I. Introduction

In Philippine law, adultery and concubinage are crimes against chastity under the Revised Penal Code. They deal with marital infidelity, but they are not treated equally. The law punishes a married woman’s sexual relations outside marriage more heavily and more easily than a married man’s infidelity. This unequal treatment has long been criticized as gender-discriminatory, but the provisions remain part of Philippine criminal law unless repealed or amended by Congress or invalidated by the courts.

These offenses also have consequences beyond criminal liability. They may affect family relations, civil liability, annulment-related disputes, legal separation, child custody, support, property relations, and succession issues, depending on the circumstances.

This article discusses the Philippine legal framework on adultery and concubinage, their elements, penalties, procedural requirements, defenses, effects, and related doctrines.

II. Governing Law

Adultery and concubinage are found in the Revised Penal Code, specifically:

Article 333 — Adultery This punishes a married woman who has sexual intercourse with a man not her husband, and the man who has carnal knowledge of her knowing that she is married.

Article 334 — Concubinage This punishes a married man who keeps a mistress in the conjugal dwelling, has sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances with a woman not his wife, or cohabits with her in any other place.

Both crimes are classified as crimes against chastity, not merely private moral wrongs. However, they are treated as private crimes in the sense that prosecution generally requires a complaint by the offended spouse.

III. Adultery Under Philippine Law

A. Definition

Adultery is committed by a married woman who has sexual intercourse with a man who is not her husband. The man is also liable if he knows that the woman is married, even if he himself is single or married.

The crime focuses on the marital status of the woman. The law does not require that the act be public, scandalous, repeated, or committed in a particular place. A single act of sexual intercourse may be enough.

B. Elements of Adultery

The elements are:

The woman is married;
She has sexual intercourse with a man who is not her husband;
The man knows that she is married.

For the married woman, knowledge of her own marriage is naturally presumed. For the male co-accused, knowledge that the woman is married must be shown by evidence, although it may be inferred from circumstances.

C. Who May Be Charged

The following may be charged:

The married woman, because she is the principal offender; and The man with whom she had sexual intercourse, if he knew she was married.

Both must generally be included in the complaint if both are alive and can be prosecuted. The offended spouse cannot selectively prosecute only one and spare the other, because the law requires that both guilty parties be included, unless one is legally exempt or unavailable for valid reasons.

D. Each Sexual Act Is a Separate Offense

In adultery, each act of sexual intercourse may constitute a separate crime. This means that repeated sexual relations may give rise to multiple counts of adultery.

This is one of the harshest features of Article 333. Unlike concubinage, which is often based on a continuing arrangement or specific mode of conduct, adultery may multiply criminal liability based on each proven sexual act.

E. Penalty for Adultery

The penalty for adultery is prisión correccional in its medium and maximum periods.

In practical terms, this is imprisonment within the range provided by the Revised Penal Code for that penalty, subject to rules on period, mitigating circumstances, aggravating circumstances, and possible application of the Indeterminate Sentence Law.

IV. Concubinage Under Philippine Law

A. Definition

Concubinage is committed by a married man under any of the following circumstances:

He keeps a mistress in the conjugal dwelling;
He has sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances with a woman who is not his wife; or
He cohabits with the woman in any other place.

Unlike adultery, concubinage is not established by a single private act of sexual intercourse alone. The law requires proof of one of the specific situations listed in Article 334.

B. Elements of Concubinage

The elements are:

The man is married;
He committed any of the acts punished under Article 334, namely:
- keeping a mistress in the conjugal dwelling;
- having sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances with a woman not his wife; or
- cohabiting with her in any other place;
The woman knew that the man was married.

C. Modes of Committing Concubinage

1. Keeping a Mistress in the Conjugal Dwelling

This occurs when the husband maintains a mistress in the home where he and his wife live or are supposed to live as spouses.

The term conjugal dwelling refers to the marital home. The offense is especially offensive under the law because the mistress is brought into the sphere of the lawful marriage.

2. Sexual Intercourse Under Scandalous Circumstances

This mode requires more than proof of intercourse. The sexual relationship must occur under circumstances that cause public scandal, disgrace, or offense to public morals.

The scandal must generally be public or notorious. A merely private act of infidelity, without scandalous circumstances, is usually insufficient for concubinage under this mode.

3. Cohabitation in Any Other Place

This means the husband lives together with the woman as though they were husband and wife, outside the conjugal dwelling.

