Text of the provision
Art. 265. Less serious physical injuries. - Any person who shall inflict upon another physical injuries not described in the preceding articles, but which shall incapacitate the offended party for labor for ten (10) days or more, or shall require medical assistance for the same period, shall be guilty of less serious physical injuries and shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor. Whenever less serious physical injuries shall have been inflicted with the manifest intent to insult or offend the injured person, or under circumstances adding ignominy to the offense, in addition to the penalty of arresto mayor , a fine not exceeding Fifty thousand pesos (₱50,000) shall be imposed. Any less serious physical injuries inflicted upon the offender’s parents, ascendants, guardians, curators, teachers, or persons of rank, or persons in authority, shall be punished by prisión correccional in its minimum and medium periods: Provided, That in the case of persons in authority, the deed does not constitute the crime of assault upon such persons.
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
Injuries that incapacitate the victim for work or require medical attention for ten days or more — but are not covered by the earlier articles — are punished by arresto mayor. If inflicted with manifest intent to insult or under ignominious circumstances, an added fine not exceeding Fifty thousand pesos (₱50,000) applies; if inflicted on parents, ascendants, guardians, curators, teachers, persons of rank or persons in authority, the penalty is prisión correccional in its minimum and medium periods, provided the act is not assault upon a person in authority.
Questions about this provision
- Does injuring my own parent or a teacher carry a heavier penalty than injuring anyone else?
- How many days of incapacity or medical treatment turn an injury into less serious physical injuries?
Related provisions
- Article 260 — Responsibility Of Duellists.
- Article 266 — Slight Physical Injuries.
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.