CRIMINAL LAW

(Reviewer)

I.

CRIMINAL LAW : INTRODUCTION

a. DEFINITION
i. Criminal Law is the branch or division of law which defines
crimes, treats of their nature, and provide for their punishment
ii. Crime is an act committed or omitted in violation of a public law
forbidding or commanding it.
b. STATE AUTHORITY TO PUNISH CRIMES
The state has the authority, under its police power, to define and
punish crimes and to lay down the rules of criminal procedures
States, as a part of their police power, have a large measure of
discretion in creating and defining criminal offenses.
i. Sources of State Authority
1. Constitution
2. Revised Penal Code
3. Special Criminal Laws
4. Penal Provision in Other Laws
5. Local Ordinance
6. Jurisprudence
ii. Limitation to State Authority
1. Due Process and Equal Protection
2. Freedom of Expression
3. Freedom of Religion
4. Section 14 (1), Article III, 1987 Constitution
5. Section 14 (2), Article III, 1987 Constitution
6. Section 18 (1), Article III, 1987 Constitution
7. Section 18 (2), Article III, 1987 Constitution
8. No excessive fines nor cruel, degrading or inhuman
punishment - Section 19 (1), Article III, 1987 Constitution
9. Section 19 (2), Article III, 1987 Constitution
10.
Section 20, Article III, 1987 Constitution
11.
Bill of Attainder Section 22, Article III, 1987
Constitution
12.
Ex Post Facto Law Section 22, Article III, 1987
Constitution
13.
Rule 115, Rules on Civil Procedure
14.
Article 2, New Civil Code
c. PURPOSES OF CRIMINAL LAW
i. Identify Wrongful Behaviour
ii. Prescribe Punishment
1. Retribution
2. Prevention
a. Deterrence
b. Incapacitation
c. Rehabilitation
d. CONSTRUCTION/INTERPRETATION OF CRIMINAL STATUTES
i. Liberality in Favor of the Accused
ii. Retroactive Application if Favourable to the Accused
iii. Equipoise Doctrine
iv. Void for Vagueness or Over Breadth (Doctrine of Pro Reo)

II.

BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CRIMINAL LAW

a. GENERALITY OF CRIMINAL LAW
i. Criminal law is binding on all persons who live or sojourn in
Philippine territory. (Art. 14, New Civil Code)

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ii. Exception ( Art. 2, RPC and Art. 14, Civil Code)

1. Treaties or Treaty Stipulations
a. Bases Agreement
2. Law of Preferential Application
a. Republic Act No. 75 favour of diplomatic
representatives and their domestic servants
3. Public International Law
a. Sovereigns and other chiefs of state
b. Ambassadors, ministers plenipotentiary, ministers
resident, and charges d affaires.
b. PROSPECTIVITY OF CRIMINAL LAW
i. A penal law cannot make an act punishable in a manner in which
it was not punishable when committed
ii. Crimes are punishable under the laws in force at the time of
their commission. (Art. 366, RPC)
iii. Exceptions
1. Whenever a new statute dealing with crimes establishes
conditions more lenient or favourable to the accused, it
can be given a retroactive effect
2. Exception to the Exception
a. Where the new law is expressly made inapplicable
to the pending actions or existing causes of action
b. Where the offender is a habitual criminal under the
Rule 5, Article 62, Revised Penal Code. (Art. 22,
RPC)
c. TERRITORIALITY OF CRIMINAL LAW
i. The principle of territoriality means that as a rule, penal laws of
the Philippines are enforceable only within its territory.
ii. Exceptions (Art. 2, RPC)
1. Should commit an offense while on a Philippine ship or
airship;
2. Should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of
the Philippines or obligations and securities issued by the
Government of the Philippines;
3. Should be liable for acts connected with the introduction
into the Philippines of the obligation and securities
mentioned in the preceding number
4. While being public officer or employees, should commit an
offense in the exercise of their functions; or
5. Should commit any crimes against national security and
the law of nations, defined in Title One of Book Two of the
Revised Penal Code.

III.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FELONIES AND CRIMINAL

LIABILITY (Actus non facit reum, nesi mens sit
rea)
a. DEFENITION OF FELONY ART. 3
i. Felonies are acts and omissions punishable by the Revised
Penal Code
1. Act

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a. Any bodily movement tending to produce some

effect in the external world, it being unnecessary
that the same be actually produced, as the
possibility of its production is sufficient.
b. An external act which has direct connection with
the felony intended to be committed.
2. Omission
a. It is meant inaction
b. It is the failure to perform a positive duty which one
is bound to do.
ii. Elements of Felonies
1. That there must be an act or omission
2. That the act or omission must be punishable by the
Revised Penal Code
3. That the act is performed or the omission incurred by
means of dolo or culpa
b. ELEMENTS OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY
i. Physical Element (Actus Reus) - That there must be an act or
omission
1. Act
2. Omission
ii. Mental Element (Mens Rea)
1. Deliberate Intent (Dolo)
a. Elements
i. Freedom When a persons acts without
freedom, he is no longer a human being but
a tool
ii. Intelligence Without this power,
necessary to determine the morality of
human acts, no crime exist
iii. Intent Intent to commit the act with
malice, being purely a mental process, is
presumed and the presumption arises from
the proof of the commission of an unlawful
act.
b. General and Specific Intent
i. In felonies committed by dolus, the third
element of voluntariness is a general intent;
whereas, in some particular felonies, proof of
particular specific intent is required.
c. Mistake of Fact
i. Mistake of Fact is a misapprehension of
fact on the part of the person who caused
injury to another.
ii. He is not criminally liable, because he did not
act with criminal intent.
iii. Requisites of Mistake of Fact as a
Defense
1. That the act done would have been
lawful had the facts been as the
accused believed them to be;
2. That the intention of the accused in
performing the act should be lawful;
and
3. That the mistake must be without fault
or carelessness on the part of the
accused.
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d. Malum Prohibitum exception to the

