Revised Penal Code, Art. 334

Statute

Revised Penal Code

Article

Art. 334

Topic

Concubinage

Year

1930

The provision

Key points

Article 334 defines and penalizes concubinage. A husband commits it by keeping a mistress in the conjugal dwelling, by having sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances with a woman not his wife, or by cohabiting with her in any other place.

The husband is punished by prisión correccional in its minimum and medium periods, and the concubine suffers the penalty of destierro. The asymmetry with adultery — different acts and penalties for husband and wife — is a noted feature of the provision. Like adultery, it is a private crime prosecuted on the offended spouse's complaint, and is read with Article 333.

The elements differ by offender: the husband is liable only in the three specific situations the article describes — keeping a mistress in the conjugal dwelling, sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances, or cohabitation elsewhere — whereas adultery under Article 333 is committed by a single act of intercourse by the wife. The penalties also differ, with the concubine suffering destierro rather than imprisonment. As a private crime, concubinage cannot be prosecuted except on the complaint of the offended spouse, who must include both offenders.

Related provisions

• Revised Penal Code Art. 333 — Adultery
• Revised Penal Code Art. 349 — Bigamy
• Revised Penal Code Art. 15

Continue your research on Intellegal

• Search Philippine statutes and issuances in Law Explorer
• Find Supreme Court cases that apply this provision with Case-Law Analytics
• Get a cited research report on this topic with Deep Synthesis