Article 263 of the Revised Penal Code: Serious physical injuries
Status: In force
What does Article 263 say?
Any person who shall wound, beat, or assault another, shall be guilty of the crime of serious physical injuries and shall suffer:
1. The penalty of prision mayor, if in consequence of the physical injuries inflicted, the injured person shall become insane, imbecile, impotent, or blind;
2. The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods, if in consequence of the physical injuries inflicted, the person injured shall have lost the use of speech or the power to hear or to smell, or shall have lost an eye, a hand, a foot, an arm, or a leg or shall have lost the use of any such member, or shall have become incapacitated for the work in which he was theretofore habitually engaged;
3. The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods, if in consequence of the physical injuries inflicted, the person injured shall have become deformed, or shall have lost any other part of his body, or shall have lost the use thereof, or shall have been ill or incapacitated for the performance of the work in which he was habitually engaged for a period of more than ninety days;
4. The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period, if the physical injuries inflicted shall have caused the illness or incapacity for labor of the injured person for more than thirty days.
If the offense shall have been committed against any of the persons enumerated in article 246, or with the attendance of any of the circumstances mentioned in article 248, the case covered by subdivision number 1 of this article shall be punished by reclusion temporal in its medium and maximum periods; the case covered by subdivision number 2 by prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its minimum period; the case covered by subdivision number 3 by prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods; and the case covered by subdivision number 4 by prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not be applicable to a parent who shall inflict physical injuries upon his child by excessive chastisement.
What does it mean in plain language?
Article 263 punishes anyone who wounds, beats or assaults another and causes serious physical injuries. It has four levels, based on the effect on the victim. The lightest level is an injury that causes illness or incapacity for labor for more than 30 days. The heaviest is an injury that leaves the victim insane, imbecile, impotent or blind, punished by prision mayor (6 years and 1 day to 12 years).
"Incapacity for labor" means the victim cannot do his or her work. Shorter injuries fall under other articles: 10 days or more, up to 30, is less serious physical injuries, and 1 to 9 days is slight physical injuries. The full overview is on physical injuries: serious, less serious or slight?
How does it work in real life?
Edwin: a broken leg after a brawl
Edwin is beaten during a fight at a basketball court. His leg is broken and the doctor says he cannot go back to his construction job for about 45 days. More than 30 days of incapacity points to Article 263(4).
Lorna: an eye lost in an attack
Lorna is hit in the face with a bottle and loses one eye. Losing an eye is listed in Article 263(2), which carries prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods.
Nestor: a scar on the face
Nestor is slashed on the cheek and is left with a large, visible scar. The prosecutor may consider Article 263(3), which covers a victim who "shall have become deformed". The court decides, based on the evidence, whether the injury is a deformity in the legal sense.
What does this mean in practice?
- The category is decided on the evidence. The court looks at how long the victim was ill or unable to work, and at any lasting harm, before deciding which paragraph applies.
- Serious physical injuries is a crime the State prosecutes. The victim files a complaint with the police or the prosecutor.
- If the injury was caused by negligence, for example in a road crash, the case is usually reckless imprudence resulting in serious physical injuries under Article 365. See the penalty for reckless imprudence.
- If the victim is a woman hurt by her husband, former husband, or a man she has or had a sexual or dating relationship or a child with, or is her child, the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act (Republic Act No. 9262) may also apply. See how to file a VAWC case.
- The deadline to file depends on the penalty. See prescription of crimes.
- A pending criminal case can affect a police or NBI clearance. See the police clearance guide.
What are the four kinds of serious physical injuries?
The penalty grows with the harm done. The lengths below come from the Code's own tables (Articles 27 and 76).
| Paragraph | Effect on the victim | Penalty | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 263(1) | Becomes insane, imbecile, impotent or blind | Prision mayor | 6 years and 1 day to 12 years |
| 263(2) | Loses speech, hearing or smell; loses an eye, a hand, a foot, an arm or a leg, or the use of one; or can no longer do the work he or she habitually did | Prision correccional, medium and maximum periods | 2 years, 4 months and 1 day to 6 years |
| 263(3) | Becomes deformed; loses any other part of the body or its use; or is ill or unable to do his or her habitual work for more than 90 days | Prision correccional, minimum and medium periods | 6 months and 1 day to 4 years and 2 months |
| 263(4) | Is ill or unable to work for more than 30 days | Arresto mayor, maximum period, to prision correccional, minimum period | 4 months and 1 day to 2 years and 4 months |
The article starts with the words of the crime itself:
Any person who shall wound, beat, or assault another, shall be guilty of the crime of serious physical injuries and shall suffer:
When is the penalty higher?
The second paragraph raises each penalty when the injuries are inflicted on one of the persons listed in Article 246 (father, mother, child, other ascendants or descendants, or spouse), or with one of the circumstances of Article 248, such as treachery.
| Paragraph | Higher penalty | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 263(1) | Reclusion temporal, medium and maximum periods | 14 years, 8 months and 1 day to 20 years |
| 263(2) | Prision correccional, maximum period, to prision mayor, minimum period | 4 years, 2 months and 1 day to 8 years |
| 263(3) | Prision correccional, medium and maximum periods | 2 years, 4 months and 1 day to 6 years |
| 263(4) | Prision correccional, minimum and medium periods | 6 months and 1 day to 4 years and 2 months |
The last paragraph makes one exception. These higher penalties do not apply to a parent who injures his or her child through excessive chastisement (punishment that goes too far). The ordinary penalties of the article still apply.
Did Republic Act No. 10951 change Article 263?
No. Republic Act No. 10951 (2017) changed the peso amounts and fines in many articles of the Code, but none of its sections amends Article 263, which has no peso amounts. The text shown is the 1930 wording of the Code, as printed on the Supreme Court E-Library.
Frequently asked questions
How many days is serious physical injuries?
More than 30 days of illness or incapacity for labor is serious physical injuries under Article 263(4). More than 90 days, a deformity or the loss of a body part falls under Article 263(3). Ten to 30 days is less serious physical injuries under Article 265.
What is the penalty for serious physical injuries?
It depends on the paragraph. It runs from arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period (4 months and 1 day to 2 years and 4 months) for more than 30 days of incapacity, up to prision mayor (6 years and 1 day to 12 years) if the victim becomes insane, imbecile, impotent or blind. Each penalty is higher when the victim is a relative listed in Article 246 or an Article 248 circumstance is present.
Is a scar a serious physical injury?
It can be. Article 263(3) covers a person injured who 'shall have become deformed'. Whether a particular scar is a deformity in the legal sense is for the court to decide on the evidence.
Was Article 263 changed by Republic Act No. 10951?
No. RA 10951 (2017) changed the amounts in many articles of the Code, but none of its sections amends Article 263, which has no peso amounts. The text on this page is the 1930 wording printed on the Supreme Court E-Library.
Is a parent who hurts a child while disciplining him covered by the higher penalties?
No. The last paragraph says the higher penalties for injuries against the persons listed in Article 246 do not apply to a parent who injures his child by excessive chastisement. The ordinary penalties of Article 263 still apply, and other laws may too.
General information, not legal advice. For your case, ask a lawyer, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or the agency.
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