Constitutional Limitations On The Power To Enact Penal Laws

iii. Non-imposition of cruel and unusual punishment or excessive fines:

Act Prohibiting Imposition of Death Penalty In the Philippines (RA9346)

SECTION 1. The imposition of the penalty of death is hereby prohibited. Accordingly, Republic
Act No. Eight Thousand One Hundred Seventy-Seven (R.A. No. 8177), otherwise known as the Act
Designating Death by Lethal Injection is hereby repealed. Republic Act No. Seven Thousand Six Hundred
Fifty-Nine (R.A. No. 7659), otherwise known as the Death Penalty Law, and all other laws, executive
orders and decrees, insofar as they impose the death penalty are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.
SEC. 2. In lieu of the death penalty, the following shall be imposed.
(a) the penalty of reclusion perpetua, when the law violated makes use of the nomenclature of the
penalties of the Revised Penal Code; or
(b) the penalty of life imprisonment, when the law violated does not make use of the
nomenclature of the penalties of the Revised Penal Code.
SEC. 3. Person convicted of offenses punished with reclusion perpetua, or whose sentences will be
reduced to reclusion perpetua, by reason of this Act, shall not be eligible for parole under Act No. 4180,
otherwise known as the Indeterminate Sentence Law, as amended.
3. Circumstances Affecting Criminal Liability
Circumstances affecting criminal liability
There are five circumstances affecting criminal liability:
(1) Justifying circumstances;
(2) Exempting circumstances;
(3) Mitigating circumstances;
(4) Aggravating circumstances; and
(5) Alternative circumstances.
There are two others which are found elsewhere in the provisions of the Revised Penal Code:
(1) Absolutory cause; and
(2) Extenuating circumstances.
In justifying and exempting circumstances, there is no criminal liability. When an accused invokes them,
he in effect admits the commission of a crime but tries to avoid the liability thereof. The burden is upon
him to establish beyond reasonable doubt the required conditions to justify or exempt his acts from
criminal liability. What is shifted is only the burden of evidence, not the burden of proof.
Justifying circumstances contemplate intentional acts and, hence, are incompatible with dolo. Exempting
circumstances may be invoked in culpable felonies.
Absolutory cause
The effect of this is to absolve the offender from criminal liability, although not from civil liability. It has
the same effect as an exempting circumstance, but you do not call it as such in order not to confuse it with
the circumstances under Article 12.

Article 20 provides that the penalties prescribed for accessories shall not be imposed upon those who are
such with respect to their spouses, ascendants, descendants, legitimate, natural and adopted brothers and
sisters, or relatives by affinity within the same degrees with the exception of accessories who profited
themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the crime.
(a) Justifying Circumstances
(i)
Anti-VAWC Act of 2004

Battered Wife Syndrome

(b) "Battery" refers to an act of inflicting physical harm upon the woman or her child resulting to the
physical and psychological or emotional distress.
(c) "Battered Woman Syndrome" refers to a scientifically defined pattern of psychological and behavioral
symptoms found in women living in battering relationships as a result of cumulative abuse.
suffering from battered woman syndrome do not incur any criminal and civil liability notwithstanding the
absence of any of the elements for justifying circumstances of self-defense under the Revised Penal Code.
In the determination of the state of mind of the woman who was suffering from battered woman
syndrome at the time of the commission of the crime, the courts shall be assisted by expert psychiatrists/
psychologists.
SECTION 27. Prohibited Defense. Being under the influence of alcohol, any illicit drug, or any other
mind-altering substance shall not be a defense under this Act.
SECTION 28. Custody of children. The woman victim of violence shall be entitled to the custody and
support of her child/children. Children below seven (7) years old older but with mental or physical
disabilities shall automatically be given to the mother, with right to support, unless the court finds
compelling reasons to order otherwise.
A victim who is suffering from battered woman syndrome shall not be disqualified from having custody
of her children. In no case shall custody of minor children be given to the perpetrator of a woman who is
suffering from Battered woman syndrome.

(b) Exempting Circumstances

Juvenile justice and Welfare Act of 2006 (RA9344)
Child and Youth Welfare Code (PD 603 as amended)
Child in Conflict With The Law
(e) "Child in Conflict with the Law" refers to a child who is alleged as, accused of, or adjudged as, having
committed an offense under Philippine laws.
(q) "Restorative Justice" refers to a principle which requires a process of resolving conflicts with the
maximum involvement of the victim, the offender and the community. It seeks to obtain reparation for the

victim; reconciliation of the offender, the offended and the community; and reassurance to the offender
that he/she can be reintegrated into society. It also enhances public safety by activating the offender, the
victim and the community in prevention strategies.
Minimum Age of Criminal Liability
SEC. 6. Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility. - A child fifteen (15) years of age or under at the time
of the commission of the offense shall be exempt from criminal liability. However, the child shall be
subjected to an intervention program pursuant to Section 20 of this Act.
A child above fifteen (15) years but below eighteen (18) years of age shall likewise be exempt from
criminal liability and be subjected to an intervention program, unless he/she has acted with discernment,
in which case, such child shall be subjected to the appropriate proceedings in accordance with this Act.
The exemption from criminal liability herein established does not include exemption from civil liability,
which shall be enforced in accordance with existing laws.

Determination of Age
SEC. 7. Determination ofAge. - The child in conflict with the law shall enjoy the presumption of
minority. He/She shall enjoy all the rights of a child in conflict with the law until he/she is proven to be
eighteen (18) years old or older. The age of a child may be determined from the child's birth certificate,
baptismal certificate or any other pertinent documents. In the absence of these documents, age may be
based on information from the child himself/herself, testimonies of other persons, the physical appearance
of the child and other relevant evidence. In case of doubt as to the age of the child, it shall be resolved in
his/her favor.
Any person contesting the age of the child in conflict with the law prior to the filing of the information in
any appropriate court may file a case in a summary proceeding for the determination of age before the
Family Court which shall decide the case within twenty-four (24) hours from receipt of the appropriate
pleadings of all interested parties.