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38 PI? :ora 
THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE . 
INTRODUCED BY HON. MANUEL B. VILLAR, JR. 
*,Y 
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EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Presidential Decree No. 1179 amended the Child and Youth Welfare Code by 
requiring a youth offender to apply for suspension of his sentence. 
Under said 
amendment the suspension of sentence is discretionary upon the court if it finds that 
the best interest of the offender as well as the public will be served thereby. 
The said amendment is inconsistent with the spirit of the Child and Youth 
Welfare Code which provides that every child has the right to be brought up in an 
atmosphere of morality and rectitude for the enrichment and the strengthening of his 
character. 
Being a minor, a youth offender may not be able to apply for the suspension of 
his sentence, due to the absence of a guardian or to faulty discretion, which will 
eventually have repercussions on his future. 
This bill proposes to amend Section 2 of PD No. 1179 by providing for the 
automatic suspension of sentence once a youth offender is found to have committed 
the charges against him. In consonance, this bill also repeals section 193 of PD No. 
1179. 
It also proposes to change the age range of a youth offender to nine years old to 
eighteen years old, instead of nine years old to twenty one years old, since the age of 
majority under existing laws has been changed from twenty one years old to eighteen 
years old. 
Furthermore, this measure aims to amend Section 5 of PD No. 1179 which 
considers the records of the dismissed case as privileged and prohibits its disclosure. 
To protect the youth offender and his future, it is but just to require the destruction of 
the records of the dismissed case. 
In view of the foregoing, immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
MANUEL fl 
E. VIL AR, JR. 


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THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
S. No. 747 
INTRODUCED BY HON. MANUEL B. VILLAR, JR. 
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AN ACT 
AMENDING SECTIONS 2 AND 5 OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1179, 
ENTITLED "AN ACT AMENDING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 
THREE, TITLE EIGHT OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NUMBERED SIX 
HUNDRED AND THREE OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE CHILD AND YOUTH 
WELFARE CODE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Section 2 of Presidential Decree No. 1179 is hereby amended to 
read as follows. 
"SEC.2 Article[s] 192 [and 193) of the same Decree is 
hereby amended as follows: 
"ART. 192. Suspension of 
Sentence and 
Commitment of Youthful Offender. - If after hearing 
the 
evidence in the proper proceedings, the court 
should find that 
the 
youthful 
offender 
has 
committed the act charged against him, the court 
shall determine the imposable penalty, including any 
civil liability chargeable against him. However, 
instead of pronouncing judgment of conviction, the 
court SHALL [upon application of the youthful 
offender and if it finds that the best interest of the 
public as well as that of the offender will be served 
thereby, may] suspend all further proceedings and 
commit such minor to the custody or care of the 
Department of Social Welfare and Development, or to 
any training institution operated by the government 
or any other responsible person until they shall have 
reached EIGHTEEN [twenty-one] years of age, or for a 
shorter period as the court may deem proper, after 
considering the reports and recommendations of the 
Department of Social Welfare and Development or 
the government training institution or responsible 
person tinder whose care he has been committed. 
"YOUTHFUL 
OFFENDER 
WITHIN 
THE 
MEANING OF THIS ARTICLE SHALL REFER TO ONE 
WHO I S BETWEEN NINE (9) AND EIGHTEEN (18) 
YEARS OF AGE." 
[Upon receipt of the application of the youthful 
offender far suspension of his sentence, the court 
mayrequire the Department of Social Welfare to 
prepare and submit to the court a social case study 
report over the offender and his family.] 
"The youthful offender shall be subject to 
visitation and supewision by a representative of the 


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Department of Social Welfare and Development or 
government training institution as the court may 
designate subject to such conditions as it may 
prescribe. 
benefits of this article shall not apply to 
a youthful offender who has once enjoyed suspension 
of sentence under its provisions or to one who is 
convicted of an offense punishable by death or life, 
imprisonment. I' 
"The 
SECTION 2. Article 193 of the same Decree is repealed. 
SECTION 3. Section 5 Article 200 of the same Decree is hereby amended to read 
as follows: 
"Article 200. Records of Proceedings. - Where a youthful 
offender has been charged before any city or provincial fiscal or 
before any municipal judge and the charges have been ordered, 
dropped, all the records of the case shall be DESTROYED 
IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER [considered as privileged and may 
not be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone for any 
purpose whatsoever]. 
"Where a youthful offender has been charged and the court 
acquits him, or dismisses the case or commits him to an 
institution and subsequently releases him pursuant to this 
Chapter, all the retards of his case shall BE DESTROYED 
IMMEDIATELY AFTER 
SUCH ACQUITTAL, 
DISMISSAL 
OR 
RELEASE, UNLESS THE RECORDS OF HIS 
CASE 
ARE 
NECESSARY (also be considered as privileged and may not be 
determine 
if a defendant may have his sentence suspended 
under Article 192 of this Decree or if he may be granted probation 
under the provisions of Presidential Decree Numbered Nine 
Hundred and Sixty- eight or to enforce his civil liability, if 
liability has been imposed in the criminal action. The youthful 
offender concerned shall not be held under any provision of law to 
be guilty of perjury or of concealment or misrepresentation by 
reason of his failure to acknowledge the case or recite any fact 
related thereto in response to any inquiry made to him for any 
purpose. 
disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone 
except] 
to 
said 
"'Records' within the meaning of this Article shall include 
those which may be in the files of the National Bureau of 
Investigation and with any police department, or 
any 
other 
government agency which may have been involved in the case." 
SECTION 
4. All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, and issuances 
inconsistent with this Act are hereby modified or repealed accordingly. 
SECTION. 5. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in 
two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved,