Question & AnswerQ&A (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1829)
The main purpose of Presidential Decree No. 1829 is to penalize acts that obstruct, impede, frustrate, or delay the apprehension, investigation, and prosecution of criminal offenders to discourage public indifference or apathy towards these processes.
The penalty is prision correctional in its maximum period, or a fine ranging from 1,000 to 6,000 pesos, or both.
Acts such as preventing witnesses from testifying or reporting crimes through bribery or threats, altering or concealing evidence, harboring or facilitating escape of offenders, using fictitious names to evade prosecution, obstructing service of process, using false documents, soliciting or accepting benefits to impede prosecution, threatening persons to prevent appearances, giving false information, or publishing fabricated information that misleads investigations or courts.
Yes. If a public official or employee commits any of these acts, in addition to the prescribed penalties, they shall suffer perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
Presentation or use of false or fabricated documents with knowledge of their falsity and intent to affect the investigation or official proceedings of criminal cases is penalized with prision correctional in its maximum period, a fine of 1,000 to 6,000 pesos, or both.
Yes. If any act mentioned is penalized by any other law with a higher penalty, the higher penalty shall be imposed.
It means the use of bribery, misrepresentation, deceit, intimidation, force, or threats to stop witnesses from testifying in any criminal proceeding or from reporting the commission of an offense or the identity of offenders.
'Prision correctional in its maximum period' refers to the highest term of imprisonment within the prision correctional range, indicating the maximum duration of imprisonment imposed under this decree.
Harboring, concealing, or facilitating the escape of a person known or reasonably believed to have committed an offense to prevent arrest, prosecution, or conviction is penalized under this law.
The decree took effect immediately upon signing on January 16, 1981.