Text of the provision
On the text as published. Both source texts print “having charge of the rearing” here. That is a scanning artefact rather than anything the legislature enacted — doubled f; 'charge off the rearing' is not English and not the enacted sense — so this page prints the corrected reading. The original is recorded so you can tell what any other source will show you.
Art. 277. Abandonment of minor by person entrusted with his custody; Indifference of parents. - The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding One hundred thousand pesos (₱100,000) shall be imposed upon anyone who, having charge of the rearing or education of a minor, shall deliver said minor to a public institution or other persons, without the consent of the one who entrusted such child to his care or in the absence of the latter, without the consent of the proper authorities. The same penalty shall be imposed upon the parents who shall neglect their children by not giving them the education which their station in life requires and financial condition permits.
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
Anyone charged with the rearing or education of a minor who hands that minor over to an institution or other persons without the consent of the one who entrusted the child — or, in that person’s absence, of the proper authorities — suffers arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding One hundred thousand pesos (₱100,000). The same penalty applies to parents who neglect their children by not giving the education their station in life requires and their means permit.
Questions about this provision
- Can parents be criminally charged for failing to give their child an education they can afford?
- I was entrusted with a child and handed him to someone else — is consent of the parents required?
Related provisions
- Article 276 — Abandoning A Minor.
- Article 278 — Exploitation Of Minors.
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.