5 &J 13 ;?;’’(’: 
THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF TI% REPUBLIC) 
OF THE P H I L I P P ~ S  
1 
Second Regular Session 
1 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Penal Code, Article 247 provides: 
Art. 247. Death or phyrical injwies inzlicfed under exceptional 
circumsta7zces. - 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. 
If he shall inflict upon them physical injuries of any other kind, he shall be 
exempt from punishment. 
These rules 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 their parents. xxx 
While the crimes of parricide and murder under the same Code are considered heinous 
crimes where the accused is meted capital punishment, this provision merely sentences the 
accused to destierro. This is not intended as a penalty but to remove the perpetrating spouse or 
parent from the vicinity and to protect him or her from acts of reprisal principally by relatives of 
the deceased spouse or child [People v. Lunron, C.A. 57 O.G. 73671 
The provision does not define a felony, but rather, exempts the accused from punishment. 
A parent or spouse is entitled to this benefit on the presumption that he or she would be acting in 
a justified burst of passion [People Y. Gonzales, 69 Phil. 66 (1939)l. 
However, the article and its resultant court decisions run contrary to current state policy. 
The Constitution, Article 3, Section 1 provides, “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or 
property without due process of law.” 
This necessarily rejects the policy of allowing an 
individual to take the law into his own hands. Thus, the circumstances referred to in Article 247 
must be treated only as possibly mitigating the liability of the accused but should not provide 
absolute exemption. 


Further, domestic violence against women and excessive corporal punishment for 
children have been rejected by the passage of R.A. No 7610 otherwise known as “Special 
Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act” and R.A. No. 9262 
otherwise known as “Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004”. The 
latter provides: 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared that the State values 
the dignity of women and children and guarantees full respect for human rights. 
The State also recognizes the need to protect the family and its members 
particularly women and children, from violence and threats to their personal 
safety and security. 
Towards this end, the State shall exert efforts to address violence 
committed against women and children in keeping with the fundamental freedoms 
guaranteed under the Constitution and the Provisions of the Universal Declaration 
of Human Rights, the convention on the Elimination of all forms of 
discrimination Against Women, Convention on the Rights of the Child xxx 
The Philippines’ international obligations under the Convention of the Rights of the 
Child, Article 19 mandates that the government: 
xxx Take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and 
educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental 
violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or 
exploitation including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal 
guardians(s) or any other person who has care ofthe child 
Article 247 perpetuates a patriarchal and protectionist approach to women and children; it 
assumes that women and children are under the custody of the men in the household; hence, 
women or children have no right to make decisions independent of their parents or spouse. 
Above all, Article 247 is a thinly disguised Philippine version of “honor killing”. Honor killings 
of women can be defined as acts of murder in which “a woman is killed for her actual or 
perceived immoral behavior.” (Yasmeen Hassan, “The Fate of Pakistani Women”, International 
Herald Tribune, May 25, 1999. 
Such “immoral behavior” may take the form of marital 
infidelity, demanding a divorce, or failing to serve a meal on time.) 
Such acts are abhorrent to our own current state policies and undermine the values we 
share with the international community. Thus, this law musf be repealed 


THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
) 
5 UC:T !3 , L' 
1- 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session 
) 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
REPEALING ARTICLE 247 OF ACT NO. 3815, ALSO KNOWN AS THE REVISED 
PENAL CODE, AS AMENDED, ON DEATH OR PHYSICAL INJURIES UNDER 
EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of 
the Philippines in 
Congess assembled: 
SECTION 1. Article 247 of Act. No 3815. also known as the Revised Penal Code is 
hereby repealed: 
[Art, 247. Death or physical injzisies inflicted under exceptional circzninstnnces. - 
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. 
If he shall inflict upon them physical injuries of any other kind, he shall be 
exempt from punishment. 
These rules 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 their parents. 
Any person who shall promote or facilitate the prostitution of his wife or 
daughter, or shall otherwise have consented to the infidelity of the other spouse 
shall not be entitled to the benefits of this article.] 
SECTION 2. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent 
with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended accordingly 
SECTION 3 .  Effectiviity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved,