The drafting of the new Criminal Code for the Philippines entered its second phase last 4 July 2012 when the Criminal Code Committee (CCC) convened the Experts Group in Manila to present the status of the draft of the new “Criminal Code Book 1”, which was transmitted to the Office of the President last June, and to set the general direction and guidelines for the drafting of Book 2.

Click here to view the presentation on the Status of the CCC’s work on the project.

The drafting of the new Criminal Code is a joint project of the Department of Justice, the German Federal Foreign Office and the Hanns Seidel Foundation/Germany (HSF). The draft criminal code will eventually be submitted to Congress in two books: Book 1, which will contain over-arching general principles of criminal law; and, Book2, which will deal with the specific classes of crimes.

Chairing the CCC is DOJ Assistant Secretary Geronimo L. Sy, who was elemental in the successful implementation of the succession of meetings, consultative activities and writeshops which led to the eventual completion of the draft of Book 1.  ASec. Sy thanked the Experts, including the CCC Secretariat, for their consistent efforts and substantial inputs, as well as the project partners, the German Federal Foreign Office and the Hanns Seidel Foundation for their continued support and warmly welcomed their Representatives to the meeting.

The activity was graced by the presence of Mr. Ralph Timmermann, Chargé d'affaires of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Philippines, who gave a short message of commendation and encouragement to the CCC towards the timely completion of the draft criminal code and its submission to Congress.

Mr. Paul G. Schaefer, Resident Representative of the HSF, also attended the activity. In his message, he thanked the Members of the CCC and of the Experts Group for their continued commitment, congratulated them on the successful completion of the draft of Book 1 and expressed positive hopes for the efficacious drafting and completion of Book 2. Both Mr. Timmermann and Mr. Schaefer reaffirmed the continued support of their respective offices for the project.

During the activity, three working groups were created to meet on the three types of crimes, namely: (1) crimes against the State, (2) crimes against persons and (3) crimes against property. Amongst those present were representatives from government agencies, such as the Congress, the Office of the Executive Secretary, the Supreme Court, the Philippine Judicial Academy (PhilJA), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the DOJ, including its attached agencies  -- Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Bureau of Immigration (BI), Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP), Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), Parole and Probation Administration (PPA), Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC), and Land Registration Authority (LRA) – as well as of civil society organisations and the academe, such as the Chief Prosecutor’s Association (CPROSA), Philippine Association of Law Schools (PALS), Transparency International Philippines (TI) and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).

The draft of Book 1 was presented during a roadshow in Legazpi City last May, combined with a public forum during which insights for Book 2 were solicited from the participants. For the drafting of Book 2, the Criminal Code Committee will continue these activities and also gather insights and feedback from the general public, particularly the stakeholders, through consultations with agencies having particular expertise in specific crimes, among other consultative activities, including focus group discussions, surveys, public fora and presentations to high-level officials. The second roadshow for the draft of Book 1 combined with a public forum for Book 2 was held in Cebu City on 6 July 2012. The next Experts Group Meeting will be held on 13 July 2012.