BOOK TWO

CRIMES AND PENALTIES

Title One
CRIMES AGAINST NATIONAL SECURITY AND THE LAW OF NATIONS

Art. 114. Treason - Any Filipino citizen who levies war against the Philippines or adheres to her
enemies, giving them aid or comfort within the Philippines or elsewhere, shall be punished by
reclusion perpetua to death and shall pay a fine not to exceed Four million pesos (₱4,000,000).

No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two (2) witnesses at least to the
same overt act or on confession of the accused in open court.

Likewise, an alien, residing in the Philippines, who commits act of treason as defined in paragraph 1
of this article shall be punished by reclusion temporal to death and shall pay a fine not to exceed Four
million pesos (₱4,000,000). (As amended by E.O. No. 44, May 31, 1945).

ELEMENTS:

a. Offender is a Filipino citizen or an alien residing in the Philippines;

b. There is a war in which the Philippines is involved; and
c. The offender either: (1) levies war against the Government; or (2) adheres to the enemies,
giving them aid or comfort.

Treason is a breach of allegiance to a government, committed by a person who owes allegiance to it.
Allegiance is the obligation of fidelity and obedience which the individuals owe the government under
which they live or to their sovereign, in return for the protection they receive.

Treason by Filipino citizens can be committed outside the Philippines. However, if committed by
aliens, only those acts in the Philippines are punished.

To constitute levying of war there must be an assemblance of persons in force, to overthrow the
Government, or to coerce its conduct.

It is not necessary that there be any formal declaration of the existence of a state of war or that those
attempting to overthrow the government by force of arms should have the apparent power to
succeed in their design in whole or in part to justify the conclusion that those engaged in such an
attempt are levying war and therefore guilty of treason.

War may exist without a proclamation to that effect. Actual hostilities may determine the date of the
commencement of war, though no proclamation may have been issued, no declaration made, and no
action of the executive or legislative branches of the Government had.

The difference between the “levying of war”, which constitutes the crime of treason and that of
insurrection and rebellion, does not depend upon the magnitude of the movement, but rather upon
the intention and purposes of the persons engaged in it. If the intention is to utterly overthrow the
Government and establish another independent government in its place, and the person engaged in
the act owes allegiance, the offense is treason; while if the intention and purpose is simply to
obstruct and resist the authority of the Philippine Government or its laws, the offense is rebellion or
insurrection.

As a general rule, to be treasonous the extent of the aid and comfort given to the enemies must be to
render assistance to them as enemies and not merely as individuals and, in addition, be directly in
furtherance of the enemies’ hostile designs. To lend or give money to an enemy as a friend or out of
charity so that he may buy personal necessities is to assist him as an individual and is not technically
traitorous. On the other hand, to lend or give him money to enable him to buy arms or ammunition
to use in waging war against the giver’s country enhances his strength and by the same count injuries
the interest of the government of the giver. That is treason.

Providing the enemy troops with “comfort women” is not adherence. Commandeering of women to
satisfy the lust of Japanese officers of men or to enliven the entertainments held in their honor was
not treason even though the women and the entertainments helped to make life more pleasant for
the enemies and boost their spirit. Sexual and social relations with the Japanese did not directly and
materially tend to improve their efforts or to weaken the power of the Government. The acts were
not calculated to strengthen the Japanese Empire or to cripple the defense and resistance of the
other side.

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.

Concepts:

a. The offender must have the intention to obtain information, otherwise he is not liable for
espionage.

b. The offender must be a public officer who has in his possession the article, data or information
by reason of his public office which he holds. The crime is committed when he discloses the
contents of it to a representative of foreign nation.

Article 122. Piracy in general and mutiny on the high seas. - The penalty of reclusion perpetua 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.

In piracy, the attack of the vessel comes from the outside. The offenders are strangers to the vessel,
that is, they are neither passengers nor members of the crew. In mutiny, the offenders are not
strangers to the vessel.
The original text of the codal provisions provides that piracy is committed only on high seas.
However, R.A. No. 7659 amended the Revised Penal Code which penalizes piracy committed in
Philippine waters. On the other hand, under P.D. No. 532, the coverage of the law on piracy embraces
any person including a passenger or member of the complement of said vessel. Hence, passenger or
not, a member of the complement or not, any person is covered by the law.

