The House of Representatives intends to revisit the almost century old Revised Penal Code (RPC), or Act No. 3815.
Thus, bared House Speaker and Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez during the 19th National Convention of Lawyers and the golden jubilee celebration of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), of which he is a member.
Romualdez said that although the RPC--passed on Dec. 8, 1930--has served Filipinos well, the changing of the times call for it to be updated.
"With globalization and the birth of the internet in 1983, many of the injustices that society endures at present, like cybercrime and transnational crime, are simply beyond the ambit of the Revised Penal Code to address,” he said in his speech on Friday night, Feb. 17.
He commended the inter-agency Code of Crimes Committee, headed by retired Sandiganbayan presiding justice Edilberto Sandoval, for drafting the proposed Code of Crimes.
The Speaker said the draft code provides, among others, a new system of penalties that may be imposed for proven criminal activities, including community service and more realistic fines and other penalties.
It also proposes to modernize the penal terminology, incorporate the Dangerous Drugs Act, and define and include cybercrime.
He thanked the Sandoval committee for exercising prudence in “leaving certain matters to the discretion of Congress, such as the imposition of the death penalty and the like".
The IBP event was held at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City.