IS Law

Penalties Time included in the penalty in its entirety

Time included in its minimum

period

Time included in its medium

period

Time included in its

maximum

Reclusion temporal

From 12 years and 1 day to 20 years.

From 12 years and 1 day to 14 years and 8 months.

From 14 years, 8 months and 1 day to 17 years and 4 months.

From 17 years, 4 months and 1 day to 20 years.

Prision mayor, absolute disqualification and special temporary disqualification





Prision correccional, suspension and destierro

From 6 months and 1 day to 6 years.

From 6 months and 1 day to 2 years and 4 months.

From 2 years, 4 months and 1 day to 4 years and 2 months.

From 4 years, 2 months and 1 day to 6 years.

Arresto mayor From 1 month and 1 day to months.

From 1 to 2 months.

From 2 months and 1 day to 4 months.

From 4 months and 1 day to 6 months.

Arresto menor From 1 to 30 days. From 1 to 10 days. From 11 to 20 days.

From 21 to 30 days.

TABLE SHOWING THE DURATION OF DIVISIBLE PENALTIES AND THE TIME INCLUDED IN EACH OF THEIR PERIODS

If offense is punished by the RPC

If offense is punished by a special law

MAXIMUM term: maximum penalty imposable after taking attending circumstances into account

MAXIMUM term: shall not exceed the maximum term prescribed by the special law

MINIMUM term: range of penalty next lower to penalty prescribed

MINIMUM term: shall not be less than the minimum term prescribed by the special law

RECALL distinctions: (1) Penalty PRESCRIBED (by RPC or special law)(2) Penalty IMPOSABLE (after taking circumstances into

account)(3) Penalty IMPOSED (after applying all rules under RPC and

the Indeterminate Sentence Law) Formula for easy reference:OffenseRPC = Min (next lower to prescribed) to Max (imposable)OffenseSPECIAL = Min (at least that prescribed) to Max (not exceed

prescribed)

Indeterminate penalty when neither mitigating circumstance nor aggravating circumstance attended the commission of the crime.

CRIME, circumstances, and penalty prescribed

Application of the IS Law

1. Homicide (Art. 249): reclusion temporal

2. No MC or AC

1. Maximum term: reclusion temporal medium

2. Minimum term: prision mayor



1. Falsification of official document by a public officer: Prision mayor

2. No MC or AC

1. Maximum term: prision mayor medium

2. Minimum term: prision correccional

Indeterminate penalty, when there is one ordinary mitigating circumstance.




2. Mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender, No AC

1. Maximum term: reclusion temporal minimum




1. Falsification of official document: prision mayor

2. Mitigating circumstance of plea of guilt, No AC

1. Maximum term: prision mayor minimum


Indeterminate penalty, when there is only an aggravating circumstance




2. Aggravating circumstance of recidivism, No MC

1. Maximum term: reclusion temporal maximum




1. Falsification of an official document by a public officer: prision mayor

2. One aggravating circumstance, No MC

1. Maximum term: prision mayor maximum


Indeterminate penalty, when there are mitigating and aggravating circumstances




2. Aggravating circumstance of nighttime

3. Mitigating circumstances of voluntary surrender and plea of guilt

4. OFFSETTING the MCs with the AC would yield one MC

1. Maximum term: reclusion temporal minimum


(same procedure if there is one MC and no AC)

Indeterminate penalty, when there are mitigating and aggravating circumstances



1. Falsification of official document by a public officer: prision mayor

2. Aggravating circumstance of recidivism

3. Mitigating circumstance of plea of guilt

4. OFFSET the MC with the AC

1. Maximum term: prision mayor medium


(same procedure – No AC, No MC)

Indeterminate penalty, when the crime committed is complex under Art. 48



1. Complex crime of frustrated homicide with assault upon an agent of a person in authority (Arts. 249, 6, 148, and 48)

Penalty for frustrated homicide: (one degree lower from reclusion temporal) prision mayor

Penalty for assault: prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods

Penalty for the complex crime: PRISION MAYOR (penalty for the graver offense)

2. No MCs or Acs

1. Maximum term: prision mayor maximum


EXCEPTION IN DERIVING MINIMUM PERIOD:

WHEN THERE IS A PRIVILEGED MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCE, do

NOT follow the aforementioned rule. Consider the privileged mitigating circumstance FIRST before any AC or MC to get the

PENALTY PRESCRIBED and then proceed as required by the rule on deriving the minimum term. Otherwise, the maximum of

the IS Law will end up being lower than the minimum of the IS Law.

To illustrate, note the following comparisons:CRIME, circumstances, and

penalty prescribedFollowing the ‘regular’

procedure for deriving the minimum and maximum term

Applying the Exception with respect to the minimum term


2. Committed by a person 9-15 years old with discernment (Art. 68 mandates that the penalty to be imposed should be two degrees lower than the penalty prescribed)

3. No other mitigating or aggravating circumstance

1. For MAXIMUM term: Ordinarily, reclusion temporal medium.

However: given the privileged mitigating circumstance, the penalty 2 degrees lower is prision correccional

2. For MINIMUM term: prision mayor medium

3. The absurd result of the application:

The penalty IMPOSABLE is within the Maximum term of PRISION CORRECCIONAL and the Minimum term of PRISION MAYOR MEDIUM.

1. For MAXIMUM term, take the privileged mitigating circumstance into account: prision correccional

2. For MINIMUM term, get the NEW ‘penalty prescribed’ first by applying the privileged mitigating circumstance (prision correccional medium).

3. Then get the penalty one degree lower from the NEW penalty prescribed: arresto mayor medium

The penalty IMPOSABLE is within the Maximum term of PRISION CORRECCIONAL and the Minimum term of ARRESTO MAYOR MEDIUM.

NOTE: this solution is permitted because the ISL is predicated on ordinary mitigating and generic aggravating circumstances only.

Procedure when the crime is punished by a special law

1. MAXIMUM TERM: Court may fix any as long as it does not exceed the penalty prescribed by the special law

2. MINIMUM TERM: Court has discretion so long as it does not exceed the minimum prescribed by the special law

Example: For the crime of illegal possession of firearms, not used for rebellion or sedition, the IS Law range is anywhere between 1-5 years.

IS Law

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