Title Two
CRIMES AGAINST THE FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF THE STATE

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 and warrantless arrest under Rule 113, Sec. 5 of the Rules of
Court, shall be considered legal grounds for the detention of any person.

Gravamen of the crime. In the crime of illegal or arbitrary detention, it is essential that there is actual
confinement or restriction of the person of the offended party. The deprivation of liberty must be
proved, just as the intent of the accused to deprive the victim of his liberty must also be established
by indubitable proof.

The offender here is a public officer or employee who is vested with authority to detain or order the
detention of persons accused of crime but when he detains a person he has no legal grounds
therefor. Examples are policemen or other agents of the law, judges, or mayors, or barangay
captains.

If the offender is a private individual, the crime is illegal detention under Art. 267 or 268. However,
private individuals who conspired with public officers are guilty of arbitrary detention.

Osorio Case: Staff Sergeant Osorio, a ranking officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, filed a
Petition for Issuance of Writ of Habeas Corpus before the Court of Appeals. He argued that he may
not be charged with kidnapping and serious illegal detention under Art. 267 considering that the
felony penalizes private individuals only. The Court rejected this contention explaining that contrary
to Osorio’s claim, the offense he committed was not service-connected. The case (Kidnapping) filed
against him is none of those enumerated under Articles of War. Further, kidnapping is not part of the
functions of a soldier. Even if a public officer has the legal duty to detain a person, the public officer
must be able to show the existence of legal grounds for the detention. Without these legal grounds,
the public officer is deemed to have acted in a private capacity and is considered a private individual.
The public officer becomes liable for kidnapping and serious illegal detention, not with arbitrary
detention punished with significantly lower penalties.

The prevailing jurisprudence on kidnapping and illegal detention is that the curtailment of the victim’s
liberty need not involve any physical restraint upon the victim’s person. If the acts and actuations of
the accused can produce such fear in the mind of the victim sufficient to paralyze the latter, to the
extent that the victim is compelled to limit his own actions and movements in accordance with the
wishes of the accused, then the victim is, for all intents and purposes, detained against his will.

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).

ELEMENTS:

a. Offender is a public officer or employee;

b. He has detained a person for some legal ground;
c. That he fails to deliver such person to the proper judicial authorities within:
i. 12 hours for light penalties;
ii. 18 hours for correctional penalties;
iii. 36 hours for afflictive or capital penalties.

The detention here is legal, the person is arrested under the concept of warrantless arrest pursuant
to section 5, Rule 113 of the Rules of Court. There are three warrantless arrest where a peace officer
or a private person may, without a warrant, arrest a person:

a. When, in his presence, the person to be arrested has committed, is actually committing, or is
attempting to commit an offense;
b. When an offense has just been committed, and he has probable cause to believe based on
personal knowledge of facts or circumstances that the person to be arrested has committed it;
and
c. When the person to be arrested is a prisoner who has escaped from a penal establishment or
place where he is serving final judgment or is temporarily confined while his case is pending,
or has escaped while being transferred from one confinement to another.

The words “judicial authority” mean the courts of justices or judges of said courts vested with judicial
power to order the temporary detention or confinement of a person charged with having committed
a public offense, that is, the Supreme Court and such inferior courts as may be established by law.

Insuperable cause may negate criminal liability under this Article. There is lawful and insuperable
cause when the offender, who validly arrested a victim, failed to deliver the latter to proper judicial
authorities within three days. It was established that, at the time of the arrest, there was no available
judge in the municipality, and to reach the adjoining municipality, one had to take a long journey by
boat. And the failure to secure trial on the first occasion was due to the fact that the written
complaint entrusted to the policeman, was either lost or stolen. The accused was thus acquitted for
the crime of arbitrary detention on the ground of lawful or insuperable cause.

Rules in computing the period: Sundays, holidays and election days are excluded in the computation
of the periods provided in Art. 125. The means of communication as well as the hour of arrest and
other circumstances, such as the time of surrender and the material possibility for the fiscal to make
the investigation and file in time the necessary information, must be taken into consideration.

