QuestionsQuestions (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1829)
To discourage public indifference and penalize acts that obstruct, frustrate, or tend to obstruct or frustrate the successful apprehension and prosecution of criminal offenders, despite government efforts to contain crime.
Prision correctional in its maximum period, or a fine ranging from ₱1,000 to ₱6,000, or both.
The person must knowingly or wilfully obstruct, impede, frustrate, or delay the apprehension of suspects and the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases.
Examples include: (1) preventing witnesses from testifying or reporting by bribery/misrepresentation/deceit/intimidation/force/threats; (2) altering, destroying, suppressing, or concealing records/documents/objects to impair their evidentiary value; (3) harboring or concealing/facilitating the escape of an offender to prevent arrest and prosecution; (4) using a fictitious name to conceal a crime and evade prosecution/execution of judgment; (5) delaying prosecution by obstructing service of process/court orders or disturbing fiscal’s offices/tanodbayan/courts; also covered are presenting false documents, soliciting/accepting benefits to abstain from prosecution, threatening persons to prevent appearance in proceedings, giving false information, or disseminating confidential false/misleading information.
Yes. Liability attaches when the accused knowingly or wilfully commits acts that delay the prosecution by obstructing service of process/court orders or disturbing proceedings in the fiscal’s offices, Tanodbayan, or the courts.
It penalizes altering, destroying, suppressing, or concealing any paper, record, document, or object with intent to impair its verity, authenticity, legibility, availability, or admissibility as evidence in investigations or official proceedings in criminal cases, or to be used therein.
Harboring or concealing, or facilitating the escape of a person whom the offender knows, or has reasonable ground to believe or suspect, has committed an offense under existing penal laws, in order to prevent that person’s arrest, prosecution, and conviction.
It is expressly punished when done for the purpose of concealing a crime, evading prosecution, or concealing one’s true name and other personal circumstances for the same purpose or purposes.
It penalizes threatening directly or indirectly another with any wrong upon person, honor, or property (including immediate family) to prevent appearance in investigation or official proceedings, or imposing a condition (lawful or unlawful) to prevent appearance.
Yes. PD 1829 penalizes soliciting, accepting, or agreeing to accept any benefit in consideration of abstaining from, discontinuing, or impeding the prosecution of a criminal offender.
It penalizes giving false or fabricated information to mislead or prevent law enforcement from apprehending the offender or from protecting the life or property of the victim.
It penalizes fabricating information from data gathered in confidence for background information (not for publication) and publishing/disseminating it to mislead the investigator or the court.
The higher penalty shall be imposed.
In addition to the penalty under Section 1, the public official or employee suffers perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
It took effect immediately upon its approval (January 16, 1981).
The act must be committed with the intent or effect of obstructing, impeding, frustrating, or delaying the apprehension of suspects and/or the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases.