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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill No. 6226

a

Introduced by Representatives
DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL ARROYO and GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO

AN ACT
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

EXP! TORY

‘There is no excuse in violating the sanctity of human dignity, living or
deceased. We must therefore ensure the protection of the sanctity of the human
body particularly from unscrupulous individuals who seek to desecrate and loot
the same.

Under this bill, we define the term "desecrating the victim” as the outraging
or scoffing at corpses; 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 locat
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 heath 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 fimited to the coffin, clothing and jewelry. All these activities
shall be deemed punishable under this Act.



Moreover, this proposed measure penalizes 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.

Finally, any person who commits 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.

It is the hope of the authors that this humble proposal will be able to stir
the country’s consciousness on the sancfity of the human body and that the State
prioritize the preservation of the inviotable dignity of the human being.

In view of the foregoing, early passage of this bill is earnestly requested

DIOSDAI “APAGAL ARROYO GLORIA WACAPAGAL ARROYO
‘Second District, Catharines Sur Secofld District, Pampanga


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
‘Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

no
House Bill No,__°£28

Introduced by Representatives
DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL ARROYO and GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO

AN ACT
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.

SECTION 2. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act, uniess 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 refer to 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;

() “Grave” shall refer to any tomb or site where the dead is buried;

(g) "Embalming" shail refer to preparing, disinfecting and preserving a
dead body for its final disposal:

(h) "Naturai Calamity” shall refer to natural catastrophes through forces of
nature and beyond human control (i.e. earthquakes, typhoons, volcanic
eruption, etc.);

(i) "Man-made calamities and accidents" shall refer to tragedies of human
origin (i.e. fires, nuclear, industrial, chemical and electrical disasters),

@ “Looting” shail refer to plunder in voluminous quantity which is not less
than Twenty Thousand Pesos (P20,000.00) but not exceeding Fifty Million
Pesos (P50,000,000.00);

{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;

() “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 heath units:

(9) conducting any medical study or experiment on the dead
including infants and fetuses, without securing approval and
appropriate permits from focal 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.

SECTION 3. Penalties. — In cases of accidents, the penalty of prison
comeccional andior a fine ranging from Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) to
One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00), 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
commits the crime of desecration of the victim.

In case the offender is a govemment employee/officer/official, a person in
authority, as defined in Article 152 of Revised Penal Code, or a {aw enforcement
officer, the penalty of reclusion perpetua shall be imposed.

If any of the acts mentioned herein is penalized by any other law with a
higher penaity, the higher penalty shall be imposed.

SECTION 4. Prima Facie Evidence of Commission of the Crime. — Any
person caught in possession of the property of the victim/deceased al 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,

SECTION 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 shall also issue the permits necessary in compliance with this
Act.

SECTION 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, it shall be considered an aggravating
circumstance for such felonies.

SECTION 7. Prescription of Crime. — The crime punishable under this Act
shall prescribe in accordance with the provision of the Revised Penai Code.

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SECTION 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 shalt not be affected thereby.

SECTION 9. Repealing Clause. — All laws, presidential decrees, executive
orders, proclamations and/or administrative regulations which are inconsistent,
superseded or repealed accordingly.

SECTION 10. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15 ) days after
its publication in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation

Approved,