Articles Domestic Instruments/Related Laws/Provisions

Article 16. 1987 Philippine ARTICLE II. Declaration of Principles and State Policies
Constitution
(1)Men and women of full age, SECTION 12. The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall
without any limitation due to race, protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social
nationality or religion, have the right institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of
to marry and to found a family. They the unborn from conception. The natural and primary right and duty of
are entitled to equal rights as to parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the
marriage, during marriage and at its development of moral character shall receive the support of the
dissolution. Government.

(2)Marriage shall be entered into only ARTICLE XV. The Family

with the free and full consent of the
intending spouses. SECTION 1. The State recognizes the Filipino family as the foundation of
the nation. Accordingly, it shall strengthen its solidarity and actively
(3)The family is the natural and promote its total development.
fundamental group unit of society and
is entitled to protection by society and SECTION 2. Marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the
the State. foundation of the family and shall be protected by the State.

SECTION 3. The State shall defend:

(1) The right of spouses to found a family in accordance with their

religious convictions and the demands of responsible parenthood;

(2) The right of children to assistance, including proper care and

nutrition, and special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse,
cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their
development;

(3) The right of the family to a family living wage and income; and
 (4) The right of families or family associations to participate in the
planning and implementation of policies and programs that affect
them.

SECTION 4. The family has the duty to care for its elderly members but
the State may also do so through just programs of social security.
Civil Code TITLE VII of the New Civil Code. The Family (Repealed by the Family
Code)

ARTICLE 216. The family is a basic social institution which public policy
cherishes and protects.

ARTICLE 219. Mutual aid, both moral and material, shall be rendered
among members of the same family. Judicial and administrative officials
shall foster this mutual assistance.

ARTICLE 220. In case of doubt, all presumptions favor the solidarity of

the family.
Revised Penal Code ARTICLE 349. Bigamy. — The penalty of prisió n mayor shall be imposed
upon any person who shall contract a second or subsequent marriage
before the former marriage has been legally dissolved, or before the absent
spouse has been declared presumptively dead by means of a judgment
rendered in the proper proceedings.

ARTICLE 350. Marriage Contracted Against Provisions of Laws. — The

penalty of prisió n correccional in its medium and maximum periods shall
be imposed upon any person who, without being included in the provisions
of the next preceding article, shall contract marriage knowing that the
requirements of the law have not been complied with or that the marriage
is in disregard of a legal impediment.

If either of the contracting parties shall obtain the consent of the other by
 means of violence, intimidation or fraud, he shall be punished by the
maximum period of the penalty provided in the next preceding paragraph.

ARTICLE 351. Premature Marriages. — Any widow who shall marry within
three hundred and one days from the date of the death of her husband, or
before having delivered if she shall have been pregnant at the time of his
death, shall be punished by arresto mayor and fine not exceeding 500
pesos.

The same penalties shall be imposed upon any woman whose marriage
shall have been annulled or dissolved, if she shall marry before her delivery
or before the expiration of the period of three hundred and one days after
the legal separation.

ARTICLE 352. Performance of Illegal Marriage Ceremony. — Priests or

ministers of any religious denomination or sect, or civil authorities who
shall perform or authorize any illegal
Special Laws Executive Order No. 209, s. 1987

Article 1. Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man

and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of
conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the family and an inviolable
social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are governed
by law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlements may
fix the property relations during the marriage within the limits provided by
this Code.

Article 2. No marriage shall be valid, unless these essential requisites are

present:

(1) Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a male and a
female; and
 (2) Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer. (53a)

Article 3. The formal requisites of marriage are:

(1) Authority of the solemnizing officer;

(2) A valid marriage license except in the cases provided for in Chapter 2
of this Title; and

(3) A marriage ceremony which takes place with the appearance of the
contracting parties before the solemnizing officer and their personal
declaration that they take each other as husband and wife in the
presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age.

Article 4. The absence of any of the essential or formal requisites shall

render the marriage void ab initio, except as stated in Article 35 (2).

A defect in any of the essential requisites shall not affect the validity of the
marriage but the party or parties responsible for the irregularity shall be
civilly, criminally and administratively liable.
Article 17. 1987 Philippine ARTICLE III. Bill of Rights
Constitution
(1) Everyone has the right to own SECTION 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property
property alone as well as in without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal
association with others. protection of the laws.

(2) No one shall be arbitrarily SECTION 2. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
deprived of his property. papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures of
whatever nature and for any purpose shall be inviolable, and no search
warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to
be determined personally by the judge after examination under oath or
 affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may produce, and
particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or
things to be seized.

