Crime and Senator Joseph Estrada

The most discussed law these days is Re open typify 7080 new(prenominal)wise known as the law on plunder. Seen as a deterrent to prevent customary officials from stealing m iodiney from the government activity, the plunder law was passed in 1991 with the most significant signatory being one Senator Joseph Estrada. In this edition of the Law Professor, we shall now examine the intricacies of the Plunder Law. What is plunder and how is it committed?According to instalment 2 of RA 7080, plunder is committed when a unexclusive officer who, by himself or in connivance with members of his family, relatives by resemblance or consanguinity, business associates, subordinates or other persons, amasses, accumulates or acquires ill-gotten riches through a conspiracy or series of overt or criminal acts as expound in Section 1 (d) of RA 7080 in the aggregate amount or total comfort of at least Fifty million pesos (P50,000,000. 00).In addition, any person who participated with the said public officer in the commission of plunder shall likewise be penalize. The criminal acts described in Section 1 (d) argon as follows 1. Through misappropriation, conversion, misuse, or malversation of public funds or raids on the public treasury 2. By receiving, without delay or indirectly, any commission, gift, share, percentage, kickbacks or any/or entity in connection with any government contract or project or by reason of the office or position of the public officer concerned 3.By the illegal or fraudulent conveyance or disposition of assets belonging to the subject field government or any of its subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities or government-owned or controlled corporations and their subsidiaries 4. By obtaining, receiving or accepting directly or indirectly any shares of stock, equity or any other form of interest or participation including the promise of future employment in any business enterprise or travail 5.By establishing agricultural, industrial or comme rcial monopolies or other combinations and/or implementation of decrees and orders intended to benefit occurrence persons or special interests or, 6. By taking undue advantage of official position, authority, relationship, connection or check to unjustly enrich himself or themselves at the expense and to the damage and prejudice of the Filipino people and the state of the Philippines. In the original version of RA 7080, the offender was liable only if the aggregate amount amassed is at least Seventy-five million pesos(P75,000,000. 00) with the corresponding penalty of life imprisonment with perpetual absolute disqualification from prop any public office. However, RA 7659 (The Death Penalty Law) amended Section 2 of RA 7080, and bring down the amount to Fifty million pesos and increased the imposable penalty to death, to wit Sec. 12. Section 2 of Republic human activity No. 7080 (An Act Defining and Penalizing the abomination of Plunder) is hereby amended to read as follows Se c. 2. Definition of the Crime of Plunder Penalties. Any public officer who, by himself or in connivance with members of his family, relatives by affinity or consanguinity, business associates, subordinates or other persons, amasses, accumulates or acquires ill-gotten wealth through a combination or series of overt criminal acts as described in Section 1 (d) hereof in the aggregate amount or total value of at least Fifty million pesos (P50,000,000. 00) shall be guilty of the crime of plunder and shall be punished by reclusion perpetua to death.Any person who participated with the said public officer in the commission of an offense contributing to the crime of plunder shall likewise be punished for such offense. In the imposition of penalties, the degree of participation and the attendance of mitigating and extenuating circumstances, as provided by the rewrite Penal Code, shall be considered by the court. The court shall declare any and all ill-gotten wealth and their interests and o ther incomes and assets including the properties and shares of stocks derived from the deposit or investment thereof forfeited in favor of the State. Section 4 of RA 7080 also prescribes the method for proving that the crime of plunder was committed. It states that for purposes of establishing the crime of plunder, it shall not be necessary to prove distributively and every criminal act done by the accused in furtherance of the fascinate or conspiracy to amass, accumulate or acquire ill-gotten wealth, it being sufficient to establish beyond apt doubt a pattern of overt or criminal acts indicative of the overall unlawful scheme or conspiracy.