1. Governing Law and Where “Simple Arson” Fits

1.1. Primary statutes

Philippine arson law is principally governed by:

Presidential Decree No. 1613 (P.D. 1613), commonly cited as the decree “amending the law on arson,” which lays down the framework for arson offenses and penalties, including what practitioners and reviewers often call “simple arson” (i.e., “other cases of arson” under the decree); and
The Revised Penal Code (RPC) provisions on penalties, participation, stages of execution, and accessory penalties, which are frequently applied suppletorily (as gap-fillers) to special penal laws that use RPC penalty nomenclature (e.g., reclusion temporal, reclusion perpetua).

1.2. “Destructive arson” vs. “simple arson”

Philippine law and jurisprudence commonly divide arson into:

Destructive arson (the most serious forms, typically involving buildings/places whose burning creates exceptional public danger or targets with particular public significance), and
Other cases of arson, widely referred to as simple arson (serious, but generally falling short of “destructive” classification).

This classification matters because penalties and bail consequences can differ sharply.

2. What Is “Simple Arson” (Other Cases of Arson)?

2.1. Core concept

Arson is the willful and malicious burning (or setting on fire) of property in a manner contemplated by the arson law. The act punished is not merely “damage,” but burning as a public-safety offense, because fire endangers life and the community.

“Simple arson” in Philippine usage typically refers to arson punished as an “other case of arson”—meaning it is not classified as destructive arson, but it is still treated as a grave felony because of the inherent danger of fire.

2.2. Typical coverage (property involved)

While the exact enumeration is found in the statutory text, “simple arson / other cases” generally covers the burning of certain structures or property such as:

Inhabited houses or dwellings, and similar occupied structures;
Government or public-use buildings that do not fall under the “destructive arson” grouping;
Industrial, commercial, agricultural, and storage facilities in circumstances treated as arson by the decree; and
Transportation-related property (vehicles or facilities) when the burning is punished as arson under the decree rather than as ordinary damage to property.

The unifying feature is that the law treats the burning as arson (not merely malicious mischief), because it creates the kind of public danger the arson statute is designed to prevent.

3. The Basic Penalty for Simple Arson

3.1. Statutory penalty range

For simple arson / other cases of arson, the standard statutory penalty is:

Reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua

Meaning, the court may impose a sentence within the range:

Reclusion temporal: 12 years and 1 day to 20 years up to
Reclusion perpetua: 20 years and 1 day to 40 years (practically treated as an indivisible penalty under the RPC framework, with its own parole and accessory-penalty consequences).

3.2. Accessory penalties (often overlooked)

Because P.D. 1613 uses RPC penalty terminology, accessory penalties attach in the usual manner unless inconsistent:

Reclusion temporal typically carries (among others) civil interdiction during the sentence and perpetual absolute disqualification.
Reclusion perpetua typically carries civil interdiction for life and perpetual absolute disqualification.

Accessory penalties matter in practice (e.g., disqualification from public office, loss of certain civil rights, and legal incapacities).

4. When the Penalty Becomes Heavier in Practice

Even if the basic label is “simple arson,” the actual sentence can be pushed to the top of the range—or, in some scenarios, treated under different charging frameworks—because of special circumstances.

4.1. Special aggravating circumstances under the arson decree

P.D. 1613 recognizes special aggravating circumstances (distinct from ordinary aggravating circumstances under the RPC). When present, these generally require the court to impose the maximum (or a harsher specified) penalty contemplated by the decree.

Commonly encountered special-arson aggravators include situations such as:

Arson for profit/benefit (including schemes tied to gain);
Arson to conceal another crime, destroy evidence, or facilitate wrongdoing;
Insurance-motivated burnings (arson to collect, defraud, or exploit insurance); and
Arson committed by a group or in a manner indicating organized participation, where the decree treats the manner of commission as specially blameworthy.

Effect on penalty (practical takeaway): these circumstances frequently drive sentencing toward reclusion perpetua within the “reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua” range, and can also affect whether parole restrictions apply depending on the provision invoked.

4.2. When death results from the fire

If a fire causes death, arson law can impose a much heavier consequence than an ordinary “property burning” case. Philippine charging practice often distinguishes:

Cases where the primary intent was to burn (and death occurs as a consequence), versus
Cases where the primary intent was to kill (and fire is merely the means).

Depending on the facts, prosecution may proceed as:

Arson with resultant death (often treated as a special complex treatment under arson statutes/doctrine), or
Murder/Homicide (if killing is the main design and fire is the method), possibly with arson-related allegations as circumstances.

Penalty impact: when the applicable arson provision is one that historically carried death as a maximum (before its abolition), current sentencing often becomes reclusion perpetua with the legally significant consequence that it may be without eligibility for parole under the death-penalty abolition framework.

5. How Courts Determine the Exact Sentence Within the Range

5.1. Divisible vs. indivisible components

The penalty “reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua” spans:

A divisible penalty (reclusion temporal), and
An indivisible penalty (reclusion perpetua).

This affects:

The method of applying mitigating/aggravating circumstances, and
Whether an indeterminate sentence can be imposed.

5.2. Mitigating and aggravating circumstances

Courts consider:

Ordinary mitigating circumstances (e.g., voluntary surrender, plea of guilty where applicable, etc.);
Ordinary aggravating circumstances (e.g., nighttime, dwelling, etc.) when relevant; and
Special aggravating circumstances recognized by the arson decree, which often have specific mandated effects.

