board foreign warships in territorial waters.

In case vessels are in the ports or territorial waters of a foreign

country, a distinction m us t be made between merchant ships and

warships; the former are more or less subjected to the territorial

(See U.S. vs. Bull, 15 Phil. 7; U.S. vs. Look Chaw, 18 Phil. 573; and

People vs. Wong Cheng, 46 Phil. 729)

Warships are always reputed to be the territory of the country

to which they belong and cannot be subjected to the laws of another

state. A United States Army transport is considered a warship. (U.S.

vs. Fowler, 1 Phil. 614)

Extra-territorial application of Republic Act No. 9372.

Rep. Act No. 9372, otherwise known as the "Human Security

Act of 2007" which was passed into law on 6 March 2007 has

territorial application.

Section 58 of Rep. Act No. 9372 provides that subject to the

provision of an existing treaty of which the Philippines is a signatory

and to any contrary provision of any law of preferential application,

the provisions of the Act shall apply:

(1) to individual persons who commit any of the crimes

defined and punished in the Act within the terrestrial

domain, interior waters, maritime zone and airspace of

the Philippines;

31

Art. 2 APPLICATION OF ITS PROVISIONS

to individual persons who, although physically outside

the territorial limits of the Philippines, commit, conspire

of plot any of the crimes and punished in the Act

inside the territorial limits of the

to individual persons who, although physically outside the

territorial limits of the Philippines, commit any of the said

crimes on board Philippine ship or airship;

to individual persons who commit any of said crimes within

any embassy, consulate or diplomatic premises belonging

to or occupied by the Philippine government in an official

capacity;

to individual persons who, although physically outside the

territorial limits of the Philippines, commit said crimes

against Philippine citizens or persons of Philippine descent,

where their citizenship or ethnicity was a factor in the

commission of the crime; and

to individual persons who, although physically outside the

territorial limits of the Philippines, commit said crimes

directly against the Philippine government.

32

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

FELONIES AND CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH

AFFECT CRIMINAL