Revised Penal Code, Art. 266-A

Note on current text: this is Article 266-A as enacted by Republic Act No. 8353 (1997). Republic Act No. 11648 (2022) further amended it. Its Section 1 is reproduced verbatim below rather than merged into the article, because consolidating a statute with its amendment is an editorial act we do not perform on statutory text. Reading it: the amendment restates paragraph 1 and replaces subparagraph (d). In the restated paragraph 1 the opening words are “By a person … another person”, where RA 8353 had “By a man … a woman”. The new (d) raises the age from under twelve (12) to under sixteen (16) years, adds an exception where the age difference is not more than three (3) years and the act is consensual, non-abusive and non-exploitative, disapplies that exception where the victim is under thirteen (13), and defines non-abusive and non-exploitative. ⚠ The “xxx xxx xxx” in the quoted text is an ELLIPSIS, not a deletion: subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) — force, threat or intimidation; the offended party deprived of reason or unconscious; fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority — are unchanged and remain in force. They appear in full in the article above.

Republic Act No. 11648 (2022), Section 1 — verbatim: SECTION 1. Article 266-A (1) (d) of Act No. 3815, otherwise known as "The Revised Penal Code," as amended by Republic Act No. 8353 otherwise known as "The Anti-Rape Law of 1997," is hereby further amended to read as follows: "Article 266-A. _Rape; When and How Committed_ . — Rape is committed: "1) By a person who shall have carnal knowledge of another person under any of the following circumstances: "xxx xxx xxx "d) When the offended party is under sixteen (16) years of age or is demented, even though none of the circumstances mentioned above be present: _Provided_, That there shall be no criminal liability on the part of a person having carnal knowledge of another person under sixteen (16) years of age when the age difference between the parties is not more than three (3) years, and the sexual act in question is proven to be consensual, non-abusive, and non-exploitative: _Provided, further_, That if the victim is under thirteen (13) years of age, this exception shall not apply. "As used in this Act, non-abusive shall mean the absence of undue influence, intimidation, fraudulent machinations, coercion, threat, physical, sexual, psychological, or mental injury or maltreatment, either with intention or through neglect, during the conduct of sexual activities with the child victim. On the other hand, non-exploitative shall mean there is no actual or attempted act or acts of unfairly taking advantage of the child's position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust during the conduct of sexual activities."