requirement of mens rea
i. Mala in se is wrongful from their nature
while Mala Prohibita is wrong merely
because prohibited by statute
ii. Mala in se are those so serious in their
effects on society as to call for almost
unanimous condemnation of its members;
while Mala prohibita are violations of mere
rules of convenience designed to secure a
more orderly regulations of the affairs of the
society
e. Distinguished from Motive
i. Motive is the moving power which impels
one to action for a definite result while
Intent is the purpose to use a particular
means to effects such result
ii. Motive is not an essential element of a
crime, and, hence, need not be proved for
purpose of conviction
iii. Relevance of Motive
1. Where the identity of the accused of
having committed the crime is in
dispute
2. When there is doubt as to the identity
of the assailant
3. Motive is important in ascertaining the
truth between two antagonistic
theories or versions of the killing.
4. Where the identification of the
accused proceeds from an unreliable
source and the testimony is inclusive
and not free from doubt
5. Where there are no eyewitnesses to
the crime, and where suspicion is
likely to Fll upon a number of persons
6. If the evidence is merely
circumstantial.
2. Constructive Intent (Culpa) Art. 3 and Art. 365
a. Elements
i. Freedom
ii. Intelligence
iii. Imprudent, Negligent or Lack of
Foresight or Skill
b. Imprudence or Lack of Skill
c. Negligence or Lack of Foresight
d. Distinguished from Dolo
i. The mind of the accused is not criminal in
culpa
3. Transferred Intent Art. 4 Par. 1 (El que de la
causa del mal causado)
a. Aberratio Ictus there is a mistake in the blow
b. Error in Personae there is a mistake in the
identity of the victim
c. Praeter Intentionem the injurious result is
greater than that intended.
iii. LIABILITY FOR INCOMPLETE ELEMENTS
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1. Impossible Crime Art. 4, Par. 2

a. Crime by any person performing an act which
would be an offense against persons or property,
were it not for the inherent impossibility of its
accomplishment or account of the employment of
inadequate or ineffectual means
b. Requisite
i. That the act performed would be an offense
against person or property
ii. That the act was done with evil intent
iii. That the accomplishment is inherently
impossible or that the means employed is
either inadequate or ineffectual
iv. That the act performed should not constitute
any violation of another provision of the
Revised Penal Code.
2. Uncompleted Crimes
a. Attempted Felonies
i. There is an attempt when the offender
commences the commission of a felony
directly by overt acts, and does not perform
all the acts executed which should produce
the felony by reason of some cause or
accident other than his own spontaneous
desistance
ii. Elements
1. The offender commence the
commission of the felony directly by
overt acts
2. He does not perform all the acts of
execution which should produce the
felony
3. The offenders act is not stopped by
his own spontaneous desistance
4. The non-performance of all the acts of
execution was due to the cause or
accident other than his spontaneous
desistance
b. Frustrated Felonies
i. It is frustrated when the offender performs
all the acts of execution which would
produce the felony as a consequence but
which, nevertheless, do not produce it by
reason of causes independent of the will of
the perpetrator.
ii. Elements:
1. The offender performs all the acts of
execution;
2. All the acts performed would produce
the felony as a consequence;
3. But the felony is not produced;
4. By reason of causes independent of
the will of the perpetrator
iii. Requisites:

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1. That the offender has performed all

the acts execution which would
produce the felony
2. That the felony is not produced due to
causes independent of the
perpetrators will
c. Frustrated Felony Distinguished from
Attempted Felony
i. In both, the offender has not accomplished
his criminal purpose
ii. While in frustrated felony, the offender has
performed all the acts of execution which
would produce the felony as a consequence,
in attempted felony, the offender merely
commence the commission of a felony
directly by overt acts and does not perform
all the acts of execution.
iii. In frustrated felony, there is no intervention
of a foreign or extraneous cause or agency
between the beginning of the consummation
of the crime and the moment when all of the
acts have been performed which should
result in the consummated crime; while in
attempted felony there is such intervention
and the offender does not arrive at the point
of performing all of the acts which should
produce the crime
d. Attempted or Frustrated Felony Distinguished from
Impossible Crime
i. In attempted or frustrated felony and
impossible crime, the evil intent of the
offender is not accomplished
ii. But while in the impossible crime, the evil
intent of the offender cannot be
accomplished, in attempted or frustrated
felony the evil intent of the offender is
possible of accomplishment.
iii. In impossible crime, the evil intent of the
offender cannot be accomplished because it
is inherently impossible of accomplishment
or because the means employed by the
offender is inadequate or ineffectual; in
attempted or frustrated felony, what
prevented its accomplishment is the
intervention of certain cause or accident in
which the offender had no part.
iv. LIABILITY FOR CRIMES WITH COMPLETE ELEMENTS
A felony is consummated when all the elements
necessary for its execution and accomplishment are
present
Determining whether the felony is only attempted or
frustrated or it is consummated
o The nature of the offence
o The elements constituting the felony
o The manner of committing the felony
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Manners of Committing the Consummated Crime

