Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

800

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by REP. MARC DOUGLAS IV C. CAGAS

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Criminal statutes must always be attuned to the changing of the times. While it may
not be gainsaid that punitive laws are designed to strike hard and fatal blows to effectively
deter the commission of felonies and promote peace and order, this anecdote does not
always hold water. Judicial machinery must be rightfully enforced and interpreted. The
government's effort to strictly implement the rule of law, under the guise of promoting the
highest interest of justice does not only entail bringing to fore lawless elements to square
play and impose justice's fierce might. Justice should afford every party what is proper and
right under the circumstances, taking into account the dynamism of the times. Justice
must be ever-changing. Justice must be for all. Justice is not only for the oppressed, it
should be accustomed to the time honored-principle that the welfare of the people is the
supreme law, so should it be delivered, to guilty or innocent alike.

It is well established in both law and jurisprudence that even the worst of criminals
still enjoy their constitutionally guaranteed rights. Even in cases of reasonable doubt,
courts are sometimes called upon to tilt the balance in favor of the accused to afford him =
fair chances of correction under the guiding light of reformative justice. Despite a clear and
convincing evidence of guilt, if the penalty prescribed for the atrocity committed is
unconscionably harsh, the same must be scrutinized. In this jurisdiction, our legal system.
truly adopts parity of rights between the victims and the offenders. Save except for a
number of civil and political rights sanctioned by the penalty of civil interdiction and
deprivation of liberty in certain cases, convicts, like ordinary citizen should not at all be
deprived of the state’s helping hand.

The crime of theft in general, has long been frowned upon and penalized in almost
all customary and legal jurisdictions. Stealing, under Philippine setting has been forbidden
even prior to the inception of the Revised Penal Code. It has been regarded not only as a
crime against humanity; it is a crime against God. As a matter of fact, origins of this
mandate could very well be traced in that miraculous event that transpired in Mt. Sinai
during the Hebrew emancipation.


On the other hand, during the early 1950’s up to the late 1970’s, the Philippine
economy depended largely on its natural resources. It was this economic dependency that
prompted the Philippine Government to enact legislative measures to curb the hindrance
to agricultural growth, paving way to a more or less steady escalation of sustainable
development in Philippine economy. An offshoot of which is the creation of the Philippine
Coconut Authority to promote the coconut production industry and the protection of all
coconut trees and its by-products. To strengthen the government’s advocacy, stealing of
coconuts inside a plantation has been penalized and was incorporated as one of the
prohibited acts under the crime of Qualified Theft under Article 310 of the Revised Penal
Code.

Be that as it may, those convicted of this crime would suffer a penalty two degrees
higher than that of ordinary theft, increasing the period of confinement of those convicted
to 1g years. So harsh a penalty, especially so considering that there is no difference as to
culpability, in regard to the number of coconuts stolen, in order to be subjected to its
coverage.

Nowadays, with the abundance of coconuts and coconut plantations, there is a need
for a re-study of the Qualified Theft provision, especially with the setting of extreme
poverty plaguing not only the countryside but the whole nation, a stress should be given
more on the need to protect those who cannot fend off hunger and deprivation. As it were,
this does not mean that those guilty of this crime should be exonerated from criminal
liability, conversely, they should still be meted with the penalty but the same should be
commensurate, attuned to the prevailing circumstances and guided by the principle of
compassionate justice.

This legislative measure therefore, is intended to amend the provisions of the
Revised Penal Code on Qualified Theft, by degrading the penalties prescribed for the crime
of Qualified Theft of Coconuts.

For the foregoing, the expeditious and early passage of this measure is highly solicited.

ZV Close
Mare Douglas IV. €Cagas


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

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 800

Introduced by REP. MARC DOUGLAS IV C. CAGAS

“AN ACT
AMENDING PERTINENT PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 310 OF ACT NO.
3815, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE REVISED PENAL CODE OF THE
PHILIPPINES (AN ACT REVISING THE PENAL CODE AND OTHER
PENAL LAWS) BY SUPPLANTING THEREFROM, AS AN INTEGRAL.
PART THEREOF, THE SPECIFIC PROVISIONS RELATIVE TO THE
CRIME OF QUALIFIED THEFT OF COCONUTS FROM THE PREMISES
OF A PLANTATION, AND BY VIRTUE HEREOF, IS HEREBY CREATED,
SUB-ARTICLE 310-A WHICH SPECIFICALLY PENALIZES SAID
CRIME”.

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

Section 1. Article 310 of the Revised Penal Code is hereby amended to read

as follows;

Art. 310 — Qualified Theft - The crime of
theft shall be punished by the penalties next
higher by two degrees than those
respectively specified in the next preceding
article, if committed by a domestic
servant, or with grave abuse of
confidence, or if the property stolen is
motor vehicle, mail matter or large
cattle or, fish taken from a fishpond
or fishery or if property is taken on
the occasion of fire, earthquake,
typhoon, volcanic eruption, or any
other calamity, vehicular accident or
civil disturbance.


‘The act of taking/stealing of coconuts from the premises of a plantation, as it is
currently being defined, included and penalized under said article as part of the
crime of Qualified Theft, is hereby deleted therefrom.

Section 2. There shall be created Sub Article 310-A of the Revised Penal
Code, to specifically penalize the crime of Qualified Theft of Coconuts in the
premises of a plantation to read as follows;

Art.310-A The act of stealing and or
taking of coconuts in the premises of a
plantation is hereby punished with the
penalty of Arresto Mayor to its full
extent, regardless of the total value and
number of coconuts stolen. The severity of
the civil liability however should take into
account the quantity and cost of the objects
stolen;

Provided, that in case there are other
products of the soil, not covered by any
special law prohibiting the taking of the
same, taken on the occasion of said theft of
coconuts, the minimum period of the
penalty next higher in degree should be
applied, regardless of the amount or value
of the other things stolen;

Provided further, that the medium
period of the penalty prescribed in the
immediately preceding paragraph should
be applied, if on said occasion of theft of
coconuts, the coconut tree or trees were cut
down or the barks thereof destroyed
without the necessary permit from the
concerned agencies of the government. If
apart from the cutting of the coconut barks,
the perpetrators took other things
described in the next preceding paragraph,
the afore-mentioned penalty in _ its
maximum degree shall be applied; and

Provided finally, that in no case should
the prosecution of the cases for the
commission of the criminal offense herein


penalized, pose as a bar for the prosecution
of other special laws violated.

Section 3._ If any provisions or part thereof, is invalid or unconstitutional, the
remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain valid and
subsisting.

Section 4. Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive order, letter of
instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent with, the
provision of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly.

Section 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved,