owner for use in the lock
forcibly opened by the offender.
Chapter Two
BRIGANDAGE
Article 306. Who are brigands; Penalty. - When more than three armed persons
form a band of robbers for the purpose of committing robbery in the highway, or
kidnapping persons for the purpose of extortion or to obtain ransom or for any
other purpose to be attained by means of force and violence, they shall be
deemed highway robbers or brigands.
Persons found guilty of this offense shall be punished by prision mayor in its
medium period to reclusion temporal in its minimum period if the act or acts
committed by them are not punishable by higher penalties, in which case, they
shall suffer such high penalties.
If any of the arms carried by any of said persons be an unlicensed firearms, it
shall be presumed that said persons are highway robbers or brigands, and in case
of convictions the penalty shall be imposed in the maximum period.
Article 307. Aiding and abetting a band of brigands. - Any person knowingly
and in any manner aiding, abetting or protecting a band of brigands as described
in the next preceding article, or giving them information of the movements of
the police or other peace officers of the Government (or of the forces of the
United States Army), when the latter are acting in aid of the Government, or
acquiring or receiving the property taken by such brigands shall be punished by
prision correccional in its medium period to prision mayor in its minimum
period.
It shall be presumed that the person performing any of the acts provided in this
article has performed them knowingly, unless the contrary is proven.
Chapter Three
THEFT
Article 308. Who are liable for theft. - Theft is committed by any person who,
with intent to gain but without violence against or intimidation of persons nor
force upon things, shall take personal property of another without the latter's
consent.
Theft is likewise committed by:
1. Any person who, having found lost property, shall fail to deliver the
same to the local authorities or to its owner;
2. Any person who, after having maliciously damaged the property of
another, shall remove or make use of the fruits or object of the damage
caused by him; and
3. Any person who shall enter an inclosed estate or a field where
trespass is forbidden or which belongs to another and without the
consent of its owner, shall hunt or fish upon the same or shall gather
cereals, or other forest or farm products.
Article 309. Penalties. - Any person guilty of theft shall be punished by:
1. The penalty of prision mayor in its minimum and medium periods, if
the value of the thing stolen is more than 12,000 pesos but does not
exceed 22,000 pesos, but if the value of the thing stolen exceeds the
latter amount the penalty shall be the maximum period of the one
prescribed in this paragraph, and one year for each additional ten
thousand pesos, but the total of the penalty which may be imposed shall
not exceed twenty years. In such cases, and in connection with the
accessory penalties which may be imposed and for the purpose of the
other provisions of this Code, the penalty shall be termed prision mayor
or reclusion temporal, as the case may be.
2. The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum
periods, if the value of the thing stolen is more than 6,000 pesos but
does not exceed 12,000 pesos.
3. The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium
periods, if the value of the property stolen is more than 200 pesos but
does not exceed 6,000 pesos.
4. Arresto mayor in its medium period to prision correccional in its
minimum period, if the value of the property stolen is over 50 pesos but
does not exceed 200 pesos.
5. Arresto mayor to its full extent, if such value is over 5 pesos but does
not exceed 50 pesos.
6. Arresto mayor in its minimum and medium periods, if such value
does not exceed 5 pesos.
7. Arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos, if the theft is
committed under the circumstances enumerated in paragraph 3 of the
next preceding article and the value of the thing stolen does not exceed
5 pesos. If such value exceeds said amount, the provision of any of the
five preceding subdivisions shall be made applicable.
8. Arresto menor in its minimum period or a fine not exceeding 50
pesos, when the value of the thing stolen is not over 5 pesos, and the
offender shall have acted under the impulse of hunger, poverty, or the
difficulty of earning a livelihood for the support of himself or his
family.
Article 310. Qualified theft. - The crime of theft shall be punished by the
penalties next higher by two degrees than those respectively specified in the next
preceding article, if committed by a domestic servant, or with grave abuse of
confidence, or if the property stolen is motor vehicle, mail matter or large cattle
or consists of coconuts taken from the premises of the plantation or fish taken
from a fishpond or fishery, or if property is taken on the occasion of fire,
earthquake, typhoon, volcanic erruption, or any other calamity, vehicular
accident or civil disturbance. (As amended by R.A. 120 and B.P. Blg. 71. May
1, 1980).
Article 311. Theft of the property of the National Library and National
Museum. - If the property stolen be any property of the National Library or the
National Museum, the penalty shall be arresto mayor or a fine ranging from 200
to 500 pesos, or both, unless a higher penalty should be provided under other
provisions of this Code, in which case, the offender shall be punished by such
higher penalty.
Chapter Four
USURPATION
Article 312. Occupation of real property or usurpation of real rights in
property. - Any person who, by means of violence against or intimidation of
persons, shall take possession of any real property or shall usurp any real rights
in property belonging to another, in addition to the penalty incurred for the acts
of violence executed by him, shall be punished by a fine from 50 to 100 per
centum of the gain which he shall have obtained, but not less than 75 pesos.
If the value of the gain cannot be ascertained, a fine of from 200 to 500 pesos
shall be imposed.
Article 313. Altering boundaries or landmarks. - Any person who shall alter the
boundary marks or monuments of towns, provinces, or estates, or any other
marks intended to designate the boundaries of the same, shall be punished
by arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 100 pesos, or both.
Chapter Five
CULPABLE INSOLVENCY
Article 314. Fraudulent insolvency. - Any person who shall abscond with his
property to the prejudice of his creditors, shall suffer the penalty of prision
mayor, if he be a merchant and the penalty of prision correccional in its
maximum period to prision mayor in its medium period, if he be not a merchant.
Chapter Six
SWINDLING AND OTHER DECEITS
Article 315. Swindling (estafa). - Any person who shall defraud another by any
of the means mentioned hereinbelow shall be punished by:
1st. The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor
in its minimum period, if the amount of the fraud is over 12,000 pesos but does
not exceed 22,000 pesos, and if such amount exceeds the latter sum, the penalty
provided in this paragraph shall be imposed in its maximum period, adding one
year for each additional 10,000 pesos; but the total penalty which may be
imposed shall not exceed twenty years. In such cases, and in connection with the
accessory penalties which may be imposed under the provisions of this Code,
the penalty shall be termed prision mayor or reclusion temporal, as the case may
be.
2nd. The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods, if
the amount of the fraud is over 6,000 pesos but does not exceed 12,000 pesos;
3rd. The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional
in its minimum period if such amount is over 200 pesos but does not exceed
6,000 pesos; and
4th. By arresto mayor in its maximum period, if such amount does not exceed
200 pesos, provided that in the four cases mentioned, the fraud be committed by
any of the following means:
1. With unfaithfulness or abuse of confidence, namely:
(a) By altering the substance, quantity, or quality or anything of
value which the offender shall deliver by virtue of an obligation
to do so, even though such obligation be based on an immoral
or illegal consideration.
(b) By misappropriating or converting, to the prejudice of
another, money, goods, or any other personal property received
by the offender in trust or on commission, or for administration,
or under any other obligation involving the duty to make
delivery of or to return the same, even though such obligation
be totally or partially guaranteed by a bond; or by denying
having received such money, goods, or other property.
(c) By taking undue advantage of the signature of the offended
party in blank, and by writing any document above such
signature in blank, to the prejudice of the offended party or of
any third person.
2. By means of any of the following false pretenses or fraudulent acts
executed prior to or simultaneously with the commission of the fraud:
 (a) By using fictitious name, or falsely pretending to possess
power, influence, qualifications, property, credit, agency,
business or imaginary transactions, or by means of other similar
deceits.
(b) By altering the quality, fineness or weight of anything
pertaining to his art or business.
(c) By pretending to have bribed any Government employee,
without prejudice to the action for calumny which the offended
party may deem proper to bring against the offender. In this
case, the offender shall be punished by the maximum period of
the penalty.
(d) By post-dating a check, or issuing a check in payment of an
obligation when the offender therein were not sufficient to
cover the amount of the check. The failure of the drawer of the
check to deposit the amount necessary to cover his check within
three (3) days from receipt of notice from the bank and/or the
payee or holder that said check has been dishonored for lack of
insufficiency of funds shall be prima facie evidence of deceit
constituting false pretense or fraudulent act. (As amended by
R.A. 4885, approved June 17, 1967.)
(e) By obtaining any food, refreshment or accommodation at a
hotel, inn, restaurant, boarding house, lodging house, or
apartment house and the like without paying therefor, with
intent to defraud the proprietor or manager thereof, or by
obtaining credit at hotel, inn, restaurant, boarding house,
lodging house, or apartment house by the use of any false
pretense, or by abandoning or surreptitiously removing any part
of his baggage from a hotel, inn, restaurant, boarding house,
lodging house or apartment house after obtaining credit, food,
refreshment or accommodation therein without paying for his
food, refreshment or accommodation.
3. Through any of the following fraudulent means:
(a) By inducing another, by means of deceit, to sign any
document.
(b) By resorting to some fraudulent practice to insure success in
a gambling game.
(c) By removing, concealing or destroying, in whole or in part,
any court record, office files, document or any other papers.
Article 316. Other forms of swindling. - The penalty of arresto mayor in its
minimum and medium period and a fine of not less than the value of the damage
caused and not more than three times such value, shall be imposed upon:
1. Any person who, pretending to be owner of any real property, shall
convey, sell, encumber or mortgage the same.
2. Any person, who, knowing that real property is encumbered, shall
dispose of the same, although such encumbrance be not recorded.
3. The owner of any personal property who shall wrongfully take it from
its lawful possessor, to the prejudice of the latter or any third person.
4. Any person who, to the prejudice of another, shall execute any
fictitious contract.
5. Any person who shall accept any compensation given him under the
belief that it was in payment of services rendered or labor performed by
him, when in fact he did not actually perform such services or labor.
6. Any person who, while being a surety in a bond given in a criminal or
civil action, without express authority from the court or before the
cancellation of his bond or before being relieved from the obligation
contracted by him, shall sell, mortgage, or, in any other manner,
encumber the real property or properties with which he guaranteed the
fulfillment of such obligation.
Article 317. Swindling a minor. - Any person who taking advantage of the
inexperience or emotions or feelings of a minor, to his detriment, shall induce
him to assume any obligation or to give any release or execute a transfer of any
property right in consideration of some loan of money, credit or other personal
property, whether the loan clearly appears in the document or is shown in any
other form, shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor and a fine of a sum ranging
from 10 to 50 per cent of the value of the obligation contracted by the minor.
Article 318. Other deceits. - The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine of not less
than the amount of the damage caused and not more than twice such amount
shall be imposed upon any person who shall defraud or damage another by any
other deceit not mentioned in the preceding articles of this chapter.
Any person who, for profit or gain, shall interpret dreams, make forecasts, tell
fortunes, or take advantage of the credulity of the public in any other similar
manner, shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor or a fine not exceeding 200
pesos.
Chapter Seven
CHATTEL MORTGAGE
Article 319. Removal, sale or pledge of mortgaged property. - The penalty
or arresto mayor or a fine amounting to twice the value of the property shall be
imposed upon:
1. Any person who shall knowingly remove any personal property
mortgaged under the Chattel Mortgage Law to any province or city
other than the one in which it was located at the time of the execution of
the mortgage, without the written consent of the mortgagee, or his
executors, administrators or assigns.
2. Any mortgagor who shall sell or pledge personal property already
pledged, or any part thereof, under the terms of the Chattel Mortgage
Law, without the consent of the mortgagee written on the back of the
mortgage and noted on the record hereof in the office of the Register of
Deeds of the province where such property is located.
Chapter Eight
ARSON AND OTHER CRIMES INVOLVING DESTRUCTIONS
2. By reclusion temporal:
Article 320. Destructive arson. - The penalty of reclusion temporal in its
maximum period to reclusion perpetua shall be imposed upon any person who
shall burn:
1. Any arsenal, shipyard, storehouse or military powder or fireworks
factory, ordinance, storehouse, archives or general museum of the
Government.
2. Any passenger train or motor vehicle in motion or vessel out of port.
3. In an inhabited place, any storehouse or factory of inflammable or
explosive materials.
Article 321. Other forms of arson. - When the arson consists in the burning of
other property and under the circumstances given hereunder, the offender shall
be punishable:
1. By reclusion temporal or reclusion perpetua:
(a) if the offender shall set fire to any building, farmhouse,
warehouse, hut, shelter, or vessel in port, knowing it to be
occupied at the time by one or more persons;
(b) If the building burned is a public building and value of the
damage caused exceeds 6,000 pesos;
(c) If the building burned is a public building and the purpose is
to destroy evidence kept therein to be used in instituting
prosecution for the punishment of violators of the law,
irrespective of the amount of the damage;
(d) If the building burned is a public building and the purpose is
to destroy evidence kept therein to be used in legislative,
judicial or administrative proceedings, irrespective of the
amount of the damage; Provided, however, That if the evidence
destroyed is to be used against the defendant for the prosecution
of any crime punishable under existing laws, the penalty shall
be reclusion perpetua;
(e) If the arson shall have been committed with the intention of
collecting under an insurance policy against loss or damage by
fire.
(a) If an inhabited house or any other building in which people
are accustomed to meet is set on fire, and the culprit did not
know that such house or building was occupied at the time, or if
he shall set fire to a moving freight train or motor vehicle, and
the value of the damage caused exceeds 6,000 pesos;
(b) If the value of the damage caused in paragraph (b) of the
preceding subdivision does not exceed 6,000 pesos;
(c) If a farm, sugar mill, cane mill, mill central, bamboo groves
or any similar plantation is set on fire and the damage caused
exceeds 6,000 pesos; and
(d) If grain fields, pasture lands, or forests, or plantings are set
on fire, and the damage caused exceeds 6,000 pesos.
3. By prision mayor:
(a) If the value of the damage caused in the case mentioned in
paragraphs (a),
(c), and (d) in the next preceding subdivision does not exceed
6,000 pesos;
(b) If a building not used as a dwelling or place of assembly,
located in a populated place, is set on fire, and the damage
caused exceeds 6,000 pesos;
4. By prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its
medium period:
(a) If a building used as dwelling located in an uninhabited
place is set on fire and the damage caused exceeds 1,000 pesos;
(b) If the value or the damage caused in the case mentioned in
paragraphs (c) and (d) of subdivision 2 of this article does not
exceed 200 pesos.
5. By prision correccional in its medium period to prision mayor in its
minimum period, when the damage caused is over 200 pesos but does
not exceed 1,000 pesos, and the property referred to in paragraph (a) of
the preceding subdivision is set on fire; but when the value of such
property does not exceed 200 pesos, the penalty next lower in degree
than that prescribed in this subdivision shall be imposed.
6. The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum
periods, if the damage caused in the case mentioned in paragraph (b) of
subdivision 3 of this article does not exceed 6,000 pesos but is over 200
pesos.
7. The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium
periods, if the damage caused in the case mentioned paragraph (b)
subdivision 3 of this article does not exceed 200 pesos.
8. The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine ranging from fifty to one
hundred per centum if the damage caused shall be imposed, when the
property burned consists of grain fields, pasture lands, forests, or
plantations when the value of such property does not exceed 200 pesos.
(As amended by R.A. 5467, approved May 12, 1969).
Article 322. Cases of arson not included in the preceding articles. - Cases of
arson not included in the next preceding articles shall be punished:
1. By arresto mayor in its medium and maximum periods, when the
damage caused does not exceed 50 pesos;
2. By arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its
minimum period, when the damage caused is over 50 pesos but does not
exceed 200 pesos;
3. By prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods, if the
damage caused is over 200 pesos but does not exceed 1,000 pesos; and
4. By prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods, if it is
over 1,000 pesos.
Article 323. Arson of property of small value. - The arson of any uninhabited
hut, storehouse, barn, shed, or any other property the value of which does not
exceed 25 pesos, committed at a time or under circumstances which clearly
exclude all danger of the fire spreading, shall not be punished by the penalties
respectively prescribed in this chapter, but in accordance with the damage
caused and under the provisions of the following chapter.
Article 324. Crimes involving destruction. - Any person who shall cause
destruction by means of explosion, discharge of electric current, inundation,
sinking or stranding of a vessel, intentional damaging of the engine of said
vessel, taking up the rails from a railway track, maliciously changing railway
signals for the safety of moving trains, destroying telegraph wires and telegraph
posts, or those of any other system, and, in general, by using any other agency or
means of destruction as effective as those above enumerated, shall be punished
by reclusion temporal if the commission has endangered the safety of any
person, otherwise, the penalty of prision mayor shall be imposed.
Article 325. Burning one's own property as means to commit arson. - Any
person guilty of arson or causing great destruction of the property belonging to
another shall suffer the penalties prescribed in this chapter, even though he shall
have set fire to or destroyed his own property for the purposes of committing the
crime.
Article 326. Setting fire to property exclusively owned by the offender. - If the
property burned shall be the exclusive property of the offender, he shall be
punished by arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its
minimum period, if the arson shall have been committed for the purpose of
defrauding or causing damage to another, or prejudice shall actually have been
caused, or if the thing burned shall have been a building in an inhabited place.
Article 326-A. In cases where death resulted as a consequence of arson. - If
death resulted as a consequence of arson committed on any of the properties and
under any of the circumstances mentioned in the preceding articles, the court
shall impose the death penalty.
Article 326-B. Prima facie evidence of arson. - Any of the following
circumstances shall constitute prima facie evidence of arson:
1. If after the fire, are found materials or substances soaked in gasoline,
kerosene, petroleum, or other inflammables, or any mechanical,
electrical chemical or traces or any of the foregoing.
2. That substantial amount of inflammable substance or materials were
stored within the building not necessary in the course of the defendant's
business; and
3. That the fire started simultaneously in more than one part of the
building or locale under circumstances that cannot normally be due to
accidental or unintentional causes: Provided, however, That at least one
of the following is present in any of the three above-mentioned
circumstances:
(a) That the total insurance carried on the building and/or goods
is more than 80 per cent of the value of such building and/or
goods at the time of the fire;
(b) That the defendant after the fire has presented a fraudulent
claim for loss.
The penalty of prision correccional shall be imposed on one who plants the
articles above-mentioned, in order to secure a conviction, or as a means of
extortion or coercion. (As amended by R.A. 5467, approved May 12, 1969).
Chapter Nine
MALICIOUS MISCHIEF
Article 327. Who are liable for malicious mischief. - Any person who shall
deliberately cause the property of another any damage not falling within the
terms of the next preceding chapter shall be guilty of malicious mischief.
Article 328. Special cases of malicious mischief. - Any person who shall cause
damage to obstruct the performance of public functions, or using any poisonous
or corrosive substance; or spreading any infection or contagion among cattle; or
who cause damage to the property of the National Museum or National Library,
or to any archive or registry, waterworks, road, promenade, or any other thing
used in common by the public, shall be punished:
1. By prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods, if the
value of the damage caused exceeds 1,000 pesos;
2. By arresto mayor, if such value does not exceed the abovementioned
amount but it is over 200 pesos; and
3. By arresto menor, in such value does not exceed 200 pesos.
Article 329. Other mischiefs. - The mischiefs not included in the next preceding
article shall be punished:
1. By arresto mayor in its medium and maximum periods, if the value
of the damage caused exceeds 1,000 pesos;
2. By arresto mayor in its minimum and medium periods, if such value
is over 200 pesos but does not exceed 1,000 pesos; and
3. By arresto menor or fine of not less than the value of the damage
caused and not more than 200 pesos, if the amount involved does not
exceed 200 pesos or cannot be estimated.
Article 330. Damage and obstruction to means of communication. - The penalty
of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods shall be imposed
upon any person who shall damage any railway, telegraph or telephone lines.
If the damage shall result in any derailment of cars, collision or other accident,
the penalty of prision mayor shall be imposed, without prejudice to the criminal
liability of the offender for the other consequences of his criminal act.
For the purpose of the provisions of the article, the electric wires, traction
cables, signal system and other things pertaining to railways, shall be deemed to
constitute an integral part of a railway system.
Article 331. Destroying or damaging statues, public monuments or paintings. -
Any person who shall destroy or damage statues or any other useful or
ornamental public monument shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor in its
medium period to prision correccional in its minimum period.
Any person who shall destroy or damage any useful or ornamental painting of a
public nature shall suffer the penalty of arresto menor or a fine not exceeding
200 pesos, or both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
Chapter Ten
EXEMPTION FROM CRIMINAL LIABILITY IN CRIMES AGAINST
PROPERTY
Article 332. Persons exempt from criminal liability. - No criminal, but only civil
liability, shall result from the commission of the crime of theft, swindling or
malicious mischief committed or caused mutually by the following persons:
1. Spouses, ascendants and descendants, or relatives by affinity in the
same line.
2. The widowed spouse with respect to the property which belonged to
the deceased spouse before the same shall have passed into the
possession of another; and
3. Brothers and sisters and brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, if living
together.
The exemption established by this article shall not be applicable to strangers
participating in the commission of the crime.
Title Eleven
CRIMES AGAINST CHASTITY
Chapter One
ADULTERY AND CONCUBINAGE
Article 333. Who are guilty of adultery. - Adultery is committed by any married
woman who shall have sexual intercourse with a man not her husband and by
the man who has carnal knowledge of her knowing her to be married, even if the
marriage be subsequently declared void.
Adultery shall be punished by prision correccional in its medium and maximum
periods.
If the person guilty of adultery committed this offense while being abandoned
without justification by the offended spouse, the penalty next lower in degree
than that provided in the next preceding paragraph shall be imposed.
Article 334. Concubinage. - Any husband who shall keep a mistress in the
conjugal dwelling, or shall have sexual intercourse, under scandalous
circumstances, with a woman who is not his wife, or shall cohabit with her in
any other place, shall be punished by prision correccional in its minimum and
medium periods.
The concubine shall suffer the penalty of destierro.
Chapter Two
RAPE AND ACTS OF LASCIVIOUSNESS
Article 335. When and how rape is committed. - Rape is committed by having
carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following circumstances:
1. By using force or intimidation;
2. When the woman is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious; and
3. When the woman is under twelve years of age, even though neither of
the circumstances mentioned in the two next preceding paragraphs shall
be present.
The crime of rape shall be punished by reclusion perpetua.
Whenever the crime of rape is committed with the use of a deadly weapon or by
two or more persons, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua to death.
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has become insane,
the penalty shall be death.
When rape is attempted or frustrated and a homicide is committed by reason or
on the occasion thereof, the penalty shall be likewise death.
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, a homicide is committed, the
penalty shall be death. (As amended by R.A. 2632, approved June 18, 1960, and
R.A. 4111, approved June 20, 1964).
Article 336. Acts of lasciviousness. - Any person who shall commit any act of
lasciviousness upon other persons of either sex, under any of the circumstances
mentioned in the preceding article, shall be punished by prision correccional.
Chapter Three
SEDUCTION, CORRUPTION OF MINORS AND WHITE SLAVE
TRADE
Article 337. Qualified seduction. - The seduction of a virgin over twelve years
and under eighteen years of age, committed by any person in public authority,
priest, home-servant, domestic, guardian, teacher, or any person who, in any
capacity, shall be entrusted with the education or custody of the woman seduced,
shall be punished by prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods.
The penalty next higher in degree shall be imposed upon any person who shall
seduce his sister or descendant, whether or not she be a virgin or over eighteen
years of age.
Under the provisions of this Chapter, seduction is committed when the offender
has carnal knowledge of any of the persons and under the circumstances
described herein.
Article 338. Simple seduction. - The seduction of a woman who is single or a
widow of good reputation, over twelve but under eighteen years of age,
committed by means of deceit, shall be punished by arresto mayor.
Article 339. Acts of lasciviousness with the consent of the offended party. - The
penalty of arresto mayor shall be imposed to punish any other acts of
lasciviousness committed by the same persons and the same circumstances as
those provided in Articles 337 and 338.
Article 340. Corruption of minors. - Any person who shall promote or facilitate
the prostitution or corruption of persons underage to satisfy the lust of another,
shall be punished by prision mayor, and if the culprit is a pubic officer or
employee, including those in government-owned or controlled corporations, he
shall also suffer the penalty of temporary absolute disqualification. (As amended
by Batas Pambansa Blg. 92).
Article 341. White slave trade. - The penalty of prision mayor in its medium and
maximum period shall be imposed upon any person who, in any manner, or
under any pretext, shall engage in the business or shall profit by prostitution or
shall enlist the services of any other for the purpose of prostitution (As amended
by Batas Pambansa Blg. 186.)
Chapter Four
ABDUCTION
Article 342. Forcible abduction. - The abduction of any woman against her will
and with lewd designs shall be punished by reclusion temporal.
The same penalty shall be imposed in every case, if the female abducted be
under twelve years of age.
Article 343. Consented abduction. - The abduction of a virgin over twelve years
and under eighteen years of age, carried out with her consent and with lewd
designs, shall be punished by the penalty of prision correccional in its minimum
and medium periods.
Chapter Five
PROVISIONS RELATIVE TO THE PRECEDING CHAPTERS OF
TITLE ELEVEN
Article 344. Prosecution of the crimes of adultery, concubinage, seduction,
abduction, rape and acts of lasciviousness. - The crimes of adultery and
concubinage shall not be prosecuted except upon a complaint filed by the
offended spouse.
The offended party cannot institute criminal prosecution without including both
the guilty parties, if they are both alive, nor, in any case, if he shall have
consented or pardoned the offenders.
The offenses of seduction, abduction, rape or acts of lasciviousness, shall not be
prosecuted except upon a complaint filed by the offended party or her parents,
grandparents, or guardian, nor, in any case, if the offender has been expressly
pardoned by the above named persons, as the case may be.
In cases of seduction, abduction, acts of lasciviousness and rape, the marriage of
the offender with the offended party shall extinguish the criminal action or remit
the penalty already imposed upon him. The provisions of this paragraph shall
also be applicable to the co-principals, accomplices and accessories after the fact
of the above-mentioned crimes.
Article 345. Civil liability of persons guilty of crimes against chastity. - Person
guilty of rape, seduction or abduction, shall also be sentenced:
1. To indemnify the offended woman.
 2. To acknowledge the offspring, unless the law should prevent him
from so doing.
3. In every case to support the offspring.
The adulterer and the concubine in the case provided for in Articles 333 and 334
may also be sentenced, in the same proceeding or in a separate civil proceeding,
to indemnify for damages caused to the offended spouse.
Article 346. Liability of ascendants, guardians, teachers, or other persons
entrusted with the custody of the offended party. - The ascendants, guardians,
curators, teachers and any person who, by abuse of authority or confidential
relationships, shall cooperate as accomplices in the perpetration of the crimes
embraced in chapters, second, third and fourth, of this title, shall be punished as
principals.
Teachers or other persons in any other capacity entrusted with the education and
guidance of youth, shall also suffer the penalty of temporary special
disqualification in its maximum period to perpetual special disqualification.
Any person falling within the terms of this article, and any other person guilty of
corruption of minors for the benefit of another, shall be punished by special
disqualification from filling the office of guardian.
Title Twelve
CRIMES AGAINST THE CIVIL STATUS OF PERSONS
Chapter one
SIMULATION OF BIRTHS AND USURPATION OF CIVIL STATUS
Article 347. Simulation of births, substitution of one child for another and
concealment or abandonment of a legitimate child. - The simulation of births
and the substitution of one child for another shall be punished by prision mayor
and a fine of not exceeding 1,000 pesos.
The same penalties shall be imposed upon any person who shall conceal or
abandon any legitimate child with intent to cause such child to lose its civil
status.
Any physician or surgeon or public officer who, in violation of the duties of his
profession or office, shall cooperate in the execution of any of the crimes
mentioned in the two next preceding paragraphs, shall suffer the penalties
therein prescribed and also the penalty of temporary special disqualification.
Article 348. Usurpation of civil status. - The penalty of prision mayor shall be
imposed upon any person who shall usurp the civil status of another, should he
do so for the purpose of defrauding the offended part or his heirs; otherwise, the
penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods shall be
imposed.
Chapter Two
ILLEGAL MARRIAGES
Article 349. Bigamy. - The penalty of prision mayor shall be imposed upon any
person who shall contract a second or subsequent marriage before the former
marriage has been legally dissolved, or before the absent spouse has been
declared presumptively dead by means of a judgment rendered in the proper
proceedings.
Article 350. Marriage contracted against provisions of laws. - The penalty of
prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods shall be imposed upon
any person who, without being included in the provisions of the next proceeding
article, shall have not been complied with or that the marriage is in disregard of
a legal impediment.
If either of the contracting parties shall obtain the consent of the other by means
of violence, intimidation or fraud, he shall be punished by the maximum period
of the penalty provided in the next preceding paragraph.
Article 351. Premature marriages. - Any widow who shall marry within three
hundred and one day from the date of the death of her husband, or before having
delivered if she shall have been pregnant at the time of his death, shall be
punished by arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding 500 pesos.
The same penalties shall be imposed upon any woman whose marriage shall
have been annulled or dissolved, if she shall marry before her delivery or before
the expiration of the period of three hundred and one day after the legal
separation.
Article 352. Performance of illegal marriage ceremony. - Priests or ministers of
any religious denomination or sect, or civil authorities who shall perform or
authorize any illegal marriage ceremony shall be punished in accordance with
the provisions of the Marriage Law.
Title Thirteen
CRIMES AGAINST HONOR
Chapter One
LIBEL
Section One. - Definitions, forms, and punishment of this crime.
Article 353. Definition of libel. - A libel is public and malicious imputation of a
crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition,
status, or circumstance tending to cause the dishonor, discredit, or contempt of a
natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead.
Article 354. Requirement for publicity. - Every defamatory imputation is
presumed to be malicious, even if it be true, if no good intention and justifiable
motive for making it is shown, except in the following cases:
1. A private communication made by any person to another in the
performance of any legal, moral or social duty; and
2. A fair and true report, made in good faith, without any comments or
remarks, of any judicial, legislative or other official proceedings which
are not of confidential nature, or of any statement, report or speech
delivered in said proceedings, or of any other act performed by public
officers in the exercise of their functions.
Article 355. Libel means by writings or similar means. - A libel committed by
means of writing, printing, lithography, engraving, radio, phonograph, painting,
theatrical exhibition, cinematographic exhibition, or any similar means, shall be
punished by prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods or a fine
ranging from 200 to 6,000 pesos, or both, in addition to the civil action which
may be brought by the offended party.
Article 356. Threatening to publish and offer to present such publication for a
compensation. - The penalty of arresto mayor or a fine from 200 to 2,000 pesos,
or both, shall be imposed upon any person who threatens another to publish a
libel concerning him or the parents, spouse, child, or other members of the
family of the latter or upon anyone who shall offer to prevent the publication of
such libel for a compensation or money consideration.
Article 357. Prohibited publication of acts referred to in the course of official
proceedings. - The penalty of arresto mayor or a fine of from 20 to 2,000 pesos,
or both, shall be imposed upon any reporter, editor or manager or a newspaper,
daily or magazine, who shall publish facts connected with the private life of
another and offensive to the honor, virtue and reputation of said person, even
though said publication be made in connection with or under the pretext that it is
necessary in the narration of any judicial or administrative proceedings wherein
such facts have been mentioned.
Article 358. Slander. - Oral defamation shall be punished by arresto mayor in
its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period if it is of a
serious and insulting nature; otherwise the penalty shall be arresto menor or a
fine not exceeding 200 pesos.
Article 359. Slander by deed. - The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum
period to prision correccional in its minimum period or a fine ranging from 200
to 1,000 pesos 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 a serious nature, the penalty
shall be arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos.
Section Two. - General provisions
Article 360. Persons responsible. - Any person who shall publish, exhibit, or
cause the publication or exhibition of any defamation in writing or by similar
means, shall be responsible for the same.
The author or editor of a book or pamphlet, or the editor or business manager of
a daily newspaper, magazine or serial publication, shall be responsible for the
defamations contained therein to the same extent as if he were the author
thereof.
The criminal and civil action for damages in cases of written defamations as
provided for in this chapter, shall be filed simultaneously or separately with the
court of first instance of the province or city where the libelous article is printed
and first published or where any of the offended parties actually resides at the
time of the commission of the offense: Provided, however, That where one of
the offended parties is a public officer whose office is in the City of Manila at
the time of the commission of the offense, the action shall be filed in the Court
of First Instance of the City of Manila, or of the city or province where the
libelous article is printed and first published, and in case such public officer does
not hold office in the City of Manila, the action shall be filed in the Court of
First Instance of the province or city where he held office at the time of the
commission of the offense or where the libelous article is printed and first
published and in case one of the offended parties is a private individual, the
action shall be filed in the Court of First Instance of the province or city where
he actually resides at the time of the commission of the offense or where the
libelous matter is printed and first published: Provided, further, That the civil
action shall be filed in the same court where the criminal action is filed and vice
versa: Provided, furthermore, That the court where the criminal action or civil
action for damages is first filed, shall acquire jurisdiction to the exclusion of
other courts: And, provided, finally, That this amendment shall not apply to
cases of written defamations, the civil and/or criminal actions which have been
filed in court at the time of the effectivity of this law.
Preliminary investigation of criminal action for written defamations as provided
for in the chapter shall be conducted by the provincial or city fiscal of the
province or city, or by the municipal court of the city or capital of the province
where such action may be instituted in accordance with the provisions of this
article.
No criminal action for defamation which consists in the imputation of a crime
which cannot be prosecuted de oficio shall be brought except at the instance of
and upon complaint expressly filed by the offended party. (As amended by R.A.
1289, approved June 15, 1955, R.A. 4363, approved June 19, 1965).
Article 361. Proof of the truth. - In every criminal prosecution for libel, the truth
may be given in evidence to the court and if it appears that the matter charged as
libelous is true, and, moreover, that it was published with good motives and for
justifiable ends, the defendants shall be acquitted.
Proof of the truth of an imputation of an act or omission not constituting a crime
shall not be admitted, unless the imputation shall have been made against
Government employees with respect to facts related to the discharge of their
official duties.
In such cases if the defendant proves the truth of the imputation made by him, he
shall be acquitted.
Article 362. Libelous remarks. - Libelous remarks or comments connected with
the matter privileged under the provisions of Article 354, if made with malice,
shall not exempt the author thereof nor the editor or managing editor of a
newspaper from criminal liability.
Chapter Two
INCRIMINATORY MACHINATIONS
Article 363. Incriminating innocent person. - Any person who, by any act not
constituting perjury, shall directly incriminate or impute to an innocent person
the commission of a crime, shall be punished by arresto menor.
Article 364. Intriguing against honor. - The penalty of arresto menor or fine not
exceeding 200 pesos shall be imposed for any intrigue which has for its
principal purpose to blemish the honor or reputation of a person.
Title Fourteen
QUASI-OFFENSES
Sole Chapter
CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE
Article 365. Imprudence and negligence. - Any person who, by reckless
imprudence, shall commit any act which, had it been intentional, would
constitute a grave felony, shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor in its
maximum period to prision correccional in its medium period; if it would have
constituted a less grave felony, the penalty of arresto mayor in its minimum and
medium periods shall be imposed; if it would have constituted a light felony, the
penalty of arresto menor in its maximum period shall be imposed.
Any person who, by simple imprudence or negligence, shall commit an act
which would otherwise constitute a grave felony, shall suffer the penalty
of arresto mayor in its medium and maximum periods; if it would have
constituted a less serious felony, the penalty of arresto mayor in its minimum
period shall be imposed.
When the execution of the act covered by this article shall have only resulted in
damage to the property of another, the offender shall be punished by a fine
ranging from an amount equal to the value of said damages to three times such
value, but which shall in no case be less than twenty-five pesos.
A fine not exceeding two hundred pesos and censure shall be imposed upon any
person who, by simple imprudence or negligence, shall cause some wrong
which, if done maliciously, would have constituted a light felony.
In the imposition of these penalties, the court shall exercise their sound
discretion, without regard to the rules prescribed in Article sixty-four.
The provisions contained in this article shall not be applicable:
1. When the penalty provided for the offense is equal to or lower than
those provided in the first two paragraphs of this article, in which case
 the court shall impose the penalty next lower in degree than that which The provisions of the Acts which are mentioned hereunder are also repealed,
should be imposed in the period which they may deem proper to apply. namely:

2. When, by imprudence or negligence and with violation of the Act 666, Sections 6 and 18.
Automobile Law, to death of a person shall be caused, in which case the
defendant shall be punished by prision correccional in its medium and Act 1508, Sections 9, 10, 11, and 12.
maximum periods.
Act 1524, Sections 1, 2, and 6.
Reckless imprudence consists in voluntary, but without malice, doing or falling
to do an act from which material damage results by reason of inexcusable lack Act 1697, Sections 3 and 4.
of precaution on the part of the person performing of failing to perform such act,
taking into consideration his employment or occupation, degree of intelligence, Act 1757, Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, (first clause), 11, and 12.
physical condition and other circumstances regarding persons, time and place.
Act 2381, Sections 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 9.
Simple imprudence consists in the lack of precaution displayed in those cases in
which the damage impending to be caused is not immediate nor the danger Act 2711, Sections 102, 2670, 2671, and 2672.
clearly manifest.
Act 3247, Sections 1, 2, 3, and 5; and General Order, No. 58, series of
The penalty next higher in degree to those provided for in this article shall be 1900, Section 106.
imposed upon the offender who fails to lend on the spot to the injured parties
such help as may be in this hand to give. (As amended by R.A. 1790, approved
And all laws and parts of laws which are contrary to the provisions of this Code
June 21, 1957).
are hereby repealed.
Title Fifteen
Approved: December 8, 1930
FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 366. Application of laws enacted prior to this Code. - Without prejudice

to the provisions contained in Article 22 of this Code, felonies and
misdemeanors, committed prior to the date of effectiveness of this Code shall be
punished in accordance with the Code or Acts in force at the time of their
commission.

Article 367. Repealing Clause. - Except as is provided in the next preceding

article, the present Penal Code, the Provisional Law for the application of its
provisions, and Acts Nos. 277, 282 ,480, 518, 519, 899, 1121, 1438, 1523, 1559,
1692, 1754, 1955, 1773, 2020, 2036, 2071, 2142, 2212, 2293, 2298, 2300, 2364,
2549, 2557, 2595, 2609, 2718, 3103, 3195, 3244, 3298, 3309, 3313, 3397, 3559,
and 3586, are hereby repealed.

ACT No. 2874

As amended by Acts Nos. 3164, 3219, 3346, and 3517
TO AMEND AND COMPILE THE LAWS RELATIVE TO LANDS OF
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Legislature assembled and by the authority of the same:
TITLE I
TITLE AND APPLICATION OF THE ACT, LANDS TO WHICH IT
REFERS, AND CLASSIFICATION, DELIMITATION, AND SURVEY
THEREOF FOR CONCESSION.
CHAPTER I.
SHORT TITLE OF THE ACT, LANDS TO WHICH IT APPLIES, AND
OFFICERS CHARGED WITH ITS EXECUTION.
Section 1. The short title of this Act shall be "The Public Land Act."
Section 2. The provisions of this Act shall apply to the lands of the public
domain; but timber and mineral lands shall be governed by special laws and
nothing in this Act provided shall be understood or construed to charge or-
modify the government and disposition of the lands commonly called "friar
lands" and those which, being privately owned, have reverted to or become the
property of the Philippine Government, which administration and disposition
shall be governed by the laws at present in force or which hereafter be enacted
by the Legislature.
Section 3. While title to lands of the public domain remains in the Government,
the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources shall be the executive officer
charged with carrying out the provisions of this Act, through the Director of
Lands, who shall act under his immediate control.
Section 4. Subject to said control, the Director of Lands shall have direct
executive control of the survey, classification lease, sale, or any other form of
concession or disposition and management of the lands of the public domain,
and his decisions as to questions of fact shall be conclusive when approved by
the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Section 5. The Director of Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall prepare and issue forms, instructions,
rules and regulations consistent with this Act, as may be necessary and proper to
carry into effect the provisions thereof and for the conduct of proceedings
arising under such provisions.
CHAPTER II.
CLASSIFICATION, DELIMITATION AND SURVEY OF LANDS OF
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, FOR THE CONCESSION THEREOF
Section 6. The Governor-General, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall from time to time classify the lands of
the public domain into —
(a) Alienable or disposable
(b) Timber and
(c) Mineral lands
and may it any time and in a like manner transfer such lands from one class to
another, for the purposes of their government and disposition.
Section 7. For the purpose of the government and disposition of alienable or
disposable public lands, the Governor-General, upon recommendation by the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall from time to time declare
what lands are open to disposition or concession under this, Act.
Section 8. Only those lands shall be declared open to disposition or concession
which have been officially delimited and classified and, when practicable,
surveyed, and which have not been reserved for public or quasi-public uses, not
appropriated by the Government, nor in any manner become private property,
nor those on which a private right authorized and recognized by this Act or any
other valid law may be claimed, or which, having been reserved or appropriated,
have ceased to be so. However, the Governor-General may, for reasons of public
interest, declare lands of the public domain open to disposition before the same
have had their boundaries established or been surveyed, or may, for the same
reasons, suspend their concession or disposition by proclamation duly published
or by Act of the Legislature.
Section 9. For the purposes of their government and disposition, the lands of the
public domain alienable or open to disposition shall be classified, according to
the use or purposes to which such lands are destined, as follows:
 (a) Agricultural HOMESTEADS

(b) Commercial, industrial, or for similar productive purposes.
(c) Educational, charitable, and other similar purposes.
(d) Reservations for town sites, and for public and quasi-public uses.
The Governor-General, upon recommendation by the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources, shall from time to time make the classification provided
for in this section, and may, at any time and in a similar manner, transfer lands
from one class to another.
Section 10. The words "alienation,'' "disposition," or "Concession" as used in
this Act, shall mean any of the methods authorized by this Act for the
acquisition, lease, use or benefit of the lands of the public domain other than
timber or mineral lands.
Section 12. Any citizen of the Philippine Islands or of the United States, over
the age of eighteen years, or the head of a family, who does not own more than
twenty-four hectares of land in said Islands or has not had the benefit of any
gratuitous allotment of more than twenty-four hectares of land since the
occupation of the Philippine Islands by the United States, may enter a
homestead or not exceeding twenty-four hectares of agricultural land of the
public domain.
Section 13. Upon the filing of an application for a homestead, the Director of
Lands, if he finds that the application should be approved, shall do so and
authorize the applicant to take possession of the land upon the payment of five
pesos, Philippine currency, as entry fee. Within six months from and after the
date of the approval of the application, the applicant shall begin to work the
homestead otherwise he shall lose his prior right to the land. (As amended by
section 1 of Act No. 3517.)

TITLE II Section 14. No certificate shall be given or patent issued for the land applied for
until at least one-fourth of the land has been improved and cultivated. The
AGRICULTURAL PUBLIC LANDS period within which the land shall be cultivated shall not be less than one nor
more than five years, from and after the date of the approval of the application.
The applicant shall, within the said period, notify the Director of Lands as soon
CHAPTER III.
as he is ready to acquire the title. If at the date of such notice or at any time
within the two years next following the expiration of said period, the applicant
FORMS OF CONCESSION OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS shall prove to the satisfaction of the Director of lands by affidavits of two
credible witnesses, that he has resided in the municipality in which the land is
Section 11. Public lands suitable for agricultural purposes can be disposed of located, or in a municipality adjacent to the same, and has cultivated at least
only as follows, and not otherwise: one-fourth of the land continuously since the approval of the application, and
shall make affidavit that no part of said land has been alienated or encumbered,
(1) For homestead settlement. and that he has complied with all the requirements of this Act, then, upon the
payment of five pesos, he shall be entitled to a patent. (As amended by section 2
(2) By sale. of Act No. 3517).

(3) By lease.
(4) By confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles.
(a) By judicial legalization.
(b) By administrative legalization (free patent)
Section 15. At the option of the applicant, payment of the fees required in this
chapter may be made in annual installments. These payments may be made to
the municipal treasurer of the locality, who, in turn, shall forward them to the
provincial treasurer. In case of the delinquency of the applicant, the Director of
Lands may, sixty days after such delinquency has occurred, either cancel the
application or grant an extension of time not to exceed one hundred and twenty
days for the payment of the sum due.

