In a conversation between a mother and her daughter, the mother asked, "Child, are you sure your boyfriend is kind?" The daughter replied, "Ma, I am sure he is kind. He has completed 200 hours of community service. He has served our community."
Can a Person Be Forced to Work Without Pay to Settle a Debt?
The answer is no. Such practice is a form of involuntary servitude, which is prohibited by the Constitution.
Involuntary servitude refers to forced unpaid labor that includes slavery or bondage. It also covers human trafficking, where a person is compelled to work under threats and without compensation.
Section 18, Article III (Bill of Rights) of the 1987 Constitution states: "(2) No involuntary servitude in any form shall exist except as punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted."
Community Service as an Alternative Penalty
While involuntary servitude is banned, community service is allowed when a person is convicted of a crime. This is only possible if the penalty is arresto menor or arresto mayor under Republic Act No. 11362, the Community Service Act, enacted on August 8, 2019.
Arresto menor is imprisonment from one day to 30 days, while arresto mayor is imprisonment from one month and one day to six months. These penalties may be served through community service in the place where the crime was committed, as ordered by the court, based on the gravity of the offense, and under the supervision of a probation officer.
Penalties Under the Revised Penal Code
Article 274 of the Revised Penal Code provides: "Services rendered under compulsion in payment of debts. - The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon any person who, in order to require or enforce the payment of a debt, shall compel the debtor to work for him, against his will, as household servant or farm laborer."
Not only is it prohibited by the Constitution, but it is also a crime under the Revised Penal Code. Anyone who commits this act, if convicted, faces imprisonment from four months and one day to two years and four months.
Involuntary Servitude Under the Anti-Trafficking Act
Involuntary servitude is also covered under the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, Republic Act No. 10364. The law defines involuntary servitude as:
"(f) Involuntary Servitude – refers to a condition of enforced and compulsory service induced by means of any scheme, plan or pattern, intended to cause a person to believe that if he or she did not enter into or continue in such condition, he or she or another person would suffer serious harm or other forms of abuse or physical restraint, or threat of abuse or harm, or coercion including depriving access to travel documents and withholding salaries, or the abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process."
A person is forced to continue working under threats that he or she or another person will be harmed, travel documents will be taken to prevent travel, and salaries will be withheld. The penalty for involuntary servitude under this law is imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of not less than one million pesos and not more than two million pesos.
