Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Resolution No. __05_

Introduced by Rep. SALACNIB F. BATERINA

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The law on infidelity in the custody of prisoners is of 1930
vintage. The penalties considered harsh and cruel during those days
are probably too tame in today’s milieu where crimes of unparalleled
cruelty have become a daily occurrence. At the same time, the
escape of prisoners or the flight of criminals who are virtually
captured has very often scandalized society. The government
official or employee who has charge of a prisoner more often commit
such infidelity in the custody because the penalty for such a
dastardly act is light, and therefore, the lure to illegally free a
prisoner through bribery is very great if not too tempting. One who
frees a prisoner is part of the commission of the offense perpetrated
by the prisoner, A guard who frees an inmate not only participates
Post litem to the commission of the crimes of the offender but
turned traitor to the government and the laws he is sworn to protect
and respect.

In the Penal Code the penaity for the crime- of freeing a
convicted prisoners by their guard/keepers is prision correctional in
its medium to its maximum period, therefore, the penalty begins at
two (2) years and one day to 6 years. However for the crime oe
infidelity in the custody of prisoners who are merely in detention,
the penalty is prision correctional in its minimum period, which is 6
months and one day to two (2) years. The emphasis of the imposition
of the penalty is based on whether the prisoner is convicted or
merely in detention. To us, this categorization is not proper and is
insufficient because it is not based on the gravity of the offense of
the prisoner. True, the accused is deemed innocent until he is
convicted. But today, there are occurrence of crimes that are so
odious and atrocious that it despoils the human being and violate
the sensibilities of man.


The commission of crimes that are heinous, like murder, the
massacre or the extermination of a family, terrorism, genocide by
the use of weapon of mass destruction like dynamite and explosion
have become nightmares which threaten the stability of the
government. Yet every now and then we are scandalized by the
rampant escape of those accused of terrorism, economic sabotage,
massacre and similar terrible felonies from their high security
incarceration while the officials and the personnel in charge of the
detainee literally go scot-free because the highest penalty they can
be meted out is two years imprisonment. Society must therefore act
through the law-making body of the government. The imposition of a
steeper penalty is but a defense of society against government
officials and employees who desecrate their duty as care takers of
detention prisoners. it is not only valid but logical as dictated by
necessity that the penalty of the crime of infidelity of a custodian
be made in proportion to the gravity of the crimes of the illegally
freed offender.

The approval of this bill into law at the earliest possible time
is our paramount concern.

SALACNIB F. RINA


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 05

Introduced by Rep. SALACNIB F. BATERINA

AN ACT DEFINING THE CRIME OF BETRAYAL OF DUTY IN THE CUSTODY OF
PRISONERS PROVIDING FOR ADDITIONAL RULES ON THE IMPRISONMENT,
DETENTION, CONFINEMENT AND CUSTODY OF PRISONERS AND DETAINEES,
SPECIFYING ADDITIONAL WORK AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF GOVERNMENT
PERSONNEL CHARGED WITH THE CUSTODY OF SUCH PRISONERS AND
‘STATING THE PENALTIES THEREFORE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Any provision of law to the contrary not withstanding, the crime
of betrayal of duty in the custody of prisoners and detained persons is hereby
defined as an act or series of acts whereby a person or persons charged with
the custody of prisoners, detained persons under preventive imprisonment,
persons arrested in the act of committing a crime. persons who are wanted in
foreign countries by which the Philippines has a treaty of reciprocity for
extradition, persons who committed heinous crimes, terrorist and war criminals or
one engaged in economic sabotage, shall allow without legal justification the
escape of such prisoner or persons similarly situated shall be punished with a
penalty which is one degree lower than the penalty imposed for the offense
which the detainee is charged wit or convicted of, PROVIDED THAT in no case

shall the penalty imposed be lower than prision correctional in its minimum


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period. PROVIDED FURTHER THAT for the escape of a detainee wanted by a
foreign country, the penalty of prision corectional in its maximum period shall
be meted out, and, PROVIDED FURTHERMORE THAT for the escape of the
prisoners who are accused of the commission of heinous, terrorism, war crimes.
and economic sabotage, the penalty of life imprisonment shall be imposed
without any provision for parol, PROVIDED FINALLY THAT the persons convicted
of the crime of betrayal of duty in the custody of prisoners shall likewise suffer
special permanent disqualification if the detainee shall have been convicted or
who has admitted his guilt in open court, even if the decision of conviction has
not been rendered.

SECTION 2. In addition to the requirement considered necessary in the
custody of prisoners, imposed by present rules and regulations, the office or
institution for high risk detainees, shall establish or add to existing rules, a record
of the time the detained person was accepted by the institution, name of the
persons guarding the detainee or detainees, the time and date there were turn
over of guards, properly signed and acknowledged by said personnel guarding
the detainee(s), the movement of the detainees from and to his room or cell
of detention, his transfer from one institution or detention to another and such
record shall at all time be properly signed and acknowledged in the said
records by the persons ort person in custody.

SECTION 3. Person, though not in charge of the detainee, who enjoys a
higher rank than the custodian of the prisoner who shall cause, ald, abet and
facilitate the escape of a detainee, shall suffer the same penalty as the persons
who are in custody of the prisoner but that in imposing the penalty, the court or
tribunal shall impose the same in its maximum period, where the same is

divisible. Provided, however, that the court shall , in every case, impose


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penalties under this Act in the degree that will be fair and umane as the case
may be.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from its publication in
at least two newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

Approved.