BATAS

• ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses


  An international code of ethics for nurses first adopted by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) in 1953, revised and reaffirmed at various times since, most recently with this review and revision completed in 2012
• Nurses have four fundamental responsibilities: to promote health, to prevent illness, to restore health, and to alleviate suffering
• The need for nursing is universal
• Inherent in nursing is a respect for human rights, including cultural rights, the right to life and choice, to dignity and to be treated with respect
• Nursing care is respectful of and unrestricted by considerations of age, color, creed, culture, disability or illness, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, politics, race or social status
• Nurses render health services to the individual, the family and the community and coordinate their services with those of related groups
• Elements of the ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses

  • Nurses and people
  • Nurses and practice
  • Nurses and the profession
  • Nurses and co-workers
• Nurses and people


  The nurse's primary professional responsibility is to people requiring nursing care
• Nurses and practice


  The nurse carries personal responsibility and accountability for nursing practice, and for maintaining competence by continual learning
• Nurses and the profession

  The nurse assumes the major role in determining and implementing acceptable standards of clinical nursing practice, management, research and education
• Nurses and co-workers


  The nurse sustains a collaborative and respectful relationship with co-workers in nursing and other fields
• The ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses is a guide for action based on social values and needs, and must be understood, internalized and used by nurses in all aspects of their work
• The Criminal Code of the Philippines covers crimes committed within the Philippines or against a government facility of the Philippines abroad, crimes committed outside the Philippines against any Philippine citizen or entity registered in the Philippines, crimes committed outside the Philippines by a Philippine citizen, and crimes against humanity and the law of nations
• The State has the primary duty to investigate and prosecute crimes and to impose penalties
• Only intentional conduct is punishable, and negligent conduct is punishable only when specifically provided under the Criminal Code or other laws
• When a single act produces two or more crimes, the accused shall be charged in one indictment for all the crimes but may be convicted only for the crime proved with the highest penalty
• A minor under 13 years do not incur criminal responsibility, and a minor aged 13 but less than 18 years old who commits a crime punishable by penalty above Level 4 shall be tried as an adult and, if convicted, liable to the penalty of imprisonment
• An insane person does not incur criminal responsibility, and a person acting in self defense or in defense of another does not incur criminal responsibility
• A person committing a crime is either a principal or an accessory, and an attempt to commit a crime shall be punishable only when provided by the Criminal Code or other special penal laws
• Aggravating circumstances result in the imposition of the penalty in the higher range, and mitigating circumstances result in the imposition of the penalty in the lower range
• Penalties are imposed for punishment, reformation and rehabilitation, and an accused convicted of a crime shall be held civilly liable for damages that have been proved
• Kinds of penalties that may be imposed

  • Imprisonment
  • Fine
  • Suspension or cancellation of benefits or corporate privileges
  • Community service
  • Disqualification or suspension permanently or for the duration of the sentence
  • Suspension of the right to vote or be voted for in any election
  • Civil interdiction for the duration of the sentence imposed
  • Forfeiture of benefits
  • Confiscation and forfeiture of proceeds and instruments of crime
• The imposition of penalties shall be guided by the following:
• Principles guiding imposition of penalties

  • The court shall impose the principal penalty or alternative penalty and the accessory penalties, as applicable
  • Fine as a principal penalty or an alternative penalty shall be equivalent to a multiple of the average daily income of the offender but in no case lower than the daily minimum wage of the place where the crime is committed, or the value of the property, in cases of property crimes
  • Subsidiary penalty of community service shall be imposed when the offender fails to pay the fine
  • Probation may be availed of for Level 1 and 2 crimes
  • A first time offender of a Level 1 crime shall render community service upon application and approval of the Court
  • Community service may be included as one of the conditions for probation in Level 2 crimes
  • The duration of community service shall be equivalent to the prison term
  • The object, instrument or proceeds of the crime shall be destroyed, confiscated or forfeited
  • The court shall order the return of the property or its equivalent and indemnification as damages
• Principles guiding computation of penalties

  • Penalties shall be computed from the day the judgment becomes final
  • Preventive detention shall be credited to the term of imprisonment imposed
• Principles guiding execution of penalties

  • The sentence shall be suspended if the offender becomes insane
  • The penalty of two or more imprisonment terms shall be served successively, but in no case shall a person be imprisoned for more than 40 years
• Ways criminal responsibility is extinguished


  • Service of penalty
  • Amnesty
  • Absolute Pardon
  • Prescription
  • Amicable settlement - , except in cases of crimes against the State, and subject to the court's discretion and approval, considering all relevant circumstances of the case in the interest of justice and peace
• Ways criminal responsibility is diminished

