PD 532 Part 2: Brigandage/Highway Robbery

Now that you've read Part 1, here's the second part of the law. 

Highway robbery or brigandage refers to any of the following acts:

1.) Seizing a person for ransom, extortion or other illegal purposes

2.) Taking the property of another person by force or intimidation, force on things or other illegal means

To complete the qualifications, it must be committed by any person on any highway in the Philippines. Highways in the Philippines include roads, bridges, railroads, streets and even passages where vehicles engaged in transport of persons and/or cargo pass through.

Unlike the Revised Penal Code's requirements on brigandage the number of perpetrators doesn't matter; hence even a single person who acted alone can be guilty of highway robbery. The prosecution also has to prove that the accused, were organized for the purpose of indiscriminately committing robbery. If, however, the robbery was aimed at a specific target, another article of the Revised Penal Code (294) takes control.

Under Art. 306 of the Revised Penal Code, forming of a band (which requires at least 4 persons) is an aggravating circumstance for a group of people who intend to commit robbery. Highway robbery under PD 532 is therefore different from robbery on the highway under the Revised Penal Code in that PD 532 is specific (and even worse) than mere robbery on the highway.

The penalties for highway robbery under PD 532 are the following:

1.) For the crime itself, reclusion temporal minimum

2.) If physical injuries or other crimes were committed during or on occasion of the brigandage, the penalty is reclusion temporal medium to maximum

3.) Reclusion perpetua is imposed if during the commission of the crime or on its occasion the following crimes were committed: kidnapping for ransom or extortion, murder, homicide or rape

What is reclusion perpetua in both parts of PD 532 used to be the death penalty, which was repealed by RA 9346.