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.

The order to release is either of judicial or executive origin.

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.

ELEMENTS:

a. That the offender is a public officer or employee;

b. That he is not authorized by judicial order to enter the dwelling and/or to make a search
therein for papers or other effects;

c. That he commits any of the following acts:

i. Entering the dwelling against the will of the owner thereof;

ii. Searching papers or other effects found therein without the previous consent
of such owner;

iii. Refusing to leave the premises, after having surreptitiously entered said
dwelling and after having been required to leave the same.

Police power, as an exception: Under the police power of the state, the authorities may compel
entrance to dwelling houses against the will of the owners for sanitary purposes. The government has
this right upon grounds of public policy. It has a right to compel to protect the health and lives of all
of its people. A man can not insist upon the privacy of his home when a question of the health and
life of himself, his family, and that of the community is involved. This private right must be subject to
the public welfare.

Title Three
CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER

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).

ELEMENTS:

a. That there be (1) public uprising, and (2) taking arms against the Government;

b. That the purpose of the uprising or movement is either:

i. To remove from the allegiance to said Government or its laws:

 1. The territory of the Philippines or any part thereof;

2. Any body of land, naval, or other armed forces;

ii. To deprive the Chief Executive or Congress, wholly or partially, of any of their
powers or prerogatives.

Rebellion is uncountable armed resistance to an established government or ruler. Insurrection is an

organized opposition to an authority; a mutiny; a rebellion. It is rebellion when the object is to
completely overthrow and supersede existing government, while insurrection the object of which is
to effect some change of minor importance, or to prevent the exercise of governmental authority.

The crime of rebellion is committed by rising publicly and taking up arms against the Government for
any of the purposes specified in Art. 134. Rising publicly and taking arms against the Government is
the very element of the crime of rebellion. Actual clash with government forces is not necessary.

The crime of rebellion consists of many acts. Where the crimes of murders, robberies, and
kidnappings are committed as a means to or in furtherance of rebellion charged, they are absorbed
by, and form part of the rebellion, and that therefore, the accused can be convicted only of the
simple crime of rebellion. Acts committed in furtherance of rebellion, though crimes in themselves,
are deemed absorbed in one single crime of rebellion.

Political motive is essential in rebellion. It is not enough that the overt acts of rebellion are duly
proven. Both purpose and overt acts are essential components of the crime. With either of these
elements wanting, the crime of rebellion legally does not exist. In fact, even in cases where the act
complained of were committed simultaneously with or in the course of the rebellion, if the killing,
robbing, etc. were accomplished for private purposes or profit, without any political motivation, it has
been held that the crime would be separately punishable as a common crime and would not be
absorbed by the crime of rebellion.

Rebellion is a continuing crime. A continuing crime is a single crime consisting of a series of acts
arising from a single criminal resolution or intent not susceptible of division. Rebellion encompasses
no definite time nor particular locality of actual war and continues even when the actual fighting has
ceased. Thus, offenders of rebellion may be arrested without warrant as provided under sec. 5, Rule
113 of the Rules of Court.

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).

ELEMENTS:

a. Offender is a person belonging to military, police, or public officer or employee;

b. Committed by means of swift attack accompanied by violence, intimidation, threat, strategy or

stealth;

c. Against duly constituted authorities, or any military camp, installation, etc.; and

d. To seize/diminish state power.

Rebellion and coup d’état are distinguished in the following manner:

 a. Purpose: In rebellion, to remove from the allegiance to the Philippines or to its laws the
territory of the Philippines or any body of land, naval or other armed forces, or to deprive the
Chief Executive or Congress of any of their powers or prerogatives; while in coup d’état, to
seize or diminish state control;

b. Person liable: In rebellion, public officers or private citizens; while in coup d’état, military,
police, or public officers/employees;

c. Manner of commission: In rebellion, committed by multitudes rising publicly and taking arms;
while in coup d’état, a swift attack accompanied by violence, intimidation, threat, strategy or
stealth;

d. Target attack: In rebellion, the government; while in coup d’état, the duly constituted
authorities of the Philippines, the military camps or installations or communications network
or public utilities, or other facilities necessary for the exercise and continued possession of
power.

