Revised Penal Code Amendments: Main Laws
Main laws that amended the Revised Penal Code (Act No. 3815): RA 10951 on amounts and fines, RA 8353 on rape, RA 10592 on time allowances, and more.
| Law | Date on the law | What the title of the law says | Articles of the Code | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Act No. 4000 | December 5, 1932 | Amends Article 48 (complex crimes) | 48 | Act No. 4000, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Commonwealth Act No. 578 | June 8, 1940 | Amends Article 152 to include teachers, professors and persons supervising public or duly recognized private schools, colleges and universities as "persons in authority" | 152 | Commonwealth Act No. 578, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 12 | September 5, 1946 | Amends Articles 146, 295, 296 and 306 | 146, 295, 296, 306 | Republic Act No. 12, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 18 | September 25, 1946 | Amends Articles 62, 267, 268, 270, 271, 294 and 299 | 62, 267, 268, 270, 271, 294, 299 | Republic Act No. 18, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 1978 | June 22, 1957 | Amends Article 152, as amended | 152 | Republic Act No. 1978, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 4661 | June 18, 1966 | Shortens the prescriptive period for libel and other similar offenses, amending Article 90 | 90 | Republic Act No. 4661, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 5438 | September 9, 1968 | Amends subparagraph 20 of Article 14 (aggravating circumstances) | 14 (item 20) | Republic Act No. 5438, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Presidential Decree No. 299 | September 19, 1973 | Amends Article 152, as amended | 152 | Presidential Decree No. 299, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Presidential Decree No. 1613 | March 7, 1979 | "Amending the law on arson" | Arson; the title names no article | Presidential Decree No. 1613, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Batas Pambansa Blg. 873 | June 12, 1985 | Amends Article 152 by considering lawyers as persons in authority when in the performance of their duties or on the occasion of it | 152 | Batas Pambansa Blg. 873, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Executive Order No. 272 | July 25, 1987 | Further amends Article 125 (delay in delivering detained persons to the judicial authorities) | 125 | Executive Order No. 272, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 6968 | October 24, 1990 | Punishes the crime of coup d'etat by amending Articles 134, 135 and 136 | 134, 135, 136 | Republic Act No. 6968, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 7659 | December 13, 1993 | Imposes the death penalty on certain heinous crimes, amending the Code and other special penal laws | The title names no article; its text amends Article 27 (reclusion perpetua and the duration of other penalties) and other articles | Republic Act No. 7659, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 7890 | February 20, 1995 | Amends Article 286 (grave coercions) | 286 | Republic Act No. 7890, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 8177 | March 20, 1996 | Lethal injection, amending Article 81 as amended by Section 24 of Republic Act No. 7659 | 81 | Republic Act No. 8177, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 8353 | September 30, 1997 | Expands the definition of rape and reclassifies it as a crime against persons | Rape; the title names no article (the Code now has Articles 266-A to 266-D) | Republic Act No. 8353, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 9346 | June 24, 2006 | "An act prohibiting the imposition of death penalty in the Philippines" | The title names no article | Republic Act No. 9346, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 10158 | March 27, 2012 | Decriminalizes vagrancy, amending Article 202 | 202 | Republic Act No. 10158, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 10159 | April 10, 2012 | Amends Article 39 (subsidiary penalty) | 39 | Republic Act No. 10159, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 10592 | May 29, 2013 | Amends Articles 29, 94, 97, 98 and 99 (preventive imprisonment and time allowances) | 29, 94, 97, 98, 99 | Republic Act No. 10592, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 10655 | March 15, 2015 | Repeals the crime of premature marriage under Article 351 | 351 (repealed) | Republic Act No. 10655, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 10951 | August 29, 2017 | Adjusts the amount or value of property and damage on which a penalty is based, and the fines imposed under the Code | About 97 articles, listed one by one in the law, including 148, 151, 290, 312, 315, 318, 356 and 364 | Republic Act No. 10951, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 11362 | August 8, 2019 | Community service in place of imprisonment for the penalties of arresto menor and arresto mayor | 88-A (added) | Republic Act No. 11362, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 11594 | October 29, 2021 | Increases the penalties for perjury, amending Articles 183 and 184 | 183, 184 | Republic Act No. 11594, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 11648 | March 4, 2022 | Increases the age for determining the commission of statutory rape | Rape provisions; the title names no article | Republic Act No. 11648, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 11767 | May 6, 2022 | Deserted or abandoned children with unknown parents, amending Articles 276 and 277 | 276, 277 | Republic Act No. 11767, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Republic Act No. 11926 | July 30, 2022 | Penalizes the wilful and indiscriminate discharge of firearms | The title names no article; its text changes Article 254 and Article 155, as applied in the stored text | Republic Act No. 11926, Supreme Court E-Library |
Notes
- This table lists the main laws only. The research behind this section lists about 60 laws and decrees that changed the Code since 1930. A law is listed here only after its title, and where marked its text, was read on the Supreme Court E-Library.
- Republic Act No. 10951 changed the most articles at once. It updated the peso amounts that decide the penalty for theft, estafa, robbery and other crimes, and the fines in the Code. The law numbers its sections with some misprints, so this site says "about 97 articles" and not an exact count. See Theft penalties by amount and Estafa penalties by amount (Article 315).
- The death penalty can no longer be imposed. Republic Act No. 9346 (2006) prohibits it; Republic Act No. 11926 (2022) is about firing guns, not the death penalty. Where an article still mentions death, it is read with Republic Act No. 9346. See Duration of penalties.
- Republic Act No. 11926 changed Article 254 on discharge of firearms and, as the stored text shows, Article 155 on alarms and scandals. See What is the penalty for firing a gun on New Year?
- Some articles are not quoted on this site because their current wording could not be confirmed on the official text after an amendment (for example the rape provisions after Republic Act No. 11648).
- Made-up example: Lito reads an old decision that punished theft of ₱5,000 with a certain penalty. Since Republic Act No. 10951 changed the amounts in 2017, the same theft may carry a different penalty today. The penalty depends on the article as it now reads.
- Related: Good conduct time allowance (GCTA), Community service instead of jail, Prescription of crimes. If you or a family member faces a criminal case, see Free legal help.
General information, not legal advice. For your case, ask a lawyer, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or the agency.
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