De Lima files bill to redefine syndicated estafa
Published Mar 6, 2020 12:00 am
By Hannah Torregoza
Senator Leila de Lima, a former justice secretary, has filed Senate Bill No. 1307 which seeks to amend Section 1 of the 40-year-old Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1689 by reducing from five to two persons those involved in a crime for it to qualify as syndicated estafa.
Senator Leila de Lima (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
The senator said that in order to properly punish the syndicates behind these elaborate scams, existing laws must be revised to punish offenders with a minimum required number in a group.
“This way, less burden is placed upon our law enforcers to arrest all the offenders immediately, and at least two members of the syndicate can already be put to trial,” De Lima said.
Under Section 1 of PD 1689, syndicated estafa and other forms of swindling shall be punishable by life imprisonment to death if it is committed by a syndicate consisting of five or more persons.
When not committed by a syndicate of five or more, the penalty that the court can impose shall be reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua if the amount of the fraud exceeds P100,000.
De Lima said she sought to lower the number of participants involved because some people accused of syndicated estafa often evade the higher penalty because the aggrieved party could not establish that the commission of the crime was conspired in or confederated by five or more persons.
“Syndicated estafa is a social menace that not only preys on our countrymen, but also erodes our faith in our economic system,” De Lima said. “While there are those who operate alone, most operate in a group.”
De Lima added that perpetrators who operate in groups are able to commit this crime against multiple victims and over an extended period of time by using elaborate scams to abuse the confidence of their victims.
She also said there is a need for a redefinition of the crime of syndicated estafa in order to protect the public from a systematic fraud that erodes people’s confidence in the banking and cooperative system.
“We have all heard their story – of how their life savings dried up after having been persuaded by those whose aim was nothing but to abuse the confidence reposed in them,” she said.
Senator Leila de Lima (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
The senator said that in order to properly punish the syndicates behind these elaborate scams, existing laws must be revised to punish offenders with a minimum required number in a group.
“This way, less burden is placed upon our law enforcers to arrest all the offenders immediately, and at least two members of the syndicate can already be put to trial,” De Lima said.
Under Section 1 of PD 1689, syndicated estafa and other forms of swindling shall be punishable by life imprisonment to death if it is committed by a syndicate consisting of five or more persons.
When not committed by a syndicate of five or more, the penalty that the court can impose shall be reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua if the amount of the fraud exceeds P100,000.
De Lima said she sought to lower the number of participants involved because some people accused of syndicated estafa often evade the higher penalty because the aggrieved party could not establish that the commission of the crime was conspired in or confederated by five or more persons.
“Syndicated estafa is a social menace that not only preys on our countrymen, but also erodes our faith in our economic system,” De Lima said. “While there are those who operate alone, most operate in a group.”
De Lima added that perpetrators who operate in groups are able to commit this crime against multiple victims and over an extended period of time by using elaborate scams to abuse the confidence of their victims.
She also said there is a need for a redefinition of the crime of syndicated estafa in order to protect the public from a systematic fraud that erodes people’s confidence in the banking and cooperative system.
“We have all heard their story – of how their life savings dried up after having been persuaded by those whose aim was nothing but to abuse the confidence reposed in them,” she said.