What is Parole?

Parole is not an executive clemency; it is a procedure by which prisoners are selected

for release on the basis of individual response to the correctional institution and service progress and by
which they are provided with necessary control and guidance as they serve the remainder of their
sentence within the free community. Parole was created by virtue of Act 4103 or known as
Indeterminate Sentence Law, in short, ISLaw, as amended.

What is Probation? Probation is a disposition of a case under which a defendant after conviction and
sentenced is released subject to conditions imposed by the court and to the supervision of the probation
officer. It is also a judicial act that allows a convicted criminal to remain free in society instead of serving
sentence in prison.

Two Kinds of Probation

1. Minor Probation Law/Presidential Decree (PD) 603 as amended is otherwise known as the Child and
Youth Welfare Code. Hence, an offender who is under 18 years of age must be dealt with in accordance
with a more liberal and beneficent provisions of PD 603. However, criminal responsibility of minors shall
be dealt with through Republic Act 9344 or known as Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, as
amended.

2. Adult Probation Law or Presidential Decree 968 is otherwise known as the Adult Probation Law of
1976, was signed into Law by President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines on July 24, 1976 that led to
the creation of "Probation Administration" to administer the probation system.

Note: The aforesaid presentations about penology are just basic outline. Hence, the complete details
about penology is provided in the Institutional Correction and Non-Institutional Correction subjects.

Lesson 7. Criminology and Criminal Justice

What is Criminal Justice System? Criminal Justice System refers to the agencies responsible for
enforcing criminal laws, including police, prosecutors courts, and corrections. [86] It is the system of law
enforcement that is directly involved in apprehending, prosecuting, defending, sentencing, and
punishing those who are suspected or convicted of criminal offences, [87] It is the system of practices
and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or
sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts.

Kinds of Legal System

1. Adversarial System or Adversary System. It is a legal system used in the common law countries
where two advocates represent their parties' case or position before an impartial person or group of
people, usually a jury or judge, who attempt to determine the truth and pass judgment accordingly. (88)
The adversarial system is the two-sided structure under which criminal trial courts operate that puts the
prosecution against the defense.
2. Inquisitorial System. It is a legal system where the court or a part of the court is actively involved in
investigating the facts of the case, as opposed to an adversarial system where the role of the court is
primarily that of an impartial referee between the prosecution and the defense. [89]

What is Due Process? Part of the criminal justice is the due process. Due process refers to the idea that
laws and legal proceedings must be fair. A principle that the government must respect all of a person's
legal rights instead of just some or most of those legal rights when the government deprives a person of
life, liberty, or property.

Two Branches of Due Process

1. Substantive Due Process. It refers to the intrinsic validity of the law.

2. Procedural Due Process. It is based on the principle that a court of law renders judgment only after
trial and based on the evidence presented therein. [90]

Five Pillars of Philippine Criminal Justice System

1. The Law Enforcement. This pillar is composed of law enforcers who serve as the forefront of the
criminal justice system of the country. They are the ones that directly deal with the citizenry and are
directly exposed to the criminal elements. There is, therefore, the necessity for the members of these
law enforcement agencies to be well oriented with, and trained in the ways of, the civil society.

The primary law enforcement agency in the country is the Philippine National Police (PNP) established
by Article XVI Section 6 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. The Constitution stated that such police
agency (PNP) shall be national in scope and civilian in character. The PNP is charged with the duties of
crime prevention, law enforcement, preservation of peace and order, as well as the internal security of
the government under the control and supervision of the Department of Interior and Local Government
(DILG) through Republic Act No. 6975 in 1990, as amended by Republic Act No. 8551 in 1998, as
amended further by Republic Act No.

9708 in 2009. Also, special agencies performing law enforcement functions are the National Bureau of
Investigation, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and others. These agencies are authorized to
conduct investigations of crimes, gather evidence with respect thereto, arrest suspects and refer cases
to the prosecuting arms of the government.

2. The Prosecution. The prosecution function is lodged mainly with the National Prosecution Service,
under the Department of Justice. It is composed of the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor, the Regional
State Prosecutor's Office and the Provincial and City Prosecutor's Offices.

Functions of the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor

a. Investigate and prosecute crimes;

b. Decide appeals from decisions of the provincial and city prosecutors; and
c. Investigate administrative charges against prosecutors.

