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PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1179
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1179 -
AMENDING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER THREE, TITLE EIGHT OF
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NUMBERED SIX HUNDRED AND THREE OTHERWISE KNOWN AS
THE CHILD AND YOUTH WELFARE CODE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
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WHEREAS,
some of the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 603 which deal with
youthful offenders are deficient or ambiguous;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, it is necessary that said provisions be clarified and
strengthened so as to promote their effectiveness in dealing with
juvenile delinquency;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby
decree and order as follows:cralaw:red
Section 1. Articles 189 and 190 of Presidential
Decree No. 603 are hereby amended to read as follows:cralaw:red
"ARTICLE 189. Youthful Offender, Defined. — A
youthful offender is a child, minor or youth, including one who is
emancipated in accordance with law who is over nine years but under
eighteen years of age at the time of the commission of the offense.
A Child nine years of age or under at the time of the commission of the
offense shall be exempt from criminal liability and shall be committed
to the care of his or her father or mother, or nearest relative or
family friend in the discretion of the court and subject to its
supervision. The same shall be done for a child over nine years and
under fifteen years of age at the time of the commission of the
offense, unless he acted with discernment, in which case he shall be
proceeded against in accordance with Article 192. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The provisions of Article 80 of the Revised Penal Code are hereby
repealed by the provisions of this Chapter.
"ARTICLE 190. Physical and Mental Examination. — It
shall be the duty of the law-enforcement agency concerned to take the
youthful offender, after his apprehension, to any available government
medical or health officer in the area for a physical and mental
examination. Whenever treatment for any physical or mental defect is
indicated, steps shall be immediately undertaken to provide the same.
The examination and treatment papers shall form part of the record of
the case of the youthful offender."
Section 2. Articles 192 and 193 of the same Decree
are hereby amended as follows:cralaw:red
"ARTICLE 192. Suspension of Sentence and Commitment
of Youthful Offender. — If after hearing the evidence in the proper
proceedings, the court should find that the youthful offender has
committed the acts charged against him, the court shall determine the
imposable penalty, including any civil liability chargeable against
him. However, instead of pronouncing judgment of conviction, the court,
upon application of the youthful offender if it finds that the best
interest of the public as well as that of the offender will be served
thereby, may suspend all further proceedings and commit such minor to
the custody or care of the Department of Social Welfare, or to any
training institution operated by the government or any other
responsible person until he shall have reached twenty-one years of age,
or for a shorter period as the court may deem proper, after considering
the reports and recommendations of the Department of Social Welfare or
the government training institution or responsible person under whose
care he has been committed.
Upon receipt of the application of the youthful offender for suspension
of his sentence, the court may require the Department of Social Welfare
to prepare and submit to the court a social case study report over the
offender and his family.
The youthful offender shall be subject to visitation and supervision by
a representative of the Department of Social Welfare or government
training institution as the court may designate subject to such
conditions as it may prescribed.
The benefits of this article shall not apply to a youthful offender who
has once enjoyed suspension of sentence under its provisions or to one
who is convicted of an offense punishable by death or life imprisonment.
"ARTICLE 193. Appeal. — The order of the court
denying an application for suspension of sentence under the provisions
of Article 192 above shall not be appealable."
Section 3. Article 195 of the same Decree is hereby
amended to read as follows:cralaw:red
"ARTICLE 195. Report on Conduct of Child. — The
Department of Social Welfare or government training institution or
individual under whose care the youthful offender has been committed
shall submit to the court every four months or oftener as may be
required in special cases, a written report on the conduct of said
youthful offender as well as the intellectual, physical, moral, social
and emotional progress made by him."
Section 4. Article 197 of the same Decree is hereby
amended to read as follows:cralaw:red
"ARTICLE 197. Return of the Youthful Offender to
Court. — Whenever the youthful offender has been found incorrigible or
has willfully failed to comply with the conditions of his
rehabilitation programs, or should his continued stay in the training
institution be inadvisable, he shall be returned to the committing
court for the pronouncement of judgment.
When the youthful offender has reached the age of twenty-one while in
commitment, the court shall determine whether to dismiss the case in
accordance with the next preceding article or to pronounce the judgment
conviction. In the latter case, the convicted offender may apply for
probation under the provisions of Presidential Decree Numbered Nine
Hundred and Sixty-Eight.
In any case covered by this article, the youthful offender shall be
credited in the service of his sentence with the full time spent in
actual commitment and detention effected under the provisions of this
Chapter."
Section 5. Article 200 of the same Decree is hereby
amended to read as follows:cralaw:red
"ARTICLE 200. Records of Proceedings. — Where a
youthful offender has been charged before any city or provincial fiscal
or before any municipal judge and the charges have been ordered
dropped, all the records of the case shall be considered as privileged
and may not be disclosed directly or indirectly to any one for any
purpose whatsoever. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Where a youthful offender has been charged and the court acquits him,
or dismisses the case or commits him to an institution and subsequently
releases him pursuant to this Chapter, all the records of his case
shall also be considered as privileged and may not be disclosed
directly or indirectly to anyone except to determine if a defendant may
have his sentence suspended under Article 192 of this Decree or if he
may be granted probation under the provisions of Presidential Decree
Numbered Nine Hundred and Sixty-Eight or to enforce his civil
liability, if said liability has been imposed in the criminal action.
The youthful offender concerned shall not be held under any provision
of law to be guilty of perjury or of concealment or misrepresentation
by reason of his failure to acknowledge the case or recite any fact
related thereto in response to any inquiry made to him for any purpose.
'Records' within the meaning of this article shall include those which
may be in the files of the National Bureau of Investigation and with
any police department, or any other government agency which may have
been involved in the case." chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 6. This Decree shall take effect immediately.
DONE in the City of Manila,
this 15th day of August, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
seventy-seven.
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