Article 61Act No. 3815, Sec./Art. 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:

1. When the penalty prescribed for the felony is single and indivisible, the penalty next lower in degree shall be that immediately following that indivisible penalty in the scale prescribed in article 70 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 imposed to their full extent, the penalty next lower in degree shall be that immediately following the lesser of the penalties prescribed in the above mentioned 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 period of that immediately following in said 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 scale.

TABULATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS CHAPTER

Penalty prescribed for the crime

Penalty to be imposed upon the principal in a frustrated crime, and the accomplice in a consummated crime

Penalty to be imposed upon the principal in an attempted crime, the accessory in the consummated crime, and the accomplices in a frustrated crime

Penalty to be imposed upon the accessory in a frustrated crime, and the accomplices in an attempted crime

Penalty to be imposed upon the accessory in an attempted crime

imposed upon the

imposed upon the

imposed upon the

imposed upon

First case

Death

Reclusion perpetua

Reclusion temporal

Prision mayor

Prision correccional

Second case

Reclusion perpetua to death.

Reclusion temporal.

Prision mayor.

Prision correccional.

Aresto mayor.

Third case

Reclusion temporal in its maximum period to death.

Prision mayor in its maximum period to reclusion temporal in its medium period.

Prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its medium period.

Arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its medium period.

Fine and arresto mayor in its minimum and medium periods.

Fourth case

Prision mayor in its maximum period to reclusion temporal in its medium period.

Prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its medium period.

Arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its medium period.

Fine and arresto mayor in its minimum and medium periods.

Fine.

5. When the law prescribes a penalty for a crime in some manner not specially 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.

SECTION TWO.-Rules for the application of penalties with regard to the mitigating and aggravating circumstances, and habitual delinquency

REVISED PENAL CODE TEXT AND SPECIAL PENAL LAWS

measures, such as close supervision, intensive care or

placement with a family or in an educational setting or

home.

Institutionalization

or

detention

of

the

child

pending trial shall be used only as a measure of last resort

and for the shortest possible period of time.

Whenever detention is necessary, a child will always be

detained in youth detention homes established by local

governments, pursuant to Section 8 of the Family Courts

Act, in the city or municipality where the child resides.

In the absence of a youth detention home, the child in

conflict with the law may be committed to the care of the

DSWD or a local rehabilitation center recognized by the

government in the province, city or municipality within

the

jurisdiction

of

the court. The center or agency

concerned shall be responsible for the child's appearance

in court whenever required.

SEC. 37. Diversion Measures. - Where the maximum

penalty imposed by law for the offense with which the

child in conflict with the law is charged is imprisonment

of not more than twelve (12) years, regardless of the fine

or fine alone regardless of the amount, and before

arraignment of the child in conflict with the law, the court

shall determine whether or not diversion is appropriate.

SEC. 38. Automatic Suspension of Sentence. - Once the

child who is under eighteen (18) years of age at the time

of the commission of the offense is found guilty of the

offense charged, the court shall determine and ascertain

any civil liability which may have resulted from the

offense committed. However, instead of pronouncing the

judgment of conviction, the court shall place the child in

conflict with the law under suspended sentence, without

need of application: Provided , however , That suspension

of sentence shall still be applied even if the juvenile is

already eighteen years (18) of age or more at the time of

the pronouncement of his/her guilt.

Upon suspension of sentence and after considering the

various circumstances of the child, the court shall impose

the appropriate disposition measures as provided in the

Supreme Court Rule on Juveniles in Conflict with the Law.

SEC. 39. Discharge of the Child in Conflict with the

Law. - Upon the recommendation of the social worker

who has custody of the child, the court shall dismiss the

case

against

the

child

whose

sentence

has

been

suspended and against whom disposition measures have

been issued, and shall order the final discharge of the

child if it finds that the objective of the disposition

measures have been fulfilled.

The discharge of the child in conflict with the law shall

not affect the civil liability resulting from the commission

of the offense, which shall be enforced in accordance with

law.

