FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
S. No. 981 
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Introduced by Senator Manuel "Lito" M. Lapid 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This proposed measure seeks to promote the sanctity of human dignity, living or 
deceased, and protect the sanctity of the human body particularly from individuals who 
seek to desecrate and loot the same. 
Under this proposed measure: the term "desecrating the victim" shall refer to the 
outraging or scoffing at the corpse; taking away vital organs or the corpse itself for 
profit; illegal exhumation of dead bodies in cemeteries; burying the dead, including 
infants and fetuses, without securing approval and appropriate permits from 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 approval and appropriate permit from 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 coffin, clothing and 
jewelry. All these activities shall be deemed punishable under this Act. 
Moreover, under this proposed measure, any person caught in possession of the 
property of the victim/deceased at the vicinity of the accident or in possession of the 
organs of the victims shall be presumed to have committed the crime of looting, stealing 
or desecrating and shall be punished under the provisions of this measure . 
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Finally, 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 . 
. This measure is being proposed in order to emphasize the sanctity of the human 
body and priority of the State to preserve this inviolable dignity of the human being. 
In view of the foregoing, early passage of this bill is earnestly requested. 
Senator 


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FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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(lFFlCE f);:":,"" SE(J~E rtlRY 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
S. No. 881 
Introduced by Senator Manuel "Lito" M. Lapid 
AN ACT 
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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 Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. 
Declaration of Policy. -
The sanctity of human dignity, 
living or deceased, the right to emergency care with utmost respect for humans in times 
of danger or adverse situations 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. 
SEC. 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) 
"Infants" shall refer to any child or children less than three (3) days old; 
(c) 
"Fetuses" shall referto 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 to preparing, disinfecting ari'd preserving a dead 
body for its final disposal; 
(h) 
"Natural Calamity" shall refer to natural catastrophes through forces of 
nature and beyond hl!lman control (Le. earthquakes, typhoons, volcanic 
eruption, etc.); 


(i) 
"Man-made calamities and accidents" shall refer to tragedies of human 
origin (i.e. firs, nuclear, industrial, chemical and electrical disasters); 
0) 
"Looting" shall refer to plunder in voluminous quantity which is not less 
than Twenty Thousand Pesos (Php20,OOO.OO) but not exceeding Fifty 
Million Pesos (Php50,OOO,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; 
(I) 
"Desecrating the victim" shall refer to the following: 
(1) 
any act of disrespect; 
(2) 
outraging or scoffing at the corpse; 
(3) 
taking away vital, organs or the corpse itself for profit; 
(4) 
illegal exhumation of dead bodies in cemeteries; 
(5) 
burying the dead, including infants and fetuses, without securing 
approval and appropriate permits from local health units; 
(6) 
dumping of dead persons, including infants and fetuses, in public 
places with the intent of abandoning the cadaver; 
(7) 
having sexual contact or activity with the dead; 
(8) 
selling the cadaver to any individual or institution without securing 
approval and appropriate permit from local health units; 
(9) 
conducting any medical study or experiment on the dead including 
infants and fetuses, without securing approval and appropriate 
permits from local health units; 
(10) 
mutilating the dead, including infants and fetuses, except for 
embalming and medical purposes; 
(11) 
destruction of tombs and other private or public sites; and 
(12) 
taking from the grave the personal property buried with the dead 
including but not limited to coffin, clothing and jewelry. 
SEC. 3. 
Penalties. -
In cases of accidents, the penalty of prison 
correccional andlor a fine ranging from Fifty Thousand Pesos (Php50,OOO.OO) to One 
Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php100,OOO.OO), at the discretion of the court, shall be 
imposed upon any person who shall commit the crime of looting or stealing as defined 
under this Act. 
The penalty of prison mayor shall be imposed upon any person who commit the 
crime of desecration of the victim. 
In case the offender is a government employee/officer/official, a person in 
authority, as defined in Article 152 of Revised Penal Code, or a law enforcement officer, 
the penalty of reclusion perpetu8 shall be imposed. 
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If any of the acts mentioned herein is penalized by any other law with a high 
penalty, the higher penalty shall be imposed. 
SEC. 4. 
Prima Facie Evidence of Commission of the Crime. -
Any 
person caught in possession of the property of the victim/deceased at the vicinity of the 
accident or in possession of the organs of the victims shall be presumed to have 
committed the crime of looting, stealing or desecrating as defined in Section 2 hereof. 
SEC. 5. 
Responsibility of the Local Health Units. - In addition to the 
responsibilities cited in Section 100 of Presidential Decree No. 856 otherwise known as 
Code on Sanitation with regard to the disposal of a dead person, the local health units 
hall also issue the permits necessary in compliance with this Act. 
SEC. 6. 
Aggravating Circumstances. - 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. 
SEC. 7. 
Prescription of Crime. - The crime punishable under this Act shall 
prescribe in accordance with the provision of the Revised Penal Code. 
SEC. 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 other persons or circumstance shall not be 
affected thereby. 
SEC. 9. 
Repealing Clause. - All laws, preSidential decrees, executive 
orders, proclamations and/or administrative regulations which are inconsistent, 
superseded or repealed accordingly. 
SEC. 10. 
Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15 ) days after its 
publication in two (2) national newspapers of general circulations. 
Approved, 
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