CHAPTER IV. Section 16. If at any time before the expiration of the period allowed by law for
the making of final proof, it shall be proved to the satisfaction of the Director of
Lands, after due notice to the homesteader, that the land entered is not under the
law subject to homestead entry, or that the homesteader has actually changed his
residence, or voluntarily abandoned the land for more than six months at any
time during the years of residence and occupation herein required or has
otherwise failed to comply with the requirements of this Act, the Director of
Lands may cancel the entry.
Section 17. Before the final proof shall be submitted by any person claiming to
have complied with the provisions of this chapter, due notice, as prescribed by
the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources shall be given to the public
of his intention to make such proof, stating therein the name and address of the
homesteader, the description of the land, with its boundaries and area, the names
of the witnesses by whom it is expected that the necessary facts will be
established, and the time and place at which, and the name of the officer before
whom, such proof will be made.
Section 18. In case the homesteader shall suffer from mental alienation, or shall
for any other reason be incapacitated for exercising his rights personally, the
person legally representing him may offer and submit the final proof on behalf
of such incapacitated person.
Section 19. Not more than one homestead shall be allowed to any person; but if
a homesteader has made final proof as provided in this chapter and is occupying
and cultivating at least one-fourth of the land applied for and the area thereof is
less than twenty-four hectares, he may apply successively for additional
homesteads which must lie in the same municipality or municipal district or in
an adjacent municipality or municipal district, until the total area of said
homesteads shall reach twenty-four hectares, but not more, with the
understanding that he shall with regard to the new tracts or additional
homesteads comply with the same conditions as prescribed by this Act for an
original homestead entry. (As amended by Sec. 1 of Act No, 3219 and Sec. 3 of
Act No. 3517).
Section 20. The cancellation of a homestead entry not due to any fault of the
applicant shall not be a bar to his applying for another homestead.
Section 21. If at any time after the approval of the application and before the
patent is issued, the applicant shall prove to the satisfaction of the Director of
lands that he has complied with all the requirements of the law, but can not
continue with his homestead, through no fault of his own, and there is a bona
fide purchaser for the rights and improvements of the applicant on the land, and
that the conveyance is not made for purposes of speculation, then the applicant,
with the previous approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, may transfer his rights to the land and improvements to any person
legally qualified to apply for a. homestead, and immediately after such transfer,
the purchaser shall file a homestead application to the land so acquired and shall
succeed the original homesteader in his rights and obligations beginning with
the date of the approval of said application of the purchaser. Any person who
has so transferred his rights may once again apply for a new homestead. Every
transfer made without the previous approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources shall be null and void and shall result in the cancellation of
the entry and the refusal of the patent.
Section 22. Any non-Christian native who has not applied for a homestead,
desiring to live upon or occupy land on any of the reservations set aside for the
so-called non-Christian tribes may request a permit of occupation for any tract
of land of the public domain reserved for said non-Christian tribes under this
Act, the area of which shall not exceed four hectares. It shall be an essential
condition that the applicant for the permit cultivate and improve the land, and if
such cultivation has not been begun within six months from and after the date on
which the permit was received, the permit shall be canceled. The permit shall be
for a term of one year. If at the expiration of this term or at any time therefor, the
holder of the permit shall apply for a homestead under the provisions of this
chapter, including the portion for which a permit was granted to him, he shall
have the priority, otherwise the land shall be again open to disposition at the
expiration of the permit.
For each the sum of one peso shall be paid.
(As amended by Sec. 2 of Act 3219 and Sec. 4 of Act 3517).
CHAPTER V.
SALE
Section 23. Any citizen of lawful age of the Philippine Islands or of the United
States, and any such citizen not of lawful age who is head of a family, and any
corporation or association of which at least sixty-one per centum of the capital
stock or of any interest in said capital stock belongs wholly to citizens of the
Philippine Islands or of the United States or of any State thereof and authorized
to transact business in the Philippine Islands, and corporate bodies organized in
the Philippine Islands authorized under their charters to do so, may purchase any
tract of public agricultural land disposable under this Act, not to exceed one
hundred and forty-four hectares in the case of an individual and one thousand
and twenty-four hectares in that of a corporation or association, by proceeding
as prescribed in this chapter: PROVIDED, That partnerships shall be entitled to
purchase not to exceed the one thousand and twenty-four hectares authorized in
this section for associations and corporations: PROVIDED, further, That
citizens of countries the laws of which grant to citizens of the Philippine Islands
the same right to acquire public land as to their own citizens, may, while such
laws are in force, but not thereafter, with the express authorization of the
Legislature, purchase any parcel of agricultural land, not in excess of one
hundred and forty-four hectares available under this Act, upon complying with
the requirements of this chapter. (As amended by sec, 3 of Act No. 3219).
Section 24. No person, corporation, association, or partnership other than those
mentioned in the last proceeding section may acquire or own agricultural public
land or land of any other denomination or classification, not used for industrial
or residence purposes, that is at the time or was originally, really or
presumptively, of the public domain. or any permanent improvement thereon, or
any real right on such land and improvement: PROVIDED, however, That
persons, corporations, associations, or partnerships which, at the date upon
which this Act shall take effect, hold agricultural public lands or land of any
other denomination not used for industrial or residence purposes, that belonged
originally, really or presumptively, to the public domain, or permanent
improvements on such lands, or a real right upon such lands and improvements,
having acquired the same under the laws and regulations in force at the date of
such acquisition, shall be authorized to continue holding the same as if such
persons, corporations, associations, or partnerships were qualified under the last
preceding section; but they shall not encumber, convey, or alienate the same to
persons, associations, corporations, or partnerships not included in section
twenty-three of this Act, except by reason or hereditary succession, duly
legalized and acknowledged by competent courts.
Section 25. Lands sold under the provisions of this chapter must be appraised in
accordance with section one hundred and fourteen of this Act. The Director of
Lands shall announce the sale thereof by publishing the proper notice once a
week for six consecutive weeks in the Official Gazette and in two newspapers,
one published in Manila and the other published in the municipality or in the
province where the land is located, or in a neighboring province, and the same
notice shall be posted on the bulletin board of the Bureau of Lands in Manila,
and in the most conspicuous place in the provincial building and the municipal
building of the province and the municipality where the land is located, and if
practicable, on the land itself; but if the value of the land does not exceed two
hundred and forty pesos, the publication in the Official Gazette and newspapers
may be omitted. The notices shall be published one in English and the other in
Spanish or in the local dialect, and shall fix a date not earlier than sixty days
after the date of the notice upon which the land will be awarded to the highest
bidder, or public bids will be called for, or other action will be taken as provided
in this chapter. (As amended by section 4 of Act No. 3219).
Section 26. All bids must be sealed and addressed to the Director of Lands, and
must have therewith cash or a certified check or post-office money order
payable to the order of the Director Of Lands, for ten per centum of the amount
of the bid, which amount shall be retained in case the bid is accepted, as part
payment of the purchase price: PROVIDED, That no bid shall be considered the
amount of which is less than the appraised value of the land. (As amended by
section 5 of Act No. 3219).
Section 27. Upon the opening of the bids the land shall be awarded to the
highest bidder. If there are two or more bids which are higher than other bids
and are equal, and one of such higher and equal bids is the bid of the applicant,
his bid shall be accepted. If, however, the bid of the applicant is not one of such
equal and higher bids, the Director of Lands shall at once submit the land for
public bidding, and to the-person making the highest bid on such public auction
the land shall be awarded. In any case the applicant, if any shall always have the
option of raising his bid to equal that of the highest bidder, and in this case the
land shall be awarded to him. No bid received at such public auction shall be
finally accepted until the bidder shall have deposited ten per centum of his bid,
as required in section twenty-six of this Act. In case none of the tracts of land
that are offered for sale or the purchase of which has been applied for, has an
area in excess of twenty-four hectares, the Director of Lands may delegate to the
Provincial treasurer concerned the power of receiving bids, holding the auction,
and proceeding in accordance with the provisions of this Act, but the provincial
treasurer, in his capacity as delegate of the Secretary of Agriculture and. Natural
Resources shall submit his recommendations to the Director of Lands for the
final decision of the latter in the case. (As amended by section 6 of Act No.
3219).
Section 28. The purchase price shall be paid as follows: The balance of the
purchase price after deducting the amount paid at the time of submitting the bid,
may be paid in full upon the making of the award, or in not more than ten annual
installments from the date of the award: PROVIDED, That it shall be an
inherent and essential condition of the sale that the purchaser shall have not less
than one third of the land broken and cultivated within five years after the date
of the award. (As amended by section 7 of Act No. 3219).
Section 29. After at least the second installment has been paid and after the
cultivation of the land has been begun, the purchaser, with the approval of the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, may convey or encumber his
rights to any person, corporation, or association legally qualified under this Act
to purchase agricultural public lands, provided such conveyance or encumbrance
does not affect any right or interest of the Government in the land. Any sale and
encumbrance made without the previous approval of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources shall be null and void and shall produce the
effect of annulling the acquisition and reverting the property and all rights
thereto to the Government, and all payments on the purchase price theretofore
made to the Government shall be forfeited After the sale has been approved, the
vendor shall not lose his right to acquire agricultural public lands under the
provisions of this Act, provided he has the necessary qualifications.
Section 30. Before any patent is issued, the purchaser must show actual
occupancy, cultivation, and improvement of at least one-fourth of the land
applied for until the date on which final payment is made. (As amended by
section 5 of Act No. 3517).
Section 31. If at any time after the date of the award and before the issuance of
patent, it is proved to the satisfaction of the Director of Lands, after due notice
to the purchaser, that the purchaser has voluntarily abandoned the land for more
than one year at any one time, or has otherwise failed to comply with the
requirements of the law, then the land shall revert to the Government and all
prior payments of purchase money shall be forfeited.
Section 32. No person, corporation, association, or partnership shall be
permitted, after the approval of this Act, to acquire the title to or posses as
owner any lands of the public domain if such lands, added to other land
belonging to such person, corporation, association, or partnership shall give a
total area greater than the area the acquisition of which by purchase is
authorized under this Act. Any excess in area over this maximum and all right,
title, interest, claim, or action held by any person, corporation, association, or
partnership resulting directly or indirectly in such excess shall revert to the
Government.
This section shall, however, not be construed to prohibit any person,
corporation, association, or partnership authorized by this Act to acquire lands
of the public domain from making loans upon real estate security and from
purchasing real estate whenever necessary for the recovery of such loans; but in
this case, as soon as the excess above referred to occurs, such person,
corporation, association, or partnership shall dispose of such lands within five
years, for the purpose of removing the excess mentioned. Upon the land in
excess of the limit there shall be paid, so long as the same is not disposed of, for
the first year a surtax of fifty per centum additional to the ordinary tax to which
property shall be subject, and for each succeeding year fifty per centum shall be
added to the last preceding annual tax rate, until the property shall have been
disposed of.
The person, corporation, association, or partnership owning the land in excess of
the limit established by this Act shall determine the portion of the land to be
segregated.
At the request of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the
Attorney-General, or the officer acting in his stead shall institute the necessary
proceedings in the proper court for the purpose of determining the excess
portion to be segregated, as well as the disposal of such portion in the exclusive
interest of the Government.
Section 33. This chapter shall be held to authorize only one purchase of the
maximum amount of land hereunder by the same person, corporation,
association, or partnership; and no corporation, association, or partnership, any
member of which shall have received the benefits of this chapter or of any of the
two preceding chapters, either as an individual or as a member of any other
corporation, association, or partnership, shall purchase any other lands of the
public domain under this chapter.
But any purchaser of public land, after having made the last payment upon and
cultivated at least one-fourth of the land purchased, if the same shall be less than
the maximum allowed by this Act may purchase successively additional
agricultural public land adjacent to or not distant from the land first purchased,
until the total area of such purchases shall reach the maximum established in this
chapter: PROVIDED, That in making such additional purchase or purchases, the
same conditions shall be complied with as prescribed by this Act for the first
purchase. (As amended by sec. 6 of Act No. 3517).
CHAPTER VI.
LEASE
Section 34. All citizen of lawful age of the Philippine Islands or of the United
States and any corporation or association of which at least sixty-one per centum
of the capital stock or of any interest in said capital stock belongs wholly to
citizens of the Philippine Islands or of the United States, and which is organized
and constituted under the laws of the Philippine Islands or of the United States
or of any state thereof and authorized to transact business in the Philippine
Islands, may lease any tract of agricultural public land available for lease under
the provisions of this Act, not exceeding a total of one thousand and twenty-four
hectares: PROVIDED, That no member, stockholder or any corporation or
association holding or controlling under lease or otherwise agricultural land in
excess of one hundred and forty-four hectares shall apply, directly or indirectly,
for agricultural public land except under the homestead and free patent
provisions of this Act: PROVIDED, further, That citizens of countries the laws
of which grant to citizens of the Philippine Islands the same rights to lease
public land as to their own citizens, may, while such laws are in force, but no
thereafter, with the express authorization of the Legislature, lease any parcel of
agricultural land, not in excess of one thousand and twenty-four hectares,
available for lease in accordance with this Act: PROVIDED, finally, That no
lease shall be permitted to interfere with any prior claim by settlement
occupation, until the consent of the occupant or settler is first had, or until such
claim shall be legally extinguished, and no person, corporation, or association,
shall be permitted to lease lands hereunder which are not reasonably necessary
to carry on his business in case of an individual, or the business for which it was
lawfully created and which it may lawfully pursue in the Philippine Islands, if an
association or corporation.
Corporations or associations not having all and each of the requirements
established in the preceding paragraph of this section may, with the express
authorization of the Legislature, lease agricultural public lands available for
lease the total area of which shall not exceed one thousand and twenty-four
hectares. (As amended by section 7 of Act No. 3517).
Section 35. The Director Of Lands shall announce the lease of lands under this
chapter by publishing the proper notice once a week for six consecutive weeks
in the Official Gazette and in two newspapers, one published in Manila and the
other published in the municipality or in the province where the land is located,
or in a neighboring province, and the same notice shall be posted on the bulletin
board of the Bureau of Lands in Manila, and in the most conspicuous place in
the provincial building and the municipal building of the province and the
municipality where the land is located, and if practicable, on the land itself and
if the value of the land does not exceed two hundred and forty pesos, the
publication in the Official Gazette and newspapers may be omitted. The notices
shall be published one in English and the other in Spanish or in the local dialect,
and shall fix a date not earlier than sixty days after the date of the notice, upon
which the land will be awarded to the highest bidder, or public bids will be
called for, or other action will be taken as provided in this chapter.
All bids must be sealed and addressed to the Director of Lands and must have
enclosed therewith cash or a certified check or post-office money order payable
to the order of the Director of Lands, for a sum equivalent to the rental for the
first three months of the lease: PROVIDED, That no bid shall be considered in
which the proposed annual rental is less than three per centum of the value of
the land according to the appraisal or reappraisal thereof made in conformity
with section one hundred and fourteen of Act Numbered Twenty-eight hundred
and seventy-four.
Upon the opening of the bids the land shall be awarded to the highest bidder. If
there are two or more bids which are higher than the others and equal, and one
of such higher and equal bids is the bid of the applicant, his bid shall be
accepted. If, however, the bid of the applicant is not one of such equal and
higher bids, the Director of Lands shall at once submit the land for public
bidding, and to the person making the highest bid on such public auction the
land shall be awarded. In any case the applicant, if any, shall always have the
option of raising his bid to equal that of the highest bidder, and in this case the
land shall be awarded to him. No bid received at such public auction shall be
accepted until the bidder shall have deposited the rental for the first three
months of the lease. (As amended by sec, 8 of Act No. 3219).
Section 36. The annual rental of the land leased shall not be less than three per
centum of the value of the land, according to the appraisal and reappraisal made
in accordance with section one hundred and fourteen of this Act. Every contract
of lease under the provisions of this chapter shall contain a clause to the effect
that a reappraisal of the land leased shall be made every ten years from the date
of the approval of the contract, if the term of the same shall be in excess of ten
years. In case the lessee is not agreeable to the reappraisal and prefers to give up
his contract of lease, he shall notify the Director of Lands of his desire within
the six months next preceding the date on which the reappraisal takes effect, and
in case his request is approved, the Director of Lands may, if the lessee should
so desire, proceed in accordance with section ninety eight of this Act.
The rent, which shall be paid yearly in advance, shall accrue from the date of the
approval of the lease, and the first payment thereof shall be made in the Bureau
of Lands on the date of the approval of the application. (As amended by section
8 of Act No. 3517).
Section 37. Leases shall run for a period of not more than twenty-five years, but
may be renewed for another period of not to exceed twenty-five years, at the
option of the lessee. In case the lessee shall have made important improvements
which, in the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
justify a renewal of the lease, a further renewal for an additional period not to
exceed twenty-five years may be granted. Upon final expiration of the lease, all
buildings and other permanent improvements made by lessee, his heirs,
executors, administrators, successors, or assigns shall become the property of
the Government, and the land together with the said improvements shall be
disposed of in accordance with the provisions of chapter five of this Act. It shall
be an inherent and essential condition of the lease that the lessee shall have not
less than one-third of the land broken and cultivated within five years after the
date of the approval of the lease and shall not assign, encumber, or sublet his
rights without the consent of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, and that the violation of this condition shall avoid the contract:
PROVIDED, That assignment, encumbrance, or subletting for purposes of
speculation shall not be permitted in any case: PROVIDED, further, That
nothing contained in this section shall be understood or construed to permit the
assignment, encumbrance, or subletting of lands leased under this Act, or under
the Public Land Act, to persons, corporations, or associations under this Act, are
not authorized to lease public lands, unless otherwise provided by general or
special legislations by the Legislature. (As amended by section 9 of Act No.
3517).
Section 38. The lease of any lands under this chapter shall not confer the right to
remove or dispose of any valuable timber except as provided in the regulations
of the Bureau of Forestry for cutting timber upon such lands. Nor shall such
lease confer the right to remove or dispose of stone, oil, coal, salts, or other
minerals, or medicinal mineral waters existing upon the same. The lease as to
the part of the land which shall be mineral may be cancelled by the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, after notice to the lessee, whenever the said
part of the land is more valuable for mineral than for agricultural purposes.
The commission of waste or the violation of the forestry regulations by the
lessee shall work a forfeiture of his payment of rent and render him liable to
immediate dispossession and suit for damage.
Section 39. The lessee of agricultural public land, after having made to or more
payments of rent and improved land leased, if the same is less than the
maximum allowed by law, may lease successively additional agricultural public
land adjacent to or near the land originally leased, until the total area of such
leases shall reach the maximum established in this chapter: PROVIDED, That in
making such additional lease, the same conditions shall be complied with as
prescribed by this Act for the first lease.(As amended by section 10 of Act. No.
3517).
Section 40. During the life of the lease, any lessee who shall have complied with
all the conditions thereof and shall have the qualifications required by section
twenty-three, shall have the option of purchasing the land leased subject to the
restrictions of chapter five of this act. (As amended by section 11 of Act No.
3517).
CHAPTER VII.
FREE PATENTS
Section 41. Any native of the Philippine Islands who is not the owner of more
than twenty-four hectares, and who since July fourth, nineteen hundred and
seven, or prior thereto, has continuously occupied and cultivated, either by
himself or through his predecessors in interest, a tract or tracts of agricultural
public lands subject to disposition, shall be entitled, under the provisions of this
chapter, to have a free patent issued to him for a tract or tracts of such land not
to exceed twenty-four hectares. (As amended by section 1 of Act No. 3164.)
Section 42. The Governor-General, upon recommendation of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources shall from time to time fix by proclamation
the period within which applications for free patents may be filed in the district,
province, municipality, or region specified in such proclamation, and upon the
expiration of the period so designated, unless the same be extended by the
Governor-General, all the land comprised within such district, province,
municipality, or region subject thereto under the provisions of this chapter may
be disposed of as agricultural public land, without prejudice to the prior right of
the occupant and cultivator to acquire such land under this Act by means other
than free patent. The time to be fixed in the entire Archipelago for the filing of
applications under this chapter shall not extend beyond December thirty-first,
nineteen hundred and thirty-eight. The period fixed for any district, province, or
municipality shall begin to run thirty days after the publication of the
proclamation in the Official Gazette. A certified copy of said proclamation shall
be furnished to the Director of Lands and to the provincial and municipal board
or council affected, and copies thereof shall be posted on the bulletin board of
the Bureau of Lands at Manila and at conspicuous places in the provincial
building and the municipal building. It shall moreover, be announced by crier in
each of the barrios of the municipality. (As amended by section 1 of Act No.
3346).
Section 43. If, after the filing of the application and the investigation, the
Director of Lands shall be satisfied of the truth of the allegations contained in
the application and that the applicant comes within the provisions of this
chapter, he shall cause a patent to issue to the applicant or his legal successor for
the tract so occupied and cultivated, provided its area does not exceed twenty-
four hectares: PROVIDED, That no application shall be finally acted upon until
notice thereof has been published in the municipality and barrio in which the
land is located and adverse claimants have had in opportunity to present their
claim.
CHAPTER VIII.
JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION OF IMPERFECT OR INCOMPLETE
TITLES
Section 44. The persons specified in the next following section are hereby
granted time, not to extend beyond December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and
thirty-eight, within which to take advantage of the benefits of this chapter:
PROVIDED, That the several periods of time designated by the Governor-
General in accordance with section forty-two of this Act shall apply also to the
lands comprised in the provisions of this chapter; but this section shall not be
construed in the sense of prohibiting any of said persons from acting under this
chapter at any time prior to the period fixed by the Governor-General. (As
amended by section 2 of Act 3346).
Section 45. The following described citizens of the Philippine Islands and the
United States, occupying lands of the public domain or claiming to own any
such lands or an interest therein, but whose titles have not been perfected or
completed, may apply to the Court of First Instance of the province where the
land is located for confirmation of their claims and the issuance of a certificate
of title therefor, under the Land Registration Act, to wit:
(a) Those who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the
United States have applied for the purchase, composition or other form
of grant of lands of the public domain under the laws and royal decrees
then in force and have instituted had prosecuted the proceedings in
connection therewith, but have, with or without default upon their part,
or for any other cause, not received title therefor, if such applicants or
grantees and their heirs have complied and cultivated said lands
continuously since the filing of their applications.
(b) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors in interest
have been in the open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession
and occupation of agricultural lands of the public domain, under a bona
fide claim of acquisition of ownership except as against the
Government, since July twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four
except when prevented by war or force majeure. These shall be
conclusively presumed to have performed all the conditions essential to
a Government grant and shall be entitled to a certificate of title under
the provisions of this chapter.
Section 46. No person claiming title to lands of the public domain not in
possession of the qualifications specified in the last preceding section may apply
for the benefits of this chapter.
Section 47. Any person or persons, or their legal representatives as successors in
right, claiming any lands or interest in lands under the provisions of this chapter,
must every case present an application to the proper Court of First Instance,
praying that the validity of the alleged title or claim be inquired into and that a
certificate of title issue to them under the provisions of the Land Registration
Act.
The application shall conform is nearly as may be in its material allegations to
the requirements of an application for registration under the Land Registration
Act, and shall be accompanied by a plan of the land and all documents
evidencing a right on the part of the applicant to the land claimed. The
application shall also state the citizenship of the applicant and shall set forth
fully the nature of the claim, and when based upon proceedings initiated under
Spanish laws, it shall specify as exactly as possible the date and form of the
application for purchase, composition or other form of grant, the extent of the
compliance with the conditions required by the Spanish laws and royal decrees
for the acquisition of legal title, and if not fully complied with the reason for
such non-compliance, together with a statement of the length of time such land
or any portion thereof has been actually occupied by the claimant or his
predecessors in interest; the use made of the land, and the nature of the
inclosure, if any.
The fees provided to be paid for the registration of lands under the Land
Registration Act shall be collected from applicants under this chapter.
Section 48. Applications for registration under this chapter shall be heard in the
Court of First Instance in the same manner and shall be subject to the same
procedure as established in the Land Registration Act for other applications
except that a notice of all such applications, together with a plan of the lands
claimed, shall be immediately forwarded to the Director of Lands, who may
appear as a party in such cases: PROVIDED, That prior to the publication for
hearing, all of the papers in said case shall be transmitted by the clerk of the
Attorney-General or officer acting in his stead, in order that he may, if he deems
it advisable for the interests of the Government, investigate all of the alleged in
the application or otherwise brought to his attention. The Attorney-General shall
return such papers to the clerk as soon as practicable within three months.
The final decree of the court shall in every case be the basis for the original
certificate of title in favor of the person entitled to the property under the
procedure prescribed in section forty-one of the Land Registration Act.
Section 49. In cadastral proceedings, instead of an application an answer or
claim may be filed with the same effect as in the procedure provided in the last
preceding two sections.
Section 50. It shall be lawful for the Director of Lands, whenever in the opinion
of the Governor-General the public interests shall require it, to cause to be filed
in the proper Court of First Instance, through the Attorney-General or the officer
acting in his stead, a petition against the holder, claimant, possessor, or occupant
of any land who shall not have voluntary come in under the provisions of this
chapter or of the Land Registration Act , stating in substance that the title of
such holder, claimant, possessor, or occupant is open to discussion; or that the
boundaries of any such land which has not been brought into court as aforesaid
are open to question; or that it is advisable that the title to such lands be settled
and adjudicated, and praying that the title to any such land or the boundaries
thereof or the right to occupancy thereof be settled and adjudicated. The judicial
proceedings under this section shall be in accordance with the laws on
adjudication of title in cadastral proceedings.
Section 51. If in the hearing of any application arising under this chapter the
court shall find that more than one person or claimant has an interest in the land
such conflicting interests shall be adjudicated by the court and decree awarded
in favor of the person or persons entitled to the land according to the laws, but if
none of said persons is entitled to the land, or if the person who might be
entitled to the same lacks the qualifications required by this Act for acquiring
agricultural land of the public domain, the decision shall be in favor of the
Government.
Section 52. Whenever, in any proceedings under this chapter to secure
registration of an incomplete or imperfect claim of title initiated prior to the
transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the United States, it shall appear that had
such claims been prosecuted to completion under laws prevailing when
instituted, and under the conditions of the grant then contemplated, the
conveyance of such land to the applicant would not have been gratuitous, but
would have involved payment therefor to the Government, then and in that event
the court shall, after decreeing in whom title should vest, further determine the
amount to be paid as a condition for the registration of the land. Such judgment
shall be certified to the Director of Lands by the clerk of the court for collection
of the amount due from the person entitled to conveyance.
Upon payment to the Director of Lands of the price specified in the judgment,
he shall so certify to the proper Court of First Instance and said court shall
forthwith order the registration of the Land in favor of the competent person
entitled thereto. If said person shall fail to pay the amount of money required by
the decree within a reasonable time fixed in the same, the court shall order the
proceeding to stand dismissed and the title to the land shall then be in the
Government free from claim of the applicant.
Section 53. Whenever any judgment of confirmation or other decree of the court
under this chapter shall become final, the clerk of the court concerned shall
certify that fact to the Director of Lands, with a certified copy of the decree of
confirmation or judgment of the court and the plan and technical description of
the land involved in the decree of judgment of the court.
Section 54. No title to, or right or equity in, any lands of the public domain may
hereafter be acquired by prescription or by adverse possession or occupancy, or
under or by virtue of any law in effect prior to American occupation, except as
expressly provided by laws enacted after said occupation of the Philippine
Islands by the United States.
TITLE III
LANDS FOR COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES AND
OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTIVE PURPOSES
CHAPTER IX.
CLASSIFICATION AND CONCESSION OF PUBLIC LANDS
SUITABLE FOR COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Section 55. Any tract of land of the public domain which, being neither timber
nor mineral land, shall be classified as suitable for residential purposes or for
commercial, industrial, or other productive purposes or for commercial,
industrial, or other productive purposes other than agricultural purposes, and
shall be open to disposition or concession, shall be disposed of under the
provisions of this chapter, and not otherwise.
Section 56. The lands disposable under this title shall be classified as follows:
(a) Lands reclaimed by the Government by dredging, filing, or other
means;
(b) Foreshore
(c) Marshy lands or lands covered with water bordering upon the shores
or banks of navigable lakes or rivers
(d) Lands not included in any of the foregoing classes.
Section 57. Any tract of land comprised under this title may be leased, or sold,
as the case may be, to any person, corporation, or association authorized to
purchase or lease public lands for agricultural purposes. The area of the land so
leased or sold shall be such as shall, in the judgment of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, be reasonably necessary for the purposes for
which such sale or lease is requested, and shall in no case exceed forty eight
hectares: PROVIDED, however, That this limitation shall not apply to grants,
donations, or transfers made to a province, municipality or branch or subdivision
of the Government for the purposes deemed by said entities conducive to the
public interest; but the land so granted, donated, or transferred to a province,
municipality, or branch or subdivision of the Government shall not be alienated,
encumbered, or otherwise disposed of in a manner affecting its title, except,
when authorized by the Legislature: PROVIDED, further, That any person,
corporation, association or partnership disqualified from purchasing public land
for agricultural purposes under the provisions of this Act, may purchase or lease
land included under this title suitable for industrial or residence purposes, but
the title or lease granted shall only be valid while such land is used for the
purposes referred to. (As amended by section 10 of Act No. 3219).
Section 58. The lands comprised in classes (a), (b), and (c) of section fifty-six
shall be disposed of to private parties by lease only and not otherwise, as soon as
the Governor-General, upon recommendation by the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources, shall declare that the same are not necessary for the
public service and are open to disposition under this chapter. The lands included
in class (d) may be disposed of by sale or lease under the provisions of this Act.
Section 59. The lands reclaimed by the Government by dredging, filling, or
otherwise shall be surveyed and may with the approval of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, be divided by the Director of Lands into lots
and blocks, with the necessary streets and alleyways between them, and said
Director shall give notice to the public, by publication in the Official Gazette or
by other means, that the lots or blocks not needed for public purposes shall be
leased for commercial or industrial or other similar purposes. (As amended by
section 11 of Act 3219).
Section 60. Whenever it is decided that lands covered by this chapter are not
needed for public purposes, the Director of Lands shall ask the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources for authority to dispose of the same. Upon
receipt of such authority, the Director of Lands shall give notice by public
advertisement in the same manner as in the case of leases or sales of agricultural
public land, that the Government will lease or sell, as the case may be, the lots
or blocks specified in the advertisement, for the purpose stated in the notice and
subject to the conditions specified in this chapter, (As amended by section 12 of
Act 3219 and section 12 of Act 3517).
Section 61. The leases executed under this chapter by the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources shall, among other conditions, contain the
following:
(a) The rental shall not be less than three per centum of the appraised
and reappraised value of the lands and one per centum of the appraised
or reappraised value of the improvement
(b) The land rented, or the improvements thereon, as the case may be,
shall be reappraised every ten years if the term of the lease is in excess
of that period.
(c) The term of the lease shall be as prescribed by section thirty-seven of
this Act.
(d) The lessee shall construct permanent improvements appropriate for
the purpose for which the lease is granted, shall commence the
construction thereof within six months from the date of the award of the
contract of lease, and shall complete the said construction within
eighteen months from the date of the execution of the contract.
(e) At the expiration of the lease or of any extension of the same, all
improvements made by the lessee, his heirs, executors, administrators,
successors, or assigns shall become the property of the Government.
(f) The regulation of all rates and fees charged to the public; and the
annual submission to the Government for approval of all tariffs of such
rates and fees.
(g) The continuance of the easements of the coast place and other
easements reserved by existing law or by any laws hereafter enacted by
the Legislature.
(h) Subjection to all easements and other rights acquired by the owners
of lands bordering upon the foreshore or marshy land.
The violation of one or any of the conditions specified in the contract shall give
rise to the rescission of said contract. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources may, however, subject to such conditions as he may prescribe, waive
the rescission arising from a violation of the conditions of subsection (d), or
extend the time without which the construction of the improvements shall be
commenced and completed. (As amended by section 13 of Act 3517).
Section 62. The sale of the lands comprised in class (d) of section fifty-six shall,
among others, comprise the following conditions:
(a) The purchaser shall make improvements of a permanent character
appropriate for the purpose for which the land is purchased, shall
commence work thereon within six months from the receipt of the
approval of the purchase, and shall complete the construction of said
improvements within eighteen months from the date of such approval or
award; otherwise the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources
may rescind the contract.
(b) The purchase price shall be paid cash down or in annual
installments, not to exceed ten.
The contract of sale may contain other conditions not inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act. (As amended by section 13 of Act 3219 and section 14 of
Act 3517).