Cohabitation implies some degree of permanence, continuity, or habitual living together. A casual affair, occasional meeting, or isolated sexual encounter is generally not enough.

D. Who May Be Charged

The following may be charged:

The married man, as principal offender; and The woman, if she knew that he was married.

As in adultery, the complaint generally must include both guilty parties if both are alive and subject to prosecution.

E. Penalty for Concubinage

The penalty for the married man is prisión correccional in its minimum and medium periods.

The penalty for the concubine is destierro.

Destierro is not imprisonment. It is a penalty of banishment or prohibition from entering certain places designated by the court. The person sentenced to destierro is generally barred from residing in or entering specified areas within a certain radius.

This distinction is important: the husband may be imprisoned, while the concubine is punished by destierro.

V. Main Difference Between Adultery and Concubinage

The law treats the wife’s infidelity and the husband’s infidelity differently.

A. Adultery Is Easier to Prove

For adultery, the prosecution must prove that the married woman had sexual intercourse with a man not her husband. A single act is enough.

B. Concubinage Requires More Specific Circumstances

For concubinage, the prosecution must prove not merely that the husband had sex with another woman, but that he did so through one of the modes under Article 334:

keeping a mistress in the conjugal dwelling;
sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances; or
cohabitation elsewhere.

Thus, a married man’s private affair may be morally wrong and may have civil consequences, but it may not always amount to concubinage unless the legal elements are present.

C. Penalties Are Unequal

Adultery carries a heavier penalty than concubinage. In adultery, both offenders may face imprisonment. In concubinage, the married man faces imprisonment, while the woman faces destierro.

D. Gender-Based Criticism

The distinction reflects an older legal view that placed heavier emphasis on a wife’s sexual fidelity because of concerns about legitimacy of children and family lineage. Modern critics argue that the law is discriminatory because it punishes women more severely than men for marital infidelity.

VI. Nature of the Offenses as Private Crimes

Adultery and concubinage are often called private crimes. This does not mean that they are not crimes. Rather, it means the State cannot prosecute them in the ordinary way unless the offended spouse initiates the complaint.

A. Complaint by the Offended Spouse

The general rule is that adultery and concubinage cannot be prosecuted except upon a complaint filed by the offended spouse.

For adultery, the offended spouse is the husband. For concubinage, the offended spouse is the wife.

The complaint must generally include both guilty parties, if both are known and alive.

B. Why the Complaint Is Required

The law gives the offended spouse control over whether to expose the marital scandal to public prosecution. This reflects the private and family-centered character of the offense.

C. Effect of Failure to File Proper Complaint

If the complaint is not filed by the proper offended spouse, or if it improperly excludes one guilty party without legal reason, the criminal action may be dismissed.

VII. Requirement to Charge Both Guilty Parties

A central procedural rule is that the offended spouse must charge both guilty parties.

In adultery, the complaint should include the married woman and her paramour. In concubinage, the complaint should include the married man and the concubine.

The offended spouse generally cannot choose to prosecute only the spouse and forgive the lover, or prosecute only the lover and spare the spouse. Selective prosecution is not allowed because the offense necessarily involves both participants.

There are exceptions where one party cannot be prosecuted, such as when one has died, is unknown, is outside the jurisdiction, or is otherwise legally unavailable. In such cases, prosecution may proceed against the available guilty party if the circumstances justify it.

VIII. Pardon, Consent, and Condonation

A. Pardon as a Bar to Prosecution

The offended spouse’s pardon may bar prosecution for adultery or concubinage.

Pardon means forgiveness of the offense. It may be express or implied, depending on conduct.

B. Pardon Must Generally Cover Both Offenders

A valid pardon must generally extend to both guilty parties. The offended spouse cannot pardon one and prosecute the other.

C. Pardon Before Institution of Criminal Action

Pardon is generally effective as a bar when given before the criminal action is instituted.

Once the criminal case has already been validly commenced, subsequent forgiveness may not automatically extinguish criminal liability, because the offense has already come under the authority of the State. However, the offended spouse’s conduct may still have practical effects on the prosecution.

D. Consent

If the offended spouse consented to the adulterous or concubinous relationship, criminal prosecution may be barred.

Consent may exist when the spouse knowingly allowed, encouraged, or tolerated the relationship before or during its occurrence.

