Text of the provision

Art. 178. Using fictitious name and concealing true name - The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine not to exceed One hundred thousand pesos (₱100,000) shall be imposed upon any person who shall publicly use a fictitious name for the purpose of concealing a crime, evading the execution of a judgment or causing damage. Any person who conceals his true name and other personal circumstances shall be punished by arresto menor or a fine not to exceed Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000).

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

Arresto mayor and a fine not to exceed One hundred thousand pesos (₱100,000) are imposed on anyone who publicly uses a fictitious name to conceal a crime, evade a judgment, or cause damage. Merely concealing one's true name and personal circumstances is punished by arresto menor or a fine not to exceed Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000).

Questions about this provision

Related provisions

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

Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment (Act No. 3815), verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings. The Revised Penal Code has been amended many times; this page reproduces the text as those sources carry it. The annotation and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. How a provision applies to a particular situation depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your case can assess.