Prohibition Against Slavery, Involuntary Servitude, Peonage, and Sale or Purchase of Human Beings
Act No. 2071, enacted on August 7, 1911, prohibits slavery, involuntary servitude, peonage, and the sale or purchase of human beings specifically in the Mountain Province, Nueva Vizcaya, and Agusan. It outlines severe penalties for offenders, including imprisonment and fines, with varying degrees of punishment depending on the nature of the offense. The Act emphasizes that any labor compelled under duress, especially involving minors, is illegal. Additionally, half of any fines collected are allocated to the injured party, ensuring that victims can seek further civil remedies.
Law Information
- Reference Number
- Act No. 2071
- Date Enacted
- Category
- Statutes
- Subcategory
- Acts
- Jurisdiction
- Philippines
- Enacting Body
- Congress of the Philippines
Full Law Text
August 7, 1911
ACT NO. 2071
AN ACT PROHIBITING SLAVERY, INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE, PEONAGE, AND THE SALE OR PURCHASE OF HUMAN BEINGS IN THE MOUNTAIN PROVINCE AND THE PROVINCES OF NUEVA VIZCAYA AND AGUSAN, AND PROVIDING PUNISHMENT THEREFOR
SECTION 1. Whoever, except in pursuance of the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction or other lawful authority, shall hold any person in slavery or involuntary servitude, or deliver any person to another person to be held in slavery or involuntary servitude, shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than twenty years and by a fine of not less than five hundred pesos and not more than five thousand pesos, in the discretion of the court.
SECTION 2. Whoever shall compel another person, against his will, to render labor or services in payment of a debt, or whoever shall accept labor or services for such purpose performed under such compulsion, with knowledge of that fact, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than six months nor more than five years, or by a fine of not less than one hundred pesos nor more than one thousand pesos, or by both such imprisonment and fine in the discretion of the court.
SECTION 3. Whoever shall sell or barter or cause to be sold or bartered, and whoever shall buy or barter or cause to be bought or bartered, any human being, shall upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than twenty years or by a fine of not less than five hundred pesos and not more than ten thousand pesos, or both in the discretion of the court.
SECTION 4. Upon the trial of any person for violation of any of the provisions of this Act, lack of consent of a person under eighteen years of age shall be conclusively presumed.
SECTION 5. One-half of any fine collected under the provisions of this Act shall be paid to the injured person and such payment shall not operate to extinguish in whole or in part any civil action which such injured person may have for damages.
SECTION 6. This Act shall apply to the Mountain Province and the Provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Agusan.
Enacted: August 7, 1911
Cite This Law
Prohibition Against Slavery, Involuntary Servitude, Peonage, and Sale or Purchase of Human Beings, Act No. 2071, Aug 7, 1911 (Philippines)
Prohibition Against Slavery, Involuntary Servitude, Peonage, and Sale or Purchase of Human Beings, Act No. 2071 (Phil. 1911)
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