Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan filed House Bill (HB) 7972, which he said “aims to amend Article 19 of the Revised Penal Code to include a section on persons in authority acting as accessories to the commission of heinous crimes,” or those “who directly caused or ordered the destruction or concealment of vital evidence.”
Although Yamsuan did not mention specific cases that prompted the filing of the bill, the Philippine National Police recorded several cases involving its erring personnel and officers last year.
One of them was the revelation about the massive attempt to cover up the arrest of dismissed Police Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo in relation to 990 kg of P6.7 billion worth of shabu (crystal meth) confiscated from him during an anti-drug raid in Tondo, Manila in 2022.
“Law enforcers and other persons in authority are responsible for maintaining public order and preventing crime. They should be held to a higher standard of behavior and conduct as protectors of the people,” the lawmaker said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Thus, when they turn out to be the problem themselves by acting as accessories to the commission of heinous crimes, they become hoodlums in uniform who deserve to be severely punished under the law,” he added.
According to Yamsuan, the Penal Code currently imposes a penalty two degrees lower than that prescribed by law if the offenders acted as accessories.
Under HB 7972, however, he proposed to make the penalty “one degree lower than that prescribed by law for the consummated felony” if the offense is a heinous crime under existing laws.
“This means persons in authority who acted as accessories to the commission of heinous crimes will be penalized with reclusion temporal or imprisonment of between 12 to 20 years,” the lawmaker said, instead of the current maximum 12-year jail term.
Citing Republic Act 7659, Yamsuan said heinous crimes include the “importation, distribution, manufacturing and possession of illegal drugs.”
Other offenses also classified as heinous crimes are “treason, piracy in general and mutiny on the high seas in Philippine waters; qualified piracy; qualified bribery; parricide; murder; infanticide; kidnapping and serious illegal detention; robbery with violence against or intimidation of persons; destructive arson; and rape,” he added.