Perhaps you’ve heard someone making threats to file criminal cases against debtors who fail to pay. On the other hand, perhaps you’ve heard about the rule that no one can be imprisoned simply because of a debt in the Philippines. The prohibition against imprisonment for a debt is a basic right enshrined in no less than the Philippine Constitution. Article III of the Constitution reads:
“No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non-payment of a poll tax.”
REASON FOR NON-IMPRISONMENT
The Supreme Court explained the rationale for this prohibition in the case of Lozano vs. Martinez:
. . . Viewed in its historical context, the constitutional prohibition against imprisonment for debt is a safeguard that evolved gradually during the early part of the nineteenth century in the various states of the American Union as a result of the people’s revulsion at the cruel and inhumane practice, sanctioned by common law, which permitted creditors to cause the incarceration of debtors who could not pay their debts. At common law, money judgments arising from actions for the recovery of a debt or for damages from breach of a contract could be enforced against the person or body of the debtor by writ of capias ad satisfaciendum. By means of this writ, a debtor could be seized and imprisoned at the instance of the creditor until he makes the satisfaction awarded. As a consequence of the popular ground swell against such a barbarous practice, provisions forbidding imprisonment for debt came to be generally enshrined in the constitutions of various states of the Union.
This humanitarian provision was transported to our shores by the Americans at the turn of the century and embodied in our organic laws. Later, our fundamental law outlawed not only imprisonment for debt, but also the infamous practice, native to our shore, of throwing people in jail for non-payment of the cedula or poll tax.
In other words, no one can be compelled to pay a debt under pain of criminal sanctions (estafa is a different matter). No one can be imprisoned for non-payment of debt. The remedy of the creditor is civil in nature.
Let’s examine some laws that were questioned, albeit unsuccessfully, on the ground that these laws violate the constitutional prohibition against non-imprisonment for debt.
BOUNCING CHECKS
Bouncing Checks Law (BP 22) does not punish the non-payment of an obligation. The law is not designed to coerce a debtor to pay his debt. The thrust of the law is to prohibit, under pain of penal sanctions, the making of worthless checks and putting them in circulation. Checks have become widely accepted as a medium of payment in trade and commerce, and if the confidence in checks is shaken, the usefulness of checks as currency substitutes would be greatly diminished. When the question was resolved in 1986, it had been reported that the approximate value of bouncing checks per day was close to 200 Million Pesos, thereafter averaging between P50 to P80 Million a day. (Lozano vs. Martinez)
TRUST RECEIPTS
The same argument was raised against the Trust Receipts Law (Presidential Decree No. 115). The passage of P.D. 115 is a declaration by the legislative authority that, as a matter of public policy, the failure of a person to turn over the proceeds of the sale of goods covered by a trust receipt (or to return said goods if not sold) is a public nuisance to be abated by the imposition of penal sanctions.
It punishes the dishonesty and abuse of confidence in the handling of money or goods to the prejudice of another. The law does not seek to enforce payment of a loan. (Tiomico vs. CA)
CREDIT CARDS
Under the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998 (Republic Act No. 8484), anyone who obtains “money or anything of value through the use of an access device, with intent to defraud or with intent to gain and fleeing thereafter” is criminally liable.
R.A. 8484 provides for a presumption: a cardholder who abandons or surreptitiously leaves the place of employment, business or residence stated in his application or credit card, without informing the credit card company of the place where he could actually be found, if at the time of such abandonment or surreptitious leaving, the outstanding and unpaid balance is past due for at least 90 days and is more than P10,000, shall be prima facie presumed to have used his credit card with intent to defraud.” We are still waiting for the test case on this.
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Aab
Ask ko lang po, kasi di ko na po kasi mabayaran yung credit card bill ko, ngayon lagi akong tinatawagan ng collecting agents at sinasabihan na makukulong ako, paghandaan ko na daw at magipon na daw ako para sa abogado ko. Makukulong po ba ang di pagbayad,nawalan po kasi ako ng work before kaya nastop po ako ng pagbayad, ngayon sapat lang po sahod ko/;
Hello po. May konting negosyo po kami ng husband ko noon at may kasosyo. Nagkaroon ng problema nang ang naging partner niya nanghiram ng pera at di kami binayaran. Ang masaklap loan ko po yon sa cooperative na P 100k tapos naging 62+k ang bal. Pero may share cap ako na 40k sa cooperative. As of this year umabot na ng almost 200k ang utang ko. Di na ako nakapagbayad since ubos na ang resources at wala na ang negosyo . Wala rin po akong trabaho at isang driver lang ang asawa ko. Pinadalhan po ako ng letter of demand from the cooperative para iharap sa husgado. Makukulong po ba ako? Ano po ba ang pwede kong gawin dito? Pls. answer me.
