Practice question
In June2026, a court is asked to impose death because an older penal provision still prints that penalty and the prosecution calls the crime heinous. No later enactment has displaced RA 9346. Which response is correct?
- Heinousness alone restores death under the older printed text
- RA 9346’s prohibition governs; the court must apply the lawful substitute rather than impose death
- The prosecutor may choose between death and the substitute
- The Constitution automatically repeals RA 9346 whenever a case is serious
- Every accused must be acquitted because death is unavailable
Legal references
- https://lawphil.net/consti/cons1987.html — Constitution, Article III section 19: excessive fines, cruel/degrading/inhuman punishment and detention safeguards.
- https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2006/ra_9346_2006.html — RA 9346 sections1–2: current prohibition on imposing death and substitute penalties by statutory nomenclature.
- https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2020/jan2020/gr_208162_2020.html — Fuertes v. Senate, G.R. 208162, January 7, 2020, main decision: punishment character, proportionality and the constitutional standard; historical discussion does not override RA 9346.
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