The Evolution of the Philippine Criminal Justice System
by Napoleon C. Reyes
The collective experiences of people shape their response to crime and disorder. To understand the nature of crime in the Philippines and its criminal justice system, one must be familiar with its history and its consequences. This essay discusses the development of the Philippine criminal justice system through different stages in its history.
Pre-Colonial Justice
Human settlements had existed in the archipelago well before the arrival of the first Spanish conquistador. Early settlers came from the south via Borneo and Indonesia and from the north from southern China and Taiwan. Most of them lived by or close to water and traded with the Chinese, the Cambodians, and the Champans (Francia, 2010). These pre-colonial societies were based on kinship and were stratified into three groups: the ruling elite, their peers and followers, and the slaves (Francia, 2010). A datu, whose authority rested primarily on his physical prowess, wisdom, inheritance, or wealth, ruled the smallest political-social unit known as barangay. Each barangay existed autonomously and a centralized government did not exist (Francia, 2010).
Assisted by the elders of the barangay, the datu legislated laws and acted as judge. All trials were held in public and litigants pleaded their own case. At times, the datu would hold trial by ordeal to resolve doubts. People believed that the gods would protect the innocent and punish the guilty and that the result of the ordeals was a revelation of the divine truth (Agoncillo, 1994). Murder, adultery, theft, and insulting a woman were considered great offenses and were punished by enslaving the offender (Blair & Robertson, 1904). If the value stolen was great, the offender and his relatives were all fined. Failure to pay the fine resulted in the enslavement of all member of the family (Blair & Robertson, 1904).
Toward the end of the 14th century, Muslim missionaries reached the southern islands of Mindanao and converted the natives. This resulted in the creation of alliances that helped in thwarting the subsequent efforts to colonize southern Philippines (Abuza, 2003). Islam would have spread northward were it not for the arrival of European conquistadores beginning in the 16th century (Francia, 2010).
Justice under God
On March 16, 1521, Ferdinand Magellan reached the central Visayan region of the archipelago. His discovery of the islands led to a series of Spanish expeditions that culminated in Miguel Lopez de Legazpi’s conquest of Manila in 1565. Thus began the 333 years of Spanish colonial rule that drastically changed in the islanders’ way of life. Under the guise of spreading Christianity and saving the natives from eternal damnation, the colonial government dissolved the barangays and forced everyone to live in pueblos. Newly Christianized Indios – the derogatory term used by the Spanish to refer to the natives – were placed under the watchful eyes of the clerics and were required to pay tributes to the new sovereign.
As in all Spanish colonies, the new order extended Spanish laws to Philippines. These included the Codigo Penal (Penal Code), Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal (Code of Criminal Procedure), Codigo Civil (Civil Code), Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil (Code of Civil Procedure), and Codigo de Comercio (Code of Commerce). A court system that consisted of superior and inferior courts was likewise established. The Guardia Civil (Civil Guards) performed law enforcement functions. Individuals who were convicted of serious offenses such as murder and treason are executed either by firing squad or garrotte.
The oppression and injustices suffered by Filipinos at the hands of the friars and civil administrators caused massive unrest and sparked the quest for independence. Sporadic uprisings broke out and crescendoed to the 1896 Philippine Revolution. By mid-1898, the revolutionary forces had gained control of most of the provinces. On June 12 of that year, the leader of the revolutionary forces, General Emilio Aguinaldo, declared independence from Spain. Their jubilation would be cut short, however, by the eruption of the Spanish-American War.
Truth, Justice, and the American Way
The explosion of the USS Maine in Havana, Cuba, precipitated the hostilities between Spain and the United States. Spain would lose the short-lived war and, under the Treaty of Paris, cede control of the Philippines to the United States. The newly established Philippine republic under General Aguinaldo, who had been led to believe that the United States would not claim the colony for itself, refused to recognize the treaty. A fierce and bloody war soon broke out between the Philippines and the United States.
The war officially ended on July 4, 1902 with the United States as the victor. This ushered in the American colonial rule that was trumpeted as a noble endeavor to educate, uplift, and civilize the Filipinos (Rusling, 1987). Like the Spanish, the Americans indoctrinated Filipinos on the superiority of their values and practices. Unlike the Spanish, they encouraged Filipinos to learn their language through a system of mass education. This approach changed the cultural landscape of the Philippines and impacted every aspect of life on the islands.
