Short answer. Unjust vexation is the catch-all offence in the Revised Penal Code's article on light coercions: any human conduct that annoys, irritates, disturbs or humiliates another person without lawful justification. There is no threshold of severity in the text — the test is whether the annoyance was caused unjustly.
What the law says
Any other coercions or unjust vexations shall be punished by arresto menor or a fine ranging from One thousand pesos (₱1,000) to not more than Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000), or both.
Revised Penal Code, Article 287 — Light Coercions And Unjust Vexation. Read the full provision →
The article that names it
Article 287 of the Revised Penal Code has two paragraphs. The first punishes light coercion proper: seizing something belonging to your debtor by means of violence, to apply it to the debt — the creditor who takes the motorbike because the loan went unpaid. The second paragraph is the famous one. It sweeps up any other coercions or unjust vexations, without describing them at all. That deliberate open-endedness is what makes the offence so widely charged and so widely misunderstood. It sits in the Code among crimes against personal liberty and security, which tells you what interest it is meant to protect.
How the test actually works
Because the statute supplies no definition, two questions decide a case. Did the conduct cause annoyance, irritation, torment, distress or disturbance to the mind of the person against whom it was directed? And was there any lawful or justifiable reason for it? The standard is not how thin-skinned the complainant is; courts look at whether the act would vex a person of ordinary sensibilities in that situation. There is no requirement of physical force, no requirement of injury, and no requirement that the offender gained anything. What matters is that the annoyance was unjust — done without right.
What it is not
It is not a residual charge for anything unpleasant. Conduct done in the exercise of a legal right — a creditor sending a lawful demand letter, a landlord serving notice, a neighbour reporting a violation — is not unjust even when it upsets someone badly. Conduct already punished as a specific offence should be charged as that offence, not as unjust vexation, and the second paragraph applies only to coercions and vexations not covered elsewhere. Where the conduct involves lewdness, threats, defamation, or harassment of a woman or child, other and much heavier provisions and special laws apply instead.
Penalty, and where a complaint goes
The penalty is arresto menor or a fine, or both. Those peso figures are the ones set by Republic Act No. 10951 (2017), which revised the fines throughout this Code — older reproductions still print the 1930 amounts and will give you a badly outdated number. Being a light offence, it prescribes very quickly, so a delayed complaint may no longer be filed. Disputes between residents of the same city or municipality usually have to pass through barangay conciliation before any case can be filed in court. This page is general legal information rather than advice, and no result can be promised; you can book a consultation to have an incident assessed.