Thank you a lot po…
Hi Good day!
Meron lng ako itatanung regarding sa may kaibigan ako. Humiram nang pera sa tao at ako ang nakapangalan. Nagresign na at ako nagbabayad. Hindi na ako kinakausap. Meron ba ako pwede i-complain sa kanya. Apektado ako kasi may mga bayarain ako sarili. Tapos ako pa nagbabayad nag utang niya.
Thank you.
Tanong ko lng po. Kumuha ang kaibigan ko ng motorcycle load under my name and im in dubai now. Morethan 1 year na hindi niya nababayaran ang loan . Ako ang tinatawagan ng bank. Plano ko po sanang mag bakasyon sa pinas, baka pag bakasyon ko po hindi na ako papabalikin ng dubai. Ano po gagawin ko sana matulungan niyo ako tnx
Hello po. Ordinaryong tao lang po ako hingi po ng advice ilang taon n po ang nakakaran nakautang po ako ng pera sa isang lending company dito sa pinas pambayad sa placement fee ko po papuntang taiwan kayalang po d ko po sya nabayaran hangang ngayon kasi po napauwi po ako sa taiwan na hnd pa natatapos ang contrata ko. Ngayon po takot po akong kumuha ng NBI crearance baka po kasi makulong ako. D po ako makapag apply ng trabaho… reply po pls.
Hi.
Ganito naman po sakin , nakautang ako ng Mobile na Samsung j7 s HOME CREDIT. every month 1,111.00 lang naman ang bayarin. First 6 mos is maganda ang record ko since HR ako then nawalan ako trabaho dhil ngkasakit ako ng Tuberculosis. So from july 2016 up until now dec 2016 is di na ako nkabayad. Ngayon tmtwag skn ngpakilalang colonel na pwde dw ako sampahan ng kaso. Posible po ba na masampahan ako ng estafa? Maakakapekto po ba s NBI un? Makukulong po ba ako o mgssearch warrant po ba sila kasi yun ang sabi sakin. Pero nakausap ko naman ung HOME CREDIT khit 10k lng dw ok n ako. Nagguluhan po ako 🙁 patulong naman.
hello po gusto ko lang magtanong sana mapansin ninyo, what happened is namatay po yung kuya ko tapos meron siyang motor na hinuhulugan, sa amin po naiwan yung motor, obligasyon ko bang bayaran tuloy tuloy yung motor na hinuhulugan niya? kinokontak ko po yung pinagkuhaan ng motor kaso di na nagrereply, isa pang problema yung original na papeles nung motor wala pa samin, kami po ba magbabayad ng pagkakautang ng isang taong patay na? thank you po
Hi, nag loan ako sa bank pamg bayad ng rent ng house saka pang tuition ko sana. Kaya lang hindi ko na mabayaran kasi wala naman ibang nagwowork sa amin. Ano po ba mga pwede mangyari? Pupunta po ba sila dito sa bahay? Pano pag nag apply ako ng NBI? Please help
Gud day sir….ask ko lang po kung kanino po pdeng makalapit ng tulong ang mga gurong nalugmok sa utang dahilan sa pagsanla nila ng atm sa isang lending institution sa nueva ecija?…..nagawa na po nilang mangupit sa atm nila tapos hindi po nakakapaypay monthly…in short po ung laman ng atm nila at di na nakukuha pa ng lending institution….maaari ba silang makulong dahil dito?….nangangailangan lang ng kasagutan….salamat po.
Kumbaga lahat kc ng naipapasok na benefits ng mga guro ay kinukuha ng lending institution kya ang kawawang guro ay talgang walang kapera pera…..ano po ba ang maaaring gawin ng mga gurong nasa ganitong sitwasyon?
Good day!
Me and my friend was having a business, it was lending business. I will have a certain percent to the lending… then some of our debtors runaway. It was me who know the person. Then afterwards My friend is now mad at me because of the incident. it was 100,000.00 to sum up. She’s telling me that she will file a case on me. Please help me.