The American colonial government enacted several laws to eradicate the vestiges of Spanish rule, including new codes of criminal and civil procedure. It established a new judicial system modeled after the judicial system of the United States. The United States president was given the power to appoint the justices of the Philippine Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court was also given the power to review the decision of the Philippine Supreme Court in certain cases.In 1901, the colonial government formed a national police force. A year later, it extended the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution to the archipelago. The use of firing squad or garrotte as method of execution for capital offenses was replaced by the use of electric chair in 1926.
In 1934, the Tydings-McDuffie Act of the United States authorized the creation of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, a transitional administration that would prepare the islands for eventual independence. Pursuant to this law, the 1935 Philippine Constitution was drafted and ratified. The Japanese occupation of the Philippine during World War II would force the Commonwealth government to go into exile.
On July 4, 1946, about 10 months after Japan’s formal surrender, the Commonwealth government was dissolved and the Philippines became an independent republic. This officially ended the American colonial period.
Public Policy of Crime and Criminal Justice
Despite its dalliance with martial rule from 1972 to 1986, the Philippines remains a democratic and republican state with a unitary and presidential form of government. The current Philippine Constitution, which took effect on February 2, 1987, distributes government powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The president, who is elected by a direct popular vote and serves for six years, heads the executive branch. He acts as the head of state and the head of government and exercises control over all executive departments, bureaus, and offices. The legislative branch consists of the Senate, which has 24 senators elected at large, and the House of Representatives, which has 289 representatives elected from legislative districts and through a party-list system. The two chambers exercise legislative power except to the extent reserved to the people by the provision on initiative and referendum. Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court, which is made up of a chief justice and 14 associate justices, and in such lower courts as may be established by law. This power includes the duty to settle actual controversies involving rights that are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the government.
The country consists of 17 administrative regions. Each region is subdivided into provinces, cities and municipalities, and barangays. These political subdivisions exercise local autonomy within their respective territorial jurisdictions.
Philippine criminal law is largely based on the Spanish Penal Code. The classification of crimes and imposable penalties in the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines (Act No. 3815) mirrors the strong influence of civil law tradition. The code combines classical and positivist criminological philosophy, which results in the mixed goals of retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and reintegration.
Under Philippine law, there are three classifications of crimes: felony, offense, and misdemeanor. Felony refers to a violation of the Revised Penal Code. Offense is a crime punishable under a special law. Misdemeanor pertains to minor infraction, such as violation of an ordinance.
At present, steps have been taken to update the criminal law of the Philippines. A new criminal code has been drafted and proposed in Congress. Among others, the proposed code simplifies the classification of crimes and imposable penalties, and eliminates Spanish terms that are still used in the Revised Penal Code. It also incorporates contemporary criminological thinking and addresses issues brought about by advances in technology.
Law Enforcement
From the Guardia Civil and the Insular Constabulary of the Spanish and American colonial governments, the Philippine police system has gone through several transformations. The Insular Constabulary became the Philippine Constabulary in 1901. It 1950, it joined the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) but maintained its function as a national police force. It dealt primarily with insurrections, mass disturbances, and large-scale banditries. While its constables were not trained in crime detection, traffic control, and other aspects of police work, it exercised supervision of local police forces throughout the country. The local government units (provinces, cities, and municipalities) maintained their respective local police departments.
In 1936, the Commonwealth government created the Division of Investigation (DI) under the Department of Justice (DOJ). Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon and Justice Secretary Jose Yulo wanted a law enforcement agency modeled after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States so American consultants were hired to organize the unit. The DI focused on investigation of national crimes and serious local crimes that local police could not solve. After the Japanese occupation, it was reorganized and renamed the Bureau of Investigation (BI). In 1947, Executive Order No. 94 changed its name to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
When President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972, he placed the entire country under an authoritarian military rule. He reorganized the national police by merging the PC and the local police forces into one Philippine Constabulary/Integrated National Police (PC/INP). The organization gained notoriety for its widespread corruption and human rights violations.
When a popular revolution toppled the Marcos regime in 1986, a new Philippine Constitution was promulgated providing for a police force that is national in scope and civilian in character. Thus, Congress abolished the PC/INP in 1991 and formed the Philippine National Police (PNP) under the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). Members of the PC/INP were retained by the PNP and select members of the major service units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) were likewise absorbed. Because of this, the leadership of what was intended to be a civilian police organization has retained its militaristic orientation. The last graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) who are currently serving in the PNP are expected to retire in 2026.