Section 63. The kind of improvements to be made by the lessee or the
purchaser, and the plans thereof, shall be approved by the Secretary of
Commerce and Communications, in case they are constructions or
improvements which, if made by the Government, would properly have to be
executed under the supervision of the Bureau of Public Works.
Section 64. The lease or sale shall be made through oral bidding; and
adjudication shall be made to the highest bidder. However, where an applicant
has made improvements on the land by virtue of a permit issued to him by
competent authority, the sale or lease shall be made by sealed bidding as
prescribed in section twenty-seven of this Act, the provisions of which shall be
applied wherever applicable. If all or part of the lots remain unleased or unsold,
the Director of Lands shall from time to time announce in the official Gazette or
otherwise the lease or sale of those lots, if necessary. (As amended by section 15
of .Act No. 3517).
Section 65. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may grant
temporary permission, upon payment of a reasonable charge, for the use of any
portion of the lands covered by this chapter for any lawful private purpose,
subject to revocation at any time when, in his judgment, the public interest shall
require it. (As amended by section 16 of Act No. 3517).
TITLE IV
LANDS FOR EDUCATIONAL, CHARITABLE, AND OTHER SIMILAR
PURPOSES
CHAPTER X.
CONCESSION OF LANDS FOR EDUCATIONAL, CHARITABLE, AND
OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES
Section 66. Whenever any province municipality, or other branch or subdivision
of the Government shall need any portion of the land of the public domain open
to concession for educational, charitable, or other similar purposes, the
Governor-General, upon recommendation by the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, may execute contracts in favor of the same, in the form of
donation, sale, lease, exchange, or any other form, under terms and conditions to
be inserted in the contract; but land so granted shall in no case be encumbered or
alienated, except when the public service requires their being leased or
exchanged, with the approval of the Governor-General, for other lands
belonging to private parties, or if the Legislature disposes otherwise.
Section 67. Any tract of public land of the class covered by this title may be
sold or leased for the purpose of founding a cemetery, church, college, school,
university, or other institution for educational, charitable, or philanthropical
purposes or scientific research, the area to be such as may actually and
reasonably be necessary to carry out such purpose, but not to exceed ninety-six
hectares in any case. The sale or lease shall be made subject to the same
conditions as required for the sale and lease of agricultural public land, but the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may waive the condition
requiring cultivation. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, if he
sees fit, may order the sale to be made without public auction, at a price to be
fixed by said Secretary, or the lease to be granted without the auction, at a rental
to be fixed by him. In either case it shall be a condition that the purchaser or
lessee or their successors or assigns shall not sell, transfer, encumber or lease the
land for the purposes of speculation or use it for any purpose other than that
contemplated in the application, and that the violation of this condition shall
give rise to the immediate rescission of the sale or lease, as the case may be, and
to the forfeiture to the Government of all existing improvements: PROVIDED,
That it shall in no case be sublet, encumbered or resold under the conditions
above set forth except with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources. (As amended by section 14 of Act No. 3219).
TITLE V
RESERVATIONS
CHAPTER XI.
TOWN SITE RESERVATIONS
Section 68. Whenever it shall be considered to be in the public interest to found
a new town, the Secretary of Agriculture .and Natural Resources shall direct the
Director of Lands to have a survey made by his Bureau of the exterior
boundaries of the site on which such town is to be established, and upon the
completion of the survey he shall send the same to said Secretary, with his
recommendations. (As amended by section 15 of Act No. 3219).
Section 69. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, if he approves
the recommendations of the Director of Lands, shall submit the matter to the
Governor-General to the end that the latter issue a proclamation reserving the
land surveyed, or such part thereof as he may deem proper, as a town site, and a
certified copy of such proclamation shall be sent to the Director of Lands and
another to the register of deeds of the province in which the surveyed land lies.
Section 70. It shall then be the duty of the Director of Lands, after having
recorded the proclamation of the Governor-General and the survey
accompanying, the same, and having completed the legal proceedings prescribed
in chapter thirteen of this Act, to direct a subdivision in accordance with the
instructions of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, if there shall
be such instructions, and if there shall not be any, then in the manner which may
to the Director of Lands seem best adapted to the convenience and interest of the
public and the residents of the future town.
Section 71. The plat of the subdivision shall designate certain lots for
commercial and industrial uses and the remainder as residence lots, and shall
also reserve and note the lots owned by private individuals as evidenced by
record titles, or as possessed or claimed by them as private property. Such lots,
whether public or private, shall be numbered upon a general plan or system.
The plat prepared by the Director of Lands shall be submitted to the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources for consideration, modification, amendment,
or approval.
Section 72. Unless the necessary reservations are made in the proclamation of
the Governor-General, the Director of Lands, with the approval of the Secretary
of Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall reserve out of the land by him to be
subdivided lots of sufficient size and convenient situation for public use, as well
as the necessary avenue, streets, alleyways, parks, and squares. The avenues,
streets, alleys parks plazas, and lots shall be laid out on the plat as though the
lands owned or claimed by private persons were part of the public domain and
part of the reservation, with a view to the possible subsequent purchase or
condemnation thereof, if deemed necessary by the proper authorities.
Section 73. At any time, after the subdivision has been made, the Governor-
General may, in case the public interest requires it, reserve for public purposes
any lot or lots of the land so reserved and not disposed of.
Section 74. If, in order to carry out the provisions of this chapter, it shall be
necessary to condemn private lands within the limits of the new town, the
Governor-General shall direct the Attorney-General or officer acting in his stead
to at once begin proceedings for condemnation, in accordance with the
provisions of existing law.
Section 75. When the plat of subdivision has been finally approved by the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Director of Lands shall
record the same in the records of his office and shall forward a certified copy of
such record to the register of deeds of the province in which the land lies, to be
by such register recorded in the records of his office.
Section 76. All lots, except those claimed by or belonging to private parties and
those reserved for parks, buildings, and other public uses, shall be sold, after due
notice, at public auction to the highest bidder, after the approval and recording
of the plat of subdivision as above provided, but no bid shall be accepted that
does not equal at lease two-thirds of the appraised value, nor shall bids be
accepted from persons, corporations, associations, or partnerships not authorized
to purchase public lands for commercial, residential or industrial purposes under
the provisions of this Act. The provisions of section twenty-seven and sixty two
of this Act shall be observed in so far as they are applicable. Lots for which
satisfactory bids have not been received shall be again offered for sale, under the
same conditions as the first time, and if they then remain unsold, the Director of
Lands shall be authorized to sell them at private sale for not less than two-thirds
of their appraised value. (As amended by section 17 of Act No. 3517).
Section 77. All funds derived from the sale of lots shall be covered into the
Insular Treasury as part of the general funds.
Section 78. Not more than two residence lots and two lots for commercial and
industrial uses in any one town site shall be sold to any one person, corporation,
or association without the specific approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources.
Section 79. This Legislature shall have the power at any time to modify, alter,
rescind, repeal, annul, and cancel, with or without conditions, limitations,
exceptions, or reservations, all and any dispositions made by the executive
branch of the Philippine Government by virtue of this chapter, and the exercise
of this power shall be understood as reserved in all cases, as an inherent
condition thereof.
CHAPTER XII
RESERVATIONS FOR PUBLIC AND SEMI-PUBLIC PURPOSES
Section 80. Upon receipt of the order of the President of the United States, the
Governor-General shall, by proclamation, designate such land as the President
of the United States may set aside for military, naval, or other reservations for
the use of the Government of the United States.
Section 81. Upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, the Governor-General may designate by proclamation any
tract or tracts of land of the public domain as reservations for the use of the
Government of the Philippine Islands or of any of its branches, or of the
inhabitants thereof, in accordance with regulations prescribed for this purpose,
or for quasi-public uses or purposes when the public interest requires it,
including reservations for highways, rights of way for railroads, hydraulic power
sites, irrigation system, communal pastures or leguas communales, public parks,
public quarries, public fishponds, and other improvements for the public benefit.
(As amended by section 16 of Act No. 3219).
Section 82. Upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, the Governor-General may, by proclamation, designate any
tract or tracts of the public domain for the exclusive use of the non-Christian
natives, including in the reservation, in so far as practicable, the lands used or
possessed by them, and granting to each member not already the owner, by title
or gratuitous patent, of four or more hectares of land, the use and benefit only of
a tract of land not to exceed four hectares for each male member over eighteen
years of age or the head of a family. As soon as the Secretary of the Interior
shall certify that the majority of the non-Christian inhabitants of any given
reservation have advanced sufficiently in civilization, then the Governor-
General may order that the lands of the public domain within such reservation
be granted under the general provisions of this Act to the said inhabitants, and
the subdivision and distribution of said lands as above provided shall be taken
into consideration in the final disposition of the same. But any non-Christian
inhabitant may at any time apply for the general benefits of this Act, provided
the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources is satisfied that such
inhabitant is qualified to take advantage of the provisions of the same:
PROVIDED, That all grants, deeds, patents and other instruments of
conveyance of land or purporting to convey or transfer rights of property,
privileges, or easements appertaining to or growing out of lands, granted by
sultans, datus, or other chiefs of the so-called non-Christians tribes, without the
authority of the Spanish Government while the Philippine Islands were under
the sovereignty of Spain, or without the consent of the United States
Government or of the Philippine Government since the sovereignty of the
Archipelago was transferred from Spain to the United States, and all deeds and
other documents executed or issued or based upon the deeds, patents, and
documents mentioned, are hereby declared to illegal, void, and of no effect. (As
amended by section 18 of Act No. 3517).
Section 83. Upon recommendation by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, the Governor-General may, by proclamation, designate any tract or
tracts of land of the public domain for establishment of agricultural colonies;
and although the disposition of the lands to the colonists shall be made under the
provisions of this Act, yet while the Government shall have the supervision and
management of said colonies, the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources may make the necessary rules and regulations for the organization
and internal administration of the same.
The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may also, under conditions
to be established by the Legislature, turn over a colony so reserved to any person
or corporation, in order that such person or corporation may clear, break, and
prepare for cultivation the lands of said colony and establish the necessary
irrigation system and suitable roads and fences; but final disposition shall be
made of the land in accordance with the provisions of this Act, subject, however,
to such conditions as the Legislature may establish for the reimbursement of the
expense incurred in putting such lands in condition for cultivation: PROVIDED,
That the Legislature may direct that such land so prepared for cultivation may be
disposed of only by sale or lease.
CHAPTER XIII.
PROVISIONS COMMON TO RESERVATIONS
Section 84. A certified copy of every proclamation of the Governor-General
issued under the provisions of this title shall forward to the Director of Lands for
record in his office, and a copy of this record shall be forwarded to the register
of deeds of the province or city where the land lies. Upon receipt of such
certified copy, the Director of Lands shall order the immediate survey of the
proposed reservation if the land has not yet been surveyed, and as soon as the
plat has been completed, he shall proceed in accordance with the next following
section.
Section 85. If all the lands included in the proclamation of the Governor-
General are not registered under the Land Registration Act, the Attorney-
General, if requested to do so by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of section fifty of
this Act.
Section 86. The tract or tracts of land reserved under the provisions of section
eighty and eighty-one shall be non-alienable and shall not be subject to
occupation, entry, sale, lease, or other disposition until again declared alienable
under the provisions of this Act or by proclamation of the Governor-General.
(As amended by section 19 of Act No. 3715).
TITLE VI
GENERAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER XIV.
APPLICATIONS, PROCEDURE, CONCESSION OF LANDS, AND
LEGAL RESTRICTIONS AND ENCUMBRANCES
Section 87. All proclamations filed under the provisions of this Act shall be
addressed to the Director of Lands.
Section 88. Every application under the provisions of this Act shall be made
under oath and shall set forth:
(a) The name and post-office address of the applicant, stating, in the
case of an individual, his citizenship, and in the case of a corporation,
association, or partnership, accompanying a copy of its articles of
incorporation or partnership, and, if organized outside of the Philippine
Islands also the documentary evidence necessary to show that such
corporation, association, or partnership has been organized in
accordance with the requirements of the laws of the country or state
where it was constituted, and that it is authorized to transact business in
these Islands, and if not incorporated, data showing that its members
possess individually the qualifications required by this Act.
(b) That the applicant has all the qualifications required by this Act in
the case.
(c) That he has none of the disqualifications mentioned herein.
(d) That the application is made in good faith, for the actual purpose of
using the land for the object specified in the application and for no other
purpose, and that the land is suitable for the purpose for which it is
requested.
(e) That the application is made for the exclusive benefit of the applicant
and not, either directly or indirectly for the benefit of any other person,
or persons, corporation, association, or partnership.
(f) As accurate a description of the land as may be given, stating its
nature, the province, municipality, barrio, and sitio where it is located,
and its limits and boundaries, specifying those having reference to
accidents of the ground or permanent monuments, if any.
(g) Whether all or part of the land is occupied or cultivated or improved,
and by whom, giving his post-office address, and whether the land has
been occupied or cultivated or improved by the applicant or his
ascendant, the name of the ascendant, the relationship with him, the date
and place of the death of the ascendant, the date when the possession
and cultivation began, and a description of the improvements made,
accompanying satisfactory evidence and the relationship of the applicant
with the ascendant, and of the death of the latter and the descendants left
by him, in case it is alleged that he occupied and cultivated the land
first; or whether there are indications of its having been occupied,
cultivated, or improved entirely or partially, and if so, in what such
indications consist, whether he has made investigations as to when and
by whom such improvements were made, and if so, how such
investigations were made and what was the result thereof; or whether
the land is not occupied, improved, or cultivated either entirely, or
partially and there are no indications of it having ever been occupied
improved or cultivated, and in this case, what is the condition of the
land.
(h) That the land applied for is neither timber nor mineral land and does
not contain guano or deposits of salts or coal.
Section 89. The statements made in the application shall be considered as
essential conditions and parts of any concession, title, or permit issued on the
basis of such application, and any false statement therein or omission of facts
altering, changing, or modifying the consideration of the facts set forth in such
statements, and any subsequent modification, alteration, or change of the
material facts set forth in the application shall ipso facto produce the
cancellation of the concession, title, or permit granted. It shall be the duty of the
Director of Lands, from time to time and whether he may deem it advisable, to
make the necessary investigations for the purpose of ascertaining whether the
material facts set out in the application are true, or whether they continue to
exist and are maintained and preserved in good faith, and for the purposes of
such investigation, the Director of Lands shall be empowered to issue subpoenas
and subpoenas duces tecum and, if necessary, to obtain compulsory process
from the courts. In every investigation made in accordance with this section, the
existence of bad faith, fraud, concealment, or fraudulent and illegal modification
of essential facts shall be presumed if the grantee or possessor of the land shall
refuse or fail to obey a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum lawfully issued by
the Director of Lands or his authorized delegates or agents, or shall refuse or fail
to give direct and specific answers to pertinent questions, and on the basis of
such presumption, an order of cancellation may issue without further
proceedings.
Section 90. Although the maximum area of public land that may be acquired is
fixed, yet the spirit of this Act is that the rule which must determine the real area
to be granted is the beneficial use of the land. The concession or disposition
shall be for less than the maximum area authorized if at time of the issuance of
the patent or of the concession or disposition it shall appear that the applicant is
utilizing and is only able to utilize a smaller area, even though the application is
for a greater area. For the purpose of this section, the Director of Lands is
authorized to determine the area that may be granted to the applicant, and to
deny or cancel or limit any application for concession, purchase, or lease, if
convinced of the lack of means of the applicant for using the land for the
purpose for which he has requested it.
Section 91. Lands applied for under this Act shall conform to the legal
subdivisions and shall be contiguous if comprising more than one subdivision. If
subdivisions have not been made on the date of the application, the lands shall
be rectangular in form so far as practicable, but it shall be endeavored to make
them conform to the legal subdivision as soon as the same has been made,
provided the interests of the applicant or grantee are protected; and the
subdivision assigned to the applicant or grantee shall, so far as practicable,
include the land improved or cultivated. The regulations to be issued for the
execution of the provisions of this section shall take into account the legal
subdivision to be made by the Government and the inadvisability of granting the
best land at a given place to only one person.
Section 92. In case the legal subdivisions have already been made at the time of
the filing of the application, no charge shall be made for the survey; but if the
legal subdivisions have not yet been made, the cost of the survey shall be
charged to the Government, except in the following cases:
(a) In purchases under chapters five and ten of this Act; the cost of the
survey shall be charged to the purchaser if the same is a corporation,
association, or partnership; in other purchases the purchaser, whoever it
be, shall pay the total cost of the survey.
(b) In leases, the cost of the survey shall be paid by the lessee; but at any
time after the first five years from the approval of the lease, and during
the life of the same, the lessee shall be entitled to the reimbursement of
one-half of the cost of the survey, if he shows to the satisfaction of the
Director of Lands that he has occupied and improved a sufficient area of
the land or incurred sufficient expense in connection therewith to
warrant such reimbursement.
Section 93. If before the delimitation and survey of a tract of public land the
Governor-General shall declare the same disposable or alienable and such land
shall be actually occupied by a person other than the applicant, the Director of
Lands shall inform the occupant of his prior right to apply for the land and shall
give him one hundred and twenty days' time in which to file the application or
apply for the concession by any of the forms of disposition authorized by this
Act, if such occupant is qualified to acquire a concession under this Act.
Section 94. As soon as any land of the public domain has been surveyed,
delimited, and classified, the Governor-General may, in the order issued by him
declaring it open for disposition, designate a term within which occupants with
improvements but not entitled to free patents may apply for the land occupied by
them, if they have the qualifications required by this Act.
Section 95. If in the case of the two last preceding sections, the occupant or
occupants have not made application under any of the provisions of this Act at
the expiration of the time limit fixed, they shall lose any prior right to the land
recognized by this Act, and the improvements on the land, if any, shall be
forfeited to the Government.
Section 96. (Missing portion in DENR file)
Section 97. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may order such
improvements and crops to be appraised separately, for sale to the new applicant
or grantee, or may declare such land open only to sale or lease.
Section 98. In case the cancellation is due to delinquency on the part of the
applicant or grantee, the same shall be entitled to the reimbursement of the
proceeds of the sale of the improvements and crops, after deducting the total
amount of his indebtedness to the Government and the expense incurred by it in
the sale of the improvements or crops and in the new concession of the land.
Section 99. All actions for the reversion to the Government of lands of the
public domain or improvements thereon shall be instituted by the Attorney-
General or the officer acting in his stead, in the proper courts, in the name of the
Government of the Philippine Islands.
Section 100. Any person, corporation, or association may file an objection under
oath to any application or concession under this Act, grounded on any reason
sufficient under this Act for the denial or cancellation of the application or the
denial of the patent or grant. If, after the applicant or grantee has been given
suitable opportunity to be duly heard, the objection is found to be well founded,
the Director of Lands shall deny or cancel the application or deny the patent or
grant, and the person objecting shall, if qualified, be granted a prior right of
entry for a term of sixty days from the date of the notice.
Section 101. All the proofs, affidavits, and oaths of any kind required or
necessary under this Act may be made before the justice of the peace or the
municipality in which the land lies, or before the judge or clerk of the Court of
First Instance of the province in which the land lies, or before any justice of the
peace or notary public of the province in which the land lies, or before any
officer or employee of the Bureau of Lands authorized by law to administer
oaths.
The fees for the taking of final evidence before any of the officials hereinbefore
mentioned shall be as follows:
For each affidavit, fifty centavos.
For each deposition of the applicant or the witnesses, fifty centavos.
Section 102. Any owner of uncultivated agricultural land who knowingly
permits application for the same to be made to the Government and the land to
be tilled and improved by a bona fide grantee without protesting to the Bureau
of Lands within one year after cultivation has begun, shall lose all right to the
part of the land so cultivated, and improved, unless he shall bring action in the
proper court before such action for recovery prescribes and obtains favorable
judgment therein, in which case the court shall, upon its decision having become
final, order the payment to the grantee, within a reasonable period, of the
indemnity fixed by said court for the cultivation and improvement.
Section 103. If at any time the applicant or grantee shall die, before the issuance
of the patent or the final grant of the land, or during the life of the lease, or while
the applicant or grantee still has obligations pending towards the Government, in
accordance with this Act, he shall be succeeded in his rights and obligations
with respect to the land applied for or granted or leased under this Act by his
heirs in law, who shall be entitled to have issued to them the patent or final
concession if they show that they have complied with the requirements therefor,
and who shall be surrogated in all his rights and obligations for the purposes of
this Act. (As amended by section 20 of Act No. 3517).
Section 104. If at any time after the approval of the application and before the
issuance of a patent or the final concession of the land, or during the life of the
lease, or at any time when the applicant or grantee still has obligations pending
with the Government, in accordance with this Act, it appears that the land
applied for is necessary, in the public interest, for the protection of any source of
water or for any work for the public benefit that the Government wishes to
undertake the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may order the
cancellation of the application or the non-issuance of the patent or concession or
the exclusion from the land applied for of such portion as may be required, upon
payment of the value of the improvements, if any.
Section 105. All patents or certificates for lands granted under this Act shall be
prepared in the Bureau of Lands and shall issue in the name of the Government
of the Philippine Islands under the signature of Governor-General,
countersigned by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, but such
patents or certificates shall be effective only for the purposes defined in section
one hundred and twenty-two of the Land Registration Act; and the actual
conveyance of the land shall be effected only as provided in said section.
Section 106. No patent shall issue nor shall any concession or contract be finally
approved unless the land has been surveyed and an accurate plat made thereof
by the Bureau of Lands.
Section 107. In no case shall any land be granted under the provisions of this
Act when this affects injuriously the use of any adjacent land or of the waters,
rivers, creeks, foreshore, roads, or roadsteads, or vests the grantee with other
valuable rights that may be detrimental to the public interest.
Section 108. Patents or certificates issued under the provisions of this Act shall
not include nor convey the title to any gold, silver, copper, iron, or other metals
or minerals, or other substances containing minerals, guano, gums, precious
stones, coal, or coal oil contained in lands granted thereunder. These shall
remain to be property of the Government.
Section 109. All persons receiving title to lands under the provisions of this Act,
shall hold such lands subject to the provisions hereof and to the same public
servitudes as exist upon lands owned by private persons, including those with
reference to the littoral of the sea and the banks of navigable river or rivers upon
which rafting may be done.
Section 110. Said lands shall further be subject to a right of way not over twenty
meters in width for public highways, railroads, irrigation ditches, aqueducts,
telegraph and telephone lines, and similar works as the Government or any
public or quasi-public service or enterprise, including mining of forest
concessionaires, may reasonably require for carrying on their business, with
damages for the improvements only. (As amended by section 21 of Act No.
3517).
Section 111. The beneficial use of water shall be the basis, the measure, and the
limit of all rights thereto, and the patents herein granted shall be subject to the
right of the Government to make such rules and regulations for the use of water
and the protection of the water supply, and for other public purposes, as it may
deem best for the public good. Whenever, by priority of possession, rights to the
use of water for mining, agricultural, manufacturing, or other purposes have
vested and accrued, and the same are recognized and acknowledged by the local
customs, or by the laws and decisions of the courts, the possessors and owners
of such vested rights shall be maintained and protected in the same, and all
patents granted under this Act shall be subject to any vested and accrued rights
to ditches and reservoirs used in connection with such water rights as may have
been acquired in the manner above described prior to April eleven, eighteen
hundred and ninety nine.
Section 112. There is hereby reserved from the operation of all patents,
certificates, entires, and grants by the Government authorized under this Act, the
right to use for the purposes of power any flow of water in any stream running
through or by the land granted, the convertible power from which at ordinary
low water exceeds fifty horse power. Where the convertible power in any stream
running through or by land granted under the authority of this Act thus exceeds
fifty horse power, and there is no means of using such power except by the
occupation of a part of the land granted under authority of this Act, then so
much as is reasonably necessary for the mill site or site for the power house, and
for a suitable dam and site for massing the water, is hereby excepted from such
grants, not exceeding four hectares, and a right of way to the nearest public
highway from the land thus excepted, and also a right of way for the
construction and maintenance of such flumes, aqueducts, wires, poles, or other
conduits as may be needed in conveying the water to the point of conversion to
the point of use, is reserved as a servitude or easement upon the land granted by
authority of this Act: PROVIDED, however, That when the Government or any
concessionaire of the Government shall take possession of land under this
section which a grantee under this Act shall have paid for, supposing it to be
subject to grant under this Act, said grantee shall be entitled to indemnity from
the Government or the concessionaire, as the case may be, for the amount, if
any, paid by him to the Government for the land taken from him by virtue of this
section: AND PROVIDED, FURTHER, That with respect to the flow of water,
except for converting the same into power exceeding fifty horse power, said
grantee shall be entitled to the same use of the water flowing through or along
his land that other private owners enjoy under the law, subject to the
governmental regulation provided in the previous section. Water power
privileges in which the convertible power at ordinary low water shall exceed
fifty horse power shall be disposed of only upon terms established by Act of the
Legislature concerning the use, lease, or acquisition of such water privilege.
Section 113. All the lands granted by virtue of this Act except homestead upon
which final proof has not been made and approved, shall, even though, and
while the title remains in the Government, be subject to the ordinary taxes which
shall be paid by the grantee beginning with the year next following the one in
which the application or concession has been approved or the contract signed, as
the case may be, on the basis of the value fixed in such approval, concession or
contract. (As amended by section 17 of Act No. 3219).
Section 114. The appraisal or reappraisal of the lands or improvements subject
to concession or disposition under this Act shall be made by the Director of
Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The Director of Lands may request the assistance of the provincial treasurer of
the province in which the land lies or may appoint a committee for such purpose
in the province or in the municipality in which the land lies. In no case shall the
appraisal or reappraisal be less than the expense incurred or which may be
incurred by the Government in connection with the application or concession,
nor shall any reappraisal be made with an increase of more than one hundred per
centum upon the appraisal or reappraisal next preceding. (As amended by sec.
22 of Act No. 3517).
Section 115. All sums due and payable to the Government under this Act shall
draw simple interest at the rate of four per centum per annum from and after the
date in which the debtor shall become delinquent. The Director of Lands may,
however, remit such interest in the case of applicants for homesteads if it shall
appear that the delinquency is due to no fault or neglect on their part. (As
amended by section 18 of Act. No. 3219).
Section 116. Except in favor of the Government or any of its branches, units or
institutions, or legally constituted banking corporations, lands acquired under
the free patent or homestead provisions shall not be subject to encumbrance or
alienation from the date of the approval of the application and for a term of five
years from and after the date of issuance of the patent or grant, nor shall they
become liable to the satisfaction of any debt contracted prior to the expiration of
said period; but the improvements or crops on the land may be mortgaged or
pledged to qualified persons, associations, or corporations. (As amended by
section 23 of Act No. 3517).
Section 117. Every conveyance of land acquired under the free patent or
homestead provisions, when proper, shall be subject to repurchase by the
applicant, his widow, or legal heirs, for a period of five years from the date of
the conveyance.
Section 118. Conveyance and encumbrance made by persons belonging to the
so-called "non-Christian tribes," when proper, shall not be valid unless duly
approved by the Director of the Bureau of non-Christian tribes.
Section 119. Except with the consent of the grantee and the approval of the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and solely for commercial,
industrial, educational, religious or charitable purposes or for a right of way, no
corporation, association, or partnership, may acquire or have any right, title,
interest, or property right whatsoever to any land granted under the free patent,
homestead or individual sale provisions of this Act or to any permanent
improvement on such land. (As amended by section 24 of Act. No. 3517).
Section 120. No land originally acquired in any manner under the provisions of
this Act, nor any permanent improvement on such land, shall be encumbered,
alienated, or transferred, except to persons, corporations, associations, or
partnerships who may acquire lands of the public domain under this Act; to
corporations organized in the Philippine Islands authorized therefor by their
charters, and upon express authorization by the Philippine Legislature, to
citizens of countries the laws of which grant to citizens of the Philippine Islands
the same right to acquire, hold, lease, encumber, dispose of, or alienate land, or
permanent improvements thereon, or any interest therein, as to their own
citizens, only in the manner and to the extent specified in such laws, and while
the same are in force, but not thereafter.
Section 121. No land originally acquired in any manner under the provisions of
the former Public Land Act or of any other Act, ordinance, royal order, royal
decree, or any other provision of law formerly in force in the Philippine Islands
with regard to public lands, terrenos baldios y realengos, or lands of any other
denomination that were actually or presumptively of the public domain, or by
royal grant or in any other form, nor any permanent improvement on such land,
shall be encumbered, alienated, or conveyed, except to persons, corporations, or
associations who may acquire land of the public domain under this Act; to
corporate bodies organized in the Philippine Islands whose charters may
authorize them to do so, and, upon express authorization by the Philippine
Legislature, to citizens of countries the laws of which grant to citizens of the
Philippine Islands the same right to acquire, hold, lease, encumber, dispose of,
or alienate land or permanent improvements thereon or any interest therein, as to
their own citizens and only in the manner and to the extent specified in such
laws, and while the same are in force, but not thereafter: PROVIDED, however,
That this prohibition shall not be applicable to the conveyance or acquisition by
reason of hereditary succession duly acknowledged and legalized by competent
courts, nor to lands and improvements acquired or held for industrial or
residence purposes, while used for such purposes: PROVIDED, further, That in
the event of the ownership of the lands and improvements mentioned in this
section and in the last preceding section being transferred by judicial decree to
persons, corporations or associations not legally capacitated to acquire the same
under the provisions of this Act, such persons, corporations, or associations shall
be obliged to alienate said lands or improvements to others so capacitated within
the precise period of five years, under the penalty of such property reverting to
the Government in the contrary case.
Section 122. Any acquisition, conveyance, alienation, transfer, or other contract
made or executed in violation of any of the provisions of sections one hundred
and sixteen, one hundred and eighteen, one hundred nineteen, one hundred and
twenty, and one hundred and twenty-one of this act shall be unlawful and null
and void from its execution and shall produce the effect of annulling and
canceling the grant, title, patent, or permit originally issued, recognized, or
confirmed, actually or presumptively, and cause the reversion of the property
and its improvements to the Government.
Section 122(A). The provisions of sections twenty three, twenty four, thirty
four, fifty seven, one hundred and twenty, and one hundred and twenty-one of
this Act, and any other provisions or provisions restricting or tending to restrict
the right of persons, corporations, or associations to acquire, hold, lease,
encumber, dispose of, or alienate land in the Philippines, or permanent
improvements thereon, or any interest therein, shall not be applied in cases in
which the right to acquire, hold or dispose of such land, permanent
improvements thereon or interests therein in the Philippine Islands is recognized
by existing treaties in favor of citizens or subjects of foreign nations and
corporations or associations organized and constituted by the same, which right
in so far as it exists under such treatise, shall continue and subsist in the manner
and to the extent stipulated in said treaties, and only while these are in force, but
not thereafter.
CHAPTER XV.
PENAL PROVISIONS
Section 123. Any person who presents or causes to be presented, or cooperates
in the presentation of, any false application, declaration, or evidence, or makes
or causes to be made or cooperates in the making of a false affidavit in support
of any petition, claim, or objection respecting lands of the public domain, shall
be deemed guilty of perjury and punished accordingly.
Section 124. Any person who voluntarily and maliciously prevents or hinders or
attempts to prevent or hinder the presentation of any application for public land
under this Act, or who in any manner attempts to execute or executes acts
intended to dissuade or discourage, or aid to dissuade or discharge, the
acquisition of public lands, shall be deemed guilty of coercion and to be
punished accordingly.
Section 125. Any person who sells forms issued and distributed gratuitously
under this Act or who, being an officer charged with distributing them, refuses
or fails, without sufficient reason, to furnish the same, shall be punished for each
offense by a fine of not more than one hundred pesos or by imprisonment for not
more than three months, or both, in the discretion of the court.
Section 125(A). Any person, corporation, association or partnership not
qualified or no longer authorized to apply for public land under the provisions of
this Act who files or induces or knowingly permits another person, corporation,
association or partnership to file an application in his or its behalf or for his or
its interest, benefit or advantage, shall be punished by a fine of not less than two
hundred or more than five thousand pesos or by imprisonment for not less than
two months nor more than five years, or both, in the discretion of the court, and
the cancellation of the application.
Section 126. Any person who, without having the qualifications required by this
Act, shall by deceit or fraud acquire or attempt to acquire lands of the public
domain or other real property, or any right, title, or interest, or property right of
any class to the same, and any person aiding and abetting him therein or serving
as a means or tool therefor, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not
more than five thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for not more than five years,
or both, in the discretion of the court.
Section 128. Act Numbered Nine hundred and twenty six known as the "Public
Land Act," and all acts and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed.
Section 129. This Act shall take effect on July first, nineteen, hundred and
nineteen, unless the Governor-General shall, in the proclamation announcing its
effectiveness, designate a date prior to July first, nineteen hundred and nineteen,
but posterior to the date of the approval of this Act by the Philippine Legislature,
in which case this Act shall take effect on the date so designated.