o Formal Crimes Consummated in one instant, no
attempt
Slander
False testimony
Sale of marijuana or prohibited drugs
o Crimes Consummated by mere attempt or proposal
or by overt act
Flight to Enemys Country
Corruption of minors
Treason
o Felony by omission no attempted
o Crimes consummated by mere agreement
Betting in sport contest
Corruption of public officer
1. COMMON LIABILITY FOR CONSPIRATORS ARTICLE
8
a. Conspiracy exists when two or more persons
come to an agreement concerning the commission
of a felony and decide to commit it.
b. Conspiracy and proposal to commit felony are
not punishable except when the law specially
provides a penalty therefor
c. Indications of Conspiracy
i. when the defendants by their acts aimed at
the same object, one performing one part
and the other performing another part so as
to complete it, with a view to the attainment
of the same object, and their acts, though
apparently independent, were in fact
concerted and cooperative, indicating
closeness of personal association, concerted
action and concurrence of sentiments.
(People vs Geronimo)
ii. An accused has ben held as a co-conspirator
as the circumstances of his participation
indubitably showed unity of purpose and
unity in the execution of the unlawful acts,
gleaned from the facts (People vs Cantuba)
iii. It is sufficient that at the time of the
aggression, all of them acted in concert,
each doing his part to fulfil their common
design to kill their victim, and although only
one of them may have actually stabbed the
victim, the act of that one is deemed to be
the act of all (People vs Hernandez)
d. The acts of defendants must show a common
design
e. Period of time to afford opportunity for
meditation and reflection not required in
conspiracy.
f. Requisites of Conspiracy:
i. That the two or more persons come to
an agreement agreement presupposes
meeting of the minds of two or more persons

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ii. That the agreement concerned the

commission of a felony the agreement
must refer to the commission of a crime. It
must be an agreement to act, to effect, to
bring about what has already been
conceived and determined.
iii. That the execution of the felony be
decided upon the conspirators have made
up their minds to commit the crime. There
must be a determination to commit the
crime of treason, rebellion or sedition.
g. Requisite of Proposal:
i. That the person has decided to commit a
felony; and
ii. That he proposes its execution to some other
person or persons
h. There is no criminal proposal when
i. The person who proposes is not determined
to commit the felony
ii. There is no decided, concrete and formal
proposal
iii. It is not the execution of the a felony that is
proposed
2. LIABILITY FOR MULTIPLE COMPLEX, AND
CONTINUING CRIMES
3. LIABILITY UNDER SPECIAL LAWS
a. Special Law
i. It is a penal law which punishes acts not
defined and penalized by the Penal Code
ii. It is a statute enacted by the Legislative
branch, penal in character, which is not an
amendment to the Revised Penal Code.

IV.

CIRCUMSTANCES AFFECTING CRIMINAL LIABILITY

a. JUSTIFYING CIRCUMSTANCES (RPC, ART. 11)
There is no crime committed, the act being justified
i. SELF-DEFENSE OF RELATIVES AND STRANGERS; DEFENSE
OF PROPERTY; DEFENSE OF REPUTATION
1. Elements of Self Defense
a. Unlawful Aggression there is unlawful
aggression when the peril to ones life, limb or right
is either actual or imminent.
b. Reasonable Necessity of the Means Employed to
Prevent or Repeal it
c. Lack of Sufficient Provocation o the Part of the
Person Defending Himself
2. Requisites of Defense of Relatives:
a. Unlawful Aggression
b. Reasonable Necessity of the Means Employed to
Prevent or Repeal it
c. In case the provocation was given by the person
attacked, the one making a defense had no part
therein
3. Requisites of Defense of Stranger
a. Unlawful Aggression
b. Reasonable Necessity of the Means Employed to
Prevent or Repeal it

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c. The person defending be not induced by revenge,

resentment, or other evil motive
ii. STATE OF NECESSITY (AVOIDANCE OF GREATER EVIL)
1. Requisites:
a. That the evil sought to be avoided actually exist
b. That the injury feared be greater than that done to
avoid it
c. That there be no other practical and less harmful
means of preventing it
iii. FULFILLMENT OF DUTY OR LAWFUL EXISTENCE OF RIGHT
1. Requisites:
a. That the accused acted in the performance of a
duty or in the lawful exercise of a right or office
b. That the injury caused or the offense committed be
the necessary consequence of the due performance
of duty or the lawful exercise of such right or office
iv. OBEDIENCE TO SUPERIOR ORDER
1. Requisites:
a. That an order has been issued by a superior
b. That such order must be for some lawful purpose
c. That the means used by the subordinate to carry
out said order is lawful.
v. BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME
1. Cycle of Violence
a. The Tension-Building Phase
b. The Acute Battering Incident
c. The Tranquil Loving
b. EXEMPTING CIRCUMSTANCES (RPC, ART. 12)
In exempting circumstances, there is a crime committed but no
criminal liability arises
i. INSANITY AND IBECILITY
1. The imbecile is exempt in all cases from criminal liability,
the insane is not so exempt if it can be shown that he
acted during lucid intervals.
2. Based on the complete absence of intelligence
ii. MINORITY
1. Republic Act No. 9344 Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of
2006 the age of absolute irresponsibility is raised to
fifteen years of age
2. Discernment
a. Means the capacity of the child at the time of the
commission of the offense to understand the
difference between right and wrong and the
consequence of the wrongful act.
b. Intent refers to the desired act of the person while
discernment relates to the moral significance that
a person ascribes to the said act
c. Discernment may be shown by
i. Manner of committing the crime
ii. Conduct of the offender
iii. ACCIDENT
1. Elements
a. A person is performing a lawful act
b. With due care
c. He causes an injury to another by mere accident
d. Without fault or intention of causing it
iv. IRRESISTIBLE FORCE/UNCONTROLLABLE FEAR Actus Me
Invito Factus Non Est Meus Factus
1. Elements of Irresistible Force
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a. That the compulsion is by means of physical force

