TITLE EIGHT

CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS

CHAPTER ONE
DESTRUCTION OF LIFE

SECTION ONE-Parricide, murder, homicide

Article 246. Parricide-Any person who shall kill his father, mother, or child, whether
legitimate or illegitimate, or any of his ascendants or descendants, or his spouse,
shall be guilty of parricide and shall be punished by the penalty of reclusion
perpetua to death.

Article 247. Death or physical injuries inflicted under exceptional

circumstances -Any legally married person who, having surprised his spouse in the
act of committing sexual intercourse with another person, shall kill any of them or
both of them in the act or immediately thereafter, or shall inflict upon them any
serious physical injury, shall suffer the penalty of destierro.
 If he shall inflict upon them physical injuries of any other kind, he shall be
exempt from punishment.
 These rules shall be applicable, under the same circumstances, to parents
with respect to their daughters under eighteen years of age, and their
seducers, while the daughters are living with their parents.
 Any person who shall promote or facilitate the prostitution of his wife or
daughter, or shall otherwise have consented to the infidelity of the other
spouse shall not be entitled to the benefits of this article.
Article 248. Murder -Any person who, not falling within the provisions of article 246
shall kill another, shall be guilty of murder and shall be punished by reclusion
temporal in its maximum period to death, if committed with any of the following
attendant circumstances:

1. With treachery, taking advantage of superior strength, with the aid of armed
men, or employing means to weaken the defense or of means or persons to
insure or afford impunity.
2. In consideration of a price, reward or promise.
3. By means of inundation, fire, poison, explosion, shipwreck, stranding of a
vessel, derailment or assault upon a street car or locomotive, fall of an airship,
by means of motor vehicles, or with the use of any other means involving
great waste and ruin.
4. On occasion of any of the calamities enumerated in the preceding paragraph,
or of an earthquake, eruption of a volcano, destructive cyclone, epidemic, or
any other public calamity.
5. With evident premeditation.
6. With cruelty, by deliberately and inhumanly augmenting the suffering of the
victim, or outraging or scoffing at his person or corpse.

Article 249. Homicide -Any person who, not falling within the provisions of article
246 shall kill another without the attendance of any of the circumstances enumerated
in the next preceding article, shall be deemed guilty of homicide and be punished by
reclusion temporal.

Article 250. Penalty for frustrated parricide, murder or homicide -The courts, in
view of the facts of the case, may impose upon the person guilty of the frustrated
crime of parricide, murder or homicide, defined and penalized in the preceding
articles, a penalty lower by one degree than that which should be imposed
under the provisions of article 50.

The courts, considering the facts of the case, may likewise reduce by one degree the
penalty which under article 51 should be imposed for an attempt to commit any of
such crimes.
Article 251. Death caused in a tumultuous affray -When, while several persons,
not composing groups organized for the common purpose of assaulting and
attacking each other reciprocally, quarrel and assault each other in a confused and
tumultuous manner, and in the course of the affray someone is killed, and it cannot
be ascertained who actually killed the deceased, but the person or persons who
inflicted serious physical injuries can be identified, such person or persons shall be
punished by prision mayor.

If it cannot be determined who inflicted the serious physical injuries on the deceased,
the penalty of prision correctional in its medium and maximum periods shall be
imposed upon all those who shall have used violence upon the person of the victim.

Article 252. Physical injuries inflicted in a tumultuous affray -When in a

tumultuous affray as referred to in the preceding article, only serious physical injuries
are inflicted upon the participants thereof and the person responsible therefor cannot
be identified, all those who appear to have used violence upon the person of the
offended party shall suffer the penalty next lower in degree than that provided for
the physical injuries so inflicted.

When the physical injuries inflicted are of a less serious nature and the person
responsible therefor cannot be identified, all those who appear to have used any
violence upon the person of the offended party shall be punished by arrest-to from
five to fifteen days.

Article 253. Giving assistance to suicide -Any person who shall assist another to
commit suicide shall suffer the penalty of prision mayor; if such person lends his
assistance to another to the extent of doing the killing himself, he shall suffer the
penalty of reclusion temporal. However, if the suicide is not consummated, the
penalty of arresto mayor in its medium and maximum periods shall be imposed.

Article 254. Discharge of firearms -Any person who shall shoot at another with any
firearm shall suffer the penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and
medium periods, unless the facts of the case are such that the act can be held to
constitute frustrated or attempted parricide, murder, homicide or any other crime for
which a higher penalty is prescribed by any of the articles of this Code.
 SECTION TWO-Infanticide and abortion

Article 255. Infanticide -The penalty provided for parricide in article 246 and for
murder in article 248 shall be imposed upon any person who shall kill any child less
than three days of age.

If the crime penalized in this article be committed by the mother of the child for the
purpose of concealing her dishonor, she shall suffer the penalty of prision
correccional in its medium and maximum periods, and if said crime be committed for
the same purpose by the maternal grandparents or either of them, the penalty shall
be prision mayor.

Article 256. Intentional abortion-Any person who shall intentionally cause an

abortion shall suffer:
1. The penalty of reclusion temporal, if he shall use any violence upon the
person of the pregnant woman.
2. The penalty of prision mayor if, without using violence, he shall act without
the consent of the woman.
3. The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods,
if the woman shall have consented.

