WHAT IS ART. 320 OF THE R.P.C.?

Art. 320. Destructive Arson.---The penalty of reclusion perpetua to death shall be

imposed upon any person who shall burn:

1. One (1) or more buildings or edifices, consequent to one single act of burning,
or as a result of simultaneous burnings, or committed on several or different occasions.

2. Any building of public or private ownership, devoted to the public in general or

where people usually gather or congregate for a definite purpose such as, but not
limited to official governmental function or business, private transaction, commerce,
trade workshop, meetings and conferences, or merely incidental to a definite purpose
such as but not limited to hotels, motels, transient dwellings, public conveyance or stops
or terminals, regardless of whether the offender had knowledge that there are persons
in said building or edifice at the time it is set on fire and regardless also of whether the
building is actually inhabited or not.

3. Any train or locomotive, ship or vessel, airship or airplane, devoted to

transportation of conveyance, or for public use, entertainment or leisure.

4. Any building, factory, warehouse installation and any appurtenances thereto,

which are devoted to the service of public utilities.

5. Any building the burning of which is for the purpose of concealing or

destroying evidence of another violation of law, or for the purpose of concealing
bankruptcy or defrauding creditors or to collect from insurance.

Irrespective of the application of the above enumerated qualifying circumstances,

the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death shall likewise be imposed when the arson is
perpetrated or committed by two (2) or more persons or by a group of persons,
regardless of whether their purpose is merely to burn or destroy the building or the
burning merely constitutes an overt act in the commission of another violation of law.

The penalty of reclusion perpetua to death shall also be imposed upon any
person who shall burn:
1. Any arsenal, shipyard, storehouse or military powder or fireworks factory,
ordnance, storehouse, archives or general museum of the Government.

2. In an inhabited place, any storehouse or factory of inflammable or explosive

materials.

If as a consequence of the commission of any of the acts penalized under this

Article, death results, the mandatory penalty of death shall be imposed. (As amended
by Rep. Act No. 7659)

WHAT IS PRES. DECREE NO. 1613?

Presidential Decree No. 1613—PENALIZING SIMPLE ARSON AND

OTHER CASES OF ARSON

Sec. 1. Arson.—Any person who burns or sets fire to the property of another shall be
punished by prision mayor.
The same penalty shall be imposed when a person sets fire to his own property
under circumstances which expose to danger the life or property of another.
Sec. 2 was repealed by R.A. 7659.

Sec. 3. Other Cases of Arson.—The penalty of reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua

shall be imposed if the property burned is any of the following:

1. Any building used as offices of the government or any of its agencies;

2. Any inhabited house or dwelling;
3. Any industrial establishment, shipyard, oil well or mine shaft, platform or tunnel;
4. Any plantation, farm, pastureland, growing crop, grain field, orchard, bamboo grove
or forest;
5. Any rice mill, sugar mill, cane mill or mill central; and
6. Any railway or bus station, airport, wharf or warehouse.

Sec. 4. Special Aggravating Circumstances in Arson.—The penalty in any case of arson

shall be impose in its maximum period:

1. If committed with intent to gain;

2. If committed for the benefit of another;
3. If the offender is motivated by spite or hatred towards the owner or occupant of the
property burned;
4. If committed by a syndicate.

The offense is committed by a syndicate if it is planned or carried out by a group

of three (3) or more persons.

Sec. 5. Where Death Results From Arson.—If by reason of or on the occasion of arson
death results, the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death shall be imposed.

Sec. 6. Prima Facie Evidence of Arson.---Any of the following circumstances shall

constitute prima facie evidence of arson:

1. If the fire started simultaneously in more than one part of the building or
establishment.

2. If substantial amount of flammable substances or materials are stored within the

building not of the offender nor for household use.

3. If gasoline, kerosene, petroleum or other flammable or combustible substances or

materials soaked therewith or containers thereof, or any mechanical, electrical,
chemical or electronic contrivance designed to start a fire, or ashes or traces of any of
the foregoing are found in the ruins or premises of the burned building or property.

4. If the building or property is insured for substantially more than its actual value at the
time of the issuance of the policy.

5. If during the lifetime of the corresponding fire insurance policy more than two fires
have occurred in the same or other premises owned or under the control of the offender
and/or insured.