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 of 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 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.

ELEMENTS:

a. That the offenders rise publicly and tumultuously;

b. That they employ force, intimidation, or other means outside of legal methods;

c. That the offenders employ any of those means to attain any of the following objects:

i. To prevent the promulgation or execution of any law or the holding of any

popular election;

ii. 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;

iii. To inflict any act of hate or revenge upon the person or property of any
public officer or employee;

iv. To commit, for any political or social end, any act of hate or revenge against
private persons or any social class;

v. To despoil, for any political or social end, any person, municipality or

province, or the National Government of all its property or any part
thereof.

In criminal law, there are a variety of offenses which are not directed primarily against individuals,
but rather against the existence of the State, the authority of the Government, or the general public
peace. Among them is sedition, which is the raising of commotions or disturbances in the State. It is a
revolt against legitimate authority. Though the ultimate object of sedition is a violation of the public
peace or at least such a course of measures as evidently engenders it, yet it does not aim at direct
and open violence against the laws, or the subversion of the Constitution.

There is no taking of arms, mere uprising publicly and tumultuously is enough. This crime cannot be
committed by one person. There is tumultuous uprising if the disturbance is cause by more than
three persons who are armed and committed by means of violence.

The crime of sedition is consummated, even though the object of the defendants is not realized. In a
case, the accused were members of an illegal association and had publicly and tumultuously attacked
the town and roamed over its streets, firing shots, yelling, and threatening the residents with death,
and thereby frightening them. They performed acts of violence on the persons of the president and
other residents of the town, against the law and the supreme authority and with political-social
purposes. The crime of sedition was consummated, even though the object of the defendants was
not realized. The accused performed acts of violence on the persons of the president and other
residents of the twon, against the law and the supreme authority and with political-social purposes.
For these reasons the acts performed by the defendants constitute sedition.

Sedition and Treason, distinguished: Treason is the violation by a subject of his allegiance to his
sovereign or supreme authority of the State. While sedition is the raising of commotion or
disturbance in the State.

Rebellion and Sedition, distinguished: In rebellion, the purpose is political; while in sedition, the
purpose is social or political.
Art. 140. Penalty for sedition - The leader of sedition shall suffer the penalty of prisión mayor in its
minimum period and fine not exceeding Two million pesos (₱2,000,000).

Other persons participating therein shall suffer the penalty of prisión correccional in its maximum
period and a fine not exceeding One million pesos (₱1,000,000).

Article 148. Direct assaults - Any persons who, without a public uprising, shall employ force or
intimidation for the attainment of any of the purposes enumerated in defining the crimes of rebellion
and sedition, or shall attack, employ force, or seriously intimidate or resist any person in authority of
any of his agents, while engaged in the performance of official duties, or on occasion of such
performance, shall suffer the penalty of prisión correccional in its medium and maximum periods and
a fine not exceeding Two hundred thousand pesos (₱200,000), 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 prisión correccional in
its minimum period and a fine not exceeding One hundred thousand pesos (₱100,000) shall be
imposed.

Two kinds of direct assault:

1. Without public uprising, by employing force or intimidation for the attainment of purposes of
rebellion and sedition.

Elements:
i. That the offender employs force or intimidation;

ii. That the aim of the offender is to attain any of the purposes of the crime of
rebellion or any of the objects in the crime of sedition;

iii. That there is no public uprising.

2. Without public uprising, by attacking, by employing force, or by seriously intimidating or

seriously resisting any person in authority or his agents, while engaged in the performance of
official duties or on the occasion of such performance.

Elements:
iv. That the offender makes attack, employs force, makes serious intimidation, or
makes a serious resistance;

v. That the person assaulted is a person in authority or his agent;

vi. That at the time of the assault, the person in authority or his agent (1) is
engaged in the actual performance of official duties, or that he is assaulted, (2)
by reason of the past performance of official duties, or on occasion of such
performance;

vii. That the offender knows that the one he is assaulting is a person in authority or
his agent in the exercise of his duties; and

viii. That there is no public uprising.