TITLE VII

FINAL PROVISIONS

CHAPTER XVI.

EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS ACT

Section 127. If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act is challenged
in a competent court and is held to be unconstitutional or invalid or if, for any
reason, the President of the United States excepts from his approval or the
United States Congress repeals or declares invalid, any section or provisions of
this Act, none of the other sections or provisions thereof shall be affected
thereby and such other section and provisions shall continue to govern as if the
section or provisions so annulled, disapproved, or repealed had never been
incorporated in this Act, and lieu of the section or provision so annulled,
disapproved, or repealed, the provisions of the law on the subject thereof in
force prior to the approval of this Act shall govern until the Legislature shall
other wise provide in the premises.
In case the President of the United States should have any objection to any
provision or provisions of this Act, these shall not take effect, notwithstanding
the approval of this Act by the President, and in the meantime the provisions of
law on the subject thereof in force prior to the approval of this Act shall
continue to govern instead of the section or provision objected. The Philippine
Legislature shall, in view of the objections of the President, take such action as it
may see fit at the next regular session held after the action of the President, and
whatever action the Legislature may then take shall be submitted to the
President, for his final sanction.
ACT No. 2874
As amended by Acts Nos. 3164, 3219, 3346, and 3517
TO AMEND AND COMPILE THE LAWS RELATIVE TO LANDS OF
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Legislature assembled and by the authority of the same:
TITLE I
TITLE AND APPLICATION OF THE ACT, LANDS TO WHICH IT
REFERS, AND CLASSIFICATION, DELIMITATION, AND SURVEY
THEREOF FOR CONCESSION.
CHAPTER I.
SHORT TITLE OF THE ACT, LANDS TO WHICH IT APPLIES, AND
OFFICERS CHARGED WITH ITS EXECUTION.
Section 1. The short title of this Act shall be "The Public Land Act."
Section 2. The provisions of this Act shall apply to the lands of the public
domain; but timber and mineral lands shall be governed by special laws and
nothing in this Act provided shall be understood or construed to charge or-
modify the government and disposition of the lands commonly called "friar
lands" and those which, being privately owned, have reverted to or become the
property of the Philippine Government, which administration and disposition
shall be governed by the laws at present in force or which hereafter be enacted
by the Legislature.
Section 3. While title to lands of the public domain remains in the Government,
the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources shall be the executive officer
charged with carrying out the provisions of this Act, through the Director of
Lands, who shall act under his immediate control.
Section 4. Subject to said control, the Director of Lands shall have direct
executive control of the survey, classification lease, sale, or any other form of
concession or disposition and management of the lands of the public domain,
and his decisions as to questions of fact shall be conclusive when approved by
the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Section 5. The Director of Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall prepare and issue forms, instructions,
rules and regulations consistent with this Act, as may be necessary and proper to
carry into effect the provisions thereof and for the conduct of proceedings
arising under such provisions.
CHAPTER II.
CLASSIFICATION, DELIMITATION AND SURVEY OF LANDS OF
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, FOR THE CONCESSION THEREOF
Section 6. The Governor-General, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall from time to time classify the lands of
the public domain into —
(a) Alienable or disposable
(b) Timber and
(c) Mineral lands
and may it any time and in a like manner transfer such lands from one class to
another, for the purposes of their government and disposition.
Section 7. For the purpose of the government and disposition of alienable or
disposable public lands, the Governor-General, upon recommendation by the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall from time to time declare
what lands are open to disposition or concession under this, Act.
Section 8. Only those lands shall be declared open to disposition or concession
which have been officially delimited and classified and, when practicable,
surveyed, and which have not been reserved for public or quasi-public uses, not
appropriated by the Government, nor in any manner become private property,
nor those on which a private right authorized and recognized by this Act or any
other valid law may be claimed, or which, having been reserved or appropriated,
have ceased to be so. However, the Governor-General may, for reasons of public
interest, declare lands of the public domain open to disposition before the same
have had their boundaries established or been surveyed, or may, for the same
reasons, suspend their concession or disposition by proclamation duly published
or by Act of the Legislature.
Section 9. For the purposes of their government and disposition, the lands of the
public domain alienable or open to disposition shall be classified, according to
the use or purposes to which such lands are destined, as follows:
(a) Agricultural
(b) Commercial, industrial, or for similar productive purposes.
(c) Educational, charitable, and other similar purposes.
(d) Reservations for town sites, and for public and quasi-public uses.
The Governor-General, upon recommendation by the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources, shall from time to time make the classification provided
for in this section, and may, at any time and in a similar manner, transfer lands
from one class to another.
Section 10. The words "alienation,'' "disposition," or "Concession" as used in
this Act, shall mean any of the methods authorized by this Act for the
acquisition, lease, use or benefit of the lands of the public domain other than
timber or mineral lands.
TITLE II
AGRICULTURAL PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER III.
FORMS OF CONCESSION OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS
Section 11. Public lands suitable for agricultural purposes can be disposed of
only as follows, and not otherwise:
(1) For homestead settlement.
(2) By sale.
(3) By lease.
(4) By confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles.
(a) By judicial legalization.
(b) By administrative legalization (free patent)
CHAPTER IV.
HOMESTEADS
Section 12. Any citizen of the Philippine Islands or of the United States, over
the age of eighteen years, or the head of a family, who does not own more than
twenty-four hectares of land in said Islands or has not had the benefit of any
gratuitous allotment of more than twenty-four hectares of land since the
occupation of the Philippine Islands by the United States, may enter a
homestead or not exceeding twenty-four hectares of agricultural land of the
public domain.
Section 13. Upon the filing of an application for a homestead, the Director of
Lands, if he finds that the application should be approved, shall do so and
authorize the applicant to take possession of the land upon the payment of five
pesos, Philippine currency, as entry fee. Within six months from and after the
date of the approval of the application, the applicant shall begin to work the
homestead otherwise he shall lose his prior right to the land. (As amended by
section 1 of Act No. 3517.)
Section 14. No certificate shall be given or patent issued for the land applied for
until at least one-fourth of the land has been improved and cultivated. The
period within which the land shall be cultivated shall not be less than one nor
more than five years, from and after the date of the approval of the application.
The applicant shall, within the said period, notify the Director of Lands as soon
as he is ready to acquire the title. If at the date of such notice or at any time
within the two years next following the expiration of said period, the applicant
shall prove to the satisfaction of the Director of lands by affidavits of two
credible witnesses, that he has resided in the municipality in which the land is
located, or in a municipality adjacent to the same, and has cultivated at least
one-fourth of the land continuously since the approval of the application, and
shall make affidavit that no part of said land has been alienated or encumbered,
and that he has complied with all the requirements of this Act, then, upon the
payment of five pesos, he shall be entitled to a patent. (As amended by section 2
of Act No. 3517).
Section 15. At the option of the applicant, payment of the fees required in this
chapter may be made in annual installments. These payments may be made to
the municipal treasurer of the locality, who, in turn, shall forward them to the
provincial treasurer. In case of the delinquency of the applicant, the Director of
Lands may, sixty days after such delinquency has occurred, either cancel the
application or grant an extension of time not to exceed one hundred and twenty
days for the payment of the sum due.
Section 16. If at any time before the expiration of the period allowed by law for
the making of final proof, it shall be proved to the satisfaction of the Director of
Lands, after due notice to the homesteader, that the land entered is not under the
law subject to homestead entry, or that the homesteader has actually changed his
residence, or voluntarily abandoned the land for more than six months at any
time during the years of residence and occupation herein required or has
otherwise failed to comply with the requirements of this Act, the Director of
Lands may cancel the entry.
Section 17. Before the final proof shall be submitted by any person claiming to
have complied with the provisions of this chapter, due notice, as prescribed by
the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources shall be given to the public
of his intention to make such proof, stating therein the name and address of the
homesteader, the description of the land, with its boundaries and area, the names
of the witnesses by whom it is expected that the necessary facts will be
established, and the time and place at which, and the name of the officer before
whom, such proof will be made.
Section 18. In case the homesteader shall suffer from mental alienation, or shall
for any other reason be incapacitated for exercising his rights personally, the
person legally representing him may offer and submit the final proof on behalf
of such incapacitated person.
Section 19. Not more than one homestead shall be allowed to any person; but if
a homesteader has made final proof as provided in this chapter and is occupying
and cultivating at least one-fourth of the land applied for and the area thereof is
less than twenty-four hectares, he may apply successively for additional
homesteads which must lie in the same municipality or municipal district or in
an adjacent municipality or municipal district, until the total area of said
homesteads shall reach twenty-four hectares, but not more, with the
understanding that he shall with regard to the new tracts or additional
homesteads comply with the same conditions as prescribed by this Act for an
original homestead entry. (As amended by Sec. 1 of Act No, 3219 and Sec. 3 of
Act No. 3517).
Section 20. The cancellation of a homestead entry not due to any fault of the
applicant shall not be a bar to his applying for another homestead.
Section 21. If at any time after the approval of the application and before the
patent is issued, the applicant shall prove to the satisfaction of the Director of
lands that he has complied with all the requirements of the law, but can not
continue with his homestead, through no fault of his own, and there is a bona
fide purchaser for the rights and improvements of the applicant on the land, and
that the conveyance is not made for purposes of speculation, then the applicant,
with the previous approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, may transfer his rights to the land and improvements to any person
legally qualified to apply for a. homestead, and immediately after such transfer,
the purchaser shall file a homestead application to the land so acquired and shall
succeed the original homesteader in his rights and obligations beginning with
the date of the approval of said application of the purchaser. Any person who
has so transferred his rights may once again apply for a new homestead. Every
transfer made without the previous approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources shall be null and void and shall result in the cancellation of
the entry and the refusal of the patent.
Section 22. Any non-Christian native who has not applied for a homestead,
desiring to live upon or occupy land on any of the reservations set aside for the
so-called non-Christian tribes may request a permit of occupation for any tract
of land of the public domain reserved for said non-Christian tribes under this
Act, the area of which shall not exceed four hectares. It shall be an essential
condition that the applicant for the permit cultivate and improve the land, and if
such cultivation has not been begun within six months from and after the date on
which the permit was received, the permit shall be canceled. The permit shall be
for a term of one year. If at the expiration of this term or at any time therefor, the
holder of the permit shall apply for a homestead under the provisions of this
chapter, including the portion for which a permit was granted to him, he shall
have the priority, otherwise the land shall be again open to disposition at the
expiration of the permit.
For each the sum of one peso shall be paid.
(As amended by Sec. 2 of Act 3219 and Sec. 4 of Act 3517).
CHAPTER V.
SALE
Section 23. Any citizen of lawful age of the Philippine Islands or of the United
States, and any such citizen not of lawful age who is head of a family, and any
corporation or association of which at least sixty-one per centum of the capital
stock or of any interest in said capital stock belongs wholly to citizens of the
Philippine Islands or of the United States or of any State thereof and authorized
to transact business in the Philippine Islands, and corporate bodies organized in
the Philippine Islands authorized under their charters to do so, may purchase any
tract of public agricultural land disposable under this Act, not to exceed one
hundred and forty-four hectares in the case of an individual and one thousand
and twenty-four hectares in that of a corporation or association, by proceeding
as prescribed in this chapter: PROVIDED, That partnerships shall be entitled to
purchase not to exceed the one thousand and twenty-four hectares authorized in
this section for associations and corporations: PROVIDED, further, That
citizens of countries the laws of which grant to citizens of the Philippine Islands
the same right to acquire public land as to their own citizens, may, while such
laws are in force, but not thereafter, with the express authorization of the
Legislature, purchase any parcel of agricultural land, not in excess of one
hundred and forty-four hectares available under this Act, upon complying with
the requirements of this chapter. (As amended by sec, 3 of Act No. 3219).
Section 24. No person, corporation, association, or partnership other than those
mentioned in the last proceeding section may acquire or own agricultural public
land or land of any other denomination or classification, not used for industrial
or residence purposes, that is at the time or was originally, really or
presumptively, of the public domain. or any permanent improvement thereon, or
any real right on such land and improvement: PROVIDED, however, That
persons, corporations, associations, or partnerships which, at the date upon
which this Act shall take effect, hold agricultural public lands or land of any
other denomination not used for industrial or residence purposes, that belonged
originally, really or presumptively, to the public domain, or permanent
improvements on such lands, or a real right upon such lands and improvements,
having acquired the same under the laws and regulations in force at the date of
such acquisition, shall be authorized to continue holding the same as if such
persons, corporations, associations, or partnerships were qualified under the last
preceding section; but they shall not encumber, convey, or alienate the same to
persons, associations, corporations, or partnerships not included in section
twenty-three of this Act, except by reason or hereditary succession, duly
legalized and acknowledged by competent courts.
Section 25. Lands sold under the provisions of this chapter must be appraised in
accordance with section one hundred and fourteen of this Act. The Director of
Lands shall announce the sale thereof by publishing the proper notice once a
week for six consecutive weeks in the Official Gazette and in two newspapers,
one published in Manila and the other published in the municipality or in the
province where the land is located, or in a neighboring province, and the same
notice shall be posted on the bulletin board of the Bureau of Lands in Manila,
and in the most conspicuous place in the provincial building and the municipal
building of the province and the municipality where the land is located, and if
practicable, on the land itself; but if the value of the land does not exceed two
hundred and forty pesos, the publication in the Official Gazette and newspapers
may be omitted. The notices shall be published one in English and the other in
Spanish or in the local dialect, and shall fix a date not earlier than sixty days
after the date of the notice upon which the land will be awarded to the highest
bidder, or public bids will be called for, or other action will be taken as provided
in this chapter. (As amended by section 4 of Act No. 3219).
Section 26. All bids must be sealed and addressed to the Director of Lands, and
must have therewith cash or a certified check or post-office money order
payable to the order of the Director Of Lands, for ten per centum of the amount
of the bid, which amount shall be retained in case the bid is accepted, as part
payment of the purchase price: PROVIDED, That no bid shall be considered the
amount of which is less than the appraised value of the land. (As amended by
section 5 of Act No. 3219).
Section 27. Upon the opening of the bids the land shall be awarded to the
highest bidder. If there are two or more bids which are higher than other bids
and are equal, and one of such higher and equal bids is the bid of the applicant,
his bid shall be accepted. If, however, the bid of the applicant is not one of such
equal and higher bids, the Director of Lands shall at once submit the land for
public bidding, and to the-person making the highest bid on such public auction
the land shall be awarded. In any case the applicant, if any shall always have the
option of raising his bid to equal that of the highest bidder, and in this case the
land shall be awarded to him. No bid received at such public auction shall be
finally accepted until the bidder shall have deposited ten per centum of his bid,
as required in section twenty-six of this Act. In case none of the tracts of land
that are offered for sale or the purchase of which has been applied for, has an
area in excess of twenty-four hectares, the Director of Lands may delegate to the
Provincial treasurer concerned the power of receiving bids, holding the auction,
and proceeding in accordance with the provisions of this Act, but the provincial
treasurer, in his capacity as delegate of the Secretary of Agriculture and. Natural
Resources shall submit his recommendations to the Director of Lands for the
final decision of the latter in the case. (As amended by section 6 of Act No.
3219).
Section 28. The purchase price shall be paid as follows: The balance of the
purchase price after deducting the amount paid at the time of submitting the bid,
may be paid in full upon the making of the award, or in not more than ten annual
installments from the date of the award: PROVIDED, That it shall be an
inherent and essential condition of the sale that the purchaser shall have not less
than one third of the land broken and cultivated within five years after the date
of the award. (As amended by section 7 of Act No. 3219).
Section 29. After at least the second installment has been paid and after the
cultivation of the land has been begun, the purchaser, with the approval of the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, may convey or encumber his
rights to any person, corporation, or association legally qualified under this Act
to purchase agricultural public lands, provided such conveyance or encumbrance
does not affect any right or interest of the Government in the land. Any sale and
encumbrance made without the previous approval of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources shall be null and void and shall produce the
effect of annulling the acquisition and reverting the property and all rights
thereto to the Government, and all payments on the purchase price theretofore
made to the Government shall be forfeited After the sale has been approved, the
vendor shall not lose his right to acquire agricultural public lands under the
provisions of this Act, provided he has the necessary qualifications.
Section 30. Before any patent is issued, the purchaser must show actual
occupancy, cultivation, and improvement of at least one-fourth of the land
applied for until the date on which final payment is made. (As amended by
section 5 of Act No. 3517).
Section 31. If at any time after the date of the award and before the issuance of
patent, it is proved to the satisfaction of the Director of Lands, after due notice
to the purchaser, that the purchaser has voluntarily abandoned the land for more
than one year at any one time, or has otherwise failed to comply with the
requirements of the law, then the land shall revert to the Government and all
prior payments of purchase money shall be forfeited.
Section 32. No person, corporation, association, or partnership shall be
permitted, after the approval of this Act, to acquire the title to or posses as
owner any lands of the public domain if such lands, added to other land
belonging to such person, corporation, association, or partnership shall give a
total area greater than the area the acquisition of which by purchase is
authorized under this Act. Any excess in area over this maximum and all right,
title, interest, claim, or action held by any person, corporation, association, or
partnership resulting directly or indirectly in such excess shall revert to the
Government.
This section shall, however, not be construed to prohibit any person,
corporation, association, or partnership authorized by this Act to acquire lands
of the public domain from making loans upon real estate security and from
purchasing real estate whenever necessary for the recovery of such loans; but in
this case, as soon as the excess above referred to occurs, such person,
corporation, association, or partnership shall dispose of such lands within five
years, for the purpose of removing the excess mentioned. Upon the land in
excess of the limit there shall be paid, so long as the same is not disposed of, for
the first year a surtax of fifty per centum additional to the ordinary tax to which
property shall be subject, and for each succeeding year fifty per centum shall be
added to the last preceding annual tax rate, until the property shall have been
disposed of.
The person, corporation, association, or partnership owning the land in excess of
the limit established by this Act shall determine the portion of the land to be
segregated.
At the request of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the
Attorney-General, or the officer acting in his stead shall institute the necessary
proceedings in the proper court for the purpose of determining the excess
portion to be segregated, as well as the disposal of such portion in the exclusive
interest of the Government.
Section 33. This chapter shall be held to authorize only one purchase of the
maximum amount of land hereunder by the same person, corporation,
association, or partnership; and no corporation, association, or partnership, any
member of which shall have received the benefits of this chapter or of any of the
two preceding chapters, either as an individual or as a member of any other
corporation, association, or partnership, shall purchase any other lands of the
public domain under this chapter.
But any purchaser of public land, after having made the last payment upon and
cultivated at least one-fourth of the land purchased, if the same shall be less than
the maximum allowed by this Act may purchase successively additional
agricultural public land adjacent to or not distant from the land first purchased,
until the total area of such purchases shall reach the maximum established in this
chapter: PROVIDED, That in making such additional purchase or purchases, the
same conditions shall be complied with as prescribed by this Act for the first
purchase. (As amended by sec. 6 of Act No. 3517).
CHAPTER VI.
LEASE
Section 34. All citizen of lawful age of the Philippine Islands or of the United
States and any corporation or association of which at least sixty-one per centum
of the capital stock or of any interest in said capital stock belongs wholly to
citizens of the Philippine Islands or of the United States, and which is organized
and constituted under the laws of the Philippine Islands or of the United States
or of any state thereof and authorized to transact business in the Philippine
Islands, may lease any tract of agricultural public land available for lease under
the provisions of this Act, not exceeding a total of one thousand and twenty-four
hectares: PROVIDED, That no member, stockholder or any corporation or
association holding or controlling under lease or otherwise agricultural land in
excess of one hundred and forty-four hectares shall apply, directly or indirectly,
for agricultural public land except under the homestead and free patent
provisions of this Act: PROVIDED, further, That citizens of countries the laws
of which grant to citizens of the Philippine Islands the same rights to lease
public land as to their own citizens, may, while such laws are in force, but no
thereafter, with the express authorization of the Legislature, lease any parcel of
agricultural land, not in excess of one thousand and twenty-four hectares,
available for lease in accordance with this Act: PROVIDED, finally, That no
lease shall be permitted to interfere with any prior claim by settlement
occupation, until the consent of the occupant or settler is first had, or until such
claim shall be legally extinguished, and no person, corporation, or association,
shall be permitted to lease lands hereunder which are not reasonably necessary
to carry on his business in case of an individual, or the business for which it was
lawfully created and which it may lawfully pursue in the Philippine Islands, if an
association or corporation.
Corporations or associations not having all and each of the requirements
established in the preceding paragraph of this section may, with the express
authorization of the Legislature, lease agricultural public lands available for
lease the total area of which shall not exceed one thousand and twenty-four
hectares. (As amended by section 7 of Act No. 3517).
Section 35. The Director Of Lands shall announce the lease of lands under this
chapter by publishing the proper notice once a week for six consecutive weeks
in the Official Gazette and in two newspapers, one published in Manila and the
other published in the municipality or in the province where the land is located,
or in a neighboring province, and the same notice shall be posted on the bulletin
board of the Bureau of Lands in Manila, and in the most conspicuous place in
the provincial building and the municipal building of the province and the
municipality where the land is located, and if practicable, on the land itself and
if the value of the land does not exceed two hundred and forty pesos, the
publication in the Official Gazette and newspapers may be omitted. The notices
shall be published one in English and the other in Spanish or in the local dialect,
and shall fix a date not earlier than sixty days after the date of the notice, upon
which the land will be awarded to the highest bidder, or public bids will be
called for, or other action will be taken as provided in this chapter.
All bids must be sealed and addressed to the Director of Lands and must have
enclosed therewith cash or a certified check or post-office money order payable
to the order of the Director of Lands, for a sum equivalent to the rental for the
first three months of the lease: PROVIDED, That no bid shall be considered in
which the proposed annual rental is less than three per centum of the value of
the land according to the appraisal or reappraisal thereof made in conformity
with section one hundred and fourteen of Act Numbered Twenty-eight hundred
and seventy-four.
Upon the opening of the bids the land shall be awarded to the highest bidder. If
there are two or more bids which are higher than the others and equal, and one
of such higher and equal bids is the bid of the applicant, his bid shall be
accepted. If, however, the bid of the applicant is not one of such equal and
higher bids, the Director of Lands shall at once submit the land for public
bidding, and to the person making the highest bid on such public auction the
land shall be awarded. In any case the applicant, if any, shall always have the
option of raising his bid to equal that of the highest bidder, and in this case the
land shall be awarded to him. No bid received at such public auction shall be
accepted until the bidder shall have deposited the rental for the first three
months of the lease. (As amended by sec, 8 of Act No. 3219).
Section 36. The annual rental of the land leased shall not be less than three per
centum of the value of the land, according to the appraisal and reappraisal made
in accordance with section one hundred and fourteen of this Act. Every contract
of lease under the provisions of this chapter shall contain a clause to the effect
that a reappraisal of the land leased shall be made every ten years from the date
of the approval of the contract, if the term of the same shall be in excess of ten
years. In case the lessee is not agreeable to the reappraisal and prefers to give up
his contract of lease, he shall notify the Director of Lands of his desire within
the six months next preceding the date on which the reappraisal takes effect, and
in case his request is approved, the Director of Lands may, if the lessee should
so desire, proceed in accordance with section ninety eight of this Act.
The rent, which shall be paid yearly in advance, shall accrue from the date of the
approval of the lease, and the first payment thereof shall be made in the Bureau
of Lands on the date of the approval of the application. (As amended by section
8 of Act No. 3517).
Section 37. Leases shall run for a period of not more than twenty-five years, but
may be renewed for another period of not to exceed twenty-five years, at the
option of the lessee. In case the lessee shall have made important improvements
which, in the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
justify a renewal of the lease, a further renewal for an additional period not to
exceed twenty-five years may be granted. Upon final expiration of the lease, all
buildings and other permanent improvements made by lessee, his heirs,
executors, administrators, successors, or assigns shall become the property of
the Government, and the land together with the said improvements shall be
disposed of in accordance with the provisions of chapter five of this Act. It shall
be an inherent and essential condition of the lease that the lessee shall have not
less than one-third of the land broken and cultivated within five years after the
date of the approval of the lease and shall not assign, encumber, or sublet his
rights without the consent of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, and that the violation of this condition shall avoid the contract:
PROVIDED, That assignment, encumbrance, or subletting for purposes of
speculation shall not be permitted in any case: PROVIDED, further, That
nothing contained in this section shall be understood or construed to permit the
assignment, encumbrance, or subletting of lands leased under this Act, or under
the Public Land Act, to persons, corporations, or associations under this Act, are
not authorized to lease public lands, unless otherwise provided by general or
special legislations by the Legislature. (As amended by section 9 of Act No.
3517).
Section 38. The lease of any lands under this chapter shall not confer the right to
remove or dispose of any valuable timber except as provided in the regulations
of the Bureau of Forestry for cutting timber upon such lands. Nor shall such
lease confer the right to remove or dispose of stone, oil, coal, salts, or other
minerals, or medicinal mineral waters existing upon the same. The lease as to
the part of the land which shall be mineral may be cancelled by the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, after notice to the lessee, whenever the said
part of the land is more valuable for mineral than for agricultural purposes.
The commission of waste or the violation of the forestry regulations by the
lessee shall work a forfeiture of his payment of rent and render him liable to
immediate dispossession and suit for damage.
Section 39. The lessee of agricultural public land, after having made to or more
payments of rent and improved land leased, if the same is less than the
maximum allowed by law, may lease successively additional agricultural public
land adjacent to or near the land originally leased, until the total area of such
leases shall reach the maximum established in this chapter: PROVIDED, That in
making such additional lease, the same conditions shall be complied with as
prescribed by this Act for the first lease.(As amended by section 10 of Act. No.
3517).
Section 40. During the life of the lease, any lessee who shall have complied with
all the conditions thereof and shall have the qualifications required by section
twenty-three, shall have the option of purchasing the land leased subject to the
restrictions of chapter five of this act. (As amended by section 11 of Act No.
3517).
CHAPTER VII.
FREE PATENTS
Section 41. Any native of the Philippine Islands who is not the owner of more
than twenty-four hectares, and who since July fourth, nineteen hundred and
seven, or prior thereto, has continuously occupied and cultivated, either by
himself or through his predecessors in interest, a tract or tracts of agricultural
public lands subject to disposition, shall be entitled, under the provisions of this
chapter, to have a free patent issued to him for a tract or tracts of such land not
to exceed twenty-four hectares. (As amended by section 1 of Act No. 3164.)
Section 42. The Governor-General, upon recommendation of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources shall from time to time fix by proclamation
the period within which applications for free patents may be filed in the district,
province, municipality, or region specified in such proclamation, and upon the
expiration of the period so designated, unless the same be extended by the
Governor-General, all the land comprised within such district, province,
municipality, or region subject thereto under the provisions of this chapter may
be disposed of as agricultural public land, without prejudice to the prior right of
the occupant and cultivator to acquire such land under this Act by means other
than free patent. The time to be fixed in the entire Archipelago for the filing of
applications under this chapter shall not extend beyond December thirty-first,
nineteen hundred and thirty-eight. The period fixed for any district, province, or
municipality shall begin to run thirty days after the publication of the
proclamation in the Official Gazette. A certified copy of said proclamation shall
be furnished to the Director of Lands and to the provincial and municipal board
or council affected, and copies thereof shall be posted on the bulletin board of
the Bureau of Lands at Manila and at conspicuous places in the provincial
building and the municipal building. It shall moreover, be announced by crier in
each of the barrios of the municipality. (As amended by section 1 of Act No.
3346).
Section 43. If, after the filing of the application and the investigation, the
Director of Lands shall be satisfied of the truth of the allegations contained in
the application and that the applicant comes within the provisions of this
chapter, he shall cause a patent to issue to the applicant or his legal successor for
the tract so occupied and cultivated, provided its area does not exceed twenty-
four hectares: PROVIDED, That no application shall be finally acted upon until
notice thereof has been published in the municipality and barrio in which the
land is located and adverse claimants have had in opportunity to present their
claim.
CHAPTER VIII.
JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION OF IMPERFECT OR INCOMPLETE
TITLES
Section 44. The persons specified in the next following section are hereby
granted time, not to extend beyond December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and
thirty-eight, within which to take advantage of the benefits of this chapter:
PROVIDED, That the several periods of time designated by the Governor-
General in accordance with section forty-two of this Act shall apply also to the
lands comprised in the provisions of this chapter; but this section shall not be
construed in the sense of prohibiting any of said persons from acting under this
chapter at any time prior to the period fixed by the Governor-General. (As
amended by section 2 of Act 3346).
Section 45. The following described citizens of the Philippine Islands and the
United States, occupying lands of the public domain or claiming to own any
such lands or an interest therein, but whose titles have not been perfected or
completed, may apply to the Court of First Instance of the province where the
land is located for confirmation of their claims and the issuance of a certificate
of title therefor, under the Land Registration Act, to wit:
(a) Those who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the
United States have applied for the purchase, composition or other form
of grant of lands of the public domain under the laws and royal decrees
then in force and have instituted had prosecuted the proceedings in
connection therewith, but have, with or without default upon their part,
or for any other cause, not received title therefor, if such applicants or
grantees and their heirs have complied and cultivated said lands
continuously since the filing of their applications.
 (b) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors in interest
have been in the open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession
and occupation of agricultural lands of the public domain, under a bona
fide claim of acquisition of ownership except as against the
Government, since July twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four
except when prevented by war or force majeure. These shall be
conclusively presumed to have performed all the conditions essential to
a Government grant and shall be entitled to a certificate of title under
the provisions of this chapter.
Section 46. No person claiming title to lands of the public domain not in
possession of the qualifications specified in the last preceding section may apply
for the benefits of this chapter.
Section 47. Any person or persons, or their legal representatives as successors in
right, claiming any lands or interest in lands under the provisions of this chapter,
must every case present an application to the proper Court of First Instance,
praying that the validity of the alleged title or claim be inquired into and that a
certificate of title issue to them under the provisions of the Land Registration
Act.
The application shall conform is nearly as may be in its material allegations to
the requirements of an application for registration under the Land Registration
Act, and shall be accompanied by a plan of the land and all documents
evidencing a right on the part of the applicant to the land claimed. The
application shall also state the citizenship of the applicant and shall set forth
fully the nature of the claim, and when based upon proceedings initiated under
Spanish laws, it shall specify as exactly as possible the date and form of the
application for purchase, composition or other form of grant, the extent of the
compliance with the conditions required by the Spanish laws and royal decrees
for the acquisition of legal title, and if not fully complied with the reason for
such non-compliance, together with a statement of the length of time such land
or any portion thereof has been actually occupied by the claimant or his
predecessors in interest; the use made of the land, and the nature of the
inclosure, if any.
The fees provided to be paid for the registration of lands under the Land
Registration Act shall be collected from applicants under this chapter.
Section 48. Applications for registration under this chapter shall be heard in the
Court of First Instance in the same manner and shall be subject to the same
procedure as established in the Land Registration Act for other applications
except that a notice of all such applications, together with a plan of the lands
claimed, shall be immediately forwarded to the Director of Lands, who may
appear as a party in such cases: PROVIDED, That prior to the publication for
hearing, all of the papers in said case shall be transmitted by the clerk of the
Attorney-General or officer acting in his stead, in order that he may, if he deems
it advisable for the interests of the Government, investigate all of the alleged in
the application or otherwise brought to his attention. The Attorney-General shall
return such papers to the clerk as soon as practicable within three months.
The final decree of the court shall in every case be the basis for the original
certificate of title in favor of the person entitled to the property under the
procedure prescribed in section forty-one of the Land Registration Act.
Section 49. In cadastral proceedings, instead of an application an answer or
claim may be filed with the same effect as in the procedure provided in the last
preceding two sections.
Section 50. It shall be lawful for the Director of Lands, whenever in the opinion
of the Governor-General the public interests shall require it, to cause to be filed
in the proper Court of First Instance, through the Attorney-General or the officer
acting in his stead, a petition against the holder, claimant, possessor, or occupant
of any land who shall not have voluntary come in under the provisions of this
chapter or of the Land Registration Act , stating in substance that the title of
such holder, claimant, possessor, or occupant is open to discussion; or that the
boundaries of any such land which has not been brought into court as aforesaid
are open to question; or that it is advisable that the title to such lands be settled
and adjudicated, and praying that the title to any such land or the boundaries
thereof or the right to occupancy thereof be settled and adjudicated. The judicial
proceedings under this section shall be in accordance with the laws on
adjudication of title in cadastral proceedings.
Section 51. If in the hearing of any application arising under this chapter the
court shall find that more than one person or claimant has an interest in the land
such conflicting interests shall be adjudicated by the court and decree awarded
in favor of the person or persons entitled to the land according to the laws, but if
none of said persons is entitled to the land, or if the person who might be
entitled to the same lacks the qualifications required by this Act for acquiring
agricultural land of the public domain, the decision shall be in favor of the
Government.
Section 52. Whenever, in any proceedings under this chapter to secure
registration of an incomplete or imperfect claim of title initiated prior to the
transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the United States, it shall appear that had
such claims been prosecuted to completion under laws prevailing when
instituted, and under the conditions of the grant then contemplated, the
conveyance of such land to the applicant would not have been gratuitous, but
would have involved payment therefor to the Government, then and in that event
the court shall, after decreeing in whom title should vest, further determine the
amount to be paid as a condition for the registration of the land. Such judgment
shall be certified to the Director of Lands by the clerk of the court for collection
of the amount due from the person entitled to conveyance.
Upon payment to the Director of Lands of the price specified in the judgment,
he shall so certify to the proper Court of First Instance and said court shall
forthwith order the registration of the Land in favor of the competent person
entitled thereto. If said person shall fail to pay the amount of money required by
the decree within a reasonable time fixed in the same, the court shall order the
proceeding to stand dismissed and the title to the land shall then be in the
Government free from claim of the applicant.
Section 53. Whenever any judgment of confirmation or other decree of the court
under this chapter shall become final, the clerk of the court concerned shall
certify that fact to the Director of Lands, with a certified copy of the decree of
confirmation or judgment of the court and the plan and technical description of
the land involved in the decree of judgment of the court.
Section 54. No title to, or right or equity in, any lands of the public domain may
hereafter be acquired by prescription or by adverse possession or occupancy, or
under or by virtue of any law in effect prior to American occupation, except as
expressly provided by laws enacted after said occupation of the Philippine
Islands by the United States.
TITLE III
LANDS FOR COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES AND
OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTIVE PURPOSES
CHAPTER IX.
CLASSIFICATION AND CONCESSION OF PUBLIC LANDS
SUITABLE FOR COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Section 55. Any tract of land of the public domain which, being neither timber
nor mineral land, shall be classified as suitable for residential purposes or for
commercial, industrial, or other productive purposes or for commercial,
industrial, or other productive purposes other than agricultural purposes, and
shall be open to disposition or concession, shall be disposed of under the
provisions of this chapter, and not otherwise.
Section 56. The lands disposable under this title shall be classified as follows:
(a) Lands reclaimed by the Government by dredging, filing, or other
means;
(b) Foreshore
(c) Marshy lands or lands covered with water bordering upon the shores
or banks of navigable lakes or rivers
(d) Lands not included in any of the foregoing classes.
Section 57. Any tract of land comprised under this title may be leased, or sold,
as the case may be, to any person, corporation, or association authorized to
purchase or lease public lands for agricultural purposes. The area of the land so
leased or sold shall be such as shall, in the judgment of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, be reasonably necessary for the purposes for
which such sale or lease is requested, and shall in no case exceed forty eight
hectares: PROVIDED, however, That this limitation shall not apply to grants,
donations, or transfers made to a province, municipality or branch or subdivision
of the Government for the purposes deemed by said entities conducive to the
public interest; but the land so granted, donated, or transferred to a province,
municipality, or branch or subdivision of the Government shall not be alienated,
encumbered, or otherwise disposed of in a manner affecting its title, except,
when authorized by the Legislature: PROVIDED, further, That any person,
corporation, association or partnership disqualified from purchasing public land
for agricultural purposes under the provisions of this Act, may purchase or lease
