Amendment to C.A. No. 613 (Philippine Immigration Act of 1940)
Republic Act No. 827, enacted on August 14, 1952, amends Section 46 of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940. The amendment establishes penalties for individuals who bring, conceal, or harbor aliens not lawfully admitted to the Philippines, as well as for aliens entering without proper inspection. Offenders may face fines of up to ten thousand pesos and imprisonment for up to ten years, with deportation for aliens. Additionally, if the violator is associated with a vessel or aircraft that facilitated the unlawful entry, the fine may become a lien against the vessel, which could also be subject to forfeiture instead of a fine at the court's discretion. All inconsistent laws and regulations are repealed with this act.
August 14, 1952
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 827
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION FORTY-SIX OF COMMONWEALTH ACT NUMBERED SIX HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE PHILIPPINE IMMIGRATION ACT OF NINETEEN HUNDRED AND FORTY, AS AMENDED
SECTION 1. Section forty-six of Commonwealth Act Numbered Six hundred and thirteen, otherwise, known as the Philippine Immigration Act of nineteen hundred and forty, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 46. Any individual who shall bring into or land in the Philippines or conceal or harbor any alien not duly admitted by any immigration officer or not lawfully entitled to enter or reside within the Philippines under the terms of the immigration laws, or attempts, conspires with, or aids another to commit any such act, and any alien who enters the Philippines without inspection and admission by the immigration officials, or obtains entry into the Philippines by willful, false, or misleading representation or willful concealment of a material fact, shall be guilty of an offense, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than ten thousand pesos, imprisoned for not more than ten years, and deported if he is an alien.
"If the individual who brings into or lands in the Philippines or conceals or harbors any alien not duly admitted by any immigration officer or not lawfully entitled to enter or reside herein, or who attempts, conspires with or aids another to commit any such act, is the pilot, master, agent, owner, consignee, or any person in charge of the vessel or aircraft which brought the alien into the Philippines from any place outside thereof, the fine imposed under the first paragraph hereof shall constitute a lien against the vessel or aircraft and may be enforced in the same manner as fines are collected and enforced against vessels under the customs laws: Provided, however, That if the court shall in its discretion consider forfeiture to be justified by the circumstances of the case, it shall order, in lieu of the fine imposed, the forfeiture of the vessel or aircraft in favor of the Government, without prejudice to the imposition of the penalty of imprisonment provided in the preceding paragraph."
SECTION 2. All laws and regulations inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
Approved: August 14, 1952
Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 48, No. 10, p. 4272 in October 1952