Text of the provision

Art. 266. Slight physical injuries and maltreatment. - The crime of slight physical injuries shall be punished: 1. By arresto menor when the offender has inflicted physical injuries which shall incapacitate the offended party for labor from one

(1) days to nine

(9) days, or shall require medical attendance during the same period. 2. By arresto menor or a fine not exceeding Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000) and censure when the offender has caused physical injuries which do not prevent the offended party from engaging in his habitual work nor require medical assistance. 3. By arresto menor in its minimum period or a fine not exceeding Five thousand pesos (₱5,000) when the offender shall ill-treat another by deed without causing any injury.’

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

Slight physical injuries are punished by arresto menor where the victim is incapacitated for labour, or needs medical attendance, for one to nine days; by arresto menor or a fine not exceeding Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000) and censure where the injuries neither stop his habitual work nor need medical help; and by arresto menor in its minimum period or a fine not exceeding Five thousand pesos (₱5,000) where the offender ill-treats another by deed without causing injury.

Questions about this provision

Related provisions

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

Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment (Act No. 3815), verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings. The Revised Penal Code has been amended many times; this page reproduces the text as those sources carry it. The annotation and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. How a provision applies to a particular situation depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your case can assess.