Title 8. Crimes against persons
Chapter 1. Destruction of life
Art. 246. Parricide
 Essential element: relationship
 Law should read “any other ascendants or
descendants”
o Who should be legitimate
 Father, mother, and child may be illegitimate
 Child should not be less than 3 days old = infanticide
 This article only contemplates relationship by blood
 Spouse must be legit.
o Best proof: marriage certificate
o If none: oral evidence not objected to (PP v.
Cruz)
 Marriages among Muslims and other members of
ethnic cultural communities performed in accordance
with their customs are valid
 Parricide should be alleged in the information, if not,
however, it may still be considered as an aggravating
circumstance.
 Parricide may be committed through reckless
imprudence. It is punishable by arresto mayor in its
maximum period to prision correccional in its medium
period. If, however, it is committed only through simple
imprudence or negligence, the penalty is arresto
mayor in its medium and maximum periods. (Art. 365 in
relation to Art. 246)
 Art. 49 applies in parricide
 Knowledge of relationship is not required
 Indemnity is also applicable
 A person who cooperates in the commission of
parricide is liable for murder or homicide as the case
maybe
Art. 247. Death or physical injuries inflicted under exceptional
circumstances
 Article does not define a felony, but instead, if done
under the circumstance in the same article, the person
is exempted from 246, 249, and 263, and only liable for
247.
 The requisites of Art. 247 must be established by the
evidence of defense
 The accused must be a legally married person
 The daughter may be legitimate or illegitimate
 Surprise – to come upon suddenly and unexpectedly
 Destierro is intended as a protection of the accused
from the family members of the victim
Art. 248 – Murder
 Not falling within the provisions of Article 246.
 In murder, the victim must be killed to consummate the
crime. If the victim is not killed, it is either attempted or
frustrated murder.
 Killing a person by means of fire is murder, only when
there is actual design to kill on the part of the offender.
(U.S. vs. Burns, 41 Phil. 418)
 But killing a person with treachery is murder even if
there is no intent to kill.
 Rules for the application of the circumstances which
qualify the killing to murder.
o That murder will exist with only one of the
circumstances described in Art. 248.
o That when the other circumstances are
absorbed or included in one qualifying
circumstance, they cannot be considered as
generic aggravating.
o That any of the qualifying circumstances
enumerated in Art. 248 must be alleged in the
information.
 The qualifying circumstances of murder, except
"outraging or scoffing at his person or corpse," are
among those defined in Art. 14.
 Killing of a child of tender years is murder.
 The use of poison is not inherent in the crime of murder
 Killing a person on the occasion of inundation,
shipwreck, eruption of a volcano, epidemic, etc., or
any other public calamity, when taken advantage of
by the offender, qualifies the crime to murder.
Art. 249. Homicide
 Homicide is the unlawful killing of any person, which is
neither parricide, murder, nor infanticide.
 The penalty for homicide shall be reclusion perpetua
when the victim is under 12 years of age.
 Intent to kill is conclusively presumed when death
resulted.
o the penal law looks particularly to the material
results following the unlawful act and holds
the aggressor responsible for all the
consequences thereof.
Art. 250
Art. 251. Death caused in a tumultuous affray
 Tumultuous affray exists when at least four persons took
part.
o The word "tumultuous" as used in Art. 153
means that the disturbance is caused by
more than three persons who are armed or
are provided with means of violence
 When there was confusion in the fight and the person
who inflicted the wounds could not be identified, the
crime is death caused in a tumultuous affray.
 If the one who inflicted the fatal wound is known, the
crime is not homicide in tumultuous affray. It is a case of
homicide under Art. 249 against the one who inflicted
the fatal wound.
Art. 252. Physical injuries inflicted in a tumultuous affray.
 Note that only those who used violence are punished,
because if the one who caused the physical injuries is
known, he will be liable for the physical injuries actually
committed (Arts. 263, 265 and 266), and not under this
article.
Art. 253. Giving assistance to suicide
 Art. 253 does not distinguish and does not make any
reference to the relation of the offender with the
person committing suicide.
 A person who attempts to commit suicide is not
criminally liable, because society has always
considered a person who attempts to kill himself as an
unfortunate being, a wretched person more deserving
