Introduction

In the Philippine legal system, the Revised Penal Code (RPC), enacted as Act No. 3815 in 1930 and subsequently amended, serves as the cornerstone of criminal law. It outlines crimes, their elements, and corresponding penalties, which are structured in a hierarchical manner to reflect varying degrees of severity. One common query among legal practitioners, students, and those navigating the justice system revolves around the graduation of penalties—specifically, identifying the "next lower penalty" to a given sanction. This article delves into the penalty of arresto mayor, its place within the RPC's penalty framework, and the penalty immediately below it in the graduated scale. By examining relevant provisions such as Articles 25, 27, 61, 70, 71, and 76, we provide a comprehensive guide to understanding this concept, its application, and implications in Philippine jurisprudence.

Classification of Penalties Under the Revised Penal Code

The RPC classifies penalties based on their nature and severity, dividing them into principal and accessory penalties. Principal penalties are those directly imposed for the commission of a crime, while accessory penalties attach automatically to certain principal penalties. Article 25 of the RPC categorizes principal penalties as follows:

Capital Punishment: Death (though effectively abolished for ordinary crimes via Republic Act No. 9346, which prohibits the death penalty and substitutes reclusion perpetua).
Afflictive Penalties: Reclusion perpetua, reclusion temporal, prision mayor, and perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification, perpetual or temporary special disqualification.
Correctional Penalties: Prision correccional, arresto mayor, suspension, and destierro.
Light Penalties: Arresto menor and public censure.
Penalties Common to the Three Preceding Classes: Fine and bond to keep the peace.

This classification is crucial because it influences how penalties are scaled up or down in response to aggravating or mitigating circumstances, as provided under Article 64. Fines are further classified as afflictive (over P40,000, as updated by Republic Act No. 10951), correctional (P1,200 to P40,000), or light (less than P1,200), but they operate somewhat independently in the graduation scale.

The duration of each penalty is specified in Article 27, ensuring proportionality to the gravity of the offense:

Reclusion perpetua: 20 years and 1 day to 40 years.
Reclusion temporal: 12 years and 1 day to 20 years.
Prision mayor: 6 years and 1 day to 12 years.
Prision correccional: 6 months and 1 day to 6 years.
Arresto mayor: 1 month and 1 day to 6 months.
Destierro: 6 months and 1 day to 6 years.
Arresto menor: 1 day to 30 days.

These durations are divided into minimum, medium, and maximum periods under Article 65, allowing courts flexibility in sentencing based on circumstances.

Arresto Mayor: Definition, Duration, and Application

Arresto mayor is a correctional penalty involving deprivation of liberty through imprisonment. It is imposed for crimes classified as less grave felonies under Article 9, which defines such felonies as those punishable by correctional penalties. Examples include simple slander (Article 358), alarm and scandal (Article 155), and certain forms of resistance and disobedience (Article 151).

Key Characteristics:

Duration: As per Article 27, it ranges from 1 month and 1 day to 6 months. This is subdivided into:
- Minimum: 1 month and 1 day to 2 months.
- Medium: 2 months and 1 day to 4 months.
- Maximum: 4 months and 1 day to 6 months.
Place of Service: Under Article 88, arresto mayor is served in a municipal jail or, in some cases, the offender's home if approved by the court (house arrest).
Accessory Penalties: Per Article 44, it carries suspension of the right to hold office and the right of suffrage during the term of the sentence.
Computation: Time is computed under Article 28, with deductions for good conduct allowances as outlined in Article 97 (e.g., 5 days per month for the first two years, increasing thereafter).
Indeterminate Sentence Law Application: For penalties not exceeding 6 years, the Indeterminate Sentence Law (Act No. 4103, as amended) applies, allowing a range where the minimum is within the next lower penalty's range, but this does not alter the graduated scale itself.

Arresto mayor bridges lighter infractions and more serious correctional penalties like prision correccional. It is often the prescribed penalty for misdemeanors or minor offenses where rehabilitation through short-term incarceration is deemed sufficient.

