FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
First Regular Session 
) 
7 ,lLii. 18 
, 'i o 
S E N A T E  
Senate Bill No. 1244 
Introduced bv Senator FRANCIS N. PANGILINAN 
EXPLANA TORY NOTE 
The 1987 Constitution is explicit in its guarantee that no person shall be 
deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. Nonetheless, a 
number of people still fall victim to false accusations and subjected to 
imprisonment for crimes they did not commit, only to be subsequently acquitted. 
The said consequence is people unjustly imprisoned suffer indignities, 
humiliation and degrading or inhuman treatment in the hands of the agents of the 
government. 
Further, they endure the stigma put by society against those 
imprisoned regardless of the cause of imprisonment or lack of it. 
Likewise, the unfortunate victims of our criminal justice system, including 
their families, suffer loss of livelihood for those times spent in prison. Moreover, 
due to the social banishment put against person unjustly imprisqned, his 
reemployment is rendered improbable. 
While 
the foregoing 
regrettable consequences 
cannot 
be fully 
compensated, this bill aims to reasonably compensate, at least financially, the 
loss suffered by the victims of unjust imprisonment by increasing the 
compensation of victims of unjust imprisonment or detention and victims of 
violent crimes authorized under Republic Act No. 7309, from a maximum of 
P I  ,000 to P3,OOO per month for victims of unjust imprisonment or detention and 
from a maximum amount of Pl0,OOO to P20,OOO in all other cases. 
Thus, passage of this is urged. 


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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
First Regular Session 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
-7 
.lUI.18 2::i.o 
SENATE 
SENATE BILL No.- 1244 
Introduced by SENATOR FRANCIS N. PANGILINAN 
AN ACT 
AMENDING SECTIONS 4 AND 9 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7309, 
ENTITLED “AN ACT CREATING A BOARD OF CLAIMS UNDER THE 
DEPARTMENT 
OF 
JUSTICE 
FOR 
VICTIMS 
OF 
UNJUST 
IMPRISONMENT OR DETENTION AND VICTIMS OF VIOLENT CRIMES 
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES” 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. 
Section 4 of Republic Act No. 7309, entitled “An Act Creating A 
Board of Claims Under the Department of Justice for Victims of Unjust Imprisonment or 
Detention and Victims of Violent Crimes and for Other Purposes” is hereby amended to 
read as follows: 
“Sec. 4. Award Ceiling. - For victims of unjust imprisonment or detention, 
the compensation shall be based on the number of months of imprisonment or 
detention and every fraction thereof shall be considered one month: Provided, 
however, That in no case shall such compensation exceed [one] THREE 
thousand pesos [([PI ,000.OO)l (P3,OOO.OO) per month 
“In all other cases, the maximum amount for which the Board may 
approve a claim shall not exceed [Ten] TWENTY thousand pesos [(e 
lO,OOO.OO)] 
@ 20,000.00 or the amount necessary to reimburse the claimant the expenses 
incurred for hospitalization, medical treatment, loss of wage, loss of support or 
other expenses directly related to the injury, whichever is lower. This is without 
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prejudice to the right of the claimant to seek other remedies under existing laws” 


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as follows: 
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SEC. 2. Sec. 9 of the same Republic Act No. 7309 is hereby amended to read 
“Sec. 9. Funding. - For purposes of this Act, the initial amount of 
Ten million pesos (P 10,000,000.00) is hereby authorized to be 
appropriated from the funds of the National Treasury not otherwise 
appropriated. 
The subsequent annual funding shall also partly come from one 
AND ONE HALF PERCENT [(I%)] (I%%) 
of the net income of the 
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation and one AND ONE 
HALF percent [I%)] 
(I%%) of the proceeds and sales and other 
disposition of military camps in Metro Manila by the Base Conversion and 
Development Authority. 
The proceeds from any contract relating to the depiction of a crime 
in a movie, book, newspaper, magazine, radio or television production, or 
live entertainment, of any kind, or any other form of commercial 
exploitation of a story, recollection, opinions and emotions with regard to 
the offense committed shall not be released to a convict in a criminal case 
or his heirs, agents, assignees or successors in interest until full 
compensation for damages suffered by or awarded to, the victim, his 
heirs or successors in interest if paid or arranged for, and the state is able 
to collecffassess fines and cost and any other amount due in case of a 
conviction by final judgment. Such damages shall include but shall not be 
limited to, judicial awards, funeral expenses, medical expenses, lost 
earnings and the like. 
To ensure the continuity of the funding requirements under this 
Act, the amount of [Five] TEN pesos [(fa 5.00)] (fa 10.00) shall be set 
aside from each filing fee in every civil case filed with the court, the total 
proceeds of which shall constitute the Victim Compensation Fund to be 
administered by the Department of Justice.” 
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modified accordingly. 
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SEC. 3. Repealing Clause. All decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations, 
or parts thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or 
SEC. 4. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its complete 
publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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