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 disturbing the peace, order
and tranquility of the nation and stunting the economic and social
progress of the people;
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;
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:
SECTION 1. Title. — This Decree shall be known as
the Anti-Piracy and Anti-Highway Robbery Law of 1974.
SEC. 2. Definition of Terms. — The following terms
shall mean and be understood, as follows:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
persons or force upon things of other unlawful means, committed by any
person on any Philippine Highway.
SEC. 3.
Penalties. — Any person who commits piracy or
highway robbery/brigandage as herein defined, shall, upon conviction by
competent court be punished by:
- 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.
- 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.
SEC. 4. Aiding pirates or highway robbers/brigands or
abetting piracy or highway robbery/brigandage. — Any person who
knowingly and in any manner aids 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.
It shall be presumed that any person who does any of the acts
provided in this Section has performed them knowingly, unless the
contrary is proven.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 6. Effectivity. — This Decree shall take
effect upon approval.
Done in the City of Manila, this 8th day of August, in the
year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-four.