SECTION 3. (1) The privacy of communication and correspondence shall

be inviolable except upon lawful order of the court, or when public
safety or order requires otherwise as prescribed by law.

Xxx.

SECTION 9. Private property shall not be taken for public use without
just compensation.

SECTION 20. No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non-payment of

a poll tax.

ARTICLE XII. National Economy and Patrimony

SECTION 6. The use of property bears a social function, and all economic
agents shall contribute to the common good. Individuals and private
groups, including corporations, cooperatives, and similar collective
organizations, shall have the right to own, establish, and operate
economic enterprises, subject to the duty of the State to promote
distributive justice and to intervene when the common good so
demands.

ARTICLE XIII. Social Justice and Human Rights

SECTION 1. xxx.

To this end, the State shall regulate the acquisition, ownership, use, and
disposition of property and its increments.
 SECTION 6. The State shall apply the principles of agrarian reform or
stewardship, whenever applicable in accordance with law, in the
disposition or utilization of other natural resources, including lands of
the public domain under lease or concession suitable to agriculture,
subject to prior rights, homestead rights of small settlers, and the rights
of indigenous communities to their ancestral lands.

SECTION 9. The State shall, by law, and for the common good, undertake,
in cooperation with the public sector, a continuing program of urban
land reform and housing which will make available at affordable cost
decent housing and basic services to underprivileged and homeless
citizens in urban centers and resettlements areas. It shall also promote
adequate employment opportunities to such citizens. In the
implementation of such program the State shall respect the rights of
small property owners.

SECTION 10. Urban or rural poor dwellers shall not be evicted nor their
dwellings demolished, except in accordance with law and in a just and
humane manner.

No resettlement of urban or rural dwellers shall be undertaken without

adequate consultation with them and the communities where they are
to be relocated.
Civil Code TITLE II of the New Civil Code

ARTICLE 472. Ownership may be exercised over things or rights.

ARTICLE 428. The owner has the right to enjoy and dispose of a thing,
without other limitations than those established by law.

The owner has also a right of action against the holder and possessor
of the thing in order to recover it.

ARTICLE 429. The owner or lawful possessor of a thing has the right to
exclude any person from the enjoyment and disposal thereof. For this
purpose, he may use such force as may be reasonably necessary to
repel or prevent an actual or threatened unlawful physical invasion or
usurpation of his property.

ARTICLE 430. Every owner may enclose or fence his land or tenements
by means of walls, ditches, live or dead hedges, or by any other means
without detriment to servitudes constituted thereon.

ARTICLE 433. Actual possession under claim of ownership raises a

disputable presumption of ownership. The true owner must resort to
judicial process for the recovery of the property.

ARTICLE 435. No person shall be deprived of his property except by

competent authority and for public use and always upon payment of
just compensation.

Should this requirement be not first complied with, the courts shall
protect and, in a proper case, restore the owner in his possession.

ARTICLE 484. There is co-ownership whenever the ownership of an

undivided thing or right belongs to different persons.

ARTICLE 485. Xxxx.

The portions belonging to the co-owners in the co-ownership shall be

presumed equal, unless the contrary is proved.

ARTICLE 486. Each co-owner may use the thing owned in common,
 provided he does so in accordance with the purpose for which it is
intended and in such a way as not to injure the interest of the co-
ownership or prevent the other co-owners from using it according to
their rights. The purpose of the co-ownership may be changed by
agreement, express or implied.

ARTICLE 493. Each co-owner shall have the full ownership of his part
and of the fruits and benefits pertaining thereto, and he may therefore
alienate, assign or mortgage it, and even substitute another person in
its enjoyment, except when personal rights are involved.
Revised Penal Code ARTICLE 293. Who are Guilty of Robbery. — Any person who, with
intent to gain, shall take any personal property belonging to another,
by means of violence against or intimidation of any person, or using
force upon anything, shall be guilty of robbery.

ARTICLE 297. Attempted and Frustrated Robbery Committed Under

Certain Circumstances. — When by reason or on occasion of an
attempted or frustrated robbery a homicide is committed the person
guilty of such offenses shall be punished by xxx, unless the homicide
committed shall deserve a higher penalty under the provisions of this
Code.

ARTICLE 298. Execution of deeds by means of violence or intimidation.

— Any person who, with intent to defraud another, by means of
violence or intimidation, shall compel him to sign, execute or deliver
any public instrument or document, shall be held guilty of robbery and
punished by the penalties respectively prescribed in this Chapter.