b. That the physical force must be irresistible
c. That the physical force must come from a third
person
2. Elements of Uncontrollable Fear
a. That the threat which causes the fear is of an evil
greater than or at least equal to , that which he is
required to commit
b. That it promises an evil of such gravity and
imminence that the ordinary man would have
succumbed to it.
3. Distinction between Irresistible Force and
Uncontrollable Force
a. In irresistible force, the offender uses violence or
physical force to compel another person to commit
a crime; in uncontrollable fear, the offender
employs intimidation or threat in compelling
another to commit crime.

v. INSUPERABLE OR LAWFUL CAUSE

1. Elements
a. That an act is required by law to be done
b. That a person fails to perform such act
c. That his failure to perform such act was due to
some lawful or insuperable cause.
vi. Distinction Between Justifying and Exempting
Circumstances
1. A person who acts by virtue of justifying circumstance
does not transgress the law, that is, he does not commit
any crime in the eyes of the law, because there is nothing
unlawful in the act as well as in the intention of the actor.
The act of such person is in itself both just and lawful.
2. In exempting circumstances, there is a crime but no
criminal liability. The act is not justified, but the actor is
not criminally liable. There is civil liability, except in pars.
4 and 7(causing an injury by mere accidents; failing to
perform an act required by law when prevented by some
lawful or insuperable cause) of Art. 12 while in justifying
circumstances, there is neither a crime nor a criminal. No
civil liability except in par. 4 (causing damage to another
state of necessity).
c. OTHER EXCULPATORY CAUSES
i. INSTIGATION
1. Entrapment and Instigation Distinguished
a. In entrapment, the entrapper resorts to ways and
means to trap and capture a lawbreaker while
executing his criminal plan while in instigation, the
instigator practically induces the would-be
defendant into committing the offense, and himself
becomes co-principal.
b. In entrapment, the means originates from the mind
of the criminal. The idea and the resolve to commit
the crime come from him. In instigation, the law
enforcer conceived the commission of the crime
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and suggests to the accused who adopts the idea

and carries it into execution
c. The legal effects of entrapment do not exempt the
criminal from liability while instigation does.
d. In instigation, a public officer or a private detective
induces an innocent person to commit a crime and
would arrest him upon or after the commission of
the crime by the latter. In entrapment, a person has
planed, or is about to commit, a crime and ways
and means are resorted to by a public officer to
trap and catch the criminal.
ii. EFFECT OF PARDON
iii. ABSOLUTORY CAUSE
1. Absolutory Cause are those where the act committed is
a crime but for reasons of public policy and sentiment
there is no penalty
iv. ACTS NOT COVERED BY LAW AND IN CASE OF EXCESSIVE
PUNISHMENT
d. MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES (RPC, ART. 13)
Mitigating circumstances are those which, if present in the
commission of the crime, do not entirely free the actor from
criminal liability, but serve only to reduce the penalty
i. INCOMPLETE JUSTIFICATION/EXEMPTION
1. when all the elements for justification or exemption are
not attendant
ii. UNDER 18N OR 70 YEARS OF AGE
iii. NO INTENTION TO COMMIT SO GRAVE A WRONG
1. Intention, being an internal state must be judge by
external acts
a. The intention, as an internal act, is judged not only
by the proportion of the means employed by him to
the evil produced by his act, but also by the fact
that the blow was or was not aimed at a vital part
of the body
2. The weapon used, the part of the body injured, the injury
inflicted, and the manner it is inflicted may show that the
accused intended the wrong committed
iv. SUFFICIENT PROVOCATION OR THREAT
1. Requisites for Provocation
a. That the provocation must be sufficient
b. That is must originate from the offended party
c. That the provocation must be immediate to the act
2. Threat
a. it must immediately preceded the act
v. IMMEDIATE VINDICATION OF A GRAVE OFFENSE
1. Requisite
a. that there be a grave offense done to the one
committing the felony, his spouse, ascendants,
legitimate, natural or adopted brothers or sisters,
or relatives by affinity within the same degrees
b. that the felony is committed in vindication of such
grave offense. A lapse of time is allowed between
the vindication and the doing of the grave offense
2. DISTINGUISHED PROVOCATION FROM VINDICATION
a. In the case of provocation, it is made directly
only to the person committing the felony; in
vindication, the grave offense may be committed
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also against the offenders relatives mentioned by