The net effect is that the court selects:

A term in reclusion temporal (if the circumstances justify staying below reclusion perpetua), or
Reclusion perpetua (if the circumstances justify the maximum end of the statutory range).

5.3. Indeterminate Sentence Law (ISL) implications

If the court imposes reclusion temporal as the maximum, an indeterminate sentence is commonly imposed (minimum term from the penalty next lower, maximum term within reclusion temporal).
If the court imposes reclusion perpetua, the ISL generally does not apply (and parole eligibility may depend on the specific law/provision involved and any “no parole” rule tied to former death-penalty provisions).

6. Attempted and Frustrated Simple Arson

6.1. Stages of execution

Philippine criminal law recognizes:

Attempted: the offender begins the commission but does not perform all acts of execution;
Frustrated: all acts of execution are performed but the crime is not consummated due to causes independent of the offender’s will;
Consummated: the fire is set and the burning contemplated by law occurs.

In arson, courts often focus heavily on:

Whether there was actual burning (not just scorching, smoke, or presence of fuel), and
Proof of criminal agency (that the burning was intentional and attributable to the accused, not accidental).

6.2. Penalty graduation (general approach)

Where the law and doctrine treat attempted/frustrated arson as punishable, the penalty typically drops by degrees (one degree lower for frustrated; two degrees lower for attempted), using the RPC’s graduated scale.

Practical orientation (not a substitute for the statutory text and case-specific rules):

Frustrated simple arson is commonly punished one degree lower than “reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua.”
Attempted simple arson is commonly punished two degrees lower.

Degree computation can be technical when the prescribed penalty is a range spanning divisible and indivisible penalties, but the central point remains: attempted/frustrated liability exists and significantly reduces exposure, while still leaving the case within serious felony territory.

7. Interaction With Other Crimes (Charging and Penalty Consequences)

7.1. Arson vs. malicious mischief (damage to property)

Not every fire-related property damage is prosecuted as arson. A key dividing line is whether the facts satisfy arson’s elements and statutory coverage (public danger and the kind of property/setting specified), versus ordinary damage to property / malicious mischief.

If prosecutors classify the act as arson, penalties are dramatically higher than ordinary property-damage crimes.

7.2. Arson used as a means to kill

If fire is used primarily to kill, the legal system may treat the offense as:

Murder/homicide (with fire as a means), rather than arson as the principal crime.

This can change the penalty analysis entirely, because the governing provision may shift from P.D. 1613 to the RPC provisions on crimes against persons, depending on the dominant criminal intent proven beyond reasonable doubt.

7.3. Separate liability for related fraud

When arson is tied to insurance fraud, there may be:

Arson liability under P.D. 1613, and
Separate civil and potentially criminal exposures depending on fraudulent acts proven (e.g., false claims), though the core “simple arson” penalty remains anchored to the arson statute.

8. Procedural Consequences: Jurisdiction, Bail, and Prescription

8.1. Court jurisdiction

Given the penalty range (up to reclusion perpetua), simple arson prosecutions are generally within the Regional Trial Court’s jurisdiction.

8.2. Bail

Because simple arson’s penalty includes reclusion perpetua, bail is typically not automatic as a matter of right in the way it is for offenses with maximum penalties below reclusion perpetua. In practice, this often means:

Bail may be discretionary, and
The court may require a bail hearing to determine whether evidence of guilt is strong (depending on how the case is charged and the penalty exposure alleged).

8.3. Prescription

Offenses punishable by reclusion temporal or reclusion perpetua are subject to long prescriptive periods under Philippine criminal law rules (commonly treated as 20 years in many frameworks). This matters for old fire cases discovered late.

9. Evidentiary Themes That Shape Penalty Outcomes

Arson cases often rise or fall on proof of:

Corpus delicti: that a fire occurred and that it was intentionally caused (not accidental).
Criminal agency: linking the accused to the fire, often through circumstantial evidence.

Because arson is frequently proved circumstantially, facts that commonly influence conviction (and hence the penalty ultimately imposed) include:

Multiple points of origin;
Presence of accelerants;
Evidence of forced entry or tampering;
Prior threats, motive, or disputes;
Removal of valuables before the fire;
Suspicious insurance coverage patterns;
Inconsistent explanations by suspects.

These are the kinds of facts that can push a court toward finding special aggravating circumstances (where proven) and imposing reclusion perpetua rather than a lower point in reclusion temporal.

10. Quick Reference: Penalty Exposure Snapshot (Simple Arson)

Simple arson (other cases of arson): Reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua (12 years and 1 day up to 40 years; with reclusion perpetua treated as an indivisible penalty in practice.)
With special arson aggravators proven: commonly driven to the maximum end of the range (often reclusion perpetua), subject to the specific provision and its mandated effect.
Where death results: exposure escalates substantially; if the applicable provision is one that historically carried death as a maximum, sentencing becomes reclusion perpetua with potential no-parole consequence under the death-penalty abolition framework.
Attempted / frustrated simple arson: punished at lower degrees (degree computation is technical but materially reduces exposure while remaining serious).

11. Bottom Line

Under Philippine law, simple arson is a grave felony with a baseline penalty of reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua. In practical sentencing, the decisive drivers are:

Whether the case stays within “simple arson” or is treated as destructive arson;
Whether special aggravating circumstances under the arson decree are proven;
Whether the fire resulted in death (or was used primarily to kill); and
How the court applies RPC principles on penalty selection, accessory penalties, and indeterminate sentencing where applicable.