Legal basis and amendment made
- Commonwealth Act No. 634 amends Commonwealth Act No. 382, entitled “An Act to adopt the original authentic form of the Philippine National Anthem and to appropriate funds for its printing and free distribution.”
- Section 1 inserts a new Section 3-A between Sections 3 and 4 of Commonwealth Act No. 382.
Prohibited disrespect and prohibited uses
- Section 3-A prohibits any utterance in speech, writing, or drawing that casts dishonor, ridicule, or contempt upon the Philippine National Anthem.
- Section 3-A prohibits any act or omission that casts dishonor, ridicule, or contempt upon the Philippine National Anthem.
- Section 3-A prohibits the use of the Philippine National Anthem in places of ill-repute.
- Section 3-A prohibits the use of the Philippine National Anthem for purposes involving disrespect.
- Section 3-A provides that any violation constitutes an offense.
Offense elements and who may be liable
- Section 3-A treats as an offense both direct violations by a person and violations committed “through another.”
- Section 3-A expressly covers any person who violates the prohibited acts or uses described in that section.
- Section 3-A makes the “execution” of the prohibited conduct the basis of the offense.
Penalties: first, second, and additional offenses
- Section 3-A imposes, upon conviction, a fine of not less than PHP 25 and not more than PHP 1,000, or imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both, for a first violation.
- Section 3-A provides that for any second and additional offense, both the fine and imprisonment “shall always be imposed.”
Implementation and procedural details
- Section 3-A establishes punishment “upon conviction.”
- Section 2 sets effectivity immediately upon approval and provides no further implementation procedure.
Separability, repeal, and sunset
- Section 1 amends Commonwealth Act No. 382 by inserting Section 3-A.
- Section 2 governs effectivity and does not provide any sunset or transitory cut-off.