SEC. 40. Return of the Child in Conflict with the Law to

Court. - If the court finds that the objective of the

disposition measures imposed upon the child in conflict

with the law have not been fulfilled, or if the child in

conflict with the law has willfully failed to comply with the

conditions

of

his/her

disposition

or

rehabilitation

program, the child in conflict with the law shall be

brought before the court for execution of judgment.

If said child in conflict with the law has reached eighteen

(18) years of age while under suspended sentence, the

court shall determine whether to discharge the child in

accordance with this Act, to order execution of sentence,

or to extend the suspended sentence for a certain

specified period or until the child reaches the maximum

age of twenty-one (21) years.

SEC. 41. Credit in Service of Sentence. - The child in

conflict with the law shall be credited in the services of

his/her

sentence with the full time spent in actual

commitment and detention under this Act.

SEC. 42. Probation as an Alternative to Imprisonment.

-

The

court

may,

after it shall have convicted and

sentenced a child in conflict with the law, and upon

application at any time, place the child on probation in

lieu of service of his/her sentence taking into account the

best interest of the child. For this purpose, Section 4 of

Presidential Decree No. 968, otherwise known as the

"Probation Law of 1976", is hereby amended accordingly.

CHAPTER 5 CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS AND

PROCEEDINGS

SEC. 43. Confidentiality of Records and Proceedings. -

All records and proceedings involving children in conflict

with the law from initial contact until final disposition of

the case shall be considered privileged and confidential.

The public shall be excluded during the proceedings and

the records shall not be disclosed directly or indirectly to

anyone by any of the parties or the participants in the

proceedings

for

any

purpose

whatsoever,

except

to

determine if the child in conflict with the law may have

his/her sentence suspended or if he/she may be granted

probation under the Probation Law, or to enforce the civil

liability imposed in the criminal action.

The component authorities shall undertake all measures

to protect this confidentiality of proceedings, including

non-disclosure of records to the media, maintaining a

separate police blotter for cases involving children in

conflict with the law and adopting a system of coding to

conceal material information which will lead to the child's

identity. Records of a child in conflict with the law shall

not

be

used

in

subsequent

proceedings

for

cases

involving the same offender as an adult, except when

beneficial for the offender and upon his/her written

consent.

A person who has been in conflict with the law as a child

shall not be held under any provision of law, to be guilty

of perjury or of concealment or misrepresentation by

reason of his/her failure to acknowledge the case or recite

any fact related thereto in response to any inquiry made

to him/her for any purpose.

TITLE VI REHABILITATION AND REINTEGRATION

SEC. 44. Objective of Rehabilitation and Reintegration.

- The objective of rehabilitation and reintegration of

children in conflict with the law is to provide them with

interventions, approaches and strategies that will enable

them to improve their social functioning with the end

goal of reintegration to their families and as productive

members of their communities.

SEC. 45. Court Order Required. - No child shall be

received in any rehabilitation or training facility without a

valid order issued by the court after a hearing for the

purpose. The details of this order shall be immediately

entered in a register exclusively for children in conflict

with the law. No child shall be admitted in any facility

where there is no such register.

SEC.

46,

Separate

Facilities

from

Adults.

-

In all

rehabilitation or training facilities, it shall be mandatory

that children shall be separated from adults unless they

are

members

of

the

same

family.

Under

no other

circumstance shall a child in conflict with the law be

placed in the same confinement as adults.

The

rehabilitation,

training

or

confinement

area

of

children in conflict with the law shall provide a home

environment where children in conflict with the law can

be provided with quality counseling and treatment.

SEC. 47. Female Children. - Female children in conflict

with the law placed in an institution shall be given special

attention as to their personal needs and problems. They

shall be handled by female doctors, correction officers

and

social

workers,

and

shall

be

accommodated

separately from male children in conflict with the law.

SEC. 48. Gender-Sensitivity Training. - No personnel of

rehabilitation and training facilities shall handle children

in

conflict

with

the

law without having undergone

gender sensitivity training.

SEC. 49. Establishment of ‘Bahay Pag-Asa’. – Each

province and highly-urbanized city (the LGUs) shall be

responsible for building, funding and operating a ‘Bahay

© Compiled By RGL

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