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TWENTIETH CONGRESS SE. By Awe
First Regular Session K ay

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HOUSE BILL No. 1435 NO

Introduced by Representative LEILA M. DE LIMA

AN ACT
DEFINING THE CRIME OF SUBORNATION OF PERJURY, AND AMENDING FOR
THE PURPOSE ARTICLE 184 OF ACT NO. 3815, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE “REVISED PENAL CODE”

EXPLANATORY NOTE

In the Philippines, the Revised Penal Code (RPC) punishes the act of giving
and offering false testimonies in judicial proceedings (Articles 180-182, 184) and the
act of falsely testifying under oath in a proceeding other than a criminal or civil case
and the making of a false affidavit under oath (Article 183). Republic Act No. 11594,
in recognition of the great harm towards the integrity of the justice system and the
deliverance of justice of the crime of perjury, further increased the penalties for perjury.
However, neither the RPC nor any present law in effect explicitly criminalizes and
penalizes subornation of perjury,’ which is the crime of procuring, coercing, or inducing
another person to commit perjury. The necessity for legislation that expressly
criminalizes subomnation of perjury is also recognized by the passage on 3 reading
of a similar bill (HB10353) authored by Representative Jaime Fresnedi in the House
of Representatives under the 19" Congress.

Recognizing that subornation of perjury gravely threatens the integrity of the
justice system and weakens public confidence in the impartiality and fairness of the
legal process, this bill seeks to explicitly define the crime of subornation of perjury and
propose appropriate penalties. Furthermore, under this bill, public officials or
employees who commit subornation of perjury shall be meted with a higher penalty
and be perpetually disqualified from holding a public office or employment. This is but
proper in light of recent instances when those entrusted with the duty to see that justice
is done are the ones coercing and using government resources to manufacture
falsehood.

* People of the Philippines vs Pudol, G.R. No. L-45618, October 18, 1938.

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Early approval of this measure is requested.


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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 1435

introduced by Representative LEILA M. DE LIMA

AN ACT
DEFINING THE CRIME OF SUBORNATION OF PERJURY, AND AMENDING FOR
THE PURPOSE ARTICLE 184 OF ACT NO. 3815, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE.
KNOWN AS THE “REVISED PENAL CODE”

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION. 1. Short title. - This Act shall be known as the “Criminalizing the
Subornation of Perjury Act of 2025.”

SEC. 2. Subomation of perjury. - Any person who procures, coerces, or
otherwise induces another to falsely swear or execute a statement under oath for the
purpose of charging or accusing another person with a crime or offense, and the
person subomed testifies under the circumstances, thus rendering him guilty of
perjury, shall be liable for subornation of perjury punishable with prision mayor in its
maximum period to reciusion temporal in its minimum period. Provided, that, if the
person responsible for the commission of this felony is a public officer or employee,
the penalty imposed shall be reclusion temporal in its medium period to reclusion
perpetua. Provided, further, that, the offender shall suffer a fine not to exceed One
Million Pesos (P 1,000,000.00) and perpetual absolute disqualification from holding
any appointive or elective position in the government or in any agency, entity or
instrumentality thereof.

SEC. 3. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared invalid or
unconstitutional, the provisions not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force
and effect.

SEC. 4. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, presidential decrees,
presidential proclamations, letters of instruction, rules and regulations or parts thereof

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inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, modified, or amended
accordingly.

SEC. 5. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its
publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the
Philippines.

Approved,