Article 257. Unintentional abortion -The penalty of prision correccional in its

minimum and medium periods shall be imposed upon any person who shall cause
an abortion by violence, but unintentionally.
Article 258. Abortion practiced by the woman herself or by her parents -The
penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods shall be
imposed upon a woman who shall practice an abortion upon herself or shall consent
that any other person should do so.

 Any woman who shall commit this offense to conceal her dishonor, shall suffer
the penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods.
 If this crime be committed by the parents of the pregnant woman or either of
them, and they act with the consent of said woman for the purpose of
concealing her dishonor, the offenders shall suffer the penalty of prision
correctional in its medium and maximum periods.
Article 259. Abortion, practiced by a physician or midwife and dispensing of
abortive -The penalties provided in article 256 shall be imposed in its maximum
period, respectively, upon any physician or midwife who, taking advantage of their
scientific knowledge or skill, shall cause an abortion or assist in causing the same.

Any pharmacist who, without the proper prescription from a physician, shall dispense
any abortive shall suffer arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding 1,000 pesos.

SECTION THREE-Duel

Article 260. Responsibility of participants in a duel-The penalty of reclusion

temporal shall be imposed upon any person who shall kill his adversary in a duel.
 If he shall inflict upon the latter physical injuries only, he shall suffer the
penalty provided therefor, according to their nature.
 In any other case, the combatants shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor,
although no physical injuries have been inflicted.
 The seconds shall in all events be punished as accomplices.

Article 261. Challenging to a duel-The penalty of prision correccional in its

minimum period shall be imposed upon any person who shall challenge another, or
incite another to give or accept a challenge to a duel, or shall scoff at or decry
another publicly for having refused to accept a challenge to fight a duel.
 CHAPTER TWO
PHYSICAL INJURIES

Article 262. Mutilation -The penalty of reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua

shall be imposed upon any person who shall intentionally mutilate another by
depriving him, either totally or partially, of some essential organ for reproduction.

Any other intentional mutilation shall be punished by prision mayor in its medium
and maximum periods.

Article 263. Serious physical injuries -Any person who shall wound, beat, or
assault another, shall be guilty of the crime of serious physical injuries and shall
suffer:

1. The penalty of prision mayor, if in consequence of the physical injuries

inflicted, the injured person shall become insane, imbecile, impotent, or blind;
2. The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods,
if in consequence of the physical injuries inflicted, the person injured shall
have lost the use of speech or the power to hear or to smell, or shall have lost
an eye, a hand, a foot, an arm, or a leg or shall have lost the use of any such
member, or shall have become incapacitated for the work in which he was
theretofore habitually engaged;
3. The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods,
if in consequence of the physical injuries inflicted, the person injured shall
have become deformed, or shall have lost any other part of his body, or shall
have lost the use thereof, or shall have been ill or incapacitated for the
performance of the work in which he was habitually engaged for a period of
more than ninety days;
4. The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision
correccional in its minimum period, if the physical injuries inflicted shall
have caused the illness or incapacity for labor of the injured person for more
than thirty days.
If the offense shall have been committed against any of the persons enumerated in
article 246, or with the attendance of any of the circumstances mentioned in article
248, the case covered by subdivision number 1 of this article shall be punished by
reclusion temporal in its medium and maximum periods; the case covered by
subdivision number 2 by prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor
in its minimum period; the case covered by subdivision number 3 by prision
correccional in its medium and maximum periods; and the case covered by
subdivision number 4 by prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not be applicable to a parent who
shall inflict physical injuries upon his child by excessive chastisement.

Article 264. Administering injurious substances or beverages -The penalties

established by the next preceding article shall be applicable in the respective cases
to any person who, without intent to kill, shall inflict upon another any serious
physical injury, by knowingly administering to him any injurious substances or
beverages or by taking advantage of his weakness of mind or credulity.

Article 265. Less serious physical injuries -Any person who shall inflict upon
another physical injuries not described in the preceding articles, but which shall
incapacitate the offended party for labor for ten days or more, or shall require
medical attendance for the same period, shall be guilty of less serious physical
injuries and shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor.

Whenever less serious physical injuries shall have been inflicted with the manifest
intent to insult or offend the injured person, or under circumstances adding ignominy
to the offense, in addition to the penalty of arresto mayor, a fine not exceeding 500
pesos shall be imposed.

Any less serious physical injuries inflicted upon the offender’s parents, ascendants,
guardians, curators, teachers, or persons of rank, or persons in authority, shall be
punished by prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods, provided
that, in the case of persons in authority, the deed does not constitute the crime of
assault upon such persons.
Article 266. Slight physical injuries and maltreatment -The crime of slight
physical injuries shall be punished:

1. By arresto menor when the offender has inflicted physical injuries which shall
incapacitate the offended party for labor from one to nine days, or shall
require medical attendance during the same period.
2. By arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos and censure when the
offender has caused physical injuries which do not prevent the offended party
from engaging in his habitual work nor require medical attendance.
3. By arresto menor in its minimum period or a fine not exceeding 50 pesos
when the offender shall ill-treat another by deed without causing any injury.