ARTICLE 299. Robbery in an Inhabited House or Public Building or

Edifice Devoted to Worship.

ARTICLE 300. Robbery in an Uninhabited Place and by a Band.

ARTICLE 302. Robbery in an Uninhabited Place or in a Private
Building.

ARTICLE 303. Robbery of Cereals, Fruits, or Firewood in an

Uninhabited Place or Private Building.

ARTICLE 304. Possession of Picklocks or Similar Tools.

ARTICLE 306. Who are Brigands — Penalty. — When three or more

armed persons form a band of robbers for the purpose of committing
robbery in the highway, or kidnapping persons for the purpose of
extortion or to obtain ransom, for any other purpose to be attained by
means of force and violence, they shall be deemed highway robbers or
brigands.

Xxx.

ARTICLE 307. Aiding and Abetting a Band of Brigands. — Any person

knowingly and in any manner aiding, abetting or protecting a band of
brigands as described in the next preceding article, or giving them
information of the movements of the police or other peace officers of
the Government or of the forces of the United States Army, when the
latter are acting in aid of the Government, or acquiring or receiving the
property taken by such brigands, shall be punished by xxx.

ARTICLE 308. Who are Liable for Theft. — Theft is committed by any
person who, with intent to gain but without violence against or
intimidation of persons nor force upon things, shall take personal
property of another without the latter’s consent.

Theft is likewise committed by:

1. Any person who, having found lost property, shall fail to deliver the
same to the local authorities or to its owner;

2. Any person who, after having maliciously damaged the property of

another, shall remove or make use of the fruits or object of the damage
caused by him; and

3. Any person who shall enter an enclosed estate or a field where

trespass is forbidden or which belongs to another and without the
consent of its owner, shall hunt or fish upon the same or shall gather
fruits, cereals, or other forest or farm products.

ARTICLE 310. Qualified Theft. — The crime of theft shall be punished

by the penalties next higher in degree than those respectively specified
in the next preceding article, if committed by a domestic servant, or
with grave abuse of confidence, or if the property stolen is large cattle
or consists of coconuts, or fish taken from a fishpond or fishery.

ARTICLE 311. Theft of the Property of the National Library and

National Museum. — If the property stolen be any property of the
National Library or of the National Museum, the penalty shall be xxx.

ARTICLE 312. Occupation of Real Property or Usurpation of Real

Rights in Property. — Any person who, by means of violence against or
intimidation of persons, shall take possession of any real property or
shall usurp any real rights in property belonging to another, xxx.

ARTICLE 313. Altering Boundaries or Landmarks. — Any person who

shall alter the boundary marks or monuments of towns, provinces, or
estates, or any other marks intended to designate the boundaries of
the same, xxx.
ARTICLE 314. Fraudulent Insolvency. — Any person who shall
abscond with his property to the prejudice of his creditors, shall suffer
xxx, if he be a merchant, and xxx, if he be not a merchant.

ARTICLE 320. Destructive Arson. — The penalty of xxx shall be

imposed upon any person who shall burn:

1. Any arsenal, shipyard, storehouse or military powder or fireworks

factory, ordnance storehouse, archives or general museum of the
government.

2. Any passenger train or motor vehicle in motion or vessel out of port.

3. In an inhabited place, any storehouse or factory of inflammable or

explosive materials.

4. Any theater, church, cockpit, or other building where meetings are

held, when occupied by a numerous assemblage.

ARTICLE 321. Other Forms of Arson.

ARTICLE 322. Cases of Arson Not Included in the Preceding Articles.

ARTICLE 323. Arson of Property of Small Value.

ARTICLE 324. Crimes Involving Destruction. — Any person who shall

cause destruction by means of explosion, discharge of electric current,
inundation, sinking or stranding of a vessel, intentional damaging of
the engine of said vessel, taking up the rails from a railway track,
maliciously changing railway signals for the safety of moving trains,
destroying telegraph wires and telegraph posts, or those of any other
system, and, in general, by using any other agency or means of
destruction as effective as those above enumerated, shall be punished
by reclusió n temporal if the commission has endangered the safety of
any person; otherwise, the penalty of prisió n mayor shall be imposed.

ARTICLE 327. Who are Liable for Malicious Mischief . — Any person
who shall deliberately cause to the property of another any damage
not falling within the terms of the next preceding chapter shall be
guilty of malicious mischief.

ARTICLE 328. Special Cases of Malicious Mischief . — Any person who

shall cause damage to obstruct the performance of public functions, or
using any poisonous or corrosive substance; or spreading any
infection or contagion among cattle; or who causes damage to the
property of the National Museum or National Library, or to any archive
or registry, waterworks, road, promenade, or any other thing used in
common by the public, xxx.