In 2002, Republic Act No. 9165 created the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to serve as the lead anti-drugs law enforcement agency. The agency was patterned after the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Upon conclusion of police investigation, public prosecutors from the National Prosecution Service (NPS) conduct additional investigation of criminal complaints. When probable cause is found, formal charges are filed before the appropriate court. The NPS is under the Department of Justice (DOJ). It consists of the Prosecution Staff in the Office of the Secretary of Justice, the Regional State Prosecution Offices, the Provincial Prosecution Offices, and the City Prosecution Offices.
All criminal actions are prosecuted under the direction and control of public prosecutors. However, it is not unusual to see lawyers for the victims participating in the proceeding as private prosecutors.
Judicial Processes
Many of the rights included in the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution have been incorporated in the Philippine Constitution. The Philippine criminal justice system is required to observe such rights, including the right to due process and equal protection of laws, the right against unreasonable searches and seizures, the right against self-incrimination, the right to counsel, right against double jeopardy, and the right against cruel or inhuman punishment. Accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. However, trials of criminal cases are conducted and heard by a judge; there is no trial by jury in the Philippines.
The regular court system of the Philippines has four levels. The first-level courts consist of the Metropolitan Trial Courts (MTCs), the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCCs), and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts (MCTCs). These are all trial courts that exercise exclusive original jurisdiction of minor crimes, such as violations of city or municipal ordinances, offenses involving damage to property through criminal negligence, offenses punishable with imprisonment not exceeding six years irrespective of the amount of fine and other accessory penalties, and offenses punishable by a fine not exceeding P4,000.00. Regional Trial Courts serve as second-level courts and exercise exclusive original jurisdiction of offenses punishable with imprisonment exceeding six years irrespective of the amount of fine and other accessory penalties. They also exercise appellate jurisdiction of decision by first-level courts in criminal cases. The Court of Appeals, the third-level court, serves as an intermediate appellate court and reviews decisions of Regional Trial Courts. The Supreme Court sits at the apex of the court system and serves as the court of last resort.
The Sandiganbayan is a special court that tries and decides criminal cases involving graft and corruption and other offenses committed by public officials and employees. Its decisions are appealable to the Supreme Court.
Punishment and Corrections
At present, there is no capital punishment in the Philippines. The death penalty was abolished in 2006 in response to the strong lobbying by the local Roman Catholic Church leaders. This is the second time that capital punishment was abolished in the country. It was first abolished in 1986 by the Aquino administration. The succeeding Ramos administration reinstated it in 1993. With the re-abolition, individuals who are convicted of the most serious offenses, such as treason, murder, and rape with homicide, are sentenced to life imprisonment or reclusion perpetua (i.e. imprisonment for 20 years and one day to 40 years).
Three departments of the national government under the executive branch manage the Philippine corrections system. The Department of Justice (DOJ), through its Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), supervises seven national prison facilities. Its Parole and Probation Administration (PPA) administers the parole and probation system, while its Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP) assists the president in the grant of executive clemency. The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) supervises provincial, city, and municipal jails through its Bureau of Jail and Management Penology (BJMP). The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) supervises the regional rehabilitation centers for juvenile offenders through its Bureau of Child and Youth Welfare (BCYW).
Offenders who receive sentences exceeding three years of imprisonment are committed to national prisons. Those who received shorter sentences are committed to provincial, city, and municipal jails.
References
Abuza, Z. (2003). Militant Islam in Southeast Asia. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publisher,
Inc.
Agoncillo, T.A. (1994). History of the Filipino people. Quezon City: Garcia Publishing.
Blair, E. H., & Robertson, J. A. (1904). The Philippine Islands, Volume 5. Retrieved from
http://philhist.pbworks.com/w/page/16367055/ThePhilippineIslands#VolumeV15821583
Francia, L. H. (2010). A history of the Philippines: From Indios bravos to Filipinos. New
York: The Overlook Press.
Rusling, J. (1987). Interview with President William McKinley. In D. Schirmer & S.
Rosskamm (Eds.), The Philippines Reader (22-23). Boston: South End Press.
