Crimes against Chastity

Article 333 – Adultery

Adultery Concubinage
- is filed primarily against the married woman - is filed primarily against the married man
- their respective paramours or concubines are likewise criminally liable for either adultery or
concubinage

-Elements:
1. that the woman is married
2. that she has sexual intercourse with a man not her husband
3. that as regards the man with whom she has sexual intercourse, he must know her to be married

- Should there be direct evidence of sexual intercourse to secure a conviction for Adultery? – No.
US v. Feliciano, G.R. No. L-12724. SC held that the conviction for Adultery may rest on
circumstantial evidence.
- Ex. Suggestive text messages coupled with the fact that the offenders were seen entering and
leaving a motel

- X suspects that his wife, Y, is having an affair, so he hires a P.I. who secretly recorded a video
of Y having sex with another man. On the basis of that video, can Y and the other man be
convicted of Adultery? – No because under R.A. 9995 or the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism
Act, photos or videos taken in violation of the said act is inadmissible as evidence. No one can
record illicit videos without the consent of all parties. It may be possible, however, that the P.I. will
testify as to what he had witnessed.

Article 334 – Concubinage

- Elements:
1. that the man is married
2. that he commits any of the following acts: he keeps a mistress in the conjugal dwelling, shall
have sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances with a woman who is not his wife, or
shall cohabit with her in any other place
3. as regards the woman, she must know the man to be married

1st Act: Husband keeps a mistress in the conjugal dwelling.

- either the wife is temporarily away or not aware

- What if the husband keeps a mistress at home with the knowledge of the wife? – this will severely
affect the right of the wife to file a complaint for Concubinage; if the wife is aware of the mistress
and does nothing about it, then that may amount to consent; under Art. 334 of the RPC and Sec.
5 of Rule 110 of the RoC, if the wife consents to the Concubinage or pardons the husband, that
would bar her right to file a complaint for Concubinage.
- You must file the complaint against the guilty spouse as well as the partner or paramour or
concubine. You cannot choose to prosecute either of the two, it has to be both; assuming that
they are both alive.

2nd Act: Sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances.

- they are offensive to public conscience or public morals
- jurisprudence: scandalous circumstances if done within the knowledge of the public or if
it is “lantaran”
- exerted no effort to hide their misdeeds

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3rd Act: Cohabiting in any place
- to cohabit means the husband is living with the concubine as though they are husband
and wife

- 1st and 3rd act – no need to prove sexual intercourse; only applies to the 2 nd act

- Penalty for adultery is graver than penalty for concubinage; harder to prove concubinage than
adultery
- in adultery, mere sexual intercourse consummates the crime; in concubinage, sexual intercourse
alone does not suffice. It must also have been done under scandalous circumstances.
- violative of Equal Protection Clause

Article 336 – Acts of Lasciviousness

- Elements:
1. that the offender commits any act of lasciviousness or lewdness
- intentional touching either directly or through clotting of the genitalia of any person with
intent to abuse or gratify sexual desire (based on IRR of RA 7610)
2. that it is done
a. by using force or intimidation
b. when the offended party is under 12 years of age
3. that the offended party is another person of either sex

- 2nd element – common element of rape

- Acts of Lasciviousness vs. Attempted Rape?

- Norberto Cruz v. People (G.R. No. 166441)
- Cruz and his wife were travelling merchants, had 2 employees (girls), the accused
entered the tent of one of the girls and laid on top of her, the accused removed her clothes
and undergarments and proceeded to touch her private parts, the accused was charged
with attempted rape.
- the intent of the offender to lie with the female defines the distinction between attempted
rape and acts of lasciviousness; the felony of attempted rape requires such intent; the
felony of acts of lasciviousness does not
- “In Attempted Rape, the accused must have the intent to penetrate, and such intent must
be shown by overt act as when the erect penis was in position to penetrate. Without that
overt act, the crime is only Acts of Lasciviousness.”

- acts of lasciviousness – correlate with RA 7610

Article 337 – Qualified Seduction

- age of consent is 12 years old; below 12 y/o – statutory rape
- regardless of the age of the victim, rape can be committed if there is no consent; in seduction,
there is an apparent consent but said consent was not fully or intelligently or consciously made

- seduction may be described as the middle ground between lack of consent and consent full
given. Anything short of consent fully given is a crime.

