Short answer. Under Article 27 of the Revised Penal Code, prision correccional runs from six months and one day to six years. It is the mid-range corrective penalty in the Code, above arresto mayor and below prision mayor, and it carries the same duration as the suspension and destierro penalties.
What the law says
Prision correccional, suspension, and destierro. -The duration of the penalties of prision correccional, suspension and destierro shall be from six months and one day to six years, except when suspension is imposed as an accessory penalty, in which case, its duration shall be that of the principal penalty.
Revised Penal Code, Article 27 — Duration Of Penalties. Read the full provision →
The duration of prision correccional
Article 27 of the Revised Penal Code defines the length of every classified penalty. For prision correccional: "The duration of the penalties of prision correccional, suspension and destierro shall be from six months and one day to six years, except when suspension is imposed as an accessory penalty, in which case, its duration shall be that of the principal penalty." The penalty spans a range of just under five and a half years — from six months and one day at the floor to six years at the ceiling. It places squarely in the middle of the imprisonment scale, above the arresto penalties and below prision mayor.
The three periods within prision correccional
Like all divisible penalties under the Code, prision correccional is divided into minimum, medium, and maximum periods. The minimum period covers six months and one day to two years and four months; the medium period covers two years, four months, and one day to four years and two months; and the maximum period covers four years, two months, and one day to six years. These divisions matter because the court must select a specific period within the penalty depending on the aggravating and mitigating circumstances present in the case.
What prision correccional implies beyond imprisonment
Conviction and sentence to prision correccional carries consequences beyond the time served. Under the Revised Penal Code, prision correccional results in suspension from public office and the right to follow a profession or calling, and suspension of the right of suffrage during the term of the sentence. These are accessory penalties that attach automatically to the principal penalty. The Article 27 note on suspension as an accessory penalty is relevant here: when suspension is imposed as the main penalty, it runs for six months and one day to six years; when imposed accessorily alongside another crime's principal penalty, it runs for the duration of that principal penalty instead.
Where prision correccional fits in the penalty ladder
Article 27 sets out the complete hierarchy: reclusion perpetua, reclusion temporal (twelve years and one day to twenty years), prision mayor (six years and one day to twelve years), prision correccional (six months and one day to six years), arresto mayor (one month and one day to six months), and arresto menor (one day to thirty days). Prision correccional sits immediately below prision mayor. When a court lowers a sentence by one degree — for instance, because of a mitigating circumstance — a crime carrying prision mayor drops to prision correccional. The gap between the two penalties is significant: the maximum of prision correccional is six years exactly, while prision mayor begins at six years and one day.