ARTICLE 329. Other Mischiefs.

ARTICLE 330. Damages and Obstruction to Means of Communication.

— xxx, shall be imposed upon any person who shall damage any
railway, telegraph or telephone lines.

If the damage shall result in any derailment of cars, collision or other

accident, the penalty of prisió n mayor shall be imposed, without
prejudice to the criminal liability of the offender for the other
consequences of his criminal act.

For the purpose of the provisions of this article, the electric wires,
traction cables, signal system and other things pertaining to railways,
shall be deemed to constitute an integral part of a railway system.
 ARTICLE 331. Destroying or Damaging Statues, Public Monuments or
Paintings. — Any person who shall destroy or damage statues or any
other useful or ornamental public monument, xxx.

Special Laws SECTION 4 of R.A, No. 10175. Cybercrime Offenses. — The following acts
constitute the offense of cybercrime punishable under this Act:

(b) Computer-related Offenses:

Xxx.

(3) Computer-related Identity Theft. – The intentional acquisition,

use, misuse, transfer, possession, alteration or deletion of
identifying information belonging to another, whether natural or
juridical, without right: Provided, That if no damage has yet been
caused, the penalty imposable shall be one (1) degree lower.

SECTION 3 of R.A. No. 7832. Theft of Electric Power Transmission

Linen and Materials. – (a) It is hereby declared unlawful for any person to:

(1) Cut, saw, slice, separate, split, severe, smelt, or remove any electric
power transmission line/material or meter from a i tower, pole, any
other installation or place of installation or any other place or site
where it may be rightfully or lawfully stored, deposited, kept, stocked,
inventoried, situated or located, without the consent of the owner,
whether or not the act is done for profit or gain;

(2) Take, carry away or remove or transfer, with or without the use of
a motor vehicle or other means of conveyance, any electric power
transmission line/material or meter from a tower, pole, any other
installation or place of installation, or any place or site where it may be
rightfully or lawfully stored, deposited, kept, stocked, inventoried,
 situated or located, without the consent of i the owner, whether or not
the act is done for profit or gain;

(3) Store, possess or otherwise keep in his premises, custody or

control, any electric power transmission line/material or meter
without the consent of the owner, whether or not the act is done for
profit or gain; and

(4) Load, carry, ship or move from one place to another, whether by
land, air or sea, any electrical power transmission line/material,
whether or not the act is done for profit or gain, without first securing
a clearance/permit for the said purpose from its owner or the National
Power Corporation (NPC) or its regional office concerned, as the case
maybe.

Section 2 of Presidential Decree No. 1612

(a) “Fencing” is the act of any person who, with intent to gain for
himself or for another, shall buy, receive, possess, keep, acquire,
conceal, sell or dispose of, or shall buy and sell, or in any other manner
deal in any article, item, object or anything of value which he knows, or
should be known to him, to have been derived from the proceeds of
the crime of robbery or theft.

Xxx.

Section 2 of Presidential Decree No. 533

Xxx.

c.Cattle rustling is the taking away by any means, method or scheme,

without the consent of the owner/raiser, of any of the above-
mentioned animals whether or not for profit or gain, or whether
 committed with or without violence against or intimidation of any
person or force upon things. It includes the killing of large cattle, or
taking its meat or hide without the consent of the owner/raiser.

Xxx.
Article 18. 1987 Philippine ARTICLE III. Bill of Rights
Constitution
Everyone has the right to freedom of SECTION 5. Xxx. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession
thought, conscience and religion; this and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be
right includes freedom to change his allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or
religion or belief, and freedom, either political rights.
alone or in community with others
and in public or private, to manifest SECTION 18. (1) No person shall be detained solely by reason of his
his religion or belief in teaching, political beliefs and aspirations.
practice, worship and observance.
Xxx.

ARTICLE XIII. Social Justice and Human Rights

SECTION 15. The State shall respect the role of independent people’s
organizations to enable the people to pursue and protect, within the
democratic framework, their legitimate and collective interests and
aspirations through peaceful and lawful means.

People’s organizations are bona fide associations of citizens with

demonstrated capacity to promote the public interest and with
identifiable leadership, membership, and structure.

ARTICLE XIV. Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, and

Sports

SECTION 5. (1) The State shall take into account regional and sectoral
 needs and conditions and shall encourage local planning in the
development of educational policies and programs.

