Short answer. A grave felony is one punished by capital punishment or by a penalty that is afflictive in any of its periods, as fixed in Article 25's scale of penalties. Because RA 9346 (2006) now prohibits actually imposing the death penalty, grave felonies in practice are those carrying an afflictive penalty like reclusion perpetua or prision mayor.
What the law says
Grave felonies are those to which the law attaches the capital punishment or penalties which in any of their periods are afflictive, in accordance with Article 25 of this Code.
Revised Penal Code, Article 9 — Grave, Less Grave, Light Felonies. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Less grave felonies are those which the law punishes with penalties which in their maximum period are correctional in accordance with abovementioned article.
Revised Penal Code, Article 9 — Grave, Less Grave, Light Felonies. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Light felonies are those infractions of law or the commission of which the penalty of arresto menor or a fine not exceeding Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000) or both is provided.
Revised Penal Code, Article 9 — Grave, Less Grave, Light Felonies. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Capital punishment: Death. Afflictive penalties: Reclusion perpetua, Reclusion temporal, Perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification, Perpetual or temporary special disqualification, Prision mayor.
Revised Penal Code, Article 25 — Scale Of Penalties. Read the full provision →
Grave felonies: capital punishment or an afflictive penalty
Article 9 defines grave felonies as those to which the law attaches the capital punishment or penalties which in any of their periods are afflictive, in accordance with Article 25 of this Code. Article 25's scale lists the afflictive penalties as reclusion perpetua, reclusion temporal, perpetual or temporary absolute or special disqualification, and prision mayor — so a felony carrying any of these, in any of their periods, is classified as grave.
Why capital punishment does not currently apply in practice
Article 25 still lists capital punishment: Death at the top of its scale, but Republic Act No. 9346, enacted in 2006, prohibits the imposition of the death penalty in the Philippines. Where the Code's nomenclature calls for death, the law imposes reclusion perpetua instead, or life imprisonment where that nomenclature is not used. So in current practice, a felony reaches grave status through the afflictive-penalty branch of Article 9, since the capital-punishment branch is not actually being applied to anyone today.
How this compares to less grave and light felonies
Article 9 draws the line between categories by penalty severity. Less grave felonies are those which the law punishes with penalties which in their maximum period are correctional, a step down from afflictive. Light felonies are those infractions of law or the commission of which the penalty of arresto menor or a fine not exceeding Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000) or both is provided — the lightest category, at the bottom of the scale.
The forty-thousand-peso figure reflects RA 10951's 2017 revision
The forty thousand peso threshold marking the ceiling for light felonies is not the original 1930 figure — it is the amount as revised by Republic Act No. 10951 in 2017, which updated fines and property values throughout the Revised Penal Code. Older reproductions of the Code may still show a much smaller original amount, so anyone classifying a felony by this threshold should confirm they are using the figure as revised by RA 10951.
Related provisions
- Revised Penal Code, Article 9 — Grave, Less Grave, Light Felonies
- Revised Penal Code, Article 25 — Scale Of Penalties