Text of the provision
Art. 202. Prostitutes; Penalty. - For the purpose of this article, women who, for money or profit, habitually indulge in sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct, are deemed to be prostitutes. Any person found guilty of any of the offenses covered by this article shall be punished by arresto menor or a fine not exceeding Twenty thousand pesos (₱20,000), and in case of recidivism, by arresto mayor in its medium period to prisión correccional in its minimum period or a fine ranging from Twenty thousand pesos (₱20,000) to Two hundred thousand pesos (₱200,000), or both, in the discretion of the court.
Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, Act No. 3815, as amended. Reproduced in full from the official enactment and verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings.
What this article means
For this article, women who habitually engage in sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct for money or profit are deemed prostitutes. The penalty is arresto menor or a fine not exceeding Twenty thousand pesos (₱20,000); on recidivism, arresto mayor in its medium period to prisión correccional in its minimum period, or a fine of Twenty thousand pesos (₱20,000) to Two hundred thousand pesos (₱200,000), or both, at the court’s discretion.
Related provisions
- Article 201 — Obscene Publications And Indecent Shows.
- Article 204 — Knowingly Rendering Unjust Judgment.
Penalty amounts. The text above is the article as amended by Republic Act No. 10951 (2017), which revised the property values and fines throughout this Code. Older reproductions of the Revised Penal Code still print the 1930 amounts — for theft and estafa they show 12,000 and 22,000 pesos where the current figures run to millions. Check which version any source you rely on is giving you.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.