ARTICLE XV. The Family

SECTION 3. The State shall defend:

(1) The right of spouses to found a family in accordance with

their religious convictions and the demands of responsible
parenthood;
Civil Code ARTICLE 26 of the New Civil Code - Every person shall respect the
dignity, personality, privacy and peace of mind of his neighbors and other
persons. The following and similar acts, though they may not constitute a
criminal offense, shall produce a cause of action for damages, prevention
and other relief:

Xxxx

(4) Vexing or humiliating another on account of his religious beliefs,

lowly station in life, place of birth, physical defect, or other personal
condition.

ARTICLE 32. Any public officer or employee, or any private individual, who
directly or indirectly obstructs, defeats, violates or in any manner impedes
or impairs any of the following rights and liberties of another person shall
be liable to the latter for damages:

(1) Freedom of religion;

Xxx.

ARTICLE 93. Freedom of religion shall be observed by public officials in the

 issuance of authorization to solemnize marriages. Consequently, no public
official shall attempt to inquire into the truth or validity of any religious
doctrine held by the applicant or by his church.

ARTICLE 307. The funeral shall be in accordance with the expressed

wishes of the deceased. In the absence of such expression, his religious
beliefs or affiliation shall determine the funeral rites. In case of doubt, the
form of the funeral shall be decided upon by the person obliged to make
arrangements for the same, after consulting the other members of the
family.

ARTICLE 359. The government promotes the full growth of the faculties of
every child. For this purpose, the government will establish, whenever
possible:

(1) Schools in every barrio, municipality and city where optional

religious instruction shall be taught as part of the curriculum at the
option of the parent or guardian;
Revised Penal Code ARTICLE 82. Notification and Execution of the Sentence and Assistance
to the Culprit. — The court shall designate a working day for the execution,
but not the hour thereof; and such designation shall not be communicated
to the offender before sunrise of said day, and the execution shall not take
place until after the expiration of at least eight hours following the
notification, but before sunset. During the interval between the notification
and the execution, the culprit shall, in so far as possible, be furnished such
assistance as he may request in order to be attended in his last moments by
priests or ministers of the religion he professes and to consult lawyers, as
well as in order to make a will and confer with members of his family or
persons in charge of the management of his business, of the administration
of his property, or of the care of his descendants.

ARTICLE 132. Interruption of Religious Worship. — The penalty of

 prisió n correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon any
public officer or employee who shall prevent or disturb the ceremonies or
manifestations of any religion.

If the crime shall have been committed with violence or threats, the penalty
shall be xxx.

ARTICLE 133. Offending the Religious Feelings. — The penalty xxx shall
be imposed upon anyone who, in a place devoted to religious worship or
during the celebration of any religious ceremony shall perform acts
notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful.
Special Laws Section 1.04 of R.A. No. 10354. Declaration of Policy. The State
recognizes and guarantees the human rights of all persons including their
right to equality and nondiscrimination of these rights, the right to
sustainable human development, the right to health which includes
reproductive health, the right to education and information, and the right to
choose and make decisions for themselves in accordance with their
religious convictions, ethics, cultural beliefs, and the demands of
responsible parenthood.

Section 2.01 of R.A. No. 10354. These Rules declare the following as
guiding principles:

Xxx.

c) The right of unmarried individuals, who are capacitated to marry, to

found a family in accordance with their religious convictions and the
demands of responsible parenthood;

Xxx.

h) The State shall promote and provide information and access,

 without bias, to all modern methods of family planning, whether
natural or artificial, which have been proven medically safe, legal, non-
abortifacient, and effective in accordance with scientific and evidence-
based medical research standards such as those registered and
approved by the FDA for the poor and marginalized as identified
through the NHTS-PR and other government measures of identifying
marginalization: Provided, That the State shall also provide funding
support to promote all modern natural methods of family planning,
especially the Billings Ovulation Method, consistent with the needs of
acceptors and their religious convictions;

i) The State shall promote programs that (1) enable individuals and
couples to have the number of children they desire with due
consideration to the health, particularly of women, and the resources
available and affordable to them and in accordance with existing laws,
public morals and their religious convictions;

Xxx.

l) The State shall respect individuals’ preferences and choice of family

planning methods that are in accordance with their religious convictions
and cultural beliefs, taking into consideration the State’s obligations under
various human rights instruments;

Section 11.02 Curriculum Development. Within ninety (90) days from the
effectivity of these Rules, the DepEd shall integrate into its curriculum
complete, accurate and relevant age- and development-appropriate
information on responsible parenthood and reproductive health, respectful
of culture and religious convictions, for integration across all subjects, key
areas xxx.