Grounds for filing complaint

for adultery
Dear ED,

Under our law, the husband and the wife have the obligation to live together,
observe mutual love, respect and fidelity and render mutual help and support
(Article 68, Family Code of the Philippines). Pursuant to this, the Revised
Penal Code (RPC) criminalizes certain acts of infidelity by the husband or the
wife.

The act of your wife in cohabiting with another man during the subsistence of
your marriage is considered as adultery which is defined and penalized under
Article 333 of the RPC, to wit:

Article 333. Who are guilty of adultery.Adultery is committed by any

married woman who shall have sexual intercourse with a man not her
husband and by the man who has carnal knowledge of her, knowing her to be
married, even if the marriage be subsequently declared void.

Adultery shall be punished by prision correccional in its medium and

maximum periods.

If the persons guilty of adultery committed this offense while being

abandoned without justification by the offended spouse, the penalty next
lower in degree than that provided in the next preceding paragraph shall be
imposed.

You may file a criminal complaint for adultery against your wife and her
paramour before the Prosecutors Office of the place where they are cohabiting
with each other. However, you will not be allowed to prosecute them for this
crime if you have consented to the commission of the same or have pardoned
your wife and her paramour Article 344, RPC). To successfully prosecute them
of the crime of adultery, you need to prove the following elements: 1) that the
woman is married; 2) that she has sexual intercourse with a man not her
husband; and 3) that as regards the man with whom she has sexual
intercourse, he must know her to be married (Luis B. Reyes, The Revised
Penal Code, Book Two (14th Edition), page 841).

We hope that we were able to answer your query. Please be reminded that this
advice is based solely on the facts that you have narrated and our appreciation
of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or
elaborated.

Editors note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorneys Office.
Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net