Practice question
A judgment separately imposes a PHP 50,000 fine and PHP 50,000 reparation. Only PHP 50,000 is available for these liabilities, with no competing exception. The offender says equal amounts permit treating payment of one as satisfaction of both. Which is sound?
- One PHP 50,000 payment necessarily pays PHP 100,000 in obligations.
- Equal amounts erase the distinction.
- The debtor may choose any accounting fiction.
- They remain distinct; the available sum follows Article 38’s civil-reparation preference, not double satisfaction.
- A State fine receipt always pays private reparation.
Legal references
- Nanzan v. People, G.R. No. 262084, April 3, 2024, main decision, fine versus civil indemnity and Article 38 preference: https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/18/69480
- Revised Penal Code, Articles 38, 112 and 113, cited civil-payment and extinction rules: https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/28/20426
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