a. Memorize Article 16.
Cooperation in the commision of the offense by
Article 16. Who are criminally liable. The following are criminally
liable for grave and less grave felonies:
1. Principals
2. Accomplices
3. Accessories
The following are criminally liable for light felonies:
1. Principals
2. Accomplices
b. May a corporation be held criminally liable?
The officers, not the corporation, are criminally liable if a crime is
committed by a corporation or other juridical entity. The directors,
officers, or employees responsible for the offense shall be charged
and penalized for the crime, precisely because of the nature of the
crime and the penalty therefor.
A corporation cannot be arrested and imprisoned, hence, cannot be
penalized for a crime punishable by IMPRISONMENT.
However, under certain special laws, corporations may be FINED for
violations of their provisions.
Special Laws::
1. B.P. Blg. 68 Corporation Code of the PH
2. Com. Act. No. 146 Public Service Law
3. Securities Law
4. Election Code
Corporations may be the PASSIVE subject (the injured party) of a
crime but only natural persons can be an ACTIVE subject (the
offender.)
c. Memorize Article 17.
Article 17. Principals. The following are considered principals:
1. Those who take a direct part in the execution of the act;
2. Those who directly force or induce others to commit it;
3. Those who cooperate in the commission of the offense by
another act without which it would not have been
accomplished.
d. Discuss the 3 kinds of principals and their respective
requisites.
1. Principal by Direct Participation
Requisites:
1. That they participated in the criminal resolution
2. That they carried out their plan and personally took part in
its execution by acts which directly tended to the same
end
2. Principal by Inducement
Requisites:
1. That the inducement be made directly with the intention
of procuring the commission of the crime
2. That such inducement be the determining cause of the
commission of the crime by the material executor
2 ways of becoming principal by inducement/induction:
a. By directly FORCING another to commit a crime - using
irresistible force // or causing uncontrollable fear
b. By directly INDUCING another to commit a crime
3. Principal by Indispensable Cooperation
Requisites:
1. 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
charged
2.
performing another act, without which it would not have
been accomplished
 Discuss People v. Dulay
 Discuss People v. Sanchez
e. Memorize Article 18.
Article 18. Accomplices. Accomplices are those persons who, not
being included in Article 17, cooperate in the execution of the offense
by previous or simultaneous acts.
f. Distinguish between an accomplice and a conspirator.
Conspirators:
 Have decided upon the commission of the crime
 Decide that a crime should be committed
 The authors of the crime
 Once established, the liability is COLLECTIVE and not
individual (the act of one is the act of all)
Accomplice - one who knows the criminal design of the principal and
cooperates knowingly or intentionally therewith by an act which,
EVEN IF NOT RENDERED, the crime would be committed just the
same
 Knows about the criminal intention AFTER the principals
have already agreed upon it
 Merely concur in the commission
 Do not decide whether the crime should be committed
 Merely assent to the plan and cooperate in its
accomplishment
 Merely instruments who perform acts not essential to the
perpetration of the offense
 Liability is one degree lower than that of a principal
 Discuss People v. De Vera
g. What are the requisites before a person is considered an
accomplice?
1. The community of criminal design, that is, knowing the
criminal design of the principal by direct participation, he
concurs with the latter in his purpose
2. The performance of previous or simultaneous acts that are
not indispensable to the commission of the crime
h. Memorize Article 19.
Article 19. Accessories. Accessories are those who, having knowledge
of the commission of the crime, and without having participated
therein, either as principals or accomplices, take part subsequent to
its commission in any of the following manners:
1. By profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit
by the effects of the crime.
2. By concealing or destroying the body of the crime, or the
effects or instruments thereof, in order to prevent its
discovery.
3. By harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the
principals of the crime, provided the accessory acts with
abuse of his public functions or whenever the author of the
crime is guilty of treason, parricide, murder, or an attempt
to take the life of the Chief Executive, or is known to be
habitually guilty of some other crime.
i. Discuss the 3 kinds of accessories.
1. By profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit
by the effects of the crime.
 2. By concealing or destroying the body of the crime, or the
effects or instruments thereof, in order to prevent its
discovery.
3. By harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the
principals of the crime, provided the accessory acts with
abuse of his public functions or whenever the author of
the crime is guilty of treason, parricide