The Regional Prosecutor's Office is charged with the administrative task of supervising and coordinating
the performance of the Provincial and City Prosecutors within the region. The Provincial and City
Prosecutor's Office is the lowest in the administrative hierarchy, and is charged with the investigation
and prosecution of all violations of penal laws and penal ordinances within their respective territorial
jurisdictions.

3. The Judiciary (Court). The judiciary is the final arbiter of controversies, of competing claims and
interests, including the determination of the guilt or innocence of a person charged with the commission
of a crime. The judiciary in the country is composed of one Supreme Court, which is at the top of the
judicial hierarchy, and the other courts created by law. The other courts created by law are, among
others, the Court of Appeals and the constitutionally mandated Sandiganbayan, which are collegiate
courts and exercise appellate jurisdiction over the Regional Trial Courts; the Municipal or Metropolitan
Trial Courts; and Family Courts in appropriate cases. The Sandiganbayan and the Family Courts are
specialized courts that deal with offenses involving government officials and those involving the family
and minors, respectively. These courts, due to their specialization, expedite the proceedings before
them, because of the knowledge that the judges have acquired in the course of their service, and at the
same time, serving the interests of the persons for which those courts were designed to protect. This is
without prejudice, however, to the constitutionally protected rights of the accused.

4. The Correctional Institution. It refers to an agency that is involved in the execution of punishment of
convicts. Correctional institutions in the country are the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology under
the DILG, Bureau of Correction under the Department of Justice, and correctional institutions for youth
offenders under the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

5. The Community. The community refers to the various institutions in the community such as family,
church or religious organizations, educational institutions, private organizations, and the like. These
institutions in the community play a very important role in the criminal justice system. It is from their
ranks that the offenders come and it is with them that they will end up.

The involvement of these organizations in the programs and projects of the government, even those
that are not necessarily connected with the administration of justice, contribute to the lessening of
crimes, as their efforts are diverted to more productive matters. They can also contribute immensely in
solving crimes by assisting in police investigations, giving testimonies, providing leads for the arrest of
criminals. [191]

Note: The aforesaid topics presented about Philippine Criminal Justice System are just simple
background. The comprehensive illustration about the System is provided in the subject Introduction to
Philippine Criminal Justice System.
APPENDIX D. Lessons 6 and 7 Practical Exercises, pages 94-96

End of Chapter II.

CHAPTER III

PHILIPPINE CRIMINOLOGY

This chapter offered the historical influences of western criminology to the Philippine criminology in
terms of Philippine criminal law, police organization and policing, judicial system, as well as punishment
and correction. Likewise, it provided topics about criminology as a course and as a profession in the
country. Lastly, for the purpose of simple comparison of Philippine criminology with other countries, this
section included the scope of criminology of selected countries.

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this chapter, students are expected to have:

a. Recognized and familiarized the development of criminology in the country;

b. Analyzed how the criminology perspective of western countries influenced criminology in the
country in terms of criminal law, Philippine judicial system (law enforcement, prosecution,
court, and penology), and the like;
c. Acquainted about criminology as a profession in the country; and
d. Compared criminology in the country with other selected countries.

Lesson 1. Criminology in the Philippines

Spanish Influence on the Philippine Criminology The Spanish government had a huge influence not only
to Filipino Culture but also to criminology particularly on criminal law, police and policing, penology or
correction, or criminal justice system as a whole taking into consideration the 333 years of control by
Spain over the Philippines. Relative thereto, the American government had its influences too taking into
account their control over the country for decades. On this, the succeeding presentations are noted
significant contributions of the Spanish and American Government to Philippine criminology.

Laws Implemented during Spanish Colonization

a. Penal Code (Codigo Penal)

b. Code of Criminal Procedure (Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal)
c. Civil Code (Codigo Civil)
d. Code of Civil Procedure (Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil)
e. Code of Commerce (Codigo de Comercio)リ
It is worth to note that the Codigo Penal was made applicable and extended to the Philippines by Royal
Decree of 1870. This was replaced by the Old Penal Code which was put in place by Spanish authorities,
and took effect in the Philippines on July 14, 1876. This law was effective in the Philippines until the
American colonization of the Philippines. The Old Penal Code was revised on December 8, 1930 by virtue
of Act. No. 3815 which is known as the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines or simply the Revised
Penal Code. [2] However, the American colonial government enacted several laws to eradicate the
vestiges of Spanish rule, including new codes of criminal and civil procedure.