6. If shortly before the fire, a substantial portion of the effects insured and stored in a
building or property had been withdrawn from the premises except in the ordinary
course of business.

7. If a demand for money or other valuable consideration was made before the fire in
exchange for the desistance of the offender or for the safety of the person or property of
the victim.
Sec. 7. Conspiracy to Commit Arson.---Conspiracy to commit arson shall be punished
by prision mayor in its minimum period.

Sec. 8. Confiscation of Object of Arson.---The building which is the object of arson

including the land on which it is situated shall be confiscated and escheated to the
State, unless the owner thereof can prove that he has no participation in nor knowledge
of such arson despite the exercise of due diligence on his part.

WHAT IS ARSON?

Arson is the malicious destruction of the property by means of fire.

WHAT ARE THE KINDS OF ARSON?

1. Destructive Arson-Art. 320, as amended by RA 7659

2. Simple Arson-Section 1, PD 1613
3. Other cases of Arson-Section 3, PD 1613

WHAT IS IMPORTANT FACTOR TO BE DETERMINED IN ARSON CASES?

Please take note of the INTENT OF THE OFFENDER.

1. If the intent is to destroy someone’s property by fire, then it is arson.

2. If the intent is to kill by burning the house, then it is arson.

Example: MM, the house servant wanted to go home for a vacation. She asked
permission from her but it was not granted. So, MM got mad and, as a revenge, she
burned the house at night and left. However, the master and his family were not
awakened and they all died. Five other houses nearby were also burned. What crime
did MM commit?

MM committed simple arson or other cases of arson because the structure that
was burned is an inhabited house and not a building.

The death of the master and his family will qualify the arson into the penalty of
reclusion perpetua to death.

Example: Using the same situation above, let us say that the intention of MM is to kill
her master. What crime did MM commit?

MM committed murder because killing a person by means of fire is murder.

Example: Using the same situation above, let us say that the intention of MM was to
destroy the house and she did not know that the master and his family were inside the
house because she knew that they were all went out. What crime did MM commit?

MM committed simple arson but the penalty is reclusion perpetua to death due
of the death of the master and his family.
Example: BB was sleeping when he was killed by DD. In order to hide the crime, DD
burned the house. What crime/s did DD commit?

DD committed 2 crimes.

First, is murder because he killed BB while sleeping and such act is considered
treachery.

Second, is destructive arson because committed another crime to conceal the murder.

Please take note that when the intention of the offender in burning the structure
is to conceal the evidence of another violation of law, the crime committed is
destructive arson. Here, the structure can be a building or house.

Example: GG burned the sugarcane plantation of TT. What crime did GG commit?

GG committed simple arson.

Example: Using the same situation above, let us say that while the plantation is
burning, a field worker, who was sleeping, died. What crime did GG commit?

GG committed simple arson but the penalty will be reclusion perpetua to

death because of the resulting death.

Example: XX wanted to burn the house of BB. So what he did was to buy gasoline.
Then he went to BB’s house carrying the gasoline and poured it. But when he was
about to light the match, someone saw him and he was arrested. What crime did
XX commit?

XX committed attempted arson. This is because the fourth element of an

attempted crime is present, which is “the non-performance of all acts of execution
was due to cause or accident other than his spontaneous desistance.” Here,
somebody saw XX before he can strike the match and he was arrested.

HOW DO YOU DISTINGUISH ARSON FROM HOMICIDE/MURDER?

In People vs. Baluntong (GR No. 182061, 03/15/2010 citing People vs. Malingan,
503 SCRA 294), the Supreme Court held:

“In cases where both burning and death occur, in order to determine what
crime/crimes was/were perpetrated—whether arson, murder or arson and
homicide/murder, it is de rigueur to ascertain the main objective of the malefactor:

(a) if the main objective is the burning of the building or edifice, but death results by
reason or on the occasion of arson, the crime is simply arson, and the resulting
homicide is absorbed;

(b) if, on the other hand, the main objective is to kill a particular person who may be in a
building or edifice, when fire is resorted to as the means to accomplish such goal the
crime committed is murder only;

(c) lastly, if the objective is, likewise, to kill a particular person, and in fact the offender
has already done so (has killed the victim), but fire is resorted to as a means to cover up
the killing, then there are two separate and distinct crimes committed---homicide/murder
and arson. (See The Revised Penal Code, Book 2, Reyes, pp. 1109-1110)