Class Notes 101 For Dultery PDF

My Notes:
Adultery and concubinage under the Revised Penal Code;

marital infidelity and psychological violence under RA 9262
Summary:

1. Under the Revised Penal Code, adultery cannot be committed by the husband; it is a
crime committed by the wife and her paramour. ( Defines in RPC Art. 333)

2. Concubinage is committed by a husband in several ways: ( Defines in RPC 334)

(a) by keeping a mistress in the conjugal dwelling,

(b) by having sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances with a woman who is not
his wife; or

(c) by cohabiting with his mistress in any other place.

3. If a husband wants to file an adultery case against his wife, he must also charge the
paramour. In the same way, a wife must file the case for concubinage against her husband
and his mistress; she cannot charge the mistress alone.

4. The heaviest penalty for adultery is imprisonment of six years (for the wife and her
paramour). On the other hand, the heaviest penalty for concubinage is four years and two
months (for the husband) and “destierro” or exile (for his mistress).

5. Since concubinage is difficult to prove in court, the wife should instead file a case of
psychological violence due to marital infidelity under RA 9262.

6. The penalty for “psychological violence” under RA 9262 is a minimum of six years up to
twelve years of imprisonment. The maximum penalty is imposed if the violence is
committed by the husband or the intimate partner against the woman when she is pregnant
or in the presence of their children.

7. Implications of the Supreme Court ruling on conspiracy in “Sharica Go‐Tan case”: Can you
file an RA 9262 case against your unfaithful husband AND his mistress?

8. Update as of December 2, 2018: House Bill No. 8604 seeks to remove the crimes of
adultery and concubinage from the Revised Penal Code and to replace them with the crime
of “sexual infidelity.”

The Philippine Commission on Women recommends the decriminalizing of adultery and
concubinage.
Why is concubinage difficult to prove in court?

In order to charge her husband with concubinage, the wife has to prove that he has committed
any or all of the three acts mentioned above.

With number (1) above, I think you will agree with me that only a few men would dare to bring or
allow his mistress to live in the conjugal dwelling. Not unless, of course, if the wife allows it for
whatever reason …

As to number (2) above, an adulterous affair by its nature is done in secret; a man and his paramour
cannot be expected to have sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances.

Now, number (3) above. If a wife seeks legal help in filing a case for concubinage, lawyers will ask her
for evidence that proves cohabitation. The evidence may be receipts for the apartment where the
man and mistress are living, receipts for Meralco and PLDT, and affidavits of eyewitnesses that the
man and mistress are really cohabiting, etc.

If the evidence merely proves that the husband is having an extra‐marital affair, he cannot be
charged with concubinage.

If the other woman gets pregnant and gives birth, can it be used as evidence for concubinage
against the husband? No, the pregnancy is not necessarily proof of cohabitation. Why? Again, please
take note of how concubinage is committed as I discussed under numbers (1) up to (3) above.
Inequalities in the law and discrimination against women

The provisions of the Revised Penal Code are stacked against the wife. If she commits even just one
case of marital infidelity, she, along with the paramour, can be immediately charged criminally.

But the husband who commits numerous acts of marital infidelity cannot be sued by his wife for
adultery (since under Article 333, adultery is a crime committed by the wife and her paramour). The
philandering husband must be sued under Article 334 for concubinage. The problem is, concubinage
is much more difficult to prove in court.

What’s the reason for this inequality — the heavier penalty for the wife — under the Revised Penal
Code? Well, the law seeks to prevent the introduction of spurious heirs into the family, which can
happen in adultery, not in concubinage.

Because concubinage is difficult to prove in court, it’s better to file a
case of psychological violence under RA 9262

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My Notes:

Adultery and concubinage under the Revised Penal Code;

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