Revised Penal Code

of the Philippines
 Revised Penal Code
• Contains the general
penal laws of the Philippines. 
• First enacted in 1930, it remains in effective
until today.
• The Revised Penal Code supplanted the
Spanish Código Penal, which was in force in
the Philippines
The Revised Penal Code criminalizes a whole
class of acts that are generally accepted as
criminal, such as the taking of a life whether
through murder or homicide, rape, robbery and 
theft, and treason.
The Code also penalizes other acts which are
considered criminal in the Philippines, such as 
adultery, concubinage, and abortion. 
Not all crimes in the Philippines
are penalized under the Code
• Such as the illegal possession of
firearms, are penalized under special
legislation contained in Republic Acts
.
The most notable crimes now excluded from the
Revised Penal Code are those concerning 
illegal drug use or trafficking, which are
penalized instead under the Dangerous Drugs
Act of 1972 and later the Comprehensive
Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
• Penalties under the Revised Penal Code
are generally divided into three periods
the minimum period, the medium
period, and the maximum period. 
In addition to establishing the elements of the
crime, the prosecution may also establish the
presence of aggravating circumstances in order
to set the penalty at the maximum period, or
mitigating circumstances to reduce the penalty
to its minimum period.