the law
b. In vindication, the offended party must have done
a grave offense to the offender or his relatives
mentioned by the law; in provocation, the cause
that brought about the provocation need not be a
grave offense
c. In provocation, it is necessary that the
provocation or threat immediately preceded the act
while in vindication of the grave offense may be
proximate, which admits of an interval of time
between the grave offense done by the offended
party and the commission of the crime by the
accused
vi. PASSION OR OBFUSCATION
1. Requisites:
a. That there be an act, both unlawful and sufficient
to produce such a condition of mind; and
b. That said act which produced the obfuscation was
not far removed from the commission of the crime
by a considerable length of time, during which the
perpetrator might recover his normal equanimity
2. There is no mitigating circumstance, when:
a. The act is committed in spirit of lawlessness
b. The act is committed in a spirit of revenge.
c. After 24 hours, or several hours or half an hour
3. PASSION OR OBFUSCATION DISTINGUISHED FROM
IRRESISTIBLE
a. While passion or obfuscation is a mitigating
circumstance, irresistible force is an exempting
circumstance
b. Passion or obfuscation cannot give rise to an
irresistible force because irresistible force requires
physical force
c. Passion or obfuscation, is in the offender himself,
while irresistible force must come from a third
person
d. Passion or obfuscation must arise from lawful
sentiments; whereas, the irresistible force is
unlawful.
4. PASSION OR OBFUSCATION DISTINGUISHED FROM
PROVOATION
a. Provocation comes from the injured party; passion
or obfuscation is produced by an impulse which
may be caused by provocation
b. Provocation must immediately precede the
commission of the crime; in passion or obfuscation,
the offense which engenders perturbation of mind
need not be immediate. It is only required that the
influence thereof lasts until the moment the crime
is committed
c. In both, the effect is the loss of reason and selfcontrol on the part of the offender.
vii. VOLUNTARY SURRENDER
1. Requisites:
a. That the offender had not been actually arrested
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b. That the offender surrendered himself to a person

in authority or to the latters agent
c. That the surrender was voluntary
2. Requisite of Voluntariness
a. It must be spontaneous
b. It shows the interest of the accused to surrender
unconditionally to the authorities
c. Either because he acknowledges his guilt or
because he wishes to save them from trouble and
expenses necessarily incurred in his research and
capture.
viii. PLEA OF GUILT
1. Requisite:
a. That the offender spontaneously confessed his guilt
b. That the confession of guilt was made open court,
that is, before the competent court that is to try the
case; and
c. That the confession of guilt was made prior to the
presentation of evidence for the prosecution
ix. PHYSICAL DEFECTS AND ILLNESS
1. Requisite:
a. That the illness of the offender must diminish the
exercise of will-power
b. That such illness should not deprive the offender of
his consciousness of his acts
x. OTHER RELATED CIRCUMSTANCES

e. AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES
Aggravating circumstances are those which, if attendant in the
commission of the crime, serve to increase the penalty without,
however, exceeding the maximum of the penalty provided by law
for the offense
Four kinds of Aggravating Circumstances
Generic those that can generally apply to all crime
Dwelling
Night-time
Recidivism
Specific those that apply only to particular crimes
Ignominy in crimes against chastity
Cruelty and treachery in crimes against persons
Qualifying those that change the nature of the crime
Alevosia (treachery) or evident premeditation qualifies the
killing of a person to murder
Inherent those that must of necessity accompany the
commission of the crime
Evident premeditation is inherent in robbery, theft, estafa,
adultery and concubinage
i. PLACE OF COMMISSION
1. Palace of the Chief Executive, etc. or in a place of
Religious Worship
a. Place where public authorities are engaged in the
discharge of their duties (par.5) distinguished from
contempt or insult to public authorities
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i. In both, the public authorities are in the

performance of their duties
ii. Under par.5, the public authorities who are in
the performance of their duties must be in
their office; while in par.2, the public
authorities are performing their duties
outside of their office
iii. Under par. 2 the public authority should not
be the offended party; while under par. 5 he
may be offended party.
2. UNINHABITED PLACE
a. An uninhabited place is one where there are no
house at all, a place at a considerable distance
from the town, or where the houses are scattered
at a great distance from each other
b. That the place is uninhabited is determined, not by
the distance of the nearest house to the scene of
the crime, whether or not in the place of its
commission, there was reasonable possibility of the
victim receiving help
c. When aggravating
i. When it facilitate the commission of the
crime; or
ii. When especially sought for by the offender
to insure the commission of the crime or for
the purpose of impunity; or
iii. When the offender took advantage thereof
for the purpose of impunity

3. DWELLING
a. What aggravates the commission of the crime
in ones dwelling
i. The abuse of confidence which the offended
party reposed in the offender by opening the
door to him
ii. The violation of the sanctity of the home by
trespassing therein with violence or against
the will of the owner.
b. Meaning of provocation in the aggravating
circumstance of dwelling.
i. The provocation must be:
1. Given by the owner of the dwelling
2. Sufficient, and
3. Immediate to the commission of the
crime.
ii. If all these conditions are present, the
offended party is deemed to have given
provocation, and the fact that the crime is
committed in the dwelling of the offended
party is not an aggravating circumstance.
c. Dwelling is not aggravating in the following
crime

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i. When both offender and offended party are

occupants of the same house
ii. When the robbery is committed by the use of
force upon things
iii. Trespass to dwelling
iv. When the owner of the dwelling give
sufficient and immediate provocation
v. When the dwelling where the crime was
committed does not belong to the offended
party.
vi. When the rape was committed in the ground
floor of a two-story structure, the lower floor
being used as a video rental store and not as
a private place of abode or residence.
d. Dwelling is different from domicile
ii. TIME OF COMMISION
1. Nighttime
a. When aggravating
i. When it facilitate the commission of the
crime; or
ii. When especially sought for by the offender
to insure the commission of the crime or for
the purpose of impunity; or
iii. When the offender took advantage thereof
for the purpose of impunity
b. That period of darkness beginning at the end of
dusk ending at dawn. Nights are from sunset to
sunrise
2. ON THE OCCASION OF CALAMITY
a. Reason for the aggravation
i. The reason for the existence of this
circumstance is found in the debased form of
criminality met in one who, in the midst of a
great calamity, instead of lending aid to the
afflicted, adds to their suffering by taking
advantage of their misfortune to despoil
them
b. The offender must take advantage of the calamity
or misfortune
iii. PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE OFFENDER
1. RECIDIVISM
a. A recidivist is one who, at the time of his trial for
one crime, shall have been previously convicted by
final judgement of another crime embraced therein
in the same title of the Revised Penal Code
b. Requisites
i. That the offender is on trial for an offense
ii. That he was previously convicted by final
judgement od another crime
iii. That both the first and the second offenses
are embraced in the same title of the Code
iv. That the offender is convicted of the new
offense
2. Reiteration or Habituality
a. Requisites
i. That the accused is on trial for an offense;

