Text of the provision
On the text as published. Both source texts print “suffer the penalty” here. That is a scanning artefact rather than anything the legislature enacted — a space inside 'the'; a spacing artefact, not a word anyone enacted — so this page prints the corrected reading. The original is recorded so you can tell what any other source will show you.
Art. 217. Malversation of public funds or property.— Presumption of malversation. - Any public officer who, by reason of the duties of his office, is accountable for public funds or property, shall appropriate the same, or shall take or misappropriate or shall consent, through abandonment or negligence, shall permit any other person to take such public funds or property, wholly or partially, or shall otherwise be guilty of the misappropriation or malversation of such funds or property, shall suffer: 1. The penalty of prisión correccional in its medium and maximum periods, if the amount involved in the misappropriation or malversation does not exceed Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000). 2. The penalty of prisión mayor in its minimum and medium periods, if the amount involved is more than Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000) but does not exceed One million two hundred thousand pesos (₱1,200,000). 3. The penalty of prisión mayor in its maximum period to reclusion temporal in its minimum period, if the amount involved is more than One million two hundred thousand pesos (₱1,200,000) but does not exceed Two million four hundred thousand pesos (₱2,400,000). 4. The penalty of reclusion temporal, in its medium and maximum periods, if the amount involved is more than Two million four hundred thousand pesos (₱2,400,000) but does not exceed Four million four hundred thousand pesos (₱4,400,000). 5. The penalty of reclusion temporal in its maximum period, if the amount involved is more than Four million four hundred thousand pesos (₱4,400,000) but does not exceed Eight million eight hundred thousand pesos (₱8,800,000). If the amount exceeds the latter, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua. In all cases, persons guilty of malversation shall also suffer the penalty of perpetual special disqualification and a fine equal to the amount of the funds malversed or equal to the total value of the property embezzled. The failure of a public officer to have duly forthcoming any public funds or property with which he is chargeable, upon demand by any duly authorized officer, shall be prima facie evidence that he has put such missing funds or property to personal uses.<<
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
An accountable public officer who appropriates, misappropriates, or through abandonment or negligence lets another take public funds or property is punished on a sliding scale by the amount involved: prisión correccional in its medium and maximum periods up to Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000); prisión mayor in its minimum and medium periods above that up to One million two hundred thousand pesos (₱1,200,000); prisión mayor maximum to reclusion temporal minimum up to Two million four hundred thousand pesos (₱2,400,000); reclusion temporal medium and maximum up to Four million four hundred thousand pesos (₱4,400,000); reclusion temporal maximum up to Eight million eight hundred thousand pesos (₱8,800,000); and reclusion perpetua beyond that. In every case there is also perpetual special disqualification and a fine equal to the amount malversed, and failure to produce the funds on demand is prima facie evidence of personal use.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 216 — Prohibited Interest Of Public Officer.
- Article 218 — Failure To Render Accounts.
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.