Short answer. Article 276 reaches the abandonment of a child under seven years of age whose custody is incumbent upon the offender. Seven is the cut-off written into the article. Above that age this particular provision does not apply, though other laws protecting children may still be engaged.
What the law says
shall be imposed upon anyone who shall abandon a child under seven (7) years of age, the custody of which is incumbent upon him
Revised Penal Code, Article 276 — Abandoning A Minor. Read the full provision →
What the law says
The provisions contained in the two (2) preceding paragraphs shall not prevent the imposition of the penalty provided for the act committed, when the same shall constitute a more serious offense.
Revised Penal Code, Article 276 — Abandoning A Minor. Read the full provision →
Two thresholds, both in the first sentence
The article applies to anyone who shall abandon a child under seven (7) years of age, the custody of which is incumbent upon him. Age is the first threshold and it is stated as a plain number of years. The second is less noticed but just as important: the custody of the child must have been incumbent upon the person. This is an offence of failing in a duty one already had, not of failing to look after a child in general, so it is directed at the parent, guardian or other person on whom that responsibility rested.
Abandonment is not the same as leaving
The word the article uses is abandon, and it carries more than momentary absence. Leaving a child briefly, or in arrangements the person believed adequate, is not what the provision describes; a case under it involves giving up the child to their own resources in a way the duty of custody did not permit. Where the line falls is a question of fact in each situation, assessed on the child's age, the circumstances and the length and nature of the absence. It is not settled by a rule of thumb about hours.
The consequences of the abandonment change the article's treatment
The provision does not treat every abandonment alike. It graduates according to what followed — providing more severely where the child's death resulted from the abandonment, and differently again where the child's life was placed in danger only. So the outcome of the act, and not merely the act, forms part of what is examined. That structure is worth knowing because it explains why two situations that look similar in intention can be dealt with very differently once their consequences are taken into account.
This article is not the whole of the law here
The final paragraph says so expressly: those provisions shall not prevent the imposition of the penalty provided for the act committed, when the same shall constitute a more serious offense. So a set of facts falling within this article may also fall within a graver one, and the Code does not treat the lesser as an answer to the greater. Separate legislation protecting children can also apply on the same facts. If a child is presently at risk, that is a matter for the authorities immediately.
Related provisions
- Revised Penal Code, Article 276 — Abandoning A Minor
- Revised Penal Code, Article 277 — Abandonment Of Minor By Custodian