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ii. That he previously served sentence for

another offense to which the law attaches an
equal or greater penalty, or for two or more
crime to which it attaches lighter penalty
than that for the new offense; and
iii. That he is convicted of the new offense
b. Recidivism and Reiteracion, distinguished
i. In reiteracion, it is necessary that the
offender shall have served out his sentence
for the first offense, whereas, in recidivism,
it is enough that a final judgement has been
rendered in the first offense
ii. In reiteracion, the previous and the
subsequent offenses must not be embraced
in the same title of the Code; whereas,
recidivism, requires that the offense be
included in the same title of the Code
iii. Reiteracion is not always an aggravating
circumstance; whereas, recidivism is always
to be taken into consideration in fixing the
penalty to be imposed upon the accused
c. Four Forms of Repetition
i. Recidivism
ii. Reiteracion or Habituality
iii. Multi-Recidivism or Habitual
Delinquency
1. there is habitual delinquency when a
person, within a period of ten years
from the date of his release or last
conviction of the crimes of serious or
less serious physical injuries, robbery,
theft, estafa or falsification, is found
guilty of any said crimes a third time
or oftner
2. the offender is either a recidivist or
one who has been previously punished
for two or more offenses
iv. Quasi-Recidivism
1. Any person who shall commit a felony
after having been convicted by final
judgement, before beginning to serve
such sentence, or while serving the
same, shall be punished by the
maximum period of the penalty
prescribed by law for the new felony
iv. PRICE, PROMISE, OR REWARD
v. MEANS OF COMMISION
1. Taking advantage of Public Office
a. Applicable only when the offender is a public officer
b. The public officer must use the influence, prestige
or ascendancy which his office gives him as the
means by which he realizes his purpose
c. Not aggravating when it is an integral element of,
or inherent in, the offense
i. Malversation

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ii.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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Falsification of document committed by

public officer
Insult to Public Authority
a. Requisites:
i. That the public authority is engaged in the
exercise of his functions
ii. That he who is thus engaged in the exercise
of said functions is not the person against
whom the crime is committed
iii. The offender knows him to be a public
authority
iv. His presence has not prevented the offender
from committing the criminal act
b. Public Authority is a public officer who is directly
vested with jurisdiction, that is, a public officer who
has the power to govern and execute the laws
c. Not applicable to agent of a person in
authority
d. Not applicable if it is a direct assault because
it is not a crime committed in contempt of
with insult
Disregard of Rank, Age, or Sex
a. Applicable only to crimes against person or honor
b. Rank refers to high social position or standing
c. Age refers to older in age
d. Sex refers to female sex and not to male
e. Not applicable
i. When the offender acted with passion and
obfuscation
ii. When there exists a relationship between the
offended party and the offender
iii. When the condition of being a woman is
indispensable in the commission of the crime
1. Parricide
2. Rape
3. Abduction
4. Seduction
Abuse of Confidence
a. This circumstance exists only when the offended
party has trusted the offender who later abuse such
trust by committing the crime
b. The abuse of confidence must be a means of
facilitating the commission of the crime, the culprit
taking advantage of the offended partys belief that
the former would not abuse such confidence
c. Requisites:
i. That the offended party had trusted the
offender
ii. That the offender abuse such trust by
committing a crime against the offended
party
iii. That the abuse of confidence facilitated the
commission of the crime
Aid of Armed Men
a. Requisites:
i. That the armed men or persons took part in
the commission of the crime, directly or
indirectly

ii. That the accused availed himself of their aid

or relied upon them when the crime was
committed
b. Exceptions
i. When both the attacking party and the party
attacked were equally armed
ii. When the accused as well as those who
cooperate with him in the commission of the
crime acted the same plan and for the same
purpose
6. Inundation, Fire, Poison
a. Unless used by the offender as a means to
accomplish a criminal purpose, any of the
circumstances in paragraph 12 cannot be
considered to increase the penalty or to change the
nature of the offense
7. Evident Premeditation
a. Requisites:
i. The time when the offender determined to
commit the crime
ii. An act manifestly indicating that the culprit
has clung to his determination
iii. A sufficient lapse of time between the
determination and execution, to allow him to
reflect upon the consequences of his act and
to allow his conscience to overcome the
resolution of his will
8. Craft, Fraud, Disguise
a. Craft involves intellectual trickery and cunning on
the part of the accused
b. Fraud involves the use of insidious words or
machinations to induce the victim to act in a
manner which would enable the offender to carry
out his design
c. Disguise is resorting to any device to conceal
identity
9. Abuse of Superior Strength
a. To take advantage of superior strength means to
use purposely excessive force out of proportion to
the means of defense available to the person
attacked
b. When Aggravating
i. Depends on the age, size and strength of the
parties
ii. It is considered whenever there is a notorious
inequality of forces between the victim and
the aggressor, assessing a superiority of
strength notoriously advantageous for the
aggressor which is selected or taken
advantage of by him in the commission of
the crime
10.
Band
a. Whenever more than three armed malefactor shall
have acted together in the commission of an
offense, it shall be deemed to have been
committed by a band
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11.