  • Conditional pardon
  • Commutation of sentence
  • Parole
  • Probation
• Prescription periods for crimes

  • Crimes punishable by life imprisonment do not prescribe
  • Level 5 crimes prescribe in 25 years
  • Level 4 crimes prescribe in 15 years
  • Level 3 crimes prescribe in 10 years
  • Level 2 crimes prescribe in five years
  • Level 1 crimes prescribe in one year
• The period of prescription shall not run when the crime is under any formal proceedings or investigation and shall run again when the proceedings did not result in the filing of an information in court.
• No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same crime.
• An appeal from a dismissal or acquittal of a level 4 crime or higher based on certain grounds shall not constitute a second jeopardy.
• Equivalents of penalties under the Revised Penal Code in the new Code

  • Death = Life imprisonment
  • Reclusion perpetua = More than 20 years to 30 years
  • Reclusion temporal = More than 10 years to 20 years
  • Prision mayor = More than 5 years to 10 years
  • Prision correccional medium to Prision correccional maximum = More than 1 year to 5 years
  • Arresto menor to prision correccional minimum = More than 10 days to 1 year
• Equivalents of fines under the Revised Penal Code in the new Code

  • More than P48,000 = Level life imprisonment fine
  • More than P24,000 to P48,000 = Level 5 fine
  • More than P12,000 to P24,000 = Level 4 fine
  • More than P6,000 to P12,000 = Level 3 fine
  • P200 to P6,000 = Level 2 fine
  • Less than P200 = Level 1 fine
• Upon the effectivity of this Code, the penalties for the crimes defined and penalized under Book 2 shall be the corresponding penalties provided in the above paragraphs.
• Definitions of terms


  • Offended party – the State
  • Victim - a person who sustains injury or damage as a result of the commission of a crime
  • Respondent - a person under investigation for the commission of a crime
  • Accused – a person charged in court with the commission of a crime
  • Offender - a person sentenced by final judgment for the commission of a crime
  • Detainee - a person under detention before final judgment
  • Detention facility – a place of confinement for detainees
  • Judgment - an order or decision issued by a court which disposes a case
  • Final judgment – a judgment that is no longer subject to appeal
  • Penalty - the punishment for the commission of a crime
  • Inmate – a person serving sentence of imprisonment
  • Correctional facility – a place of confinement for inmates
  • Prescription - the extinction of the right of the State to prosecute by lapse of time
• Laws repealed


  • Articles 1 to 113, Revised Penal Code (Act No. 3815, as amended)
  • Indeterminate Sentence Law (Act No. 4103, as amended)
  • Probation Law of 1976 (Presidential Decree No. 968, as amended)
  • An Act Providing for Enforcement of Conditions of Pardon (Act No. 15)
  • An Act to Establish Periods of Prescription for Violations Penalized by Special Acts and Municipal Ordinances and to Provide When Prescription Shall Begin to Run (Act No. 3326)
  • Death Penalty Law (Republic Act No. 7659)
  • Act Designating Death by Lethal Injection (Republic Act No. 8177)
  • Article 192, Child and Youth Welfare Code (Presidential Decree No. 603)
  • Section 66, Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (Republic Act No. 9165)
  • Sections 6, 7 and 20 of Republic Act No. 9344 – Juvenile Justice Welfare Act of 2006
  • Section 66 of Republic Act No. 9165 - Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002
  • Section 5 of Republic Act No. 9372 - Human Security Act of 2007
  • Section 27 of Republic Act No. 9745 - Anti-Torture Act 0f 2009
  • Republic Act No. 10159 - An Act Amending Article 39 of Act No. 3815, as Amended
  • Section 12 Republic Act No. 8484 - Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998
  • Commonwealth Act 217 - Act Amending Articles 61, 70 and 71 of the Revised Penal Code
• All other laws and issuances not consistent with the provisions of this Code are hereby repealed.
• Functions of the Criminal Justice Policy and Research Center


  • Serves as the primary research arm of the government in evaluating and advocating for reforms in the framework and philosophy of the criminal justice system
  • Provides analysis, evaluation and assistance to criminal justice agencies
  • Adopts simple, modern and inter-disciplinary, holistic and systems approach
  • Employs both empirical and theoretical methods to address gaps in statistical data, working definitions and common usage fields in the criminal justice system
  • Simplifies processes and develop systems to improve the governance and administration of the criminal justice system
  • Provides for guidelines in the implementation of this Code during the transitory stage
• If any portion of this Code, or its application to any person or circumstance, is declared unconstitutional, the remaining unaffected portions or the application of such portion to other persons or circumstances shall remain in full force and effect.