Answer
Batas Pambansa Blg. 22 (BP 22), the Bouncing Checks Law, penalizes the act of making, drawing, and issuing a check that is later dishonored for insufficient funds — or issuing a check and then failing to keep enough funds on deposit to cover it. What the law punishes is the act of putting a worthless check into circulation, an offense against public order; damage to the payee is not an element.
The offense can be committed in two ways: (1) issuing a check while knowing, at the time of issue, that there are insufficient funds, where the check is later dishonored; and (2) issuing a check with sufficient funds but failing to keep enough on deposit to cover it, so that it is dishonored on presentment. A key feature is the presumption in Section 2: when a check is dishonored and the drawer fails to pay or arrange payment within five banking days after receiving notice of dishonor, knowledge of the insufficiency is presumed — which is why a written notice of dishonor, actually received, is critical.
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