12.

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b. Requisite:
c. When aggravating
i. When it facilitate the commission of the
crime; or
ii. When especially sought for by the offender
to insure the commission of the crime or for
the purpose of impunity; or
iii. When the offender took advantage thereof
for the purpose of impunity
d. When not aggravating
i. If one of the four armed person is a principal
by inducement
ii. If it did not facilitate the commission of the
crime
iii. Crime against chastity
iv. Brigandage
Treachery
a. There is treachery when the offender commits any
of the crimes against the person, employing
means, methods or forms in the execution thereof
which tend directly and specially to insure its
execution, without risk to himself arising from the
defense which the offended party might make
b. Treachery means that the offended party was not
given opportunity to make a defense
c. Rules regarding treachery
i. Applicable only to crimes against the person
ii. Means, methods or forms need not insure
accomplishment of crime
iii. The mode of the attack must be consciously
adopted
d. Attacks showing intention to eliminate risk
i. Victim asleep
ii. Victim half-awake or just awakened
iii. Victim grappling or being held
iv. Attacked from behind
1. With a firearm
2. With a bladed weapon
3. Other mode of armed attack
e. Requisites:
i. That at the time of the attack, the victim was
not in a position to defend himself; and
ii. That the offender consciously adopted the
particular means, method or form of attack
employed by him
Ignominy
a. Ignominy is a circumstance pertaining to the
moral order, which adds disgrace and obloquy to
the material injury caused by the crime
b. The means employed or the circumstance brought
about must tend to make the effects of the crime
more humiliating or to put the offended party to
shame
c. Applicable to crimes
i. Against chastity
ii. Less serious physical injuries
iii. Light or grave coercion
iv. Murder

13.

Unlawful Entry
a. There is unlawful entry when the entrance is
effected by a way not intended for the purpose
b. Unlawful entry must be a means to effect entrance
and not for escape
c. Not applicable to trespass to dwelling
14.
Breaking a Wall, Door, etc.
a. The circumstance is aggravating only in those
cases where the offender resorted to any of said
means to enter the house
b. If the wall, etc., is broken in order to get out of the
place, it is not aggravating circumstance.
15.
With the Aid of Persons under 15, or with
Motor Vehicle, etc.
a. Use of motor vehicle is aggravating where the
accused used the motor vehicle in going to the
place of the crime, in carrying away the effects
thereof, and in facilitating their escape
b. If the motor vehicle was used only in facilitating the
escape, it should not be an aggravating
circumstance
16.
Cruelty
a. There is cruelty when the culprit enjoys and
delights in making his victims suffer slowly and
gradually, causing him unnecessary physical pain in
the consummation of the criminal act
b. For cruelty to be aggravating, it is essential that
the wrong done was intended to prolong the
suffering of the victim, causing him unnecessary
moral and physical pain
c. Requisites of cruelty:
i. That the injury caused be deliberately
increased by causing other wrong
ii. That the other wrong be unnecessary for the
execution of the purpose of the offender
f. ALTERNATIVE CIRCUMSTANCES (RPC. ART. 15)
Alternative circumstances are those which must be taken into
consideration as aggravating or mitigating according to the nature
and effects of the crimes and the other conditions attending its
commission
i. RELATIONSHIP
1. When mitigating and when aggravating
a. the law is silent when relationship is mitigating and
when it is aggravating
b. it is aggravating in crimes against persons in case
where the offended party is relative of a higher
degree than the offender, or when offended party
are relatives of the same level
c. If crimes against chastity, relationship is always
aggravating

d. Relationship is neither mitigating nor aggravating

when relationship is an element of the offense
i. Parricide
ii. Adultery
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iii. Concubinage
ii. INTOXICATION
1. Mitigating
a. If the intoxication is not habitual
b. If the intoxication is not subsequent to the plan to
commit a felony
2. Aggravating
a. If the intoxication is habitual
b. If the intoxication is intentional (subsequent to the
plan to commit a felony)
i. It is intentional when the offender drinks
liquor fully knowing its effects, to find in the
liquor a stimulant to commit a crime or a
means to suffocate any remorse.
3. It must diminish the agents capacity to know the
injustices of his acts, and his will to act accordingly
iii. DEGREE OR INSTRUCTION AND EDUCATION
1. Low degree of instruction and education or lack of it is
generally mitigating
2. High degree of instruction and education is aggravating
when the offender avails himself of his learning in
committing the crime
3. Lack of Instruction as mitigating
a. Lack of instruction cannot be taken into account
where the defendant admitted that he studied in
the first grade in the a public elementary school
b. But accused lacks education and instruction, if he
did not finish even the first grade in elementary
school
c. Lack of instruction is not mitigating where the
accused finished Grade Two and answered in
Tagalog question put to him in English
d. Having studied up to sixth grade is more than
sufficient schooling to give the accused a degree of
instruction to properly apprise him of what is right
and wrong
e. Lack of sufficient instruction is not mitigating when
the offender is a city resident who knows how to
sign his name
4. Exceptions:
a. Not mitigating in crimes against property, such as
estafa, theft, robbery, arson
b. Not mitigating in crimes against chastity such as
rape and adultery
c. Not mitigating in murder
5. Degree of instruction is aggravating when the offender
availed himself or took advantage of it in committing the
crime

V.