of pity rather than of penalty.
 What Art. 253 considers a felony or unlawful is assisting
another to commit suicide. Since attempting to commit
suicide is not an unlawful act within the meaning of Art.
253, the pregnant woman who suffers an abortion due
to the poison she took to commit suicide should not be
held liable for the abortion that resulted.
 Euthanasia — commonly known as mercy killing — is
the practice of painlessly putting to death a person
suffering from some incurable disease. A doctor who
resorts to mercy-killing of his patient may be liable for
murder.
Art. 254. Discharge of firearms
 The act constituting the offense is shooting at another
with any firearm, without intent to kill him.
 Discharge towards the house of victim is not illegal
discharge of firearm. not sufficient proof that the shot
was aimed or fired at him.
  Firing a gun against the house of the offended party at  Unintentional abortion is committed only by violence
random, not knowing in what part of the house the  The violence must be intentionally exerted
people inside were, is only alarm under Art. 155  Unintentional abortion through imprudence is possible
 If the discharge of the firearm at the offended party is  author of the abuse which caused the miscarriage, he
coupled with intent to kill him, the felony should be is liable not only for such maltreatment but also for the
classified as frustrated or attempted parricide, murder consequences thereof, to wit, for the abortion
or homicide, and not merely illegal discharge of  husband, who, with violence kills his pregnant wife, thus
firearm. occasioning the death of the fetus, is guilty of parricide
 In discharge of firearm under Art. 254, the purpose of with unintentional abortion.
the offender is only to intimidate or to frighten the 
offended party.
 Distance may determine intent to kill, as well as number Art. 258. Abortion by the woman herself
of shots fired  The woman is liable if she "shall consent that any other
 If in the illegal discharge of firearm the offended party person should do so."
is hit and wounded, there is a complex crime of
discharge of firearm with physical injuries when the Art. 259
physical injuries are serious or less serious.
 The crime is discharge of firearm, even if the gun was Art. 260
not pointed at the offended party when it fired, as long
as it was initially aimed by the accused at or against Art. 261
the offended party
Art. 262
Art. 255. Infanticide
 Infanticide may be denned as the killing of any child Art. 263
less than three days of age, whether the killer is the
parent or grandparent, any other relative of the child, Art. 264
or a stranger.
 Other person who kills a child less than three days old, Art. 265
to suffer the penalty for murder.
 The purpose of concealing the dishonor is not an Art. 266
element of infanticide; it merely mitigates the liability of
the mother or maternal grandparents who committed Rape
the crime
 Reason for mitigation for mother: We understand that Art. 266A
the responsibility of the mother is mitigated when, right
after giving birth to a baby born out of an illicit
relationship, without time to reflect, excited and
obfuscated solely by the fear of her dishonor being
made public, she desires to erase the traces of her
mistake. Within that same day, we understand that
obfuscation, but on the day following, or on the third
day, when that disgraced child has been taken by the
mother on her lap, when the warmth of maternal love
from the mother's breast has been communicated to it,
when it has been given a kiss on its innocent cheek,
honor cannot overcome filial love, a love which has no
equal on earth.
 The delinquent mother must be of good reputation and
good morals, in order that concealing dishonor may
mitigate her liability.
 Stranger cooperating with the mother in killing a child
less than three days old is guilty of infanticide also but
the penalty is that for murder.
 No crime of infanticide is committed where the child
was born dead, or although born alive, it could not
sustain an independent life when it was killed.

Art. 256. Intentional Abortion

 Carrara has denned abortion as the willful killing of the
fetus in the uterus, or the violent expulsion of the fetus
from the maternal womb which results in the death of
the fetus. (Guevara)
 If the fetus survives in spite of the attempt to kill it or the
use of violence, abortion is not consummated.
 If abortion is intended and the fetus does not die, it is
frustrated intentional abortion when all the acts of
execution have been performed by the offender.
 If abortion is not intended and the fetus does not die, in
spite of the violence intentionally exerted, the crime
may be only physical injuries. No frustrated
unintentional abortion

Art. 257. Unintentional Abortion