Short answer. Yes. Under Article 147 of the Revised Penal Code, the founders, directors, and presidents of an association organized, wholly or partly, to commit crimes punishable under the Code — or for purposes contrary to public morals — are criminally liable for illegal associations. Ordinary members are also punished, but less severely.
What the law says
upon the founders, directors, and presidents of associations totally or partially organized for the purpose of committing any of the crimes punishable under this Code or for some purposed contrary to public morals
Revised Penal Code, Article 147 — Illegal Associations. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Mere members said associations shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor
Revised Penal Code, Article 147 — Illegal Associations. Read the full provision →
What an illegal association is
Article 147 punishes organizing for crime. The heavier penalty falls upon the founders, directors, and presidents of associations totally or partially organized for the purpose of committing any of the crimes punishable under this Code or for some purposed contrary to public morals. Two kinds of group are covered: one organized, wholly or partly, to commit crimes under the Revised Penal Code, and one organized for a purpose contrary to public morals. The crime is in the nature and purpose of the association itself — leading or founding such a group is punishable even before it carries out any particular offense.
Leaders are punished more than members
The article grades liability by role. Founders, directors, and presidents — those who create and steer the association — bear the principal penalty: prisión correccional in its minimum and medium periods and a fine. By contrast, Mere members said associations shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor, a much lighter punishment. The law thus reserves its severity for those who organize and lead, while still reaching rank-and-file members. This reflects the article's aim: to strike hardest at the people responsible for bringing a criminal or immoral association into being and directing it.
The fine was updated in 2017
The peso figure in the current text — a fine not exceeding Two hundred thousand pesos — was set by Republic Act No. 10951 (2017), which revised the fines throughout the Revised Penal Code. Older reproductions still show the 1930 amount, so anyone relying on the exact figure should confirm they are reading the RA 10951 version. The imprisonment penalty for leaders, prisión correccional in its minimum and medium periods, and the arresto mayor for members, are unaffected by that update; only the money figures were rewritten.
What it does and does not reach
Article 147 targets the existence and leadership of an association formed for crime or against public morals; it does not require that the group has already committed a specific offense, because the danger lies in the organized purpose. It is distinct from conspiracy to commit a particular crime and from special laws on particular kinds of unlawful groups. Whether a given organization is organized for the purpose of committing crimes, or for a purpose contrary to public morals, is the decisive question — an ordinary lawful club, however unpopular, does not fall within it.