E. Condonation

Condonation refers to forgiveness, often inferred from conduct such as resuming marital relations after knowledge of the infidelity.

Condonation may be raised as a defense when the offended spouse, after learning of the offense, freely and voluntarily reconciles with the guilty spouse in a manner inconsistent with the desire to prosecute.

IX. Prescription of the Offense

Adultery and concubinage are subject to rules on prescription, meaning the period within which the criminal action must be commenced.

Under the Revised Penal Code, crimes punishable by correctional penalties generally prescribe within the applicable statutory period. Since adultery and concubinage carry correctional penalties, the prescriptive period must be determined by reference to the penalty imposed by law and the rules on prescription.

The running of prescription may involve issues such as:

when the offended spouse discovered the offense;
when the offense was committed;
whether the offense is considered continuing;
whether a complaint was properly filed; and
whether prescription was interrupted.

Because adultery may involve separate acts of intercourse, each act may have its own prescriptive period. Concubinage, particularly when based on cohabitation, may raise questions about whether the offense continued over a period of time.

X. Proof Required

A. Quantum of Evidence

Because adultery and concubinage are criminal offenses, guilt must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

Suspicion, jealousy, rumor, or moral certainty alone is not enough. The prosecution must prove all elements of the offense.

B. Direct Evidence Is Not Always Required

Sexual intercourse is usually committed in private. Courts may therefore rely on circumstantial evidence, provided the circumstances are consistent with guilt and inconsistent with innocence.

Examples of possible circumstantial evidence include:

being found together in compromising circumstances;
hotel records;
messages or letters showing a sexual relationship;
photographs or videos;
testimony of witnesses;
birth of a child where paternity is relevant;
admissions;
repeated overnight stays;
shared residence;
public representation as a couple.

However, evidence must be lawfully obtained. Illegally obtained private communications, unauthorized surveillance, or privacy violations may create separate legal problems and may be excluded depending on the circumstances.

C. Proof of Marriage

The prosecution must prove that the accused spouse was legally married at the time of the alleged offense.

A marriage certificate is typically used. The validity of the marriage may become an issue if the accused claims that the marriage was void, had been annulled, or had been dissolved by a prior valid judgment.

D. Proof of Knowledge of Marriage

For the third party, the prosecution must prove knowledge that the accused spouse was married.

Knowledge may be shown by direct admission or inferred from facts such as:

the third party personally knew the lawful spouse;
the relationship was public;
the accused spouse introduced the third party to others as a married person;
documents, messages, or social media posts showed awareness;
the third party attended family events;
the third party had prior notice of the marriage.

XI. Common Defenses

A. Lack of Sexual Intercourse

For adultery, absence of sexual intercourse defeats the charge.

For concubinage, depending on the mode alleged, the defense may be absence of scandalous intercourse, absence of cohabitation, or absence of a mistress in the conjugal dwelling.

B. Lack of Knowledge of Marriage

The third party may defend by proving lack of knowledge that the accused spouse was married.

This defense is available to the paramour in adultery and to the concubine in concubinage. It is not usually available to the married accused, who is presumed to know his or her own marital status.

C. Invalid Marriage

If there was no valid marriage at the time of the alleged offense, adultery or concubinage may not prosper.

However, Philippine law generally requires a judicial declaration of nullity before a party may safely treat a marriage as void for purposes of remarriage and marital obligations. In criminal cases, the effect of an allegedly void marriage depends on the issue raised, the timing, and the applicable doctrine.

D. Legal Separation Is Not Dissolution of Marriage

Legal separation does not dissolve the marriage bond. Spouses who are legally separated remain married. Therefore, a legally separated spouse may still potentially commit adultery or concubinage if the elements are present.

E. Annulment or Declaration of Nullity

A decree of annulment or declaration of nullity may affect criminal liability depending on whether the marriage was valid, voidable, or void, and whether the alleged act occurred before or after the decree.

A final judgment declaring a marriage void recognizes that no valid marriage existed from the beginning, but Philippine law has special rules requiring judicial declaration for certain civil effects. Criminal implications may require careful analysis.

F. Pardon, Consent, or Condonation

As discussed, these may bar prosecution if properly established.

G. Prescription

If the offense has prescribed, the accused may invoke prescription as a defense.

H. Insufficient Evidence

Because the standard is proof beyond reasonable doubt, weak circumstantial evidence, inconsistent testimony, unreliable witnesses, or illegally obtained evidence may result in acquittal.

XII. Effect of Separation in Fact

A common misconception is that spouses who have been separated in fact may freely enter new relationships.

In Philippine law, separation in fact does not dissolve marriage. Even if spouses have lived apart for years, they remain married unless the marriage has been legally dissolved, annulled, or declared void by a competent court.

Therefore:

A married woman who enters a sexual relationship with another man may still be exposed to adultery charges. A married man who cohabits with another woman or keeps a mistress under the circumstances described in Article 334 may still be exposed to concubinage charges.

However, long separation may affect issues such as consent, condonation, credibility, motive, civil liability, custody, or the practical willingness of courts and prosecutors to proceed, depending on the facts.

XIII. Effect of Bigamy, Void Marriage, and Subsequent Relationships

Adultery and concubinage should be distinguished from bigamy.

A. Bigamy

Bigamy is committed when a person contracts a second or subsequent marriage while the first valid marriage is still legally subsisting, unless the first marriage has been legally dissolved or the absent spouse has been judicially declared presumptively dead where required.

Bigamy concerns the act of entering into another marriage. Adultery and concubinage concern sexual or cohabiting relationships outside marriage.

A person may, depending on the facts, face issues involving both marital infidelity and bigamous marriage, but the elements are different.

B. Void Second Marriage

Even if a second marriage is void, the conduct surrounding it may still have consequences. A person who lives with another partner while still married may face civil or criminal issues depending on the circumstances.

XIV. Adultery, Concubinage, and Legal Separation

Under the Family Code, sexual infidelity may be a ground for legal separation.

Legal separation allows spouses to live separately and may result in separation of property and other civil consequences. However, it does not dissolve the marriage bond. The spouses remain married and cannot remarry.

Sexual infidelity as a ground for legal separation is civil in nature. It is different from the criminal offenses of adultery and concubinage.

A spouse may pursue legal separation even when a criminal case is not filed, or even when the evidence may not be enough for criminal conviction, because the standards and legal consequences differ.

XV. Adultery, Concubinage, and Annulment

Adultery or concubinage by itself is generally not the same as a ground for annulment.

Annulment and declaration of nullity focus on defects existing at the time of marriage or legal grounds recognized by the Family Code, such as lack of essential requisites, psychological incapacity, fraud, force, intimidation, impotence, or serious sexually transmissible disease, depending on the case.

Infidelity may be relevant to annulment or nullity cases if it is used as evidence of a deeper legal ground, such as psychological incapacity. However, infidelity alone does not automatically make a marriage void or voidable.

XVI. Civil Effects of Adultery and Concubinage

Adultery and concubinage may produce civil consequences, including:

A. Damages

The offended spouse may claim damages in appropriate cases. The wrongful conduct may cause mental anguish, social humiliation, injury to feelings, and moral suffering.

Possible civil claims may include:

moral damages;
exemplary damages, where proper;
actual damages, if proven;
attorney’s fees, if legally justified.

B. Property Relations

In legal separation, the guilty spouse may suffer consequences affecting property relations.

Depending on the applicable property regime and the relief granted by the court, marital misconduct may affect liquidation, forfeiture of certain shares, and administration of property.

C. Custody

Infidelity alone does not automatically make a parent unfit. Courts decide custody based on the best interests of the child.

However, adulterous or concubinous conduct may be considered if it affects the child’s welfare, moral environment, stability, safety, or emotional well-being.

D. Support

Marital misconduct may affect claims between spouses in legal separation or related proceedings, but support obligations toward children remain. A parent’s duty to support a child is not erased by marital conflict.

E. Succession

In certain circumstances, marital misconduct may affect rights of succession, especially where there is legal separation, disinheritance, or other grounds recognized by law. The specific effect depends on the facts and applicable provisions of the Civil Code and Family Code.

XVII. Effect on Children

Children are not criminally liable for the conduct of their parents. Their rights to support, legitimacy, custody, and inheritance are governed by separate rules.

A. Legitimacy

A child conceived or born during a valid marriage is generally presumed legitimate, subject to rules on impugning legitimacy.

Adultery may create disputes over paternity, but legitimacy cannot be attacked casually. Philippine law has strict rules on who may challenge legitimacy, when, and how.

B. Support

A child’s right to support remains protected. The misconduct of one parent does not deprive the child of support.

