THE LAW ON ARSON

Presidential Decree No. 1613. March 7, 1979

[Bernardo, R; Castillo, A; Fernando, A; Mirabel, F; Sambile, J; and Santos, J.]

o History
Before, Arson was defined and penalized under nine (9) different articles of the Revised Penal
Code, namely:
Article 320 – destructive Arson
Article 321 – other forms of arson
Article 322 – cases of arson not included in the preceding articles
Article 323 – arson of property of small value
Article 324 – crimes involving destruction
Article 325 – burning one’s own property to commit arson
Article 326 – setting fire to property exclusively owned by offender
Article 326a – in cases where death resulted as a consequence of arson
Article 326b – prima facie evidence of arson
On March 7, 1979, P.D. 1613 was enacted to supplant the penal code provisions on arson.
On November 11, 1980, the law on arson was again revisited via P.D. No. 1744 which reinstate
Art. 320 of the Revised Penal Code and paved the way for the re-imposition of the capital
punishment on destructive arsonists.
On December 13, 1993, Art. 320 underwent a revision again when R.A. 7659 (An Act to Impose
Death Penalty on Certain Heinous Crimes) was passed.

o Definition
ARSON is the malicious burning of property.
Elements:
a.) There is intentional burning;
b.) What is intentionally burned is an inhabited house or dwelling.

o Classification
It is classified into two (2) based on the kind, character and location of the property burned,
regardless of the value of the damage caused.

 Destructive Arson under Art. 320 of the RPC and PD 1613, Sec. 2
 Simple Arson or other cases of arson under PD 1613, Sec. 3

Destructive Arson Simple Arson

GOVERNING RPC – Article 320 as amended;
LAW PD 1613, Sec.2 PD 1613, Section 3
heinous crime - grievous or there is lesser degree of
COVERAGE there is manifest wickedness perversity
Reclusion Perpetua Reclusion Temporal to
PENALTY to Death Reclusion Perpetua
o Acts punishable
>>Destructive Arson [Sec. 2 of PD 1613]
Burning of the following property:

1. Any ammunition factory and other establishment where explosives, inflammable or

combustible materials are stored.
 2. Any archive, museum, whether public or private, or any edifice devoted to culture,
education or social services.

3. Any church or place of worship or other building where people usually assemble.

4. Any train, airplane or any aircraft, vessel or watercraft, or conveyance for

transportation of persons or property

5. Any building where evidence is kept for use in any legislative, judicial, administrative
or other official proceedings.

6. Any hospital, hotel, dormitory, lodging house, housing tenement, shopping center,
public or private market, theater or movie house or any similar place or building.

7. Any building, whether used as a dwelling or not, situated in a populated or congested

area.

>>Other cases of Arson/Simple Arson [Sec. 3 of PD 1613]

The burning of the following shall be considered Other Cases of Arson:

1. Any building used as offices of the government or any of its agencies;
2. Any inhabited house or dwelling;
3. Any industrial establishment, shipyard, oil well or mine shaft, platform or tunnel;
4. Any plantation, farm, pastureland, growing crop, grain field, orchard, bamboo grove or
forest;
5. Any rice mill, sugar mill, cane mill or mill central; and
6. Any railway or bus station, airport, wharf or warehouse.

o Special Aggravating Circumstance [Sec. 4 of PD 1613]

Imposed in its maximum period if:
 committed with intent to gain;
 committed for the benefit of another;
 the offender is motivated by spite or hatred towards the owner or occupant of the
property burned;
 committed by syndicate – if it is planned or carried out by a group of 3 or more persons.

o Death results from Arson [Sec. 5 of PD 1613]

PENALTY: Reclusion Perpetua to Death

*No complex crime of arson with homicide

In cases where both burning and death occur, in order to determine what crime/crimes
was/were perpetrated, it is necessary to ascertain the main objective of the malefactor:
i.) If the objective is the burning of the building, edifice, but death results by reason
or on occasion of arson, the crime is simply arson and homicide is absorbed;
ii.) If the objective is to kill a particular person who may be inside a building or
edifice, when fire is resorted to as a means to accomplish such goal the crime
committed is murder only;
 iii.) If the objective is to kill a particular person and in fact the offender has already
done so, but fire is resorted to as a means to cover up the killing, then there are
two separate crimes committed – homicide/murder and arson.

o PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE [Sec. 6 of PD 1613]

1. If the fire started simultaneously in more than one part of the building or establishment.
2. If substantial amount of flammable substances or materials are stored within the building note
necessary in the business of the offender nor for household us.
3. If gasoline, kerosene, petroleum or other flammable or combustible substances or materials soaked
therewith or containers thereof, or any mechanical, electrical, chemical, or electronic contrivance
designed to start a fire, or ashes or traces of any of the foregoing are found in the ruins or premises of the
burned building or property.
4. If the building or property is insured for substantially more than its actual value at the time of the
issuance of the policy.
5. If during the lifetime of the corresponding fire insurance policy more than two fires have occurred in
the same or other premises owned or under the control of the offender and/or insured.
6. If shortly before the fire, a substantial portion of the effects insured and stored in a building or
property had been withdrawn from the premises except in the ordinary course of business.
7. If a demand for money or other valuable consideration was made before the fire in exchange for the
desistance of the offender or for the safety of the person or property of the victim.

o CONSPIRACY [Sec. 7 of PD 1613]

It is punishable by prision mayor in its minimum period.

o CONFISCATION [Sec. 8 of PD 1613]

The object of the arson including the land where it is situated shall be confiscated ad
escheated to the State, unless the owner can prove that he has no participation or knowledge in
the commission of the crime of arson.

OTHER CONCEPTS:

o Stages of commission
 Attempted – it is not necessary that there be fire.
 Frustrated - there is no frustrated arson.
 Consummated – it is consummated notwithstanding the fact that the fire was afterwards
extinguished; there is consummated arson when the contents of the building were set to
fire even if no part of the building is burned.

o Corpus delicti
1.) the corpus delicti, that is, a fire because of criminal agency
2.) the identity of the accused as the one responsible for the crime