Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
Tirst Regular Session

i
House Bil! No, 1451

Introduced by BAYAN MUNA
Representatives NERI J. COLMENARES and CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE,

AN ACT REPEALING ARTICLE 247 OF ACT 3815,
AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS
THE REVISED PENAL CODE

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Art. 247 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 destiero [being prohibited from entering
within a radius of at least 25 kilometers of a designated place}

If he shall inflict upon them physical injuries of any other kind, he shall be exempt
from punishment.

‘These mules 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 cheir parents, (Art, 247 Revised Penal Code of the
Philippines, emphasis supplied)

It is incomprehensible why the above law which essentially allows patents to kill their
daughters and the offended spouse to kill the offending spouse remains in our criminal code.
Instead of imprisonment, the killer is merely penalized with destierro or prohibited from entering a
place designated by the court, surely a “non-penalty” considering the seriousness of the crime,
Despite the fact that the imposition of the death penalty has been abolished, there exists in the
Philippines a law which practically penalizes with death spouses and daughters for committing the
act of sexual intercourse.

Art. 247 of the Revised Penal Code is a product of feudal mentality deeply ingrained in our
society for more than a century. The first question is why shall we allow a parent to kill a daughter
for having sex with another? This is more than medieval!



‘The fact that the law merely focuses on the daughter and not the son only shows the
discriminatory and feudal frame of mind of the authors of this obscurantist law. Worse, the law
even vaguely provides that it applics not only during sexual intercourse but also “immediately
after” sexual intercourse, which practically allows for the killing even if it is no longer sure that a
sexual act has indeed been committed.

While adultery and concubinage is punished with imprisonment under our criminal laws,
Ast, 247 transforms the same act into a criminal offense punishable by death merely because the
sexual act was seen by the parent or the spouse. Some may argue that the passion, obfuscation
and the insult suffered by the parent or the spouse [provided the spouse is “legally married” to the
person he or she will kill] justifies the exemption from penalty. However, insult or passion must
never be a license to kill,

Art, 247 is in reality a de facto State-sponsored death penalty against an unfaithful or the
disobedient and therefore inconsistent with the statute suspending the death sentence. Worse it is
discriminatory, not only against female daughters, but also against non-marital relationships when
they too are protected under our laws. But what makes it unacceptable is because it perpetuates
the use of State power through criminal laws to define and re-define relationships, where the State
engages in legal discourse to control how much love is available for whom and what reactions
there should be when embroiled in such situations.

This Bill has no intention of encouraging acts of infidelity—not only because these acts
remain punishable under our criminal laws and are also subject of civil liabilities under our Civil
Code but also because it should not be relevant to the issue of particide, Rather, the Bill sceks to
discourage murder, especially the murder of a daughter by a patent or the murder of a spouse by
the other.

By repealing this law we are not only encouraging parents and spouses to resolve
intra-family problems in a non-violent manner but also climinate this discriminatory and unjust law
and gradually move forward in efforts to reforming out ctiminal laws.

For this reason, the repeal of this medieval provision of the Revised Penal Code is highly
sought for: Art, 247 must be struck down.

i536 3 LS

Rep. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE
Bayan Muna Parly-L&b



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

1451

House Bill No.

Introduced by BAYAN MUNA
Representatives NERI J. COLMENARES and CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE

AN ACT REPEALING ARTICLE 247 OF ACT 3815,
AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS.
‘THE REVISED PENAL CODE

Be it enacted by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Declaration of Prindple, The State values the dignity of every human person and
guarantees full respect for human tights. It shall ensure fundamental equality before the law of
women and men and no person shall be deprived of life, liberty and property without due process
of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.

Section 2. Article 247, Title Eight, Chapter One of Act 3815, as amended, otherwise
known as the Revised Penal Code which provides that “Art 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 bath of them in the act or
immediately thereafter, or shall inflict upon them any serious physical injury, shall suffer the penalty of
destirro, If he shall inflict ypon them physical injuries of any other kind, be shall be exempt from
punishment, These rules shall be applicable, under the same circumstances, to parents with respect fo their
daughters under eighteen years of age, and their seducer, while the daughters are living with their parents.
Any person who shall promote or fasilitate the prostitution of his wife or daughter, or shall otherwise have
consented to the infidelity of the otber spouse shall not be entitled to the benefits of this article” is, heteby
repealed.

Section 3. Repealing clause—All laws, decrees, resolutions, orders ot ordinances or parts
thereof inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed, amended ot modified accordingly.

Section 4. Fféstivity. — This law shall take effect after fifteen days following its publication
for two consecutive weeks in the newspaper of genctal circulation in the Philippines.

Approved.