Text of the provision
On the text as published. Both source texts print “taking advantage of his of position” here. That is a scanning artefact rather than anything the legislature enacted — a doubled 'of'. Both sources print 'his position' cleanly, so this one is ours — so this page prints the corrected reading. The original is recorded so you can tell what any other source will show you.
Art. 171. Falsification by public officer, employee or notary or ecclesiastic minister. - The penalty of prisión mayor and a fine not to exceed One million pesos (₱1,000,000) shall be imposed upon any public officer, employee, or notary who, taking advantage of his position shall falsify a document by committing any of the following acts: 1. Counterfeiting or using any handwriting, signature or rubric; 2. Causing it to appear that persons have participated in any act or proceeding when they did not in fact so participate; 3. Attributing to persons who have participated in an act or proceeding statements other than those in fact made by them; 4. Making untruthful statements in a narration of facts; 5. Altering true dates; 6. Making any alteration or intercalation in a genuine document which changes its meaning; 7. Issuing in an authenticated form a document purporting to be a copy of an original document when no such original exists, or including in such a copy a statement contrary to, or different from, that of the genuine original; or 8. Intercalating any instrument or note relative to the issuance thereof in a protocol, registry, or official book. The same penalty shall be imposed upon any ecclesiastical minister who shall commit any of the offenses enumerated in the preceding paragraphs of this article, with respect to any record or document of such character that its falsification may affect the civil status of persons.
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
A public officer, employee or notary who, taking advantage of his position, falsifies a document — by counterfeiting a signature or handwriting, making it appear that people took part when they did not, misattributing statements, untruthful narration of facts, altering true dates, altering a genuine document so its meaning changes, issuing an authenticated copy of a non-existent original, or intercalating an instrument in a protocol, registry or official book — suffers prisión mayor and a fine not to exceed One million pesos (₱1,000,000). The same penalty falls on an ecclesiastical minister who does any of these to a record affecting civil status.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 167 — Forging Instruments Payable To Order.
- Article 172 — Falsification By A Private Individual.
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.