The Revised Penal Code

The Revised Penal Code (RPC) took effect on January 1, 1932. It is composed of two parts the Book One
and Book Two.

Book One provided the general provisions on the application of the law, and the general principles of
criminal law. It defined felonies and circumstances which affect criminal liability, justifying circumstances
and circumstances which exempt, mitigate or aggravate criminal liability, and defined the classification,
duration, and effects of criminal penalties. Also, it provided for the extinction and survival of criminal
and civil liabilities in crimes. [3]

Book Two, on the other hand, defined the specific crimes and the penalties imposable for each crime.
Crimes are classified into crimes against national security (such as treason, espionage and piracy), crimes
against the fundamental laws of the state (rebellion, coup d’etat, sedition and public disorders), crimes
against public interest (counterfeiting of currency, falsification of public documents), crimes against
public morals, crimes committed by public officers, crimes against persons (parricide, murder, physical
injuries, rape), crimes against security (kidnapping), and crimes against property (robbery, theft), among
others. Criminal negligence is also an offense under the RPC. [4]

Law Enforcement Agencies

1. Carabineros de Seguridad Publico (1972). The Carabineros de Seguridad Publico was organized
for the purpose of carrying out the regulations of the state. In 1781, it was given the special
commission as custodian of the tobacco monopoly. It was later known as Cuerpo De Carabineros
De Seguridad Publica by virtue of Royal Decree of December 20, 1842. Its duties became police –
like and more general which included the prosecution of law breakers, maintenance of peace
and order, and execution of laws.

2. Guardilleros (1836). The Guardilleros was a body of rural police organization established by Royal
Decree provided that 5% of the able- bodied male inhabitants of each province were to be enlisted
in the police organization for 3 years tour of duty.

3. Guardia Civil (Civil Guards, 1852). The Guardia Civil was created by Royal Decree issued by the
Crown on February 12, 1852, to partially relieve the Spanish Peninsula Troops of their work in
policing towns. They were under the Governor or Alcalde and they had bright and showy uniform,
distinctly prominent insignia, and rigidly maintained military bearing.

Note: On November 30, 1890, the American colonial government formed a national police force
known as Insular Police Force during the Philippine-American War as well as formed the Insular
Constabulary on July 18, 1901.15)
Philippine Judicial System

