WHEREAS,
reports from law-enforcement agencies reveal that lawless elements are
still committing acts of depredations upon the persons and properties
of innocent and defenseless inhabitants who travel from one place to
another, thereby distributing the peace, order and tranquility of the
nation and stunting the economic and social progress of the
people; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, such acts of depredations constitute either piracy or highway
robbery/brigandage which are among the highest forms of lawlessness
condemned by the penal statutes of all countries; and
WHEREAS, it is imperative that said lawless elements be discouraged
from perpetrating such acts of depredations by imposing heavy penalty
on the offenders, with the end in view of eliminating all obstacles to
the economic, social, educational and community progress of the people;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and pursuant
to proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972 and No. 1104,
dated January 17, 1973 and General Order No. 1, dated September
22, 1972, do hereby order and decree as part of the law of the
land the following: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 1. Title. — This Decree shall be known as the
Anti-Piracy and Anti-Highway Robbery Law of 1974.
Section 2. Definition of Terms. — The following terms
shall mean and be understood, as follows:cralaw:red
a. Philippine Waters. — It shall refer to all bodies
of water, such as but not limited to, seas, gulfs, bays around,
between and connecting each of the Islands of the Philippine
Archipelago, irrespective of its depth, breadth, length or
dimension, and all other waters belonging to the Philippines by
historic or legal title, including territorial sea, the sea-bed, the
insular shelves, and other submarine areas over which the
Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction.
b. Vessel. — Any vessel or watercraft used for
transport of passengers and cargo from one place to another
through Philippine Waters. It shall include all kinds and types
of vessels or boats used in fishing. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
c. Philippine Highway. — It shall refer to any road,
street, passage, highway and bridges or other parts thereof, or
railway or railroad within the Philippines used by persons, or
vehicles, or locomotives or trains for the movement or
circulation of persons or transportation of goods, articles, or
property or both.
d. Piracy. — Any attack upon or seizure of any
vessel, or the taking away of the whole or part thereof or its
cargo, equipment, or the personal belongings of its complement
or passengers, irrespective of the value thereof, by means of
violence against or intimidation of persons or force upon things,
committed by any person, including a passenger or member of the
complement of said vessel, in Philippine waters, shall be considered as
piracy. The offenders shall be considered as pirates and punished as
hereinafter provided.
e. Highway Robbery/Brigandage. — The seizure of
any person for ransom, extortion or other unlawful purposes, or
the taking away of the property of another by means of violence against
or intimidation of person or force upon things of other unlawful means,
committed by any person on any Philippine Highway.
Section 3. Penalties. — Any person who commits piracy
or highway robbery/brigandage as herein defined, shall, upon conviction
by competent court be punished by:cralaw:red
a. Piracy. — The penalty of reclusion temporal in
its medium and maximum periods shall be imposed. If physical
injuries or other crimes are committed as a result or on the occasion
thereof, the penalty of reclusion perpetua shall be imposed. If
rape, murder or homicide is committed as a result or on the occasion of
piracy, or when the offenders abandoned the victims without means of
saving themselves, or when the seizure is accomplished by firing upon
or boarding a vessel, the mandatory penalty of death shall be
imposed. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
b. Highway Robbery/Brigandage. — The penalty of
reclusion temporal in its minimum period shall be imposed. If physical
injuries or other crimes are committed during or on the occasion of the
commission of robbery or brigandage, the penalty of reclusion temporal
in its medium and maximum periods shall be imposed. If kidnapping for
ransom or extortion, or murder or homicide, or rape is committed as a
result or on the occasion thereof, the penalty of death shall be
imposed.
Section 4. Aiding pirates or highway robbers/brigands
or abetting piracy or highway robbery/brigandage. — Any person
who knowingly and in any mannerds or protects pirates or highway
robbers/brigands, such as giving them information about the movement of
police or other peace officers of the government, or acquires or
receives property taken by such pirates or brigands or in any manner
derives any benefit therefrom; or any person who directly or indirectly
abets the commission of piracy or highway robbery or brigandage, shall
be considered as an accomplice of the principal offenders and be
punished in accordance with the Rules prescribed by the Revised Penal
Code. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
It shall be presumed that any person who does any of the acts provided
in this Section has performed knowingly, unless the contrary is
proven. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 5. Repealing Clause. — Pertinent portions of
Act No. 3815, otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code; and all
laws, decrees, or orders or instructions, or parts thereof, insofar as
they are inconsistent with this Decree are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.
Section 6. Effectivity. — This Decree shall take
effect upon approval. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Done in the City of Manila,
this 8th day of August, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
seventy-four.
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