Justice and law in the Philippines

From Worldatplay

Although the Philippines is a unitary, generally centralized state, its justice system and law enforcement are relatively de-centralized, with most offenses proscribed by provincial and local governments. With the exception of military crimes, the Department of Justice code contains treason, piracy, breach of contract, defrauding the central government, perjury (to a national court or Congress), contempt (in a national court or Congress), currency crimes (counterfeiting, etc.), and banking crimes.

Murder, assault, rape, armed robbery, vandalism, etc. are all crimes dealt with by provincial and local governments. While most provinces have similar punishments for the same crime, others differ radically; however, all are alike in that each one has the death penalty for first degree murder, rape, and other "heinous crimes."

Most provinces, as well as the central government, include asset forfeiture for crimes against property (generally, double the value of property in question, although this varies). If the criminal's assets are insufficient to cover the damages, he goes into indentured servitude until his debt is paid off. If the crime results in bodily injury to the victim(s), the criminal must pay double the cost of the medical treatment for the victim(s), and, as before, if the criminal's assets are insufficient, he goes into indentured servitude until the debt is paid off.

Criminals in indentured servitude perform manual labor for long hours and little pay; what pay they do earn covers the costs of their confinement and the costs of the police investigation of their crimes. Most often, the manual labor includes working on government infrastructure projects, and more often than not the work is difficult and potentially very dangerous.

Basic accomodations for prisoners are sparse: a cot for sleeping and military rations for food. Prison conditions are harsh and unsanitary, and abuse of prisoners remains a widespread problem that has attracted the concern of human rights organizations abroad. The government has ordered an inquiry into the problem, and some progress is being made, but there is still a long way to go. While torture is and has always been strictly illegal, it is still practiced, especially in remote prisons outside the scrutiny of the central government. Rarely, prisoners have been known to die of mistreatment.

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Immigration

The Philippines has a liberal immigration system and, with few exceptions, nearly all prospective immigrants are allowed to emigrate to the country. Exceptions include the following:

• Convicted felons
• Communists, Islamists, and others considered a threat to national security
• Persons carrying highly infectious diseases

In addition, people from certain countries cannot enter the Philippines, if those countries are deemed to be terrorist-sponsor states, or enemy states. Exceptions can be made if a claim for asylum is proven to the Bureau of Immigration.

To become a citizen, an immigrant must meet the following criteria:

• Must be able to speak English and Filipino fluently
• Must be able to write in English and Filipino
• Must have lived and worked in the Philippines for a minimum of five years
• Cannot have any criminal convictions whatsoever
• Must pass a history test and a civics test with a score of 80% or higher
• Must take an oath of loyalty

Citizenship is only automatic for the children of citizens. In the case of an immigrant marrying a citizen, the spouse becomes a citizen after 3 years of marriage.

Citizenship brings the following privileges: The right to vote; the right to serve in the Armed Forces of the Philippines; and the right to serve in a jury.

Note that any immigrant convicted of a serious crime is liable to forfeit his citizenship and be permanently deported from the country.