Text of the provision
Art. 287. Light coercions. - Any person who, by means of violence, shall seize anything belonging to his debtor for the purpose of applying the same to the payment of the debt, shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor in its minimum period and a fine equivalent to the value of the thing, but in no case less than Fifteen thousand pesos (₱15,000). 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 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
Seizing something belonging to a debtor by violence to apply it to the debt draws arresto mayor in its minimum period and a fine equal to the value of the thing, but never less than Fifteen thousand pesos (₱15,000). Any other coercion or unjust vexation is punished by arresto menor or a fine of One thousand pesos (₱1,000) to not more than Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000), or both.
Questions about this provision
- Can I take my debtor's property by force to collect what he owes me?
- My neighbour keeps doing petty things purely to irritate me — is there a crime for that?
Related provisions
- Article 286 — Grave Coercions.
- Article 288 — Compulsory Purchase And Token Wages.
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.