WHEREAS,
reports received of late indicate an upsurge of estafa (swindling)
cases committed by means of bouncing checks;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, if not checked at once, these criminal acts would erode the
people's confidence in the use of negotiable instruments as a medium of
commercial transaction and consequently result in the retardation of
trade and commerce and the undermining of the banking system of the
country;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, it is vitally necessary to arrest and curb the rise in this
kind of estafa cases by increasing the existing penalties provided
therefor; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution, do hereby
decree as part of the law of the land the following amendment to
Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code:cralaw:red
Section 1. Any person who shall defraud another by
means of false pretenses or fraudulent acts as defined in paragraph
2(d) of Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic
Act No. 4885, shall be punished by:cralaw:red
1st. The penalty of reclusion temporal if the amount
of the fraud is over 12,000 pesos but not exceed 22,000 pesos, and if
such amount exceeds the latter sum, the penalty provided in this
paragraph shall be imposed in its maximum period, adding one year for
each additional 10,000 pesos but the total penalty which may be imposed
shall in no case exceed thirty years. In such cases, and in connection
with the accessory penalties which may be imposed under the Revised
Penal Code, the penalty shall be termed reclusion perpetua;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
2nd. The penalty of prision mayor in its maximum
period, if the amount of the fraud is over 6,000 pesos but does not
exceed 12,000 pesos; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
3rd. The penalty of prision mayor in its medium
period, if such amount is over 200 pesos but does not exceed 6,000
pesos; and,
4th. By prision mayor in its maximum period, if such
amount does not exceed 200 pesos.
Section 2. This decree shall take effect
immediately. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
DONE in the City of Manila,
this 22nd day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
seventy-five.
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