1. Spanish Colonial Government. The Spanish did not greatly alter this indigenous system of
justice, although the system was to change as the society around it changed. The Royal
Audiencia was established in the Philippines in 1583. This served as an overriding legal body,
somewhat like a supreme court, but having administrative as well as legal functions. It took the
decision to follow the traditional customs in place in the Philippines with regard to matters of
slavery, inheritance, marriage, and other civil matters. This was codified in 1599 by Juan de
Plasencia when the customary law of the Tagalogs was defined as the common law throughout
the Philippines. Spanish law applied in all criminal cases and civil disputes not covered by
customary law. (6) The Spanish retained this system of justice throughout their occupation of
the Philippines, allowing the native population a substantial degree of autonomy in running their
affairs. Even by the mid-nineteenth century, each township in a province still had what was
called a gobernadorcillo [a petty governor] who was an elected magistrate for the town. He had
a number of alguaciles [assistants] in charge of the administration of justice. Each town was also
divided into a number of barangay led by a cabeza de barangay [a village headman or chief]
replacing the earlier dato' and in charge of the 40 to 50 families resident there. To maintain law
and order the gobernadorcillo also appointed officials called bilánggo for each barangay. The
gobernadorcillo, as a magistrate, tried civil cases involving small sums of money with appeals
going to the alguaciles. For criminal cases and civil suits involving large sums of money, the
gobernadorcillo acted as a court of first instance with appeals going to the Audiencia. 171
2. American Colonial Government. American colonial government 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. Also, it extended the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution to the
archipelago. Hence, 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 is 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. [8]
In summary, the justice system in the Philippines is mixed legal system of civil, common, Islamic,
and customary law. The formal system of trials, appeals, and prisons is similar to that of the
United States. Civil code procedures on family and property and the absence of jury trial were
attributable to Spanish influences, but most important statutes governing trade and commerce,
labor relations, taxation, banking and currency, and governmental operations were of United
States derivation, introduced at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Punishment and Corrections Spanish Colonial Government Punishment varied depending on
the severity of the crime and the Person against whom it was perpetrated. Death was a common
sentence, although it may not have been commonly carried out. It was frequently commuted to
a fine which the guilty party had to pay within a set period of time. Failure to pay would result in
enslavement. The guilty could also be incarcerated. This usually meant being chained or placed
in a pillory or stocks, although discrete rooms or buildings could have served as prisons in the
larger towns.
Slavery also existed during the Spanish era until it was outlawed by Spanish government in 1591,
this meant that the Spanish in the Philippines could not legally hold slaves. There were,
however, inconsistencies in this policy. Negritos and Moslems, for example, who did not
recognize Spanish authority, could be kept as slaves. This policy at first had little effect on
slavery as practiced by the native population. By the end of the seventeenth century, however,
the Spanish legislated against the practice of inherited slavery. Children born to slaves (gintubo’)
were now free. With regard to debt slavery, the Spanish were less successful in eliminating this
practice. It can be argued that the existence of sharecropping in the present-day Philippines is
really a system that evolved
During Spanish colonial rule, the most common methods of execution were death by firing
squad (especially for treason/military crimes, usually reserved for independence fighters) and
garrotting. A prominent example of death by firing squad is the execution of José Rizal on the
morning of December 30, 1896, in the park that now bears his name. [9] In the case of garroting,
before Jose Rizal was executed, the most memorable execution was that of the three secular
Filipino priests: Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora (GomBurZa) whose necks
were broken by the garrote. The use of firing squad uad or garrotte as methods of execution for
capital offenses was replaced by the use of electric chair in 1926.[10]
The electric chair (Spanish: silla eléctrica; Filipino: silya elektrika) was Introduced by the United
States’ colonial Insular Government, [10] making the Philippines the only other country to
employ this method. The last colonial-era execution took place under Governor-General
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. in February 1932. There were no executions under Manuel L. Quezon,
the first President of the Commonwealth.[1]
Note: At present, death penalty, a capital punishment in the country is suspended in 2006
through Republic Act No. 9346, also known as An Act Prohibiting the Imposition of the Death
Penalty in the Philippines. The Law downgraded the death penalty to life imprisonment.[12]
Prisons Established during the Spanish Government
a. Old Bilibid Prison (now the Manila City Jail) [13]
b. San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm[14]
Prisons Established during the American Government
a. Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm
b. Correctional Institution for Women
c. Davao Prison and Penal Colony
d. New Bilibid Prison 15,16]
Prisons Established by the Philippine Government
a. Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm
b. Leyte Regional Prison
It is worth to note that the Republic Act No. 10575 or known as the Bureau of Corrections Act of
2013 was signed into law on May 24, 2013. It is fully described as An Act Strengthening the
Bureau of Corrections and Providing Funds Therefor.
According thereto, the “State shall provide for the modernization, professionalization and
restructuring of the Bureau of Corrections by upgrading its facilities, increasing the number of its
personnel, upgrading the level of qualifications of their personnel and standardizing their basic
In summary, the Spanish and American governments had really influenced the progression of
Philippine criminology. Their penal laws, system of police or policing, punishment or correction,
 and criminal justice practices were significant factors in the development of criminology in the
country. Beyond doubt, some influences are still applicable today.
Timeline of Death Penalty in the Philippines
The imposition of the death penalty in the country has had a repressive history. For the most
part (from 1848 to 1987), it was used to curtail the liberties, freedoms and rights of the Filipino
people. In recent history, however, the death penalty was re-imposed as a knee-jerk response to
what has largely been seen as rising criminality in the country. The following, with help from the
Mamamayang Tutol sa Bitay-Movement for Restorative Justice, traces the death penalty’s
historical roots and context in Philippine society:
Spanish Period (1521-1898)
a. Spanish colonizers brought with them medieval Europe’s penal system, including
executions.
b. Capital punishment during the early Spanish Period took various forms including burning,
decapitation, drowning, flaying, garrote, hanging. Shooting, stabbing and others.
c. Capital punishment was enshrined in the 1848 Spanish Codigo Penal and was only imposed
on locals who challenged the established authority of the colonizers.
d. Between 1840-1857, recorded death sentences totaled 1,703 with 46 actual executions.
e. Filipinos who were meted the death penalty include Magat Salamat (1587); the native
clergies Gomez, Burgos and Zamora who were garroted in 1872; and Dr. Jose Rizal, executed
on December 30, 1896.
American Period (1898-1934)
a. The American colonizers, adopting most of the provisions under the Codigo Penal of 1848,
retained the death penalty.
b. The Codigo Penal was revised in 1932. Treason, parricide, piracy, kidnapping, murder, rape,
and robbery with homicide were considered capital offenses and warranted the death
penalty.
c. The Sedition Law (1901); Brigandage Act (1902); Reconcentration Act (1903); and Flag Law
(1907) were enacted to sanction the use of force, including death, against all nationalist
Filipinos.
d. Macario Sakay was one of those sentenced to die for leading a resistance group. He was
sentenced to die by public hanging.
e. The capital punishment continued to be an integral part of the pacification process to
suppress any resistance to American authority.

