Wednesday, 11 May 2011 09:26
Rep. Loreto Leo Ocampos (2nd District, Misamis Occidental) filed House Bill 3914 increasing the prison sentence of bank robbers to life imprisonment regardless of the amount of money involved. To be known as the Bank Robbery Act of 2010, the bill seeks to amend Republic Act 3815 or the Revised Penal Code.
"Bank robbery affects the country economically. It is a clear form of economic sabotage that needs to be curbed. The bill will also prevent bank robbers from posting bail using the money they have taken from the bank," Ocampos said.
"It is a fact that we are already saddled with heavy economic burdens without bank robbers pulling us deeper into the pit," Ocampos said.
Ocampos said bank robberies pose a threat not only to the economy but also to the stability of banking institutions.
"The crime claims the lives of innocent people in several incidents because a bank robbery is often done with violence, where its every act is committed at gunpoint," Ocampos said.
Ocampos cited the 2008 bank robbery at the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) branch in Cabuyao, Laguna where 10 people died, including eight employees, one security guard and another civilian. The robbers fled with P9- million loot.
Life imprisonment will also be slapped against criminal elements involved in robbing vehicles of banks or financial institutions.
"The bill seeks to reduce or eliminate this dangerous incidents, thereby boosting our economy and protecting the lives of the people," Ocampos said.
source: http://www.congress.gov.ph
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