Attack includes any offensive or antagonistic movement or action of any kind. Drawing a pistol from
the holster and aiming it at a person constitutes attack.

Force need not be serious if the victim is a person in authority. If the victim is an agent of person in
authority, force must be serious.
Whether the victim is person in authority or agent of person in authority, intimidation and resistance
must be serious.

Person in authority is any person directly vested with jurisdiction whether as an individual or as a
member of some court or government position. Examples:

1. Barangay captain, barangay chairman, and members of the barangay sanggunian;

2. Teachers, professors, and persons charged with the supervision of public or duly recognized
private schools;
3. Lawyers in actual performance of professional duties or on the occasion of such performance;
4. Judges and prosecutors;
5. Members of the lupong tagapamayapa;
6. Municipal mayor;
7. Division superintendent of schools;
8. Public and private school teachers;
9. Teacher-nurse;
10. President of sanitary division;
11. Provincial fiscal;
12. Justice of the peace; and
13. Municipal councilor.

Agents of person in authority are:

a) Those persons who by direct provision of law or by appointment of competent authority

are charged with the maintenance of public order and the protection and security of life and
property. One is considered charged with the maintenance of public order if he has authority to make
arrests, without warrant, for violations of law committed in his presence. Examples are police officers,
NBI agents, PDEA agents, Barangay Tanods, and LTO enforcers; and

b) Those persons who come to the aid of persons of authority. It is an essential condition that
they lend assistance, by virtue of an order or request of such person of authority.

Article 149. Indirect assaults - The penalty of prisión correccional in its minimum and medium periods
and a fine not exceeding One hundred thousand (₱100,000) 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.

Elements:

a. The direct assault is committed against an agent of a person in authority;

b. A person comes to the aid of such person in authority or his agent; and

c. The offender makes use of force or intimidation upon such person coming to the aid of his
authority or agent.

Both direct assault and indirect assault must be committed on the same occasion. There will be no
indirect assault if there is no direct assault committed. Indirect assault may only arise during the
commission of the direct assault. For instance, if the victim is a person in authority, the crime is direct
assault. A person coming to the aid of person in authority becomes an agent of person in authority. If
the latter is also attacked, the crime committed by the offender is also direct assault. It is only when
the person coming to the aid of the agent of person in authority is similarly attacked that the crime of
indirect assault is committed.
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 One hundred thousand pesos (₱100,000) 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 Two thousand pesos (₱2,000) to Twenty thousand pesos
(₱20,000) shall be imposed upon the offender.

Example: The accused, a club house manager, forcibly resisted the police when the club was raided as
a gambling house, he bit a policeman on the right forearm and gave him a blow in another part of the
body. He was guilty of the crime of resistance of the agents of the authority.

Before a person can be held guilty of the crime of resistance or disobedience to a person in authority
or agent of such person, it must be shown beyond reasonable doubt that the accused knew that the
person he disobeyed or resisted is a person in authority or agent of such person who is actually
engaged in the performance of his official duties. What is punished as an act of resistance or serious
disobedience is not the resistance or disobedience against a person in authority or an agent of such
person in his capacity as a private individual but in his official capacity as an authority under the law,
or as agent of the law, while engaged in the performance of his official duties.

Title Four
CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC INTEREST

Article 171. Falsification by public officer, employee or notary or ecclesiastic minister. - The penalty of
prisión mayor and a fine not to exceed One million pesos (₱1,000,000) shall be imposed upon any
public officer, employee, or notary who, taking advantage of his of position shall falsify a document
by committing any of the following acts:

1. Counterfeiting or using 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."
It is not enough that the falsification be committed by a public officer; it is also necessary that it
should be committed by a public officer with abuse of his office, that is, in deeds, instrument,
indentures, certificates, etc., in the execution of which he participates by reason of his office.

Public officials are considered to have taken advantage of their official position in falsifying a
document if (1) they have the duty to make or prepare or otherwise intervene in the preparation of
the document; or (2) they have official custody of the falsified document.

Article 172. Falsification by private individual and use of falsified documents. - The penalty of prisión
correccional in its medium and maximum periods and a fine of not more than One million pesos
(₱1,000,000) 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;

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; and

3. 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.