Japanese Occupation (1941-1945)

There were no recorded or documented cases of executions through the death penalty during this
period simply because extrajudicial executions were widely practiced as part of the pacification of the
country.

Post-World War II

a. Espionage is added to the list of capital offenses.

b. The Anti-Subversion Law called for the death penalty for all Communist leaders. However, no
executions were recorded for any captured communist leader.
 c. For the period of 1946-1965, 35 people were executed for offenses that the Supreme Court
labeled as “crimes of senseless depravity or extreme criminal perversity.”

The Marcos Years (1965-1986I

a. Deterrence became the official justification for the imposition of the death penalty. This is the
same justification used for the declaration of Martial Law in 1972.
b. The number of capital crimes increased to a total of 24. Some crimes which were made
punishable by death through laws and decrees during the Marcos period were subversion,
possession of firearms, arson, hijacking, embezzlement, drug-related offenses, unlawful
possession of firearms, illegal fishing and cattle rustling.
c. Jaime Jose, Basilio Pineda, and Edgardo Aquino were executed for the gang rape of movie star
Maggie dela Riva in 1972. Despite prohibitions against public executions, the execution of the
three was done in full view of the public.
d. Nineteen executions took place during the Pre-Martial Law period. Twelve were executed during
Martial Law.
e. Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. was sentenced to die by firing squad for charges of murder,
subversion and illegal possession of firearm in 1977.
f. The last judicial execution under the Marcos years was in October 1976 when Marcelo San Jose
was executed by electrocution. Similar to the reasons for the imposition of capital punishment
during the Colonial Periods, the death penalty during the Marcos Regime was imposed to quell
rebellion and social unrest.

President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino (1986-1992)

a. The Death Penalty was “abolished” under the 1987 Constitution.

b. The Philippines became the first Asian country to abolish the death penalty for all
c. All death sentences were reduced to reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment.
d. In 1988, the military started lobbying for the imposition of the death penalty for crimes
committed by the CPP-NPA.

President Fidel Valdez Ramos (1993-1998)

a. A series of high-profile crimes during this period, including the murder of Eileen Sarmenta and Allan
Gomez, created public impression that heinous crimes were on the rise.

b. The Ramos administration re-imposed the death penalty by virtue of Republic Act No. 7659 in
December 1993 to address the rising criminality and incidence of heinous crimes.

c. The Death Penalty Law lists a total of 46 crimes punishable by death; 25 of these are death mandatory
while 21 are death eligible.

d. Republic Act No. 8177 mandates that a death sentence shall be carried out through lethal injection.

President Joseph Ejercito Estrada (1998-2001)

a. Leo Echegaray was executed in February, 1999 and was followed by six other executions for various
heinous crimes.
b. In 1999, the bumper year for executions, the national crime volume, instead of abating, ironically
increased by 15.3 percent or a total of 82,538 (from 71,527 crimes in the previous year).

c. Estrada issued a de facto moratorium on executions in the face of church-led campaigns to abolish the
death penalty and in observance of the Jubilee Year.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001-2010)

a. Arroyo publicly stated that she is not in favor of executions.

b. Due to the rise in crimes related to drugs and kidnappings that targeted the Filipino-Chinese
community, she announced that she would resume executions "to sow fear into the hearts of criminals."

c. Arroyo lifted the de facto moratorium issued by Estrada on December 5, 2003.

d. Even as executions were set to resume in January 2004, this did not push through by virtue of a
Supreme Court decision to reopen the Lara- Licayan case.

e. Since then, the administration has been issuing reprieves on scheduled executions without actually
issuing a moratorium.

f. With the amendment of Republic Act No. 8353 (Anti-Rape Law of 1997) and Republic Act No. 9165
(Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002), there are now 52 capital offenses, 30 of which are death
mandatory and 22 are death eligible.[18]