TITLE EIGHT 3.
If the offender wanted to kill a stranger but by
CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS
CHAPTER ONE
DESTRUCTION OF LIFE
SECTION ONE- PARRICIDE, MURDER, HOMICIDE
ARTICLE 246
PARRICIDE
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.
1. ELEMENTS
a) That a person is killed
b) That the deceased is killed by the accused,
and
c) That the deceased is the father, mother, or
child, whether legitimate or illegitimate, or
a legitimate other ascendant, or legitimate
other descendant, or legitimate spouse of
the accused
2. BASED ON RELATIONSHIP
Parricide is a crime based on relationship.
First, it must be a legitimate relationship except
in the case of parent and child.
Second, the said relationship must be in the
direct line
Third, the relationship must be by blood
(grandfather killed a grandson, a mother killing a son,
a son killing a father)
1. FATHER killed an illegitimate SON. What crime is
committed?
A: It is parricide. Although the crime is based on
legitimate relationship, the exception is in case of
children, whether legitimate or illegitimate.
2. BROTHER killed another BROTHER. What crime is
committed?
A: The crime committed is murder or homicide. The
case may be and not parricide because the
relationship between a brother and another brother is
in the collateral line and not in the direct line.
3. What if a stepfather killed his stepson?
A: The stepfather is not liable for parricide. It can
either be murder or homicide, as the case may be,
because their relationship is not based on blood.
Again, the relationship must be legitimate, in the
direct line and by blood.
mistake killed is own father. What is the crime
committed?
A: The crime committed is parricide, but Art 49 will
apply as regards the proper penalty to be imposed,
that is, the penalty for the lesser offense in its
maximum period.
The law does NOT require knowledge of
relationship, thus, a person who killed another not
knowing that the latter was his son will still be held
guilty of parricide.
4. In Parricide, the circumstance which will qualify is
the relationship, therefore relationship between the
offender and the offended party must be stated in the
information.
1. Let us say that the husband killed the wife. In the
information filed by the fiscal, the fiscal failed to
state that the husband is the legal husband of the said
victim. However, during trial, by virtue of a
certificate of marriage, it was proven that the
accused was the legal husband of the said victim-wife.
Can the husband be convicted of parricide?
A: No, the husband cannot be convicted of parricide.
This is because the relationship was not alleged in the
information although proven during trial. Since the
relationship between the husband and the wife is not
alleged in the information, although proven during
trial, he cannot be convicted of parricide. It can only
be murder or homicide, as the case may be.
2 What if a husband wanted to kill his wife. So he has
a mistress, the husband wanted to dispose his wife.
However, he cannot do it on his own and so the
husband hired a high- profile killer, he paid the man
100,000 pesos to kill the wife. And so the man
conducted surveillance on the wife, checked the
itinerary of the wife and so when the wife was getting
out of the grocery, here comes the killer. The killer,
on board a motorcycle, went directly to the wife, shot
her and off he went. The wife died. What
crime/crimes is/are committed?
A: The husband is liable for principal but said killer is
liable for murder. Conspiracy will not lie. Although
they conspired for the killing of the wife, the
husband, being the principal by inducement and the
killer, being the principal by direct participation,
conspiracy will not lie. This is because the
circumstance which qualifies parricide, the
relationship, is personal to the husband and cannot be
transferred to a stranger. That is why there will be
two informations filed, one is parricide as against the
husband as a principal by inducement and the other
one is murder as against the killer.
5. Child should not be less than 3 days old; otherwise
the crime is infanticide. (Art 255)
6. Legitimacy need not be alleged when the accused
killed his
a) FATHER;
b) MOTHER; OR
c) CHILD
However, with respect to the other ascendant,
descendant or spouse, the relationship MUST BE
legitimate.
7. An ADOPTED child is considered as a legitimate
child. BUT since the relationship is exclusive between
the adopter and the adopted

ARTICLE 247

DEATH OR PHYSICAL INJURIES INFLICTED UNDER

EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES

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 seducer, while the
daughters are living with their parents.

Any person who shall promote or facilitate the

prostitution of his wife or daughter, shall otherwise have
consented to the infidelity of the other spouse shall not be
entitled to the benefits of this article.

1. ELEMENTS

a) That a legally married person or a parent

surprises his spouse or his daughter, the
latter under 18 years of age

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 perpetua, 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 railroad, 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.