The Graduated Scale of Penalties

To handle variations in criminal liability due to incomplete elements, attempts, frustrations, accomplices, accessories, or circumstances, the RPC employs a graduated scale. This scale, detailed in Article 71, establishes a hierarchical order for adjusting penalties by degrees. The scale is as follows:

Death
Reclusion perpetua
Reclusion temporal
Prision mayor
Prision correccional
Arresto mayor
Destierro
Arresto menor
Public censure
Fine

This order reflects decreasing severity, not necessarily duration. For instance, while destierro shares the same duration as prision correccional (6 months and 1 day to 6 years), it is considered less severe because it involves restriction rather than full imprisonment.

Article 61 provides rules for applying penalties containing three periods (minimum, medium, maximum) and graduating them:

One degree lower means moving down one step in the scale and applying the corresponding period.
For indivisible penalties like reclusion perpetua, graduation may involve shifting to the next lower divisible penalty.

The scale ensures consistency in sentencing, as seen in cases like People v. Simon (G.R. No. 93028, 1994), where the Supreme Court applied graduation for drug-related offenses.

The Next Lower Penalty to Arresto Mayor: Destierro

Based on the graduated scale in Article 71, the penalty immediately below arresto mayor is destierro. This is the "next lower penalty" in the context of lowering the degree due to mitigating circumstances, privileges, or other adjustments.

Understanding Destierro:

Definition: Destierro (Spanish for "banishment" or "exile") is a correctional penalty that prohibits the offender from entering a specified place or places, typically the victim's residence or a radius around it (e.g., 25 kilometers under Article 87). It deprives liberty in a limited sense, allowing freedom elsewhere but enforcing geographical restriction.
Duration: Identical to prision correccional—6 months and 1 day to 6 years—divided into minimum (6 months and 1 day to 2 years), medium (2 years and 1 day to 4 years), and maximum (4 years and 1 day to 6 years).
Application: Imposed in specific cases, such as:
- When death or serious physical injuries are caused under exceptional circumstances (Article 247).
- As a substitute for failed concubinage prosecutions (Article 334).
- For accessories in certain crimes (Article 55). It is milder than imprisonment, as the offender avoids jail but must comply with the ban, monitored by authorities.
Accessory Penalties: Similar to other correctional penalties, including suspension of rights (Article 44).
Rationale for Placement: Despite its longer potential duration, destierro is less afflictive than arresto mayor because it does not involve confinement in a penal institution. This aligns with the RPC's emphasis on proportionality and humane punishment.

In practice, if a crime punishable by arresto mayor has two mitigating circumstances (no aggravating), Article 64 mandates lowering by one degree to destierro, with the court imposing the maximum period of the lower penalty unless further adjusted.

Practical Application and Jurisprudence

Graduation Rules:

Mitigating Circumstances: Under Article 64, one mitigating circumstance lowers the penalty to the minimum period; two or more may lower it by one degree (to destierro for arresto mayor cases).
Privileged Mitigating: For minors or incomplete justifying/exempting circumstances (Article 69), the penalty is lowered by one or two degrees.
Indeterminate Sentence: When applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the minimum term could be within the range of the next lower penalty (destierro), while the maximum is from the prescribed penalty.
Sequential Computation: Article 70 limits consecutive sentences to three times the most severe penalty, not exceeding 40 years.

Case Examples:

In People v. Ducosin (59 Phil. 109, 1933), the Court lowered a penalty from arresto mayor to destierro due to voluntary surrender.
Modern applications under Republic Act No. 10951 (adjusting property crime penalties) may indirectly affect graduation, but the scale remains intact.
Probation under Presidential Decree No. 968 is available for penalties not exceeding 6 years, potentially applicable to destierro if substituted.

Challenges arise when penalties involve fines alongside imprisonment; Article 75 treats fines separately, but graduation focuses on the deprivation aspect.

Conclusion

Understanding the next lower penalty to arresto mayor—which is destierro—requires grasping the RPC's structured approach to penalties, emphasizing justice tempered by circumstances. This framework ensures penalties are neither arbitrary nor excessive, aligning with constitutional mandates under Article III, Section 19 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution against cruel punishment. Legal professionals must consult the full RPC text and updated jurisprudence for case-specific applications, as amendments like Republic Act No. 10592 (good conduct time allowance) further refine execution. This guide underscores the RPC's enduring role in Philippine criminal justice, promoting fairness through precise graduation of sanctions.