land included under this title suitable for industrial or residence purposes, but
the title or lease granted shall only be valid while such land is used for the
purposes referred to. (As amended by section 10 of Act No. 3219).
Section 58. The lands comprised in classes (a), (b), and (c) of section fifty-six
shall be disposed of to private parties by lease only and not otherwise, as soon as
the Governor-General, upon recommendation by the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources, shall declare that the same are not necessary for the
public service and are open to disposition under this chapter. The lands included
in class (d) may be disposed of by sale or lease under the provisions of this Act.
Section 59. The lands reclaimed by the Government by dredging, filling, or
otherwise shall be surveyed and may with the approval of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, be divided by the Director of Lands into lots
and blocks, with the necessary streets and alleyways between them, and said
Director shall give notice to the public, by publication in the Official Gazette or
by other means, that the lots or blocks not needed for public purposes shall be
leased for commercial or industrial or other similar purposes. (As amended by
section 11 of Act 3219).
Section 60. Whenever it is decided that lands covered by this chapter are not
needed for public purposes, the Director of Lands shall ask the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources for authority to dispose of the same. Upon
receipt of such authority, the Director of Lands shall give notice by public
advertisement in the same manner as in the case of leases or sales of agricultural
public land, that the Government will lease or sell, as the case may be, the lots
or blocks specified in the advertisement, for the purpose stated in the notice and
subject to the conditions specified in this chapter, (As amended by section 12 of
Act 3219 and section 12 of Act 3517).
Section 61. The leases executed under this chapter by the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources shall, among other conditions, contain the
following:
(a) The rental shall not be less than three per centum of the appraised
and reappraised value of the lands and one per centum of the appraised
or reappraised value of the improvement
(b) The land rented, or the improvements thereon, as the case may be,
shall be reappraised every ten years if the term of the lease is in excess
of that period.
(c) The term of the lease shall be as prescribed by section thirty-seven of
this Act.
(d) The lessee shall construct permanent improvements appropriate for
the purpose for which the lease is granted, shall commence the
construction thereof within six months from the date of the award of the
contract of lease, and shall complete the said construction within
eighteen months from the date of the execution of the contract.
(e) At the expiration of the lease or of any extension of the same, all
improvements made by the lessee, his heirs, executors, administrators,
successors, or assigns shall become the property of the Government.
(f) The regulation of all rates and fees charged to the public; and the
annual submission to the Government for approval of all tariffs of such
rates and fees.
(g) The continuance of the easements of the coast place and other
easements reserved by existing law or by any laws hereafter enacted by
the Legislature.
(h) Subjection to all easements and other rights acquired by the owners
of lands bordering upon the foreshore or marshy land.
The violation of one or any of the conditions specified in the contract shall give
rise to the rescission of said contract. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources may, however, subject to such conditions as he may prescribe, waive
the rescission arising from a violation of the conditions of subsection (d), or
extend the time without which the construction of the improvements shall be
commenced and completed. (As amended by section 13 of Act 3517).
Section 62. The sale of the lands comprised in class (d) of section fifty-six shall,
among others, comprise the following conditions:
(a) The purchaser shall make improvements of a permanent character
appropriate for the purpose for which the land is purchased, shall
commence work thereon within six months from the receipt of the
approval of the purchase, and shall complete the construction of said
improvements within eighteen months from the date of such approval or
award; otherwise the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources
may rescind the contract.
(b) The purchase price shall be paid cash down or in annual
installments, not to exceed ten.
The contract of sale may contain other conditions not inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act. (As amended by section 13 of Act 3219 and section 14 of
Act 3517).
Section 63. The kind of improvements to be made by the lessee or the
purchaser, and the plans thereof, shall be approved by the Secretary of
Commerce and Communications, in case they are constructions or
improvements which, if made by the Government, would properly have to be
executed under the supervision of the Bureau of Public Works.
Section 64. The lease or sale shall be made through oral bidding; and
adjudication shall be made to the highest bidder. However, where an applicant
has made improvements on the land by virtue of a permit issued to him by
competent authority, the sale or lease shall be made by sealed bidding as
prescribed in section twenty-seven of this Act, the provisions of which shall be
applied wherever applicable. If all or part of the lots remain unleased or unsold,
the Director of Lands shall from time to time announce in the official Gazette or
otherwise the lease or sale of those lots, if necessary. (As amended by section 15
of .Act No. 3517).
Section 65. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may grant
temporary permission, upon payment of a reasonable charge, for the use of any
portion of the lands covered by this chapter for any lawful private purpose,
subject to revocation at any time when, in his judgment, the public interest shall
require it. (As amended by section 16 of Act No. 3517).
TITLE IV
LANDS FOR EDUCATIONAL, CHARITABLE, AND OTHER SIMILAR
PURPOSES
CHAPTER X.
CONCESSION OF LANDS FOR EDUCATIONAL, CHARITABLE, AND
OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES
Section 66. Whenever any province municipality, or other branch or subdivision
of the Government shall need any portion of the land of the public domain open
to concession for educational, charitable, or other similar purposes, the
Governor-General, upon recommendation by the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, may execute contracts in favor of the same, in the form of
donation, sale, lease, exchange, or any other form, under terms and conditions to
be inserted in the contract; but land so granted shall in no case be encumbered or
alienated, except when the public service requires their being leased or
exchanged, with the approval of the Governor-General, for other lands
belonging to private parties, or if the Legislature disposes otherwise.
Section 67. Any tract of public land of the class covered by this title may be
sold or leased for the purpose of founding a cemetery, church, college, school,
university, or other institution for educational, charitable, or philanthropical
purposes or scientific research, the area to be such as may actually and
reasonably be necessary to carry out such purpose, but not to exceed ninety-six
hectares in any case. The sale or lease shall be made subject to the same
conditions as required for the sale and lease of agricultural public land, but the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may waive the condition
requiring cultivation. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, if he
sees fit, may order the sale to be made without public auction, at a price to be
fixed by said Secretary, or the lease to be granted without the auction, at a rental
to be fixed by him. In either case it shall be a condition that the purchaser or
lessee or their successors or assigns shall not sell, transfer, encumber or lease the
land for the purposes of speculation or use it for any purpose other than that
contemplated in the application, and that the violation of this condition shall
give rise to the immediate rescission of the sale or lease, as the case may be, and
to the forfeiture to the Government of all existing improvements: PROVIDED,
That it shall in no case be sublet, encumbered or resold under the conditions
above set forth except with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources. (As amended by section 14 of Act No. 3219).
TITLE V
RESERVATIONS
CHAPTER XI.
TOWN SITE RESERVATIONS
Section 68. Whenever it shall be considered to be in the public interest to found
a new town, the Secretary of Agriculture .and Natural Resources shall direct the
Director of Lands to have a survey made by his Bureau of the exterior
boundaries of the site on which such town is to be established, and upon the
completion of the survey he shall send the same to said Secretary, with his
recommendations. (As amended by section 15 of Act No. 3219).
Section 69. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, if he approves
the recommendations of the Director of Lands, shall submit the matter to the
Governor-General to the end that the latter issue a proclamation reserving the
land surveyed, or such part thereof as he may deem proper, as a town site, and a
certified copy of such proclamation shall be sent to the Director of Lands and
another to the register of deeds of the province in which the surveyed land lies.
Section 70. It shall then be the duty of the Director of Lands, after having
recorded the proclamation of the Governor-General and the survey
accompanying, the same, and having completed the legal proceedings prescribed
in chapter thirteen of this Act, to direct a subdivision in accordance with the
instructions of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, if there shall
be such instructions, and if there shall not be any, then in the manner which may
to the Director of Lands seem best adapted to the convenience and interest of the
public and the residents of the future town.
Section 71. The plat of the subdivision shall designate certain lots for
commercial and industrial uses and the remainder as residence lots, and shall
also reserve and note the lots owned by private individuals as evidenced by
record titles, or as possessed or claimed by them as private property. Such lots,
whether public or private, shall be numbered upon a general plan or system.
The plat prepared by the Director of Lands shall be submitted to the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources for consideration, modification, amendment,
or approval.
Section 72. Unless the necessary reservations are made in the proclamation of
the Governor-General, the Director of Lands, with the approval of the Secretary
of Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall reserve out of the land by him to be
subdivided lots of sufficient size and convenient situation for public use, as well
as the necessary avenue, streets, alleyways, parks, and squares. The avenues,
streets, alleys parks plazas, and lots shall be laid out on the plat as though the
lands owned or claimed by private persons were part of the public domain and
part of the reservation, with a view to the possible subsequent purchase or
condemnation thereof, if deemed necessary by the proper authorities.
Section 73. At any time, after the subdivision has been made, the Governor-
General may, in case the public interest requires it, reserve for public purposes
any lot or lots of the land so reserved and not disposed of.
Section 74. If, in order to carry out the provisions of this chapter, it shall be
necessary to condemn private lands within the limits of the new town, the
Governor-General shall direct the Attorney-General or officer acting in his stead
to at once begin proceedings for condemnation, in accordance with the
provisions of existing law.
Section 75. When the plat of subdivision has been finally approved by the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Director of Lands shall
record the same in the records of his office and shall forward a certified copy of
such record to the register of deeds of the province in which the land lies, to be
by such register recorded in the records of his office.
Section 76. All lots, except those claimed by or belonging to private parties and
those reserved for parks, buildings, and other public uses, shall be sold, after due
notice, at public auction to the highest bidder, after the approval and recording
of the plat of subdivision as above provided, but no bid shall be accepted that
does not equal at lease two-thirds of the appraised value, nor shall bids be
accepted from persons, corporations, associations, or partnerships not authorized
to purchase public lands for commercial, residential or industrial purposes under
the provisions of this Act. The provisions of section twenty-seven and sixty two
of this Act shall be observed in so far as they are applicable. Lots for which
satisfactory bids have not been received shall be again offered for sale, under the
same conditions as the first time, and if they then remain unsold, the Director of
Lands shall be authorized to sell them at private sale for not less than two-thirds
of their appraised value. (As amended by section 17 of Act No. 3517).
Section 77. All funds derived from the sale of lots shall be covered into the
Insular Treasury as part of the general funds.
Section 78. Not more than two residence lots and two lots for commercial and
industrial uses in any one town site shall be sold to any one person, corporation,
or association without the specific approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources.
Section 79. This Legislature shall have the power at any time to modify, alter,
rescind, repeal, annul, and cancel, with or without conditions, limitations,
exceptions, or reservations, all and any dispositions made by the executive
branch of the Philippine Government by virtue of this chapter, and the exercise
of this power shall be understood as reserved in all cases, as an inherent
condition thereof.
CHAPTER XII
RESERVATIONS FOR PUBLIC AND SEMI-PUBLIC PURPOSES
Section 80. Upon receipt of the order of the President of the United States, the
Governor-General shall, by proclamation, designate such land as the President
of the United States may set aside for military, naval, or other reservations for
the use of the Government of the United States.
Section 81. Upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, the Governor-General may designate by proclamation any
tract or tracts of land of the public domain as reservations for the use of the
Government of the Philippine Islands or of any of its branches, or of the
inhabitants thereof, in accordance with regulations prescribed for this purpose,
or for quasi-public uses or purposes when the public interest requires it,
including reservations for highways, rights of way for railroads, hydraulic power
sites, irrigation system, communal pastures or leguas communales, public parks,
public quarries, public fishponds, and other improvements for the public benefit.
(As amended by section 16 of Act No. 3219).
Section 82. Upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, the Governor-General may, by proclamation, designate any
tract or tracts of the public domain for the exclusive use of the non-Christian
natives, including in the reservation, in so far as practicable, the lands used or
possessed by them, and granting to each member not already the owner, by title
or gratuitous patent, of four or more hectares of land, the use and benefit only of
a tract of land not to exceed four hectares for each male member over eighteen
years of age or the head of a family. As soon as the Secretary of the Interior
shall certify that the majority of the non-Christian inhabitants of any given
reservation have advanced sufficiently in civilization, then the Governor-
General may order that the lands of the public domain within such reservation
be granted under the general provisions of this Act to the said inhabitants, and
the subdivision and distribution of said lands as above provided shall be taken
into consideration in the final disposition of the same. But any non-Christian
inhabitant may at any time apply for the general benefits of this Act, provided
the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources is satisfied that such
inhabitant is qualified to take advantage of the provisions of the same:
PROVIDED, That all grants, deeds, patents and other instruments of
conveyance of land or purporting to convey or transfer rights of property,
privileges, or easements appertaining to or growing out of lands, granted by
sultans, datus, or other chiefs of the so-called non-Christians tribes, without the
authority of the Spanish Government while the Philippine Islands were under
the sovereignty of Spain, or without the consent of the United States
Government or of the Philippine Government since the sovereignty of the
Archipelago was transferred from Spain to the United States, and all deeds and
other documents executed or issued or based upon the deeds, patents, and
documents mentioned, are hereby declared to illegal, void, and of no effect. (As
amended by section 18 of Act No. 3517).
Section 83. Upon recommendation by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, the Governor-General may, by proclamation, designate any tract or
tracts of land of the public domain for establishment of agricultural colonies;
and although the disposition of the lands to the colonists shall be made under the
provisions of this Act, yet while the Government shall have the supervision and
management of said colonies, the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources may make the necessary rules and regulations for the organization
and internal administration of the same.
The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may also, under conditions
to be established by the Legislature, turn over a colony so reserved to any person
or corporation, in order that such person or corporation may clear, break, and
prepare for cultivation the lands of said colony and establish the necessary
irrigation system and suitable roads and fences; but final disposition shall be
made of the land in accordance with the provisions of this Act, subject, however,
to such conditions as the Legislature may establish for the reimbursement of the
expense incurred in putting such lands in condition for cultivation: PROVIDED,
That the Legislature may direct that such land so prepared for cultivation may be
disposed of only by sale or lease.
CHAPTER XIII.
PROVISIONS COMMON TO RESERVATIONS
Section 84. A certified copy of every proclamation of the Governor-General
issued under the provisions of this title shall forward to the Director of Lands for
record in his office, and a copy of this record shall be forwarded to the register
of deeds of the province or city where the land lies. Upon receipt of such
certified copy, the Director of Lands shall order the immediate survey of the
proposed reservation if the land has not yet been surveyed, and as soon as the
plat has been completed, he shall proceed in accordance with the next following
section.
Section 85. If all the lands included in the proclamation of the Governor-
General are not registered under the Land Registration Act, the Attorney-
General, if requested to do so by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of section fifty of
this Act.
Section 86. The tract or tracts of land reserved under the provisions of section
eighty and eighty-one shall be non-alienable and shall not be subject to
occupation, entry, sale, lease, or other disposition until again declared alienable
under the provisions of this Act or by proclamation of the Governor-General.
(As amended by section 19 of Act No. 3715).
TITLE VI
GENERAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER XIV.
APPLICATIONS, PROCEDURE, CONCESSION OF LANDS, AND
LEGAL RESTRICTIONS AND ENCUMBRANCES
Section 87. All proclamations filed under the provisions of this Act shall be
addressed to the Director of Lands.
Section 88. Every application under the provisions of this Act shall be made
under oath and shall set forth:
(a) The name and post-office address of the applicant, stating, in the
case of an individual, his citizenship, and in the case of a corporation,
association, or partnership, accompanying a copy of its articles of
incorporation or partnership, and, if organized outside of the Philippine
Islands also the documentary evidence necessary to show that such
corporation, association, or partnership has been organized in
accordance with the requirements of the laws of the country or state
where it was constituted, and that it is authorized to transact business in
these Islands, and if not incorporated, data showing that its members
possess individually the qualifications required by this Act.
 (b) That the applicant has all the qualifications required by this Act in
the case.
(c) That he has none of the disqualifications mentioned herein.
(d) That the application is made in good faith, for the actual purpose of
using the land for the object specified in the application and for no other
purpose, and that the land is suitable for the purpose for which it is
requested.
(e) That the application is made for the exclusive benefit of the applicant
and not, either directly or indirectly for the benefit of any other person,
or persons, corporation, association, or partnership.
(f) As accurate a description of the land as may be given, stating its
nature, the province, municipality, barrio, and sitio where it is located,
and its limits and boundaries, specifying those having reference to
accidents of the ground or permanent monuments, if any.
(g) Whether all or part of the land is occupied or cultivated or improved,
and by whom, giving his post-office address, and whether the land has
been occupied or cultivated or improved by the applicant or his
ascendant, the name of the ascendant, the relationship with him, the date
and place of the death of the ascendant, the date when the possession
and cultivation began, and a description of the improvements made,
accompanying satisfactory evidence and the relationship of the applicant
with the ascendant, and of the death of the latter and the descendants left
by him, in case it is alleged that he occupied and cultivated the land
first; or whether there are indications of its having been occupied,
cultivated, or improved entirely or partially, and if so, in what such
indications consist, whether he has made investigations as to when and
by whom such improvements were made, and if so, how such
investigations were made and what was the result thereof; or whether
the land is not occupied, improved, or cultivated either entirely, or
partially and there are no indications of it having ever been occupied
improved or cultivated, and in this case, what is the condition of the
land.
(h) That the land applied for is neither timber nor mineral land and does
not contain guano or deposits of salts or coal.
Section 89. The statements made in the application shall be considered as
essential conditions and parts of any concession, title, or permit issued on the
basis of such application, and any false statement therein or omission of facts
altering, changing, or modifying the consideration of the facts set forth in such
statements, and any subsequent modification, alteration, or change of the
material facts set forth in the application shall ipso facto produce the
cancellation of the concession, title, or permit granted. It shall be the duty of the
Director of Lands, from time to time and whether he may deem it advisable, to
make the necessary investigations for the purpose of ascertaining whether the
material facts set out in the application are true, or whether they continue to
exist and are maintained and preserved in good faith, and for the purposes of
such investigation, the Director of Lands shall be empowered to issue subpoenas
and subpoenas duces tecum and, if necessary, to obtain compulsory process
from the courts. In every investigation made in accordance with this section, the
existence of bad faith, fraud, concealment, or fraudulent and illegal modification
of essential facts shall be presumed if the grantee or possessor of the land shall
refuse or fail to obey a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum lawfully issued by
the Director of Lands or his authorized delegates or agents, or shall refuse or fail
to give direct and specific answers to pertinent questions, and on the basis of
such presumption, an order of cancellation may issue without further
proceedings.
Section 90. Although the maximum area of public land that may be acquired is
fixed, yet the spirit of this Act is that the rule which must determine the real area
to be granted is the beneficial use of the land. The concession or disposition
shall be for less than the maximum area authorized if at time of the issuance of
the patent or of the concession or disposition it shall appear that the applicant is
utilizing and is only able to utilize a smaller area, even though the application is
for a greater area. For the purpose of this section, the Director of Lands is
authorized to determine the area that may be granted to the applicant, and to
deny or cancel or limit any application for concession, purchase, or lease, if
convinced of the lack of means of the applicant for using the land for the
purpose for which he has requested it.
Section 91. Lands applied for under this Act shall conform to the legal
subdivisions and shall be contiguous if comprising more than one subdivision. If
subdivisions have not been made on the date of the application, the lands shall
be rectangular in form so far as practicable, but it shall be endeavored to make
them conform to the legal subdivision as soon as the same has been made,
provided the interests of the applicant or grantee are protected; and the
subdivision assigned to the applicant or grantee shall, so far as practicable,
include the land improved or cultivated. The regulations to be issued for the
execution of the provisions of this section shall take into account the legal
subdivision to be made by the Government and the inadvisability of granting the
best land at a given place to only one person.
Section 92. In case the legal subdivisions have already been made at the time of
the filing of the application, no charge shall be made for the survey; but if the
legal subdivisions have not yet been made, the cost of the survey shall be
charged to the Government, except in the following cases:
(a) In purchases under chapters five and ten of this Act; the cost of the
survey shall be charged to the purchaser if the same is a corporation,
association, or partnership; in other purchases the purchaser, whoever it
be, shall pay the total cost of the survey.
(b) In leases, the cost of the survey shall be paid by the lessee; but at any
time after the first five years from the approval of the lease, and during
the life of the same, the lessee shall be entitled to the reimbursement of
one-half of the cost of the survey, if he shows to the satisfaction of the
Director of Lands that he has occupied and improved a sufficient area of
the land or incurred sufficient expense in connection therewith to
warrant such reimbursement.
Section 93. If before the delimitation and survey of a tract of public land the
Governor-General shall declare the same disposable or alienable and such land
shall be actually occupied by a person other than the applicant, the Director of
Lands shall inform the occupant of his prior right to apply for the land and shall
give him one hundred and twenty days' time in which to file the application or
apply for the concession by any of the forms of disposition authorized by this
Act, if such occupant is qualified to acquire a concession under this Act.
Section 94. As soon as any land of the public domain has been surveyed,
delimited, and classified, the Governor-General may, in the order issued by him
declaring it open for disposition, designate a term within which occupants with
improvements but not entitled to free patents may apply for the land occupied by
them, if they have the qualifications required by this Act.
Section 95. If in the case of the two last preceding sections, the occupant or
occupants have not made application under any of the provisions of this Act at
the expiration of the time limit fixed, they shall lose any prior right to the land
recognized by this Act, and the improvements on the land, if any, shall be
forfeited to the Government.
Section 96. (Missing portion in DENR file)
Section 97. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may order such
improvements and crops to be appraised separately, for sale to the new applicant
or grantee, or may declare such land open only to sale or lease.
Section 98. In case the cancellation is due to delinquency on the part of the
applicant or grantee, the same shall be entitled to the reimbursement of the
proceeds of the sale of the improvements and crops, after deducting the total
amount of his indebtedness to the Government and the expense incurred by it in
the sale of the improvements or crops and in the new concession of the land.
Section 99. All actions for the reversion to the Government of lands of the
public domain or improvements thereon shall be instituted by the Attorney-
General or the officer acting in his stead, in the proper courts, in the name of the
Government of the Philippine Islands.
Section 100. Any person, corporation, or association may file an objection under
oath to any application or concession under this Act, grounded on any reason
sufficient under this Act for the denial or cancellation of the application or the
denial of the patent or grant. If, after the applicant or grantee has been given
suitable opportunity to be duly heard, the objection is found to be well founded,
the Director of Lands shall deny or cancel the application or deny the patent or
grant, and the person objecting shall, if qualified, be granted a prior right of
entry for a term of sixty days from the date of the notice.
Section 101. All the proofs, affidavits, and oaths of any kind required or
necessary under this Act may be made before the justice of the peace or the
municipality in which the land lies, or before the judge or clerk of the Court of
First Instance of the province in which the land lies, or before any justice of the
peace or notary public of the province in which the land lies, or before any
officer or employee of the Bureau of Lands authorized by law to administer
oaths.
The fees for the taking of final evidence before any of the officials hereinbefore
mentioned shall be as follows:
For each affidavit, fifty centavos.
For each deposition of the applicant or the witnesses, fifty centavos.
Section 102. Any owner of uncultivated agricultural land who knowingly
permits application for the same to be made to the Government and the land to
be tilled and improved by a bona fide grantee without protesting to the Bureau
of Lands within one year after cultivation has begun, shall lose all right to the
part of the land so cultivated, and improved, unless he shall bring action in the
proper court before such action for recovery prescribes and obtains favorable
judgment therein, in which case the court shall, upon its decision having become
final, order the payment to the grantee, within a reasonable period, of the
indemnity fixed by said court for the cultivation and improvement.
Section 103. If at any time the applicant or grantee shall die, before the issuance
of the patent or the final grant of the land, or during the life of the lease, or while
the applicant or grantee still has obligations pending towards the Government, in
accordance with this Act, he shall be succeeded in his rights and obligations
with respect to the land applied for or granted or leased under this Act by his
heirs in law, who shall be entitled to have issued to them the patent or final
concession if they show that they have complied with the requirements therefor,
and who shall be surrogated in all his rights and obligations for the purposes of
this Act. (As amended by section 20 of Act No. 3517).
Section 104. If at any time after the approval of the application and before the
issuance of a patent or the final concession of the land, or during the life of the
lease, or at any time when the applicant or grantee still has obligations pending
with the Government, in accordance with this Act, it appears that the land
applied for is necessary, in the public interest, for the protection of any source of
water or for any work for the public benefit that the Government wishes to
undertake the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may order the
cancellation of the application or the non-issuance of the patent or concession or
the exclusion from the land applied for of such portion as may be required, upon
payment of the value of the improvements, if any.
Section 105. All patents or certificates for lands granted under this Act shall be
prepared in the Bureau of Lands and shall issue in the name of the Government
of the Philippine Islands under the signature of Governor-General,
countersigned by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, but such
patents or certificates shall be effective only for the purposes defined in section
one hundred and twenty-two of the Land Registration Act; and the actual
conveyance of the land shall be effected only as provided in said section.
Section 106. No patent shall issue nor shall any concession or contract be finally
approved unless the land has been surveyed and an accurate plat made thereof
by the Bureau of Lands.
Section 107. In no case shall any land be granted under the provisions of this
Act when this affects injuriously the use of any adjacent land or of the waters,
rivers, creeks, foreshore, roads, or roadsteads, or vests the grantee with other
valuable rights that may be detrimental to the public interest.
Section 108. Patents or certificates issued under the provisions of this Act shall
not include nor convey the title to any gold, silver, copper, iron, or other metals
or minerals, or other substances containing minerals, guano, gums, precious
stones, coal, or coal oil contained in lands granted thereunder. These shall
remain to be property of the Government.
Section 109. All persons receiving title to lands under the provisions of this Act,
shall hold such lands subject to the provisions hereof and to the same public
servitudes as exist upon lands owned by private persons, including those with
reference to the littoral of the sea and the banks of navigable river or rivers upon
which rafting may be done.
Section 110. Said lands shall further be subject to a right of way not over twenty
meters in width for public highways, railroads, irrigation ditches, aqueducts,
telegraph and telephone lines, and similar works as the Government or any
public or quasi-public service or enterprise, including mining of forest
concessionaires, may reasonably require for carrying on their business, with
damages for the improvements only. (As amended by section 21 of Act No.
3517).
Section 111. The beneficial use of water shall be the basis, the measure, and the
limit of all rights thereto, and the patents herein granted shall be subject to the
right of the Government to make such rules and regulations for the use of water
and the protection of the water supply, and for other public purposes, as it may
deem best for the public good. Whenever, by priority of possession, rights to the
use of water for mining, agricultural, manufacturing, or other purposes have
vested and accrued, and the same are recognized and acknowledged by the local
customs, or by the laws and decisions of the courts, the possessors and owners
of such vested rights shall be maintained and protected in the same, and all
patents granted under this Act shall be subject to any vested and accrued rights
to ditches and reservoirs used in connection with such water rights as may have
been acquired in the manner above described prior to April eleven, eighteen
hundred and ninety nine.
Section 112. There is hereby reserved from the operation of all patents,
certificates, entires, and grants by the Government authorized under this Act, the
right to use for the purposes of power any flow of water in any stream running
through or by the land granted, the convertible power from which at ordinary
low water exceeds fifty horse power. Where the convertible power in any stream
running through or by land granted under the authority of this Act thus exceeds
fifty horse power, and there is no means of using such power except by the
occupation of a part of the land granted under authority of this Act, then so
much as is reasonably necessary for the mill site or site for the power house, and
for a suitable dam and site for massing the water, is hereby excepted from such
grants, not exceeding four hectares, and a right of way to the nearest public
highway from the land thus excepted, and also a right of way for the
construction and maintenance of such flumes, aqueducts, wires, poles, or other
conduits as may be needed in conveying the water to the point of conversion to
the point of use, is reserved as a servitude or easement upon the land granted by
authority of this Act: PROVIDED, however, That when the Government or any
concessionaire of the Government shall take possession of land under this
section which a grantee under this Act shall have paid for, supposing it to be
subject to grant under this Act, said grantee shall be entitled to indemnity from
the Government or the concessionaire, as the case may be, for the amount, if
any, paid by him to the Government for the land taken from him by virtue of this
section: AND PROVIDED, FURTHER, That with respect to the flow of water,
except for converting the same into power exceeding fifty horse power, said
grantee shall be entitled to the same use of the water flowing through or along
his land that other private owners enjoy under the law, subject to the
governmental regulation provided in the previous section. Water power
privileges in which the convertible power at ordinary low water shall exceed
fifty horse power shall be disposed of only upon terms established by Act of the
Legislature concerning the use, lease, or acquisition of such water privilege.
Section 113. All the lands granted by virtue of this Act except homestead upon
which final proof has not been made and approved, shall, even though, and
while the title remains in the Government, be subject to the ordinary taxes which
shall be paid by the grantee beginning with the year next following the one in
which the application or concession has been approved or the contract signed, as
the case may be, on the basis of the value fixed in such approval, concession or
contract. (As amended by section 17 of Act No. 3219).
Section 114. The appraisal or reappraisal of the lands or improvements subject
to concession or disposition under this Act shall be made by the Director of
Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The Director of Lands may request the assistance of the provincial treasurer of
the province in which the land lies or may appoint a committee for such purpose
in the province or in the municipality in which the land lies. In no case shall the
appraisal or reappraisal be less than the expense incurred or which may be
incurred by the Government in connection with the application or concession,
nor shall any reappraisal be made with an increase of more than one hundred per
centum upon the appraisal or reappraisal next preceding. (As amended by sec.
22 of Act No. 3517).
Section 115. All sums due and payable to the Government under this Act shall
draw simple interest at the rate of four per centum per annum from and after the
date in which the debtor shall become delinquent. The Director of Lands may,
however, remit such interest in the case of applicants for homesteads if it shall
appear that the delinquency is due to no fault or neglect on their part. (As
amended by section 18 of Act. No. 3219).
Section 116. Except in favor of the Government or any of its branches, units or
institutions, or legally constituted banking corporations, lands acquired under
the free patent or homestead provisions shall not be subject to encumbrance or
alienation from the date of the approval of the application and for a term of five
years from and after the date of issuance of the patent or grant, nor shall they
become liable to the satisfaction of any debt contracted prior to the expiration of
said period; but the improvements or crops on the land may be mortgaged or
pledged to qualified persons, associations, or corporations. (As amended by
section 23 of Act No. 3517).
Section 117. Every conveyance of land acquired under the free patent or
homestead provisions, when proper, shall be subject to repurchase by the
applicant, his widow, or legal heirs, for a period of five years from the date of
the conveyance.
Section 118. Conveyance and encumbrance made by persons belonging to the
so-called "non-Christian tribes," when proper, shall not be valid unless duly
approved by the Director of the Bureau of non-Christian tribes.
Section 119. Except with the consent of the grantee and the approval of the
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and solely for commercial,
industrial, educational, religious or charitable purposes or for a right of way, no
corporation, association, or partnership, may acquire or have any right, title,
interest, or property right whatsoever to any land granted under the free patent,
homestead or individual sale provisions of this Act or to any permanent
improvement on such land. (As amended by section 24 of Act. No. 3517).
Section 120. No land originally acquired in any manner under the provisions of
this Act, nor any permanent improvement on such land, shall be encumbered,
alienated, or transferred, except to persons, corporations, associations, or
partnerships who may acquire lands of the public domain under this Act; to
corporations organized in the Philippine Islands authorized therefor by their
charters, and upon express authorization by the Philippine Legislature, to
citizens of countries the laws of which grant to citizens of the Philippine Islands
the same right to acquire, hold, lease, encumber, dispose of, or alienate land, or
permanent improvements thereon, or any interest therein, as to their own
citizens, only in the manner and to the extent specified in such laws, and while
the same are in force, but not thereafter.
Section 121. No land originally acquired in any manner under the provisions of
the former Public Land Act or of any other Act, ordinance, royal order, royal
decree, or any other provision of law formerly in force in the Philippine Islands
with regard to public lands, terrenos baldios y realengos, or lands of any other
denomination that were actually or presumptively of the public domain, or by
royal grant or in any other form, nor any permanent improvement on such land,
shall be encumbered, alienated, or conveyed, except to persons, corporations, or
associations who may acquire land of the public domain under this Act; to
corporate bodies organized in the Philippine Islands whose charters may
authorize them to do so, and, upon express authorization by the Philippine
Legislature, to citizens of countries the laws of which grant to citizens of the
Philippine Islands the same right to acquire, hold, lease, encumber, dispose of,
or alienate land or permanent improvements thereon or any interest therein, as to
their own citizens and only in the manner and to the extent specified in such
laws, and while the same are in force, but not thereafter: PROVIDED, however,
That this prohibition shall not be applicable to the conveyance or acquisition by
reason of hereditary succession duly acknowledged and legalized by competent
courts, nor to lands and improvements acquired or held for industrial or
residence purposes, while used for such purposes: PROVIDED, further, That in
the event of the ownership of the lands and improvements mentioned in this
section and in the last preceding section being transferred by judicial decree to
persons, corporations or associations not legally capacitated to acquire the same
under the provisions of this Act, such persons, corporations, or associations shall
be obliged to alienate said lands or improvements to others so capacitated within
the precise period of five years, under the penalty of such property reverting to
the Government in the contrary case.
Section 122. Any acquisition, conveyance, alienation, transfer, or other contract
made or executed in violation of any of the provisions of sections one hundred
and sixteen, one hundred and eighteen, one hundred nineteen, one hundred and
twenty, and one hundred and twenty-one of this act shall be unlawful and null
and void from its execution and shall produce the effect of annulling and
canceling the grant, title, patent, or permit originally issued, recognized, or
confirmed, actually or presumptively, and cause the reversion of the property
and its improvements to the Government.
Section 122(A). The provisions of sections twenty three, twenty four, thirty
four, fifty seven, one hundred and twenty, and one hundred and twenty-one of
this Act, and any other provisions or provisions restricting or tending to restrict
the right of persons, corporations, or associations to acquire, hold, lease,
encumber, dispose of, or alienate land in the Philippines, or permanent
improvements thereon, or any interest therein, shall not be applied in cases in
which the right to acquire, hold or dispose of such land, permanent
improvements thereon or interests therein in the Philippine Islands is recognized
by existing treaties in favor of citizens or subjects of foreign nations and
corporations or associations organized and constituted by the same, which right
in so far as it exists under such treatise, shall continue and subsist in the manner
and to the extent stipulated in said treaties, and only while these are in force, but
not thereafter.
CHAPTER XV.
PENAL PROVISIONS
Section 123. Any person who presents or causes to be presented, or cooperates
in the presentation of, any false application, declaration, or evidence, or makes
or causes to be made or cooperates in the making of a false affidavit in support
of any petition, claim, or objection respecting lands of the public domain, shall
be deemed guilty of perjury and punished accordingly.
Section 124. Any person who voluntarily and maliciously prevents or hinders or
attempts to prevent or hinder the presentation of any application for public land
under this Act, or who in any manner attempts to execute or executes acts
intended to dissuade or discourage, or aid to dissuade or discharge, the
acquisition of public lands, shall be deemed guilty of coercion and to be
punished accordingly.
Section 125. Any person who sells forms issued and distributed gratuitously
under this Act or who, being an officer charged with distributing them, refuses
or fails, without sufficient reason, to furnish the same, shall be punished for each
offense by a fine of not more than one hundred pesos or by imprisonment for not
more than three months, or both, in the discretion of the court.
Section 125(A). Any person, corporation, association or partnership not
qualified or no longer authorized to apply for public land under the provisions of
this Act who files or induces or knowingly permits another person, corporation,
association or partnership to file an application in his or its behalf or for his or
its interest, benefit or advantage, shall be punished by a fine of not less than two
hundred or more than five thousand pesos or by imprisonment for not less than
two months nor more than five years, or both, in the discretion of the court, and
the cancellation of the application.
Section 126. Any person who, without having the qualifications required by this
Act, shall by deceit or fraud acquire or attempt to acquire lands of the public
domain or other real property, or any right, title, or interest, or property right of
any class to the same, and any person aiding and abetting him therein or serving
as a means or tool therefor, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not
more than five thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for not more than five years,
or both, in the discretion of the court.
TITLE VII
FINAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER XVI.
EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS ACT ACT No. 2711

