PENAL STATUTES

AND STATUTES IN DEROGATION OF RIGHTS

MARAÑON, ANNE BEATRICE N.

 WHAT ARE
PENAL STATUTES?
 PENAL STATUTES
All statutes which command or
prohibit certain acts, and establish
penalties for their violation, and even
those which without expressly
prohibiting certain acts, impose a
penalty upon their commission.
Penal statutes are strictly construed
against the state and liberally in
favor of the accused.
Only those offenses, and penalties clearly
included, beyond any reasonable doubt will be
considered within the operation of the statute.

They cannot be enlarged or extended by intendment,

implication, or any, equitable consideration.

www.yourwebsite.com 5
 Example:

PD 1564
Acts in and of Section Any person, corporation, organization, or association desiring
themselves innocent 2 to solicit or receive contributions for charitable or public
and lawful cannot be welfare purposes shall first secure a permit from the Regional
held to be criminal Offices of the Department of Social Services and Development
unless there is a clear xxx
and unequivocal Section
Any person found violating the provisions hereof or the rules
expression of the 6 and regulations promulgated pursuant hereto shall upon,
conviction, suffer the penalty of imprisonment of not more
legislative intent to than 1 year or a fine of not more than P1,000.00 or both such
make them such. imprisonment and fine, at the discretion of the court.
 Reason why
penal statutes
are strictly
construed
 Law is tender in the favor of the
rights of an individual.

Object is to establish a certain rule

by conformity to which mankind
would be safe and the discretion of
the court limited
 Penal statutes must be construed
with strictness as to carefully
1 safeguard the rights of the defendant
and at the same time preserve the
obvious intention of the legislature.

Court must consider the spirit and

LIMITATION OF RULE reason of a statute where a literal
2 meaning would lead to absurdity,
contradiction, injustice, or would
defeat the clear purpose of the law,
for strict construction of a criminal
statute does not mean such
construction as to deprive it of the
meaning intended
People v Purisima
•PD 9 penalizes the mere carrying outside of
residence of bladed weapons, such as a knife or
bolo, not in connection with one’s work or
occupation, with a very heavy penalty ranging
from five to ten years of imprisonment
•Additional element of the crime: the carrying of
the weapon in furtherance of rebellion or
prevented by the statute as disclosed in its
preamble.
 If the language is plain, it will be
1 construed as it reads and given its
full meaning

If there are two interpretations of a

penal statute:
2 •one is to exempt an accused
from liability for violation and
LIMITATION OF RULE the other to give effect to the
manifest intent of the statute
and promote its object, the
latter interpretation should be
adopted.
if it is ambiguous, courts will lean
3 more strongly in favor of the
defendant
 PROCEDURAL LAWS ARE NOT PENAL

STATUTES

Procedural laws are those which operates as a means of

implementing existing right. Strict construction rule
finds no application in procedural laws. A Code
prescribing the procedure in criminal cases is not a
penal statute and is to be interpreted liberally.
 PROCEDURAL LAWS ARE NOT PENAL
STATUTES

Section 13 of RA No. 3019 Suspension and loss of benefits. Any

public officer against whom any criminal prosecution under a
valid information under this Act or under the provisions of the
Revised Penal Code on bribery is pending in court, shall be
suspended from office. Should he be convicted by final
judgment, he shall lose all retirement or gratuity benefits
under any law, but if he is acquitted, he shall be entitled to
reinstatement and to the salaries and benefits which he failed
to receive during suspension, unless in the meantime
administrative proceedings have been filed against him.
Acts mala in se
and
acts mala
prohibita
 ACTS MALA IN SE AND ACTS MALA PROHIBITA

GENERAL RULE:
A penal statute will not be construed to make the
commission of certain prohibited acts criminal without
regard to the intent of the doer, unless there is a clear
legislative intent to the contrary.
BASIS:
• Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea – The act itself
does not make a man guilty unless his intention were so
• Actus me invito factus non est meus actus – An act
done by me against my will is not my act
 ACTS MALA IN SE AND ACTS MALA PROHIBITA

• Acts mala in se – criminal intent, apart from the act

itself, is required
• Acts mala prohibita – the only inquiry is “has the law
been violated?”
• The construction will depend upon the intent of the
legislature, taking into consideration the nature of the
offense, the purpose to be accomplished and such other
factors as will throw light upon the meaning of the
language.
People v Yadao
Republic Act No. 145
"Any person assisting a claimant in the preparation, presentation
and prosecution of his claim for benefits under the laws of the United
States administered by the United States Veterans Administration,
who shall,
a)directly or indirectly, solicit, contract, for charge, or receive, or
b)who shall attempt to solicit, contract for, charge, or receive any fee
or compensation exceeding twenty pesos in any one claim,
c)or who shall collect his fee before the claim is actually paid to a
beneficiary or claimant,
shall be deemed guilty of an offense and upon conviction thereof shall
for every offense be fined not exceeding one thousand pesos or
imprisoned not exceeding two years, or both, in the discretion of the
court."
 Suy v People
IMPORTER’S
RETAIL CEILING
Sugar OR UNIT
PRICE PRICE Violation of EO 331 in relation
PRICE to RA 509
Refined,
Petitioner sold 10lbs at P2.00
packed in 16.00/100 17.20/100 0.40/k
(P0.20 more than that
cellophane
prescribed)
HELD: It should be resolved in
favor of the accused and render
Refined,
him not liable for violation of
packed in 5.25/15k 6.00/15k 0.45/k
the law
cellophane
People v Terrado
Obo, Gundran, and Terrado applied for, and were issued free patents for contiguous parcels of
land situated in Camarines Sur. The said parcels of land were allegedly forest land and, hence,
not disposable.
The informations sufficiently alleged the commission of falsification of public documents
under Art. 171 of the Revised Penal Code
lands of the public domain is also punishable as perjury under Sec. 129 of Commonwealth
Act No. 141, as
Sec. 129. Any person who present 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 inthe making of a false affidavit in support of any petition, claim, or
objection respecting lands of thepublic domain, shall be deemed guilty of perjury and
punished as such
HELD: Falsification of public documents is punishable by prision mayor and a fine not to
exceed P5,000.00. 1 Prision mayor is an afflictive penalty, 2 and hence, prescribes in 15
years. 3 Perjury, upon the other hand, is punishable by arresto mayor in its maximum period
to prision correccional in its minimum period, 4 or from four (4) months and one (1) day to
two (2) years and four (4) months, which is correctional in nature, 5and prescribes in ten
(10) years.
 STATUTES IN
DEROGATION OF
RIGHTS
 STATUTES IN DEROGATION OF RIGHTS

• People enjoy rights, which are either inherent or guaranteed

by the Constitution or protected by law.
• Rights are not absolute and the state, in the exercise of its
police power, may enact legislations curtailing or restricting
their enjoyment.
 Statutes authorizing the
expropriation of private land or Allowing the taking of deposition
property

Examples

Fixing the ceiling of the price of Limiting the exercise of proprietary

commodities rights by individual citizens
 STATUTES IN DEROGATION OF RIGHTS

• Generally strictly construed and rigidly confined to cases

clearly within their scope or purpose.
• Of two reasonably possible constructions, one which would
diminish or restrict fundamental right of the people and the
other of which would not do so, the latter construction must
be adopted so as to allow full enjoyment of such
fundamental right.