Text of the provision
Art. 219. Failure of a responsible public officer to render accounts before leaving the country. - Any public officer who unlawfully leaves or attempts to leave the Philippines without securing a certificate from the Commission on Audit showing that his accounts have been finally settled, shall be punished by arresto mayor , or a fine ranging from Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000) to Two hundred thousand pesos (₱200,000, or both.
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 who leaves or attempts to leave the Philippines without first getting a certificate from the Commission on Audit that his accounts are finally settled is punished by arresto mayor, or a fine ranging from Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000) to Two hundred thousand pesos (₱200,000), or both.
Related provisions
- Article 218 — Failure To Render Accounts.
- Article 221 — Failure To Deliver Public Funds.
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.