Section 127. If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act is challenged REVISED ADMINISTRATIVE CODE
in a competent court and is held to be unconstitutional or invalid or if, for any
reason, the President of the United States excepts from his approval or the ARTICLE I
United States Congress repeals or declares invalid, any section or provisions of
this Act, none of the other sections or provisions thereof shall be affected ORGANIZATION OF BUREAU
thereby and such other section and provisions shall continue to govern as if the
section or provisions so annulled, disapproved, or repealed had never been
incorporated in this Act, and lieu of the section or provision so annulled,
disapproved, or repealed, the provisions of the law on the subject thereof in
force prior to the approval of this Act shall govern until the Legislature shall
Section 1843. Chief Official of Bureau of Lands. - The Bureau of Lands shall
other wise provide in the premises.
have one chief (and one assistant chief), to be known (respectively) as the
Director of Lands (and the Assistant Director of Lands).
In case the President of the United States should have any objection to any
provision or provisions of this Act, these shall not take effect, notwithstanding
Section 1844. Powers and Functions of Bureau of Lands. - The Bureau of Lands
the approval of this Act by the President, and in the meantime the provisions of
shall be charged with the administration of all laws relative to public lands not
law on the subject thereof in force prior to the approval of this Act shall
classified as timber lands, (the mineral lands), the friar lands, and of all other
continue to govern instead of the section or provision objected. The Philippine
public real property not placed under the control of any other branch,
Legislature shall, in view of the objections of the President, take such action as it
department, bureau or office of the Government by legislative enactment or
may see fit at the next regular session held after the action of the President, and
competent administrative authority.
whatever action the Legislature may then take shall be submitted to the
President, for his final sanction.
As custodian and administrative of the public lands classified by the Bureau of
Forestry as non-timber lands, and of other real property of National
Section 128. Act Numbered Nine hundred and twenty six known as the "Public
Government, the Director of Lands, with the approval of the Department Head,
Land Act," and all acts and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the
shall have power to regulate the occupation or provisional use thereof specifying
provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed.
in its regulation what kinds of licenses shall be issued by the Director of Lands,
including licenses for the taking of stone, sand, gravel, and earth from lands of
Section 129. This Act shall take effect on July first, nineteen, hundred and the public domain or from the beds of seas, rivers, streams, creeks, and other
nineteen, unless the Governor-General shall, in the proclamation announcing its public waters, where such taking is not otherwise regulated under existing law;
effectiveness, designate a date prior to July first, nineteen hundred and nineteen, Provided, That the amount which may be collected for licenses to take such
but posterior to the date of the approval of this Act by the Philippine Legislature, materials shall accrue to the road and bridge fund of the province concerned;
in which case this Act shall take effect on the date so designated. and provided, further, That for the purposes of this Act, provincial treasurers are
designated deputies of the Director of Lands.

