Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill Nol 48

Introduced by Representative Juan Miguel Macapagal Arroyo

AN ACT
DEFINING AND PENALIZING THE CRIMES OF LOOTING, STEALING
FROM, AND DESECRATING THE VICTIMS DURING AND IN THE
AFTERMATH OF NATURAL OR MAN-MADE CALAMITIES AND
ACCIDENTS AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES THEREOF AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Violating the sanctity of human dignity, living or deceased is inexcusable.
Hence, we must ensure the protection of the sanctity of the human body from
unscrupulous individuals who seek to desecrate and loot the same.

Under this bill, the term "desecrating the victim is defined as the outraging
or scoffing at corpses; taking the vital organs or the corpse itself for profit; illegal
exhumation of dead bodies in cemeteries; burying the dead, including the
infants and fetuses, without securing approval and appropriate permits from the
local health units; dumping of dead persons, including infants and fetuses, in
public places with the intent of abandoning the cadaver; selling the cadaver to
any individual or institution without securing appropriate permit from the local
health units, mutilating the dead, including infants and fetuses, except for
embalming and medical purposes; destruction of tombs and other private or
Public sites; and taking from the grave the personal property buried with the
dead including but not limited to the coffin, clothing and jewelry. Alll these activities
shall be deemed punishable under this Act.

Moreover, this proposed measure penalizes any person caught in
possession of the victim's property/deceased at the vicinity of the accident or in
the possession of the victim's organs shall be presumed to have committed the
crime of looting, stealing or desecrating and shall be punished under the provision
of this measure.

Finally, any person who commits the crime of desecration of the victim for
any crime specified in Articles 246 to 260 of the Revised Penal Code shall be
considered an aggravating circumstance for such felonies.

It is the hope of the author that this humble proposal will be able to stir the
country's consciousness on the sanctity of the human body and that the State
prioritize in the preservation of the inviolable dignity of the human being.

In view of the forgoing, early passag



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

3548

House Bill No.

Introduced by Representative Juan Miguel Macapagal Arroyo

AN ACT
DEFINING AND PENALIZING THE CRIMES OF LOOTING, STEALING FROM,
AND DESECRATING THE VICTIMS DURING AND IN THE AFTERMATH OF
NATURAL OR MAN-MADE CALAMITIES AND ACCIDENTS AND PRESCRIBING
PENALTIES THEREOF AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Declaration Policy. - The sanctity of the human dignity, living or
deceased, the right to emergency care with utmost respect of human in times of
danger or adverse situation and the promotion of the general welfare are enshrined
in the Constitution as essential for the protection and enjoyment by all people under
the blessings of democracy.

SECTION 2. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act, unless the context
otherwise requires, the following shall mean:
a. “Dead" shall refer to any deceased person or persons;

b. "Infant/s" shall refer to any child or children less than three (3) days
old;

c. "Fetus/es" shall refer to any human being from fertilization until
birth;

d. "Cadaver" shall refer to the body of any dead person;

e. "Mutilating” shall refer to any act carried out with the intention of
cutting or chopping off any part of the human body;

f. "Grave" shall refer to any tomb or site where the dead is buried;

g. "Embalming" shall refer for preparing, disinfecting and preserving
the dead body for its final disposal;

h. "Natural Calamity” shall refer to natural catastrophes through forces
of nature and beyond human control, (i.e. earthquakes, typhoons,
volcanic eruption, etc.);


i, “Man-made calamities and accidents” shall refer to tragedies of
human origin (i.e. fires, nuclear, industrial, chemical and electrical
disaster)

j. "Looting" shall refer to plunder in voluminous quantity which is not
less than Twenty Thousand Pesos (P20,000.00) but not exceeding
Fifty Million Pesos (P50,000.00);

k. "Stealing" shall refer to robbery as defined under Articles 299, 300,
and 302, or theft as defined under Article 308 of the Revised Penal
Code;

|. "Desecrating the Victim " shalll refer to the following:

. any act of disrespect;

outraging or scoffing at the corpse;

. taking away vital, organs or the corpse itself for profit;

. illegalexhumation of dead bodies in cemeteries;

|. burying the dead, including infants and fetuses,
without securing and appropriate permits from the
local health units;

6. dumping of dead persons. including infants and
fetuses, in public places with the intent of abandoning
the cadaver;
having sexual contact or activity with the dead;

. selling the cadaver to any individual or institution
without securing approval and appropriate permit
from the local health units;

9. conducting any medical study or experiment on the
dead including infants and fetuses, without securing
approval and appropriate permits from the local
health units;

10.mutilating the dead, including infants and fetuses,
‘except embalming and medical purposes;

11.destruction of tombs and other public and private
sites; and

12. taking from the grave the personal property buried

with the dead including but not limited to the coffin

dresses and jewelry and conducting any medical
study or experiment on the dead including infants
and fetuses, without securing

PaON=

ON

SECTION 3. Penalties. — In cases of accidents, penalty of prision
correccional andlor a fine ranging from Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50, 000.00), to
One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100, 000.00), at the discretion of the court, shall
be imposed upon any person who shall commit crime of looting or stealing as
defined under this Act.

The penalty of prision mayor shall be imposed upon any person who
commits crime of desecration of the victim.

In case the offender is a government employee/officer/official, a person in
authority, as defined under Article 152 of the Revised Penal Code, or a law enforcement
officer, the penalty of reclusion perpetua shall be imposed.

SECTION 4. Prima Facie Evidence of Commission of the Crime. — Any person
caught in possession of the victim's property/decease at the vicinity of the accident
or in possession of the victim's body organs shall be presumed to have committed


y

the crime of looting or stealing or desecrating as defined in Section 2 hereof.

SECTION 5. Responsibility of the Local Health Units. — In addition to the
responsibilities cited in Section 100 of Presidential Decree No. 856, otherwise
known as the Code of Sanitation with regards to the disposal of the dead person,
local health units shall also issue the permits necessary in the compliance of this
Act.

SECTION 6. Aggravating Circumstance. — Any person who shall commit the
crime of desecration of the victim for any crime specified in Articles 246 to 260 of
the Revised Penal Code, shall be considered an aggravating circumstance for
‘such felonies.

SECTION 7. Prescription of the Crime. — The crime punishable under this Act
shall prescribe in accordance with the provision of the Revised Penal Code.

SECTION 8. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act or the
application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remaining
provisions of this Act and the application of such provisions to the other persons
or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.

SECTION 9. Repealing Clause. — All laws, presidential decrees, executive
orders, proclamation and/or administrative regulation which are inconsistent,
superseded or repealed accordingly.

SECTION 10. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
publication in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation. crime punishable
under this Act shall prescribe in accordance with the provision of the Revised
Penal Code.

Approved.