PERSONS CRIMINALY LIABLE

a. PRINCIPALS ARTICLE 18
i. By Direct Participation

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1. those who take a direct part in the execution of the act

2. Requisites:
a. That they participated in the criminal resolutions
b. That they carried out their plan and personally took
part in its execution by acts which directly tended
to the same end
ii. By Induction
1. Those who directly force or induce others to commit it
2. Two ways of becoming a principal by induction
a. By directly forcing another to commit a crime, and
i. By using irresistible force
ii. By using uncontrollable fear
b. By directly inducing another to commit a crime
i. By giving price, or offering reward or
promise
ii. By using words of command
3. Requisites
a. That the inducement be made directly with the
intention of procuring the commission of the crime,
and
b. That such inducement be the determining cause of
the commission of the crime by the material
executor
4. Requisites on using the words of command
a. That the one uttering the words of command must
have the intention of procuring the commission of
the crime
b. That the one who made the command must have
an ascendency or influence over the person who
acted
c. That the words used must be so direct, so
efficacious, so powerful as to amount to physical or
moral coercion
d. The words of command must be uttered prior to the
commission of the crime
e. The material executor of the crime has no personal
reason to commit the crime
iii. By Indispensable Cooperation
1. Those who cooperate in the commission of the offense by
another act without which it would not have been
accomplished
2. To cooperate means to desire or wish in common a thing
3. Requisites:
a. Participation in the criminal resolution, that is, there
is either anterior conspiracy or unity of criminal
purpose and intention immediately before the
commission of the crime
b. Cooperation in the commission of the offense by
performing another act, without which it would not
have been accomplished
iv. ACCOMPLICES
1. Accomplices are the persons who not being included in
Article 17, cooperate in the execution of the offence by
previous or simultaneous acts
2. Distinction between accomplice and conspirator
a. They know and agree with the criminal design
b. Conspirators know the criminal intention because
they themselves have decided upon such course of
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action, accomplices come to know about it after the

principals have reached the decision, and only then
do they agree to cooperate in its execution
c. Conspirators decide that a crime should be
committed, accomplices merely concur in it
d. Accomplices do not decide whether a crime should
be committed; they merely assent to the plan and
cooperate in its accomplishment, Conspirators are
the authors of a crime, accomplices are merely
instruments who perform acts not essential to the
perpetration of the offense.
3. Requisites:
a. That there be community of design; that is,
knowing the criminal design of the principal by
direct participation, concur with the latter in his
purpose;
b. That he cooperates in the execution of the offense
by previous or simultaneous acts, with the intention
of supplying material or moral aid in the execution
of the crime in an efficacious way; and
c. That there be a relation between the acts done by
the principal and those attributed to the person
charged as accomplices
v. ACCESSORIES
1. An accessory does not participate in the criminal design,
nor cooperate in the commission of the felony, but, with
knowledge of the commission of the crime, he
subsequently takes part in three ways:
a. By profiting from the effects of the crime;
b. By concealing the body, effects or instruments of
the crime in order to prevent its discovery; and
c. By assisting the escape or concealment of the
principals of the crime, provided he acts with abuse
of his public functions or the principal is guilty of
treason, parricide, murder, or an attempt to take
the life the Chief Executive, or is known to be
habitually guilty of some other crime.
2. Requisite of a Public Officer as Accessory
a. The accessory is a public officer
b. He harbors, conceals, or assists in the escape of the
principals
c. The public officer acts with abuse of his public
functions
d. The crime committed by the principals is any crime,
provided it is not a light felony.
3. Requisite of Private Persons as Accessory
a. The accessory is a private person;
b. He harbors, conceals, or assists in the escape of the
author of the crimes; and
c. That the crime committed by the principals is either
:
i. Treason
ii. Parricide
iii. Murder
iv. An attempt against the life of the President
v. That the principal is known to be habitually
guilty of some other crime
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4. Accessory distinguished from principal and from

accomplice
a. The accessory does not take part or cooperate in,
or induce , the commission of the crime
b. The accessory does not cooperate in the
commission of the offense by acts either prior
thereto or simultaneous therewith
c. The participant of the accessory in all cases always
takes place after the commission of the crime
5. Principals related to the accessories exempt from
criminal liability
a. Spouse, or
b. Ascendants, or
c. Descendants, or
d. Legitimate, natural or adopted brother, sister or
e. Relative by affinity within the same degree
vi. FENCING LAW
1. Fencing is the act of any person who, with the intent to
gain himself or for another, shall buy, receive, possess,
keep, acquire, conceal, sell or dispose of, or shall buy and
sell, or in any other manner deal in any article, item,
object or anything of value which he knows, or should be
known to him, to have been derived from the proceeds of
robbery or theft
2. Requisites
a. There is a crime of rubbery or theft
b. Knowledge of the crime
c. There is an intent to gain himself or for another
d. Buy, receive, possess, keep, acquire, conceal, sell
or dispose of, or shall buy and sell, or in any other
manner deal in any article, item, object or anything
of value the proceeds of robbery or theft
Source:
Reyes, Luis B. (2012). The Revised Penal Code: Criminal Law (16th Edition). Quezon
City: Rex Printing Company, Inc.
Prepared By:
Jonardine F. Briones

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