AN ACT PROHIBITING THE IMPOSITION OF DEATH PENALTY IN THE PHILIPPINES

Case Overview and Summary

Summary of Republic Act No. 9346

Prohibition of Death Penalty in the Philippines
- The imposition of the death penalty is prohibited in the Philippines. (Section 1)
- Republic Act No. 8177 (Act Designating Death by Lethal Injection) and Republic Act No. 7659 (Death Penalty Law), as well as all other laws, executive orders, and decrees imposing the death penalty, are repealed or amended accordingly. (Section 1)

Penalties in Lieu of Death Penalty
- For offenses that use the nomenclature of penalties in the Revised Penal Code, the penalty of reclusion perpetua shall be imposed in lieu of the death penalty. (Section 2a)
- For offenses that do not use the nomenclature of penalties in the Revised Penal Code, the penalty of life imprisonment shall be imposed in lieu of the death penalty. (Section 2b)

Ineligibility for Parole
- Persons convicted of offenses punished with reclusion perpetua or whose sentences are reduced to reclusion perpetua by reason of this Act shall not be eligible for parole under Act No. 4180 (Indeterminate Sentence Law). (Section 3)

Publication of Names for Commutation or Pardon
- The Board of Pardons and Parole shall cause the publication at least once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation of the names of persons convicted of offenses punished with reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment by reason of this Act who are being considered or recommended for commutation or pardon. (Section 4)
- This provision does not limit the power of the President to grant executive clemency under Section 19, Article VII of the Constitution. (Section 4)

Effectivity
- This Act shall take effect immediately after its publication in two national newspapers of general circulation. (Section 5)