DOJ holds first public forum for new Criminal Code

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MANILA, Philippines―The Department of Justice (DOJ) held the first public forum in Manila attended by 120 participants from the executive, judiciary, and legislative branches of the government in order to solicit their insights for the new Criminal Code Wednesday.

In a statement, DOJ said that the new criminal code will aid in addressing the worsening crime situation in the country.

“We happily announced that after almost four years of intense work and close collaboration with stakeholders, the Criminal Code Committee headed by our Assistant Secretary Geronimo L. Sy finally completed a simple and relevant output that will address a systemic criminal justice issue – a clear and consistent criminal law for the country,” said Secretary of Justice Leila M. De Lima in a statement.

The justice department said that the forum was held to allow concerned stakeholders to make “specific contributions” to the new Criminal Code.

It also marked the first of a series of public consultations to be conducted nationwide to gather inputs on the new criminal code.

The new Criminal Code Books 1 and 2 were completed in 2012 and 2014, respectively.

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