REVISED PENAL CODE PROVISONS IN RELATION WITH R.A. 9372

Art. 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.

Art. 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).

Art. 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.

Art. 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.

Art. 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.

PERTINENT PROVISIONS OF RA 9372

RA 9372, SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is declared a policy of the

State to protect life, liberty, and property from acts of terrorism, to condemn

terrorism as inimical and dangerous to the national security of the country and to

the welfare of the people, and to make terrorism a crime against the Filipino

people, against humanity, and against the law of nations.

In the implementation of the policy stated above, the State shall uphold the

basic rights and fundamental liberties of the people as enshrined in the

Constitution.

The State recognizes that the fight against terrorism requires a

comprehensive approach, comprising political, economic, diplomatic, military, and

legal means duly taking into account the root causes of terrorism without

acknowledging these as justifications for terrorist and/or criminal activities. Such

measures shall include conflict management and post-conflict peace-building,

addressing the roots of conflict by building state capacity and promoting equitable

economic development.

Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted as a curtailment, restriction or

diminution of constitutionally recognized powers of the executive branch of the

government. It is to be understood, however that the exercise of the

constitutionally recognized powers of the executive department of the government

shall not prejudice respect for human rights which shall be absolute and protected

at all times.

Acts Punishable under RA 9372

Generally, RA 9372 punishes the acts enumerated under Section 3 and the

effect of such act of sowing and creating a condition of widespread and

extraordinary fear and panic among the populace, in order to coerce the

government to give in to an unlawful demand.

Hence, under RA 9372, it is acts enumerated under Section 3 which thereby

sowing and creating a condition of widespread and extraordinary fear and

panic among the populace, in order to coerce the government to give in to an

unlawful demand.

To be liable under RA 9372, there is a predicate act, as enumerated, and

such act must generate the condition stated under the same section.

The predicate act is then integrated to the act of terrorism. (Absorption)

PERSONAL INSIGHT ABOUT THE LAW

The Human Security Act strengthens the provisions of the Revised Penal

Code that it enumerates under its Section 3. RA 9372 serves as another set of fangs

for the Revised Penal Code by punishing such acts if it is sowing and creating a

condition of widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among the populace, in

order to coerce the government to give in to an unlawful demand. Such act now

becomes an act of terrorism. RA 9372 enabled the Philippines to keep up with the

modern times in terms of national defense since RA 9372 provided the acts for

terrorism. Terrorism in the modern world is infamously rampant especially with

developing countries like the Philippines. If RA 9372 was not enacted, we could

not possibly know what acts are to consider as acts of terrorism since there was no

anti-terrorism law prior. The Human Security Act is a good law, in fact, it is one of

the best laws ever passed by the Congress.

R.A. 9372Human Security Act of 2007:

An anti-terrorism law

Submitted to:

Atty. Zacarias D. Bedona Jr.

Submitted by:

Jude Vincent D. Fontilon

JD-II