Swindlers no longer have to go to jail

That’s the way the ball, or check, bounces.

The Supreme Court has ruled that effective last Tuesday, all violations of the Bouncing Checks Law (Batas Pambansa 22) will no longer be punishable by imprisonment. Instead, those who issue bouncing checks will merely have to pay a fine — in cash — the court said.

Chief Justice Hilario Davide signed administrative circular 12-2000 reminding lower court judges of the November 1998 decision of Justice Vicente Mendoza in the case of Eduardo Vaca, where the jurist "deleted the penalty of imprisonment."

"In this case we believe that a fine in an amount equal to double the amount of the check involved is an appropriate penalty to impose," the circular stated, quoting a portion of Mendoza’s ruling.

Davide likewise cited the en banc decision on Rosa Lim where they sentenced "the drawer of the bounced check to the maximum of the fine allowed by BP 22, i.e., P200,000."

This means that bouncing check issued for P1 million will have to be paid the same amount plus the P200,000 maximum penalty. For checks P100,000 and below, the drawer will have to pay the maximum fine.

"It would best serve the ends of criminal justice if in fixing the penalty within the range of discretion allowed, the same philosophy underlying the Indeterminate Sentence Law is observed, namely, that of redeeming valuable human material and preventing unnecessary deprivation of liberty and economic usefulness with due regard to the protection of the social order," Mendoza reasoned out.

Davide directed Court Administrator Alfredo Benipayo to disseminate the order to all courts and judges all over the country for strict compliance.