Short answer. Twelve years and one day to twenty years. Prision mayor sits directly beneath it at six years and one day to twelve years, so the two are consecutive bands rather than overlapping ones. Below both, prision correccional runs from six months and one day to six years.
What the law says
The penalty of reclusion temporal shall be from twelve years and one day to twenty years.
Revised Penal Code, Article 27 — Duration Of Penalties. Read the full provision →
What the law says
The duration of the penalties of prision mayor and temporary disqualification shall be from six years and one day to twelve years, except when the penalty of disqualification 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 ladder as Article 27 sets it out
The article states each band in plain figures. The penalty of reclusion temporal shall be from twelve years and one day to twenty years. Immediately below, the duration of the penalties of prision mayor and temporary disqualification shall be from six years and one day to twelve years. Below that, prision correccional, suspension and destierro run from six months and one day to six years; arresto mayor from one month and one day to six months; and arresto menor from one day to thirty days. Six named durations, arranged as one continuous scale.
Why every band begins with "and one day"
That phrasing is not a flourish. Each penalty starts one day after the ceiling of the penalty below it, so the scale has no gaps and no overlaps: twenty years belongs to reclusion temporal, twelve years belongs to prision mayor, six years belongs to prision correccional. A sentence of exactly twelve years is therefore prision mayor, while twelve years and one day is reclusion temporal — and since the accessory penalties differ between the two, that single day can change what else the conviction carries with it.
The exception for disqualification and suspension
Two of the penalties in the list are unusual because they can appear either as the principal penalty or as an accessory to another. The article handles this expressly. Temporary disqualification carries its stated duration except when the penalty of disqualification is imposed as an accessory penalty, in which case its duration shall be that of the principal penalty, and suspension is treated the same way. So the figures given for those two are the standalone durations; when they ride along with something else, they simply last as long as the sentence they attach to.
Where in the range a particular sentence lands
The article gives the outer limits, not the sentence. Each of these durations is further divided into periods, and which period applies turns on rules about the circumstances of the offence that sit outside this provision entirely. So a person reading a charge sheet cannot work out a term from Article 27 alone — it tells you the span the penalty occupies and nothing about where within it a court would fix the sentence. For that, what matters is the offence charged and the circumstances alleged, which is the conversation to have with counsel.
Related provisions
- Revised Penal Code, Article 27 — Duration Of Penalties
- Revised Penal Code, Article 28 — Computation Of Penalties