Short answer. Yes, and the money goes to the victim. Article 2230 provides that in criminal offences exemplary damages as part of the civil liability may be imposed when the crime was committed with one or more aggravating circumstances, and that such damages are separate and distinct from fines and shall be paid to the offended party.
What the law says
exemplary damages as a part of the civil liability may be imposed when the crime was committed with one or more aggravating circumstances
Civil Code, Article 2230 — Exemplary Damages in Criminal Offenses. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Such damages are separate and distinct from fines and shall be paid to the offended party.
Civil Code, Article 2230 — Exemplary Damages in Criminal Offenses. Read the full provision →
A fine is not compensation; this is
The distinction the article draws is the one victims most often misunderstand. A fine is a penalty payable to the State, and none of it reaches the person who was hurt. Exemplary damages under this provision are part of the civil liability, and the article says in terms that they are separate and distinct from fines and shall be paid to the offended party. So a heavy fine is not a substitute for a civil award and does not reduce one. The two answer different questions and end up in different pockets.
The trigger is an aggravating circumstance
The condition is specific: the crime must have been committed with one or more aggravating circumstances. That is a criminal-law concept, so this head of damages depends on what the prosecution alleges and proves about how the offence was carried out, rather than on how badly the victim suffered. Article 2204 works alongside it, allowing the damages adjudicated in crimes to be increased or lessened according to the aggravating or mitigating circumstances. Both provisions make the manner of the offence matter on the civil side of the case.
Still discretionary, and still built on another award
Article 2233 provides that exemplary damages cannot be recovered as a matter of right and that the court decides whether they should be adjudicated at all. Article 2234 requires the plaintiff to show entitlement to moral, temperate or compensatory damages before the question is considered. So they are an addition to an award rather than a claim standing on its own, which fits how Article 2229 describes them: imposed by way of example or correction for the public good, in addition to the other damages.
Two jobs for a private complainant
Make sure the facts constituting the aggravating circumstances reach the prosecutor early, in writing and with whatever supports them, because they cannot influence the award if they never enter the case at all. And prove the ordinary heads of loss: medical bills, funeral expenses, receipts, income records, and the evidence of suffering that supports moral damages. That groundwork is what an exemplary award is built on, and without it the question of exemplary damages is simply never reached.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- People of the Philippines vs. Renato Dadulla, G.R. No. 172321, February 9, 2011 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- People of the Philippines vs. Alvin Esugon y Avila, G.R. No. 195244, June 22, 2015 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- People of the Philippines vs. Rudy Nuyok, G.R. No. 195424, June 15, 2015 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- People of the Philippines vs. Bobby Belgay, G.R. No. 182794, September 8, 2014 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Related provisions
- Civil Code, Article 2204 — Aggravating and Mitigating Circumstances in Crimes
- Civil Code, Article 2234 — Entitlement to Compensatory Damages First