Text of the provision
Art. 153. Tumults and other disturbances of public order; Tumultuous disturbance or interruption liable to cause disturbance - The penalty of arresto mayor in its medium period to prisión correccional in its minimum period and a fine not exceeding Two hundred thousand pesos (₱200,000) shall be imposed upon any person who shall cause any serious disturbance in a public place, office, or establishment, or shall interrupt or disturb public performances, functions or gatherings, or peaceful meetings, if the act is not included in the provisions of Article 131 and 132. The penalty next higher in degree shall be imposed upon persons causing any disturbance or interruption of a tumultuous character. The disturbance or interruption shall be deemed to be tumultuous if caused by more three [sic]
(3) persons who are armed or provided with means of violence. The penalty of arresto mayor shall be imposed upon any person who in any meeting, association, or public place, shall make any outcry tending to incite rebellion or sedition or in such place shall display placards or emblems which provoke a disturbance of the public order. The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine not to exceed Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000) shall be imposed upon these person who in violation of the provisions contained in the last clause of Article 85, shall bury with pomp the body of a person who has been legally executed.
Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, Act No. 3815, as amended. Reproduced in full from the official enactment and verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings.
What this article means
Causing a serious disturbance in a public place or interrupting public performances, functions or peaceful meetings draws arresto mayor in its medium period to prisión correccional in its minimum period and a fine not exceeding Two hundred thousand pesos (₱200,000), with the next higher degree if the disturbance is tumultuous — that is, caused by more than three armed persons or persons with means of violence. Arresto mayor alone applies to outcries inciting rebellion or sedition or provocative placards, and arresto mayor with a fine not to exceed Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000) to burying with pomp the body of a person legally executed.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 151 — Resistance And Disobedience To Authority.
- Article 154 — False News And Unlawful Utterances.
Penalty amounts. The text above is the article as amended by Republic Act No. 10951 (2017), which revised the property values and fines throughout this Code. Older reproductions of the Revised Penal Code still print the 1930 amounts — for theft and estafa they show 12,000 and 22,000 pesos where the current figures run to millions. Check which version any source you rely on is giving you.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.