1. Concept
| Art. 187. Importation and disposition of falsely marked articles or merchandise made of gold, silver, or other precious metals or their alloys. – The penalty of prisión correccional or a fine ranging from Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000) to Two hundred thousand pesos (₱200,000), or both, shall be imposed upon any person who shall knowingly import or sell or dispose of any article or merchandise made of gold, silver, or other precious metals, or their alloys, with stamps, brands, or marks which fail to indicate the actual fineness or quality of said metals or alloys. |
| Any stamp, brand label, or mark shall be deemed to fail to indicate the actual fineness of the article on which it is engraved, printed, stamped, labeled or attached, when the test of the article shows that the quality or fineness thereof is less by more than one-half karat, if made of gold, and less by more than four one-thousandth, if made of silver, than what is shown by said stamp, brand, label or mark. But in case of watch cases and flatware made of gold, the actual fineness of such gold shall not be less than more than three one-thousandth than the fineness indicated by said stamp, brand, label, or mark. (Act No. 3815, Revised Penal Code) |
2. Mode of commission
Elements of the offense:
1) The offender knowingly imports or sells or disposes of any article or merchandise made of gold, silver, or other precious metals, or their alloys, with stamps, brands, or marks which fail to indicate the actual fineness or quality of said metals or alloys.
3. Fineness of the article
Any stamp, brand, label, or mark shall be deemed to fail to indicate the actual fineness of the article on which it is engraved, printed, stamped, labeled or attached, when the rest of the article shows that the quality or fineness thereof is less by more than one-half karat, if made of gold, and less by more than four one-thousandth, if made of silver, than what is shown by said stamp, brand, label or mark. But in case of watch cases and flatware made of gold, the actual fineness of such gold shall not be less by more than three one-thousandth than the fineness indicated by said stamp, brand, label, or mark. (Paragraph 2, Article 186, Act No. 3815, Revised Penal Code)
References
⦁ Title 4 – Crimes Against Public Interest, Book 2, Revised Penal Code