Public documents are written official acts, or records of the official acts of the sovereign authority,
official bodies and tribunals, and public officers, whether of the Philippines, or of a foreign country. By
definition, any notarized document is considered a public document.

Official document is one issued by a public official in the exercise of the functions of his office.

Commercial documents or instrument are used by merchants or businessmen to promote or facilitate

trade or credit transactions.

Private document is a deed or instrument executed by a private person without the intervention of a
notary public or other person legally authorized, by which document some disposition or agreement
is proved, evidenced or set forth.

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.

In order to constitute this crime, the accused must knowingly and falsely represent himself as officer,
agent or representative of the government.

In a case, a CIS agent who represented himself as such, when in fact he was already dismissed from
service, cannot be convicted of usurpation of authority in the absence of proof that he knowingly
represented himself as such. It was incumbent upon the prosecution to establish by positive evidence
the allegation that the accused falsely represented himself as a CIS agent, by presenting proof that he
knew that he was no longer a CIS agent, having been duly notified of his dismissal. It is essential to
present proof that he actually knew at the time of the alleged commission of the offense that he was
already dismissed from the service. A mere disputable presumption that he received notice of his
dismissal would not be sufficient. In this case, the accused had not yet received his dismissal order at
the time he represented as CIS operative when he went to PAL to get some documents. Hence, his
dismissal from the service had not yet been in effect at the time of incident.

Article 183. False testimony in other cases and perjury in solemn affirmation. – The penalty of prision
mayor in its minimum period to prision mayor in its medium 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 therein: provided, that if the person responsible for the commission of this
felony is a public officer or employee, the penalty shall be imposed in its maximum period: provided,
finally, that the offender shall also suffer a fine not to exceed One Million Pesos (P1,000,000.00) and
perpetual absolute disqualification from holding any appointive or elective position in the
government or in any agency, entity or instrumentality thereof. (as amended by RA 11594)

Acts punished:

a. By falsely testifying under oath (not in a judicial proceeding);

b. By making false affidavit.

Elements:

a. That the accused made a statement under oath or executed an affidavit upon a material
matter;

b. That the statement or affidavit was made before a competent officer, authorized to receive
and administer oath;

c. That in the statement or affidavit, the accused made a willful and deliberate assertion of
falsehood; and

d. That the sworn statement or affidavit containing the falsity is required by law or made for a
legal purpose.

Perjury is the willful and corrupt assertion of a falsehood under oath or affirmation administered by
authority of law on a material matter. Every interest of public policy demands that perjury be not
shielded by artificial refinements and narrow technicalities. For perjury strikes at the administration
of the laws. It is the policy of the law that judicial proceedings and judgments be fair and free from
fraud, and that litigants and parties be encouraged to tell the truth, and that they be punished if they
do not.

Material matter – explained: In prosecution for perjury, a matter is material if it is the main fact which
was the subject of the inquiry, or any circumstance which tends to prove the fact, or any fact or
circumstance which tends to corroborate or strengthen the testimony relative to the subject of the
inquiry, or which legitimately affects the credit of any witness who testifies. A matter is material if it
has a material effect or tendency to influence the court. The statement is material if the falsity
thereof affects the outcome of the proceeding.

Example:

1. The offender who filed an application for civil service examination by stating and making it
appear in said document that he had never been accused for violation of any law, ordinance
 or regulation, when in truth and in fact he knew that the statement or fact is false and untrue
had committed perjury and not falsification of document since the willful and corrupt
statement of falsehood was under oath.

2. In the case of a certificate of candidacy, a material matter is a fact relevant to the validity of
the certificate and which could serve as basis to grant or deny due course to the certificate in
case it is assailed under section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code (BP 881). Such material
matter would then refer only to the qualifications for elective office required to be stated in
the certificate of candidacy. Thus, it was held that a candidate’s misrepresentation as to his
profession or occupation, when he stated in his COC that he is a certified public accountant
when, in truth, he is not in connection with his candidacy as a barangay captain, is not
material representation as it does not involve his qualifications for the elective position.