Policy and legislative basis
- Act No. 518 declares that the public good requiring the passage of the measure justifies adopting Section 5 under the procedure act framework.
- Section 5 expressly links procedural enactment to “An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of law,” passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.
Definition of highway robbery/brigandage
- Section 1 defines “highway robbers or brigands” as three or more persons who conspire together.
- The band must be formed for the purpose of stealing carabao or other personal property.
- The band must act by means of force and violence, and must go out upon the highway or roam over the country.
- The band must be armed with deadly weapons for that purpose.
Punishable participation in the band
- Section 1 provides that every person engaged in the original formation of the band shall be punished upon conviction.
- Section 1 also provides that every person joining it thereafter shall be punished upon conviction.
- Section 1 fixes punishment as either death or imprisonment for not less than twenty years, in the discretion of the court.
Evidentiary rule for conviction
- Section 2 provides that to prove the crime defined in Section 1, it is not necessary to adduce evidence that any member of the band has in fact committed robbery or theft.
- Section 2 authorizes conviction if, from the circumstances, it can be inferred beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was a member of such an armed band as described in Section 1.
Jurisdiction and place of trial
- Section 3 provides that persons guilty of the crime defined in Section 1 may be punished in the Court of First Instance.
- Section 3 provides venue in any province where the persons may be taken or from which they may have fled.
Liability for aiding and abetting
- Section 4 punishes “every person knowingly aiding or abetting” such a band of brigands.
- Section 4 includes aiding by giving information on the movement of the police or constabulary.
- Section 4 includes aiding by securing stolen property from the band.
- Section 4 includes aiding by procuring supplies of food, clothing, arms, or ammunition and furnishing them to the band.
Penalties for aiders/abettors
- Section 4 provides imprisonment of not less than ten years and not more than twenty years for convicted aiders/abettors.