C. Custody and Welfare

Courts prioritize the child’s welfare. The existence of an affair may matter only insofar as it affects the child’s best interests.

XVIII. Evidentiary Issues in Modern Cases

Modern adultery and concubinage cases often involve digital evidence.

A. Text Messages and Chats

Messages may be used as evidence if properly authenticated and lawfully obtained.

Screenshots alone may be challenged. Courts may require proof that the messages are genuine, complete, and attributable to the accused.

B. Social Media Posts

Photos, relationship status updates, public posts, comments, and tagged locations may support circumstantial evidence. However, they must still be authenticated.

C. Hotel, Travel, and Financial Records

Receipts, bookings, travel records, and bank statements may support claims of cohabitation, intimacy, or opportunity.

D. Privacy and Illegal Access

Evidence obtained by hacking, unauthorized access, secret recording, or violation of privacy laws may create legal problems. The person gathering evidence may risk criminal, civil, or evidentiary consequences.

A spouse’s desire to prove infidelity does not automatically justify illegal surveillance or invasion of privacy.

XIX. Relationship With Violence Against Women and Children Laws

In some cases, marital infidelity may overlap with claims under laws protecting women and children, especially where the conduct causes emotional, psychological, economic, or physical abuse.

However, adultery and concubinage are distinct from offenses involving violence, coercion, threats, harassment, or psychological abuse. A spouse’s affair is not automatically the same as violence, but the surrounding conduct may be relevant under other laws depending on the facts.

XX. Relationship With Workplace, Professional, or Administrative Liability

Adultery or concubinage may also have consequences outside criminal court.

A. Government Employees

Public officers and employees may face administrative liability for conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, disgraceful or immoral conduct, or similar administrative offenses, depending on the facts and applicable civil service rules.

B. Members of the Military, Police, or Uniformed Services

Uniformed personnel may be subject to administrative or disciplinary proceedings for immoral conduct or conduct unbecoming.

C. Professionals

Professionals such as lawyers, teachers, doctors, and others may face disciplinary complaints if the conduct violates ethical standards, especially when it reflects moral unfitness, dishonesty, abuse of authority, or public scandal.

The outcome depends on the profession’s governing rules and the specific facts.

XXI. Adultery and Concubinage Compared With “Psychological Incapacity”

Psychological incapacity under the Family Code is a ground for declaration of nullity of marriage. It refers to a party’s incapacity to comply with essential marital obligations due to psychological causes, as interpreted by jurisprudence.

Infidelity may be evidence in a psychological incapacity case, but it is not automatically psychological incapacity.

A spouse may be unfaithful without being legally psychologically incapacitated. Courts generally require proof that the incapacity is serious, juridically antecedent, and incurable or enduring in the legal sense, depending on prevailing doctrine.

XXII. Practical Problems in Prosecution

Adultery and concubinage cases are often emotionally charged but difficult to prosecute.

A. Proof Beyond Reasonable Doubt

The offended spouse may strongly believe there was infidelity, but criminal conviction requires proof beyond reasonable doubt.

B. Privacy of Sexual Conduct

Because sexual relations are private, direct proof is rare. Circumstantial evidence must be strong.

C. Risk of Countercharges

Attempts to gather evidence may lead to counterclaims involving privacy violations, cybercrime, trespass, unjust vexation, grave coercion, or defamation, depending on conduct.

D. Reconciliation

Many cases are affected by reconciliation, withdrawal of cooperation, pardon, or settlement.

E. Emotional and Financial Cost

Criminal prosecution may intensify family conflict. It may also affect children, property negotiations, custody disputes, and public reputation.

XXIII. Common Misconceptions

A. “Only married people can commit adultery.”

In Philippine criminal law, the married woman commits adultery, but the man who has sexual intercourse with her may also be criminally liable if he knew she was married, even if he is single.

B. “A husband commits adultery if he has sex with another woman.”

Technically, under the Revised Penal Code, a husband does not commit adultery. A married man may commit concubinage, but only if the elements of Article 334 are present.

C. “A single act by the husband is enough for concubinage.”

Not necessarily. A single private act of sex by the husband with another woman is not automatically concubinage unless it falls under one of the statutory modes, such as scandalous circumstances.

D. “Being separated means dating is legal.”

Separation in fact does not dissolve marriage. A separated spouse remains married.

