Art. 263. Serious physical injuries. — Any person who shall wound, beat, or assault another, shall be guilty of the crime of serious physical injuries and shall suffer:
1. The penalty of prision mayor, if in consequence of the physical injuries inflicted, the injured person shall become insane, imbecile, impotent, or blind;
2. The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods, if in consequence of the physical injuries inflicted, the person injured shall have lost the use of speech or the power to hear or to smell, or shall have lost an eye, a hand, a foot, an arm, or a leg or shall have lost the use of any such member, or shall have become incapacitated for the work in which he was therefor habitually engaged;
3. The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods, if in consequence of the physical injuries inflicted, the person injured shall have become deformed, or shall have lost any other part of his body, or shall have lost the use thereof, or shall have been ill or incapacitated for the performance of the work in which he as habitually engaged for a period of more than ninety days;
4. The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period, if the physical injuries inflicted shall have caused the illness or incapacity for labor of the injured person for more than thirty days.
If the offense shall have been committed against any of the persons enumerated in Article 246, or with attendance of any of the circumstances mentioned in Article 248, the case covered by subdivision number 1 of this Article shall be punished by reclusion temporal in its medium and maximum periods; the case covered by subdivision number 2 by prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its minimum period; the case covered by subdivision number 3 by prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods; and the case covered by subdivision number 4 by prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not be applicable to a parent who shall inflict physical injuries upon his child by excessive chastisement.
How is the crime of serious physical injuries committed?
1. By wounding;
2. By beating; or
3. By assaulting; or
4. By administering injurious substances. (Art. 262)
• The accused, while talking to X, drew X’s bolo from its scabbard. X got hold of the blade of his bolo, wounding himself. The accused was not found guilty of serious physical injuries because he did not wound, beat or assault X.
• Serious physical injuries may be committed by reckless imprudence or by simple imprudence or negligence.
What are serious physical injuries?
1. When the injured person becomes insane, imbecile, impotent, or blind in consequece of the injuries inflicted;
2. When the injured person (a) loses the use of speech or the power to hear or to smell or loses an eye, a hand, a foot, an arm or a leg or (b) becomes incapacitated for work he was habitually engaged in as a consequence of the physical injuries inflicted;
3. When the person injured (a) becomes deformed, or (b) loses any other member of his body, or (c) loses the use thereof or (d) becomes ill or incapacitated for the performance of work which he was habitually engaged for more than 90 days
4. When the injured person becomes ill or incapacitated for labor for more than 30 days [but must not be more than 90 days], as a result of the injuries inflicted.
• Art. 263 is divided with specifications, in each case, of (1) the consequence of the injuries inflicted, (2) the nature and character of the wound inflicted, and (3) the proper penalty.
• If there was intent to kill when the offender inflicted any of the serious physical injuries described, the crime would be FRUSTRATED or ATTEMPTED murder, parricide or homicide, as the case may be.
Physical Injuries distinguished from Attempted or Frustrated Homicide:
Physical Injuries Attempted or Frustrated
Homicide
Offender inflicts physical injuries. ATTEMPTED HOMICIDE may be committed even if
no physical injuries are inflicted.
The offender has NO INTENT TO KILL The offender has an INTENT TO KILL.
• Since the effect is the same: loss of power to procreate, the term impotent should include inability to copulate and sterility.
• The penalty shall be one degree higher than that imposed by law when the victim is under 12 year of age as per R.A. 7610.
• Under par. 1, the blindness must be of two eyes.
Under par. 2, it covers the loss of one eye only.
Under par. 2, it must be the loss of power to hear of both ears.
• If loss of hearing is only as to one ear, it falls under par. 3.
• The loss of use of hand or incapacity for habitual work under par. 2 must be PERMANENT.
All those mentioned in par. 2 are principal members of the body.
• Par. 3 covers any other member of the body that is not principal member of the body, such as fingers.
• However, where it was alleged in the information and proved that the loss of the use of three fingers also nd resulted in the loss of the use of the hand itself, it then falls under the 2 par.
• It is a serious physical injury when the offended party becomes deformed.
DEFORMITY requires:
1. Physical ugliness;
2. Permanent and definite abnormality; and
3. Conspicuous and visible.
Loss of teeth (three incisors) is a visible deformity but loss of one incisor does not constitute deformity.
However, loss of one tooth, which was visible and impaired the appearance of the victim is deformity.
A front tooth is a member of the body, other than a principal member within the meaning of par 3
• Loss of both outer ears constitutes deformity. But if there is loss of power to hear of both ears as a result of the loss of both outer ears, the crime is punished under par. 2.
The loss of the lobule of the ear is deformity.
Loss of index and middle finger is either deformity or loss of a member (not principal one) of his body or use of the same.
Loss of power to hear on the right ear only is loss of use of other part of body under par. 3.
There is illness (according to par. 3 and 4) for a certain period of time, when the wound inflicted did not heal within that period.
• It would seem that if the injury would require medical attendance for more than 30 days, the illness may be considered as lasting for more than 30 days. The fact that there was medical attendance for that period of time shows that the injuries were not cured for that length of time.
Note that the incapacity of the offended party refers to the work “in which he was habitually engaged.”
• Under par. 2 and 3, at least , the offended party must have an avocation or work at the time of the injury .
• “Work” includes studies or preparation for a profession
• Incapacity for a certain kind of work only , but not for all is a serious physical injury under par. 2 or 3.
• The incapacity must show that the physical injury has rendered the offended party incapable of working in the fields which was the occupation in which at the time he had been habitually engaged .
• Paragraph 4 speaks of incapacity for any kind of labor. It does not refer to labor in which the offended party is engaged at the time the serious physical injuries were inflicted. The incapacity is for ANY KIND OF LABOR.
• Injury requiring hospitalization for more than 30 days is serious physical injuries under par. 4.
• Where the category of the offense of serious physical injuries depends on the period of illness or incapacity for labor, there must be evidence of the length of that period; otherwise, the offense is only slight physical injuries.
• There is no incapacity if the injured party could still engage in his work although less effectively than before.
Ordinary physical injuries distinguished from mutilation
Caused purposely and deliberately to lop or clip off some part of the body so as to deprive the offended
Physical Injuries
This special intention is not present in the different kinds of physical injuries.
• QUALIFIED SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURIES is committed against any of the persons enumerated in the article defining parricide or with the attendance of any of the circumstances mentioned in the article defining murder.
• HOWEVER, serious physical injuries by excessive chastisement by parents are not qualified.
Source:
Luis B. Reyes, The Revised Penal Code, Book II, 2001 ed.
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