The officers and employees of the Bureau of Lands shall have police authority
of lands classified by the Bureau of Forestry as non-timber public lands, and
other public real property under the custody and control of said Bureau and
declared to be of the public domain of the courts, and shall have power to
execute the decisions, resolutions decrees of the Bureau of Lands relative
thereto, unless such decisions, resolutions and decrees are revoked or suspended
by order of the Court of First Instance of the province in which the public land
or real property in question is situated.
The said Bureau shall conduct surveys of the public domain and other public
property, cadastral surveys, and official surveys of private property and shall
exercise such other powers as are hereinafter conferred.
All existing records of Spanish grants and concessions of agricultural (or
mineral) lands shall be preserved in the Bureau of Lands.
The Director of Lands shall furnish, or cause to be furnished, to any private
person or persons applying for the same, one or more copies of such records in
which such person or persons may be personally concerned and to which he or
they may be entitled, the same to be accompanied by a certificate of its
correctness, if desired, on payment of the following fees:
For each certificate of correctness with seal of office, one peso.
For each folio, or fraction thereof, consisting of a sheet approximately two
hundred and sixteen by three hundred thirty millimeters with proper heading,
double space, and approximately three centimeters a margin, one peso.
Section 1845. Authority of Officers to Administer Oaths and Take Testimony. -
The Director of Lands, (the Assistant Director of Lands), and the Chiefs of
division in the Bureau of Lands, are authorized to administer oaths and take
acknowledgments in matters of officials business, and to take testimony in
official investigations conducted under the authority of the laws and regulations
relating to the Bureau of Lands.
A local land officer, (mining recorder) and any person designated by the
Director of Lands as friar-land agent, chief of a survey party, or inspector of the
Bureau of Lands may administer oaths and take acknowledgments as aforesaid,
and, when thereunto deputed by the Director of Lands, may exercise the same
authority to take testimony as other officers hereinabove named.
ARTICLE II
LAND DISTRICTS
Section 1846. Land Districts. - With the approval of the Department Head, the
Director of Lands may establish land districts, which shall be, so far as
practicable, coextensive with the territory of the respective provinces; but when
the local conditions so require, two or more provinces or parts of provinces may
be included in the same land district.
Section 1847. Local Land Officer. - In each land district there shall be a local
land officer, who, under the supervision of the Director of Lands, shall perform
such duties relative to public agricultural lands as may be prescribed by law or
regulation.
When no other officer is designated as local land officer, the provincial treasurer
shall perform the duties of such office for the land district which comprises his
province; and when two or more provinces or parts of provinces are included in
the same land district, the Director of Lands shall designate the provincial
treasurer who shall perform such duties.
Section 1848. Mining Recorder. - In land district where there are sufficient
mining interest to warrant the appointment, there shall be a mining records, who
shall keep such records and perform such duties relative to public mineral lands
as may be prescribed by law regulations.
Where no other officer is designated, the duties of mining recorder shall be
performed by the secretary of the provincial board.
Section 1849. Designation of Person to Perform Duties of Local Land Officer
(or Mining Recorder). - Until other provision shall be made for filling such
offices, the President of the Philippines may by executive order impose the
performance of the duties of local land officer (or mining recorder) upon any
official or employee in the public service.
ARTICLE III
CADASTRAL SURVEYS
Section 1850. Order of Making Cadastral Survey. - When in the opinion of the
President of the Philippines, the public interest require that the title to any lands
be settled and adjudicated, he may to this end order the Director of Lands to
make a survey and plan thereof.
Section 1851. Publication of Notice of Survey. - The Director of Lands shall,
thereupon, give notice to persons claiming an interest in the lands, and to the
general public, of the day on which such survey will begin, giving as full and
accurate a description as possible of the lands to be surveyed. Such notice shall
be published in two successive issues of the Official Gazette, and a copy of the
notice in the English and Spanish languages shall be posted in a conspicuous
place on the chief municipal building of the municipality, or municipal district
in which the lands, or any portion thereof, are situated. A copy of the notice
shall also be sent to the mayor of such municipality, or municipal district and to
the provincial board.
Section 1852. Notice of Commencement Survey. - The surveyor or other
employee of the Bureau of Lands in charge of the survey shall give reasonable
notice of the day on which the survey of any portion of such lands is to begin,
and shall post such notice in the usual placed on the chief municipal building of
such municipality or municipal district in which the lands are situated, and shall
mark the boundaries of the lands by monuments set up at proper places thereon.
Section 1853. Right of Surveyor to Enter upon Lands. - It shall be lawful for
surveyors and other employees of the Bureau of Lands to enter upon the lands
whenever necessary for the making of such survey or for the placing of
monuments.
Section 1854. Duty of Claimants to Communicate Information Regarding
Boundaries. - It shall be the duty of every person claiming an interest in the
lands to be surveyed, or in any parcel thereof, to communicate to the surveyor in
charge upon his request therefor all information possessed by such concerning
the boundary lines of any lands to which he claims title or in which he claims
any interest.
Section 1855. Institution of Registration Proceedings. - When the lands have
been surveyed and platted, the Director of Lands, represented by the Solicitor-
General, shall institute registration proceedings, by petition against the holders,
claimants, possessors or occupants of such lands or any part thereof, stating in
substance that the public interest requires that the title to such lands be settled
and adjudicated.
The petition shall contain a description of the lands and shall be accompanied by
a plan thereof, and may contain such other data as may serve to furnish full
notice to the occupants of the lands and to all persons who may claim any right
or interest therein.
Section 1856. Boundaries and Divisions of Lots. - If the lands contain two or
more parcels held or occupied by different persons the plan shall indicate the
boundaries or limits of the various parcels as correctly as may be. The parcels
shall be known as "lots" and shall, on the plans filed in the case, be given
separate numbers by the Director of Lands, which numbers shall be known as
"cadastral numbers." The lands situated within each municipality or municipal
district shall, as far as practicable, be numbered consecutively beginning with
the number "one" and only one series of numbers shall be used for that purpose
in each municipality or municipal district.
In cities or townsites a designation of the land holdings by block and lot
numbers may be employed instead of the designation by cadastral numbers and
shall have the same effect for all purposes as the latter.
Section 1857. Cadastral Survey Funds. - Monthly Statements of Director of
Lands. - The Director of Lands shall at the end of each month certify to the
Auditor General and the Treasurer of the Philippines a statement showing the
amounts reimbursed or collected on cadastral surveys made by the Bureau of
Lands and the Treasurer of the Philippines is authorized and empowered to pay
to the Bureau of Lands an amount equal to the amounts so certified as having
been collected, and the necessary amounts to make such payments are hereby
appropriated out of any fund in the National Treasury not otherwise
appropriated and such amount shall be credited to the appropriation to the
Bureau of Lands for further cadastral surveys.
ARTICLE IV
PRIVATE LAND SURVEYS AND SURVEYORS
Section 1858. Private Land Surveys. - The Bureau of Lands may, upon
application therefor, make private land surveys, for which a reasonable charge
shall be made.
Private land surveys may also be made by private land surveyors, duly qualified
as hereinafter provided; but no plan of each survey, whether it be original or
subdivision, shall be admitted in land registration proceedings until approved by
the Director of Lands.
Section 1859. Procedure Incident to Making of Survey Notice to Adjoining
Owners. - The surveyors employed to make surveys for registration purposes, or
to prepare maps and plats of property in connection therewith, shall give due
notice in advance to the adjoining owners whose addresses are known, of the
data and hour when they should present themselves on the property for the
purpose of making such objections to the boundaries of the properties to be
surveyed as they consider necessary for the protection of their rights.
Surveyors shall report all objections made by adjoining property owners and
occupants or claimants of any portion of the lands at the time of the survey and
demarcation, giving a proper description of the boundaries claimed by such
owners, occupants or claimants.
Section 1860. Demarcation of Boundaries. - Surveyors shall define the
boundaries of the lands, surveyed for registration purposes, by means of moment
placed thereon and shall indicate on the maps or plats the respective boundaries
designated, both by the applicant for the survey and adverse claimants of
adjoining properties; but the work of survey and demarcation of the boundaries
of the lands as occupied by the said applicant need not be suspended because of
the presentation of any complaint or objection.Section 1861. Expenses of
Rectification of Errors. - If, in any registration preceding involving such survey,
the court shall find the boundary line designated by an adverse claimant to be
incorrect and that designated by the applicant to be correct, the expense of
making any extra survey over that required by the applicant shall be assessed by
the court as costs against the adverse claimant.
Section 1862. Regulations Relative to Private Surveyors. - Private land
surveyors employed in making a survey hereinabove contemplated shall be
subject to the regulations of the Bureau of Lands in respect to such surveys and
shall execute the same in accordance with current instructions relative thereto as
issued by the Director of Lands. Promptly upon contemplating their work, it
shall be their duty to send their original field notes, computations, reports,
survey maps, and plats of the property in question to the Bureau of Lands, for
verification and approval.
ARTICLE V
APPRENTICE AND JUNIOR SURVEYORS
Section 1866. Certification of Students to be Trained as Surveyors. - At the
beginning of each school year, the Director of Education shall certify to the
Director of Lands the names of such number of students as may be provided for
in the annual appropriation Acts and as may be best qualified to receive and
profit by a course of instruction and education in surveying, for a term of five
years, under the direction of the Bureau of Lands.
To be eligible for certification, a student must be of sound physical condition, of
good moral character, and not less than seventeen years of age. He must also
have education qualifications such as are obtained by the satisfactory completion
of the second year of instruction in the Manila High School or the second year
high school work in a provincial school, normal school, or the Philippine
Nautical School.
Director of Lands, such as office work, drawing, platting, practical computing,
use of instruments, and similar work.
Section 1868. Examination after Completion of One Year of Service -
Appointment as Junior Surveyor. - Upon the completion of one year's service as
apprentices, student surveyors shall be examined by the Bureau of Civil Service
as to their qualifications for appointment as junior surveyors, be required to sign
an agreement, approved by his parents or guardian, if he be under twenty-one
years of age, to the effect that he will remain with the Bureau of Lands for the
term of four years from date of appointment as junior surveyor and perform such
duties as may be prescribed by the Director of Lands, unless sooner released.
Section 1869. Completion of Three Year's Service. - Appointment as surveyor. -
Upon the completion of three year's service as junior surveyor, students shall be
examined by the Bureau of Civil Service as to their qualification for
appointment as surveyors. Students qualifying in such examination shall be
eligible for appointment as surveyors at such salaries as may be determined by
competent authority. Students failing to qualify shall continue on the same basis
until such time as they shall qualify as surveyors in the manner herein prescribed
or until separated from the service.
Section 1870. Consequences of Violation of Contract. - Upon the expiration of
their contracts, students may leave the service of the Government without
prejudice; but any student separating himself from the service during his term of
contract without the approval of the Department Head shall be debarred
thereafter from holding any position in the Philippine Civil Service.

Section 1867. Appointment as Apprentice Surveyor. - Each student so certified

may be appointed as apprentice surveyor in the Bureau of Lands at such annual
compensation as may be fixed by law; and when so appointed he shall continue
in such school as the Secretary of Education shall determine, and during
forenoons shall pursue therein a special course of study to be prescribed by the
Director of Public Schools.

During the afternoons of school days, as well as during regular office hours on
Saturdays, and during school vacations, apprentices shall be employed in the
Bureau of Lands, perform such duties as may be assigned to them by the