E. “Legal separation allows remarriage.”

Legal separation does not allow remarriage. It permits spouses to live separately and may affect property relations, but the marriage bond remains.

F. “Infidelity automatically annuls marriage.”

Infidelity alone does not annul or nullify marriage. It may be relevant evidence in some cases, but it is not by itself a complete ground for annulment or nullity.

G. “The offended spouse can sue only the third party.”

Generally, both guilty parties must be included in the complaint, unless a legally recognized exception applies.

XXIV. Constitutional and Policy Issues

Adultery and concubinage provisions have been criticized for violating modern principles of gender equality.

The criticisms include:

Unequal treatment of wives and husbands;
Harsher punishment for women;
Different standards of proof depending on gender;
Patriarchal assumptions about chastity, legitimacy, and family honor;
Potential conflict with equal protection principles.

Supporters of retaining criminal sanctions argue that marriage is a social institution protected by law and that serious marital betrayal may justify criminal consequences.

Reform proposals have often suggested either:

decriminalizing marital infidelity entirely and treating it as a civil/family law matter;
equalizing the offense into a gender-neutral crime of marital infidelity;
retaining civil consequences but removing imprisonment;
replacing adultery and concubinage with a single offense applicable equally to spouses.

As of this writing based on available legal knowledge up to my cutoff, adultery and concubinage remain part of Philippine criminal law.

XXV. Possible Future Reform

A modernized law could address the criticisms by creating a gender-neutral framework. Possible reforms include:

A. Equal Treatment

The law could apply equally to husbands and wives, regardless of sex.

B. Uniform Elements

Instead of requiring different standards for men and women, the offense could define marital infidelity using the same acts and proof requirements for both spouses.

C. Civil Rather Than Criminal Remedies

The law could remove imprisonment and treat infidelity as a ground for legal separation, damages, custody consideration, or property consequences.

D. Protection Against Abuse of Prosecution

Because adultery and concubinage complaints may be used as leverage in marital conflict, reform could include safeguards against harassment, coercive litigation, or retaliatory prosecution.

XXVI. Practical Legal Considerations

A person involved in an adultery or concubinage issue should consider several legal questions:

Is there a valid existing marriage?
Was there sexual intercourse or cohabitation?
Does the alleged conduct satisfy the specific elements of the crime?
Is there admissible evidence?
Did the offended spouse consent, pardon, or condone?
Has the offense prescribed?
Were both guilty parties included in the complaint?
Are there related civil, family, custody, property, or support issues?
Was any evidence obtained legally?
Would legal separation, civil action, protection remedies, or settlement be more appropriate than criminal prosecution?

XXVII. Summary of Key Distinctions

Issue	Adultery	Concubinage
Offending spouse	Married woman	Married man
Third party	Man who knows woman is married	Woman who knows man is married
Main act punished	Sexual intercourse with man not her husband	Keeping mistress in conjugal dwelling, scandalous sex, or cohabitation
Is one sexual act enough?	Yes, if proven	Usually no, unless under scandalous circumstances
Penalty for married spouse	Prisión correccional medium and maximum	Prisión correccional minimum and medium
Penalty for third party	Same as adulterous wife if liable	Destierro
Complaint required	By offended husband	By offended wife
Must include both parties?	Generally yes	Generally yes
Major criticism	Harsher on women	Harder to prove against men

XXVIII. Conclusion

Adultery and concubinage in the Philippines remain legally significant but controversial offenses. They reflect an older criminal law framework that treats marital infidelity differently depending on whether the offender is the wife or the husband.

For adultery, the law punishes a married woman for sexual intercourse with a man not her husband, and also punishes the man if he knew she was married. A single act may be enough, and each act may constitute a separate offense.

For concubinage, the law punishes a married man only when he keeps a mistress in the conjugal dwelling, has sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances, or cohabits with another woman elsewhere. The woman may be punished if she knew he was married, but her penalty is destierro rather than imprisonment.

Both crimes require a complaint by the offended spouse, generally require inclusion of both guilty parties, and may be barred by consent, pardon, condonation, prescription, or lack of evidence. They may also produce civil and family law consequences involving legal separation, damages, property, custody, support, and succession.

The law continues to be criticized for unequal gender treatment. Until changed by legislation or constitutional ruling, however, adultery and concubinage remain part of Philippine criminal law and continue to affect spouses, families, and third parties involved in marital infidelity disputes.