ARTICLE 247 of The Revised

Penal Code

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.

THESE ELEMENTS MUST BE PRESENT:

1. The offender is any legally married person;
2. The offender surprises his spouse in the act of
committing sexual intercourse;
3. The offender kills or seriously injures any or
both of them; and
4. The offender kills or seriously injures during
the act of sexual intercourse or immediately
thereafter.

MEANING OF THE WORD SURPRISE IN THE

PHRASE HAVING SURPRISED HIS SPOUSE IN
THE ACT OF COMMITTING SEXUAL
INTERCOURSE WITH ANOTHER PERSON.
the word surprise means to come upon
suddenly and unexpectedly

THE TERM IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER

The term immediately thereafter means that

from discovery to the escape and the killing,
there must be no interruption or interval of time.
The pursuit and the killing must form part of one
continuous act.

Article 247 is not applicable

when the accused did not see
his spouse in the act of sexual
intercourse with another
person.

DOES SEXUAL INTERCOURSE

INCLUDE PREPARATORY ACTS?
There must be actual sexual
intercourse.

No criminal liability when less

serious or slight physical
injuries are inflicted.

ARTICLE 248 of The Revised

Penal Code

MURDER

ELEMENTS OF MURDER:
1. That a person was killed
2. That the accused killed him
3. That the killing was attended by any of the
qualifying circumstances mentioned in
Article248
4. The killing is not parricide or infanticide

RULES FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE

CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH QUALIFY THE
KILLING TO MURDER
(a) That murder will exist with only one of the
circumstances described in Article 248
(b) That when the other circumstances are absorbed
or included in one qualifying circumstance, they
cannot be considered as generic aggravating.
(c) That any of the qualifying circumstances
enumerated in Article 248 must be alleged in the
information

With treachery.
To constitute treachery, the means, methods or
forms of attack must be consciously adopted by
the offender.

Taking advantage of superior strength.

To qualify the killing, superior strength must be
taken advantage of.

With the aid of armed men.

The armed men must take part in the commission
of the crime directly or indirectly and the
accused must avail himself of their aid or rely
upon them when the crime is committed.

Employing means to weaken the defense.

Employing means or persons to insure or

afford impunity.
When means or persons are employed by the
accused who killed the deceased to prevent from
being recognized, or to secure himself against
detection and punishment.

In consideration of a price, reward, or promise.

the person who received the price is a principal by
direct participation
the person who gave the price or reward is a
principal by induction

By means of fire, poison, explosion, etc.

It is intended that there should be an actual design
to kill.

On the occasion of inundation, shipwreck,

etc., of an earthquake, eruption of a volcano,
epidemic or any other public calamity.
Killing a person on the occasion of inundation,
shipwreck, eruption of a volcano, epidemic or
any other public calamity, when taken advantage
of by the offender, qualifies the crime to murder.

With evident premeditation.

This circumstance is present and it qualifies the
killing of a person to murder, when the prosecution
proves:
(1) The time when the offender determined to kill his
victim;
(2) An act of the offender manifestly indicating that he
clung to his determination to kill his victim; and
(3) A sufficient lapse of time between the
determination and the execution of the killing

With cruelty.
There is cruelty when other injuries or wounds are
inflicted deliberately by the offender, which are
not necessary for the killing of the victim.

Outraging or scoffing at the person or corpse

of the victim.
outraging- to commit an extremely vicious or
deeply insulting act
scoffing- to jeer, and implies a showing of
irreverence

ARTICLE 249 of The Revised

Penal Code

HOMICIDE

ELEMENTS:
1) That a person was killed;
2) That the accused killed him without any
justifying circumstance;
3) That the accused had the intention to kill;
4) That the killing was not attended by any of the
qualifying circumstance of murder, or by that
of parricide or infanticide.

Shall kill another.

In homicide, the victim must be killed to
consummate the crime. If the victim is not killed,
it is either attempted or frustrated homicide.

Accidental homicide.
Accidental homicide is the death of a person
brought about by a lawful act performed with
proper care and skill, and without homicidal
intent.

Corpus delicti in crimes against persons.

Corpus delicti actual commission of the crime
charged
--that a crime was actually
perpetrated

In the absence of clear proof of any

circumstance that would qualify as
murder the killing of the deceased,
the guilty person should be
sentenced only for homicide.