- Elements:
1. the offended party is a virgin
2. she must be over 12 and under 18 years of age
3. the offender has sexual intercourse with her

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4. the offender is a person in public authority, priest, house servant, domestic, guardian, teacher,
one entrusted with the education or custody of the offended party, or brother or ascendant of the
latter

- purpose is to punish men who take advantage if their position, status, or relationship with the
victim

- in qualified seduction, the victim consented to the sexual intercourse with the offender but it is
still a crime because of the tender age of the victim and because of how the offender took
advantage of his position, status, or relationship

- virginity = good reputation

- par. 2 of Art. 337 – if the offender is the brother, parent, or ascendant who seduced the victim,
the reputation of the victim does not matter. The age of the victim, likewise, does not matter.

Article 338 – Simple Seduction

- no enumeration of specific offenders as long as the offender deceived the victim in order
to have sex with him
- ex. Promise of marriage

Article 339-341

Article 342 – Forcible Abduction

- Elements:
1. that the person abducted is a woman, regardless of her age, civil status, or reputation
2. that the abduction is against her will
3. that the abduction is with lewd designs

- Consent is immaterial if victim is under 12 years of age

- very similar to illegal detention
- lewd design means that the purpose of the offender is to satisfy his lust; abduction must be
accompanied with obscene or indecent acts
- lewd design must be present at the precise moment that the offender abducted the victim

1. If the offender attempted to rape the abducted victim, crime is Forcible Abduction. Forcible
Abduction absorbs Attempted Rape (already constitutes the external manifestation of lewd
design)

2. If the offender succeeded in raping the victim:

a. Rape will absorb Forcible Abduction, if it is shown that the principal objective in
abducting the victim is to commit rape.

b. Complex Crime of Forcible Abduction with Rape (under Art. 48 of RPC), if it is shown
that the Forcible Abduction is not indispensable for the offender to commit rape. (but
merely facilitated the commission of rape)

- complex crime will only apply to the first count of rape; the succeeding rapes will be treated as
separate counts of rape

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- if one crime is an indispensable means of committing another crime, those crimes cannot be
complex under Article 48; why? – that would make it a mere component of the latter

Article 343 – Consented Abduction

- Elements:
1. the taking away or kidnapping of a woman over 12 years old but below 18 years old
2. consent from the girl
3. the act was committed with lewd designs

Article 344 – Prosecution of the Crimes of Adultery, Concubinage, Seduction, Abduction,

and Acts of Lasciviousness
- crimes against chastity are regarded as private crimes, meaning that as a rule, they can
only be prosecuted upon complaint by the offended party

Crimes against Civil Status

Article 347 – Simulation of births, Substitution of One Child for Another and Concealment
or Abandonment of a Legitimate Child
- tampering of the Civil Registry, making it appear in the birth records that a certain child
was born to a person who is not his or her biological mother, causing such child to lose
his or her true identity and status
- abandonment – correlate to Art. 276

Article 348 – Usurpation of Civil Status

- essentially pretending to be someone else

Article 349 – Bigamy

- Elements:
1. the offender has been legally married
2. the marriage has not been legally dissolved or, in case his or her spouse is absent, the absent
spouse could not yet be presumed dead according to the Civil Code
3. that he contracts a second or subsequent marriage
4. that the second or subsequent marriage has all the essential requisites for validity

- Is the nullity of the first marriage a defense? – No, because bigamy is consummated upon the
contracting of the 2nd marriage; Art. 40 of FC
- XPN: Morigo v. People, G.R. No. 145226 – the purported 1st marriage consisted merely of the
private act of signing a marriage contract. There was in fact no marriage ceremony. Thus, the 1 st
marriage has no semblance of validity which is why the accused was acquitted of bigamy even
though the first marriage was not yet declared null and void at the time he contracted the 2 nd
marriage.

- Is the nullity of the second marriage a defense? – No. Otherwise, people can escape prosecution
for bigamy by simply ensuring that there are some defects in the 2 nd marriage.
- XPN: When the 2nd marriage has no semblance of validity, or if the second marriage is coerced.

- X and Y are married. X, the husband, later married Z, another man. Is X liable for Bigamy? –
No, he is not; because Bigamy presupposes 2 valid marriages. In this case, the marriage between
X and Z is void on its face and has no semblance of validity since same-sex marriage is not yet
recognized in the PH.
- However, X and Z may be liable for Article 350 or illegal marriage

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- What if one spouse is an alien/naturalized alien and he/she secures a divorce decree, can the
Filipino spouse remarry without being liable for Bigamy?
- Art. 26 of the Family Code: “Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is
validly celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse
capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall have capacity to remarry under
Philippine law.”
- People v. Orbecido, G.R. No. 154380
- Republic v. Manalo, G.R. No. 221029

Article 350 – Marriage Contracted against Provisions of Laws (Illegal Marriage)

Article 352 – Performance of Illegal Marriage Ceremony

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