Ano ang obstruction of justice?

ni PAO Chief Persida Rueda-Acosta @Magtanong Kay Attorney | November 9, 2026

Dear Chief Acosta,

Ano po ba ang tinatawag na obstruction of justice? Maraming salamat po. — Hassid

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Dear Hassid, 

Ang sagot sa iyong katanungan ay maaaring matagpuan sa ating batas at sa mga kaugnay na desisyon ng Korte Suprema. 

Para sa iyong kaalaman, ang obstruction of justice ay isang krimeng pinarurusahan sa ilalim ng Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 1829, na pinamagatang “Penalizing Obstruction of Apprehension and Prosecution of Criminal Offenders.” Nakasaad sa ilalim ng Section 1 nito ang sumusunod:

“Section 1. The penalty of xxx shall be imposed upon any person who knowingly or willfully obstructs, impedes, frustrates or delays the apprehension of suspects and the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases by committing any of the following acts:

(a) preventing witnesses from testifying in any criminal proceeding or from reporting the commission of any offense or the identity of any offender/s by means of bribery, misrepresentation, deceit, intimidation, force or threats;

(b) altering, destroying, suppressing or concealing any paper, record, document, or object, with intent to impair its verity, authenticity, legibility, availability, or admissibility as evidence in any investigation of or official proceedings in, criminal cases, or to be used in the investigation of, or official proceedings in, criminal cases;

(c) harboring or concealing, or facilitating the escape of, any person he knows, or has reasonable ground to believe or suspect, has committed any offense under existing penal laws in order to prevent his arrest prosecution and conviction;

(d) publicly using a fictitious name for the purpose of concealing a crime, evading prosecution or the execution of a judgment, or concealing his true name and other personal circumstances for the same purpose or purposes;

(e) delaying the prosecution of criminal cases by obstructing the service of process or court orders or disturbing proceedings in the fiscal's offices, in Tanodbayan, or in the courts;

(f) making, presenting or using any record, document, paper or object with knowledge of its falsity and with intent to affect the course or outcome of the investigation of, or official proceedings in, criminal cases;

(g) soliciting, accepting, or agreeing to accept any benefit in consideration of abstaining from, discounting, or impeding the prosecution of a criminal offender;

(h) threatening directly or indirectly another with the infliction of any wrong upon his person, honor or property or that of any immediate member or members of his family in order to prevent such person from appearing in the investigation of, or official proceedings in, criminal cases, or imposing a condition, whether lawful or unlawful, in order to prevent a person from appearing in the investigation of or in official proceedings in, criminal cases;

(i) giving of false or fabricated information to mislead or prevent the law enforcement agencies from apprehending the offender or from protecting the life or property of the victim; or fabricating information from the data gathered in confidence by investigating authorities for purposes of background information and not for publication and publishing or disseminating the same to mislead the investigator or to the court.”

Samakatuwid, sa ilalim ng ating batas, may mga partikular na gawaing itinuturing na obstruction of justice, gaya ng pagpigil sa testigo, pagsira o pagtatago ng ebidensiya, pagkukubli sa isang nagkasala upang hindi ito maaresto, paghadlang sa mga proseso ng korte, pagbabanta sa mga taong dapat humarap sa mga paglilitis, at pagbibigay ng maling impormasyon upang iligaw ang mga awtoridad.

Kaugnay nito, sa kasong Orlando A. Fua, Jr. vs. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 237815, October 12, 2022, sa panulat ni Hon. Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul B. Inting, ipinaliwanag ng Korte Suprema, ang mga sumusunod:

“The elements of the offense are: (a) that the accused committed any of the acts listed under Section 1 of PD 1829; and (b) that such commission was done for the purpose of obstructing, impeding, frustrating, or delaying the successful investigation and prosecution of criminal cases.

xxx

The foregoing acts pertain to those willfully and maliciously done with the intent to frustrate the apprehension and prosecution of offenders. Preventing witnesses from testifying in criminal proceedings, altering or destroying documents to impair their admissibility, and harboring or concealing a suspect are only some of the acts punishable by PD 1829.”

Malinaw sa nasabing desisyon na hindi sapat na basta lamang nakagawa ang isang tao ng alinman sa mga nabanggit na kilos. Kinakailangan ding mapatunayan na ginawa niya ito para hadlangan, pigilan, biguin o antalahin ang matagumpay na imbestigasyon at prosekusyon ng isang kasong kriminal.

Sana ay nabigyan namin ng linaw ang iyong katanungan. Ang payong aming ibinigay ay base lamang sa mga impormasyon na iyong inilahad at maaaring magbago kung mababawasan o madaragdagan ang mga detalye ng iyong salaysay. 

Maraming salamat sa iyong patuloy na pagtitiwala.