AN ACT AMENDING ARTICLE 39 OF ACT NO. 3815, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE REVISED PENAL CODE

SECTION 1. Article 39 of Act No. 3815, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

“Art. 39. Subsidiary Penalty.
– If the convict has no property with which to meet the fine mentioned
in paragraph 3 of the next preceding article, he shall be subject to a
subsidiary personal liability at the rate of one day for each amount
equivalent to the highest minimum wage rate prevailing in the
Philippines at the time of the rendition of judgment of conviction by
the trial court, subject to the following rules:

“1. If the principal penalty imposed be prision correctional or arresto
and fine, he shall remain under confinement until his fine referred in
the preceding paragraph is satisfied, but his subsidiary imprisonment
shall not exceed one-third of the term of the sentence, and in no case
shall it continue for more than one year, and no fraction or part of a
day shall be counted against the prisoner.

“2. When the principal
penalty imposed be only a fine, the subsidiary imprisonment shall not
exceed six months, if the culprit shall have been prosecuted for a grave
or less grave felony, and shall not exceed fifteen days, if for a fight
felony.

“3. When the principal penalty imposed is higher than prision correctional, no subsidiary imprisonment shall be imposed upon the culprit.

“4.
If the principal penalty imposed is not to be executed by confinement
in a penal institution, but such penalty is of fixed duration, the
convict, during the period of time established in the preceding rules,
shall continue to suffer the same deprivations as those of which the
principal penalty consists.

“5. The subsidiary personal liability
which the convict may have suffered by reason of his insolvency shall
not relieve him from the fine in case his financial circumstances should
improve.” (As amended by Republic Act No. 5465, which lapsed into law on April 21, 1969.)

SEC. 2. Separability Clause.
– If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or unconstitutional,
the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall
remain valid and subsisting.

SEC. 3. Repealing Clause. –
All laws, presidential decrees or issuances, executive orders, letters
of instruction, administrative orders or rules and regulations which may
be inconsistent with this Act shall be deemed repealed, amended or
modified accordingly.

SEC. 4. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,

This
Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 2808 and House Bill No.
600 was finally passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives
on May 23, 2011 and January 30, 2012, respectively.

Approved: April 10, 2012