Short answer. Simple seduction is the seduction, by means of deceit, of a single woman or a widow of good reputation who is over twelve but under eighteen years of age. Article 338 punishes it with arresto mayor. The victim's age bracket and the use of deceit are essential elements of the offense as the Code defines it.
What the law says
The seduction of a woman who is single or a widow of good reputation, over twelve but under eighteen years of age, committed by means of deceit, shall be punished by arresto mayor.
Revised Penal Code, Article 338 — Simple Seduction. Read the full provision →
How the Code defines simple seduction
Article 338 defines the offense in a single sentence: the seduction of a woman who is single or a widow of good reputation, over twelve but under eighteen years of age, committed by means of deceit, shall be punished by arresto mayor. Three things must concur: a qualifying victim, the specified age range, and the use of deceit as the means. It is called simple seduction to distinguish it from qualified seduction, which involves abuse of a position of authority or trust and carries a heavier penalty. Here the culpable means is deceit rather than force or abuse of relationship.
Who the victim can be
The article describes the victim with some precision. She must be a woman who is single or a widow, of good reputation, and over twelve but under eighteen years of age. The requirement of good reputation and the fixed age bracket are part of how the Code framed this particular offense. The age element, over twelve and under eighteen, is central to the question of who may be a victim of simple seduction as the article is written, marking out the group the provision was designed to protect from seduction accomplished through deceit.
Deceit as the means
What separates simple seduction from other offenses is the means: deceit. The seducer obtains the victim's submission not by force or intimidation, and not by abusing a position of trust or authority, but by deception, such as a false promise or misrepresentation that induces the victim. Because the means is deceit, proof that the victim was misled is central to the offense. The penalty fixed for it, arresto mayor, is lighter than that for qualified seduction, reflecting the different, non-coercive means by which simple seduction is carried out.
Reading it alongside later protective laws
The Revised Penal Code's provisions on seduction date to 1930, and the legal protection of young persons has since been expanded by special legislation dealing with child abuse and related offenses, which may apply alongside or instead of these older articles depending on the facts and the victim's age. Anyone facing a real situation should therefore not rely on Article 338 alone but should consider the full range of current laws protecting minors. This page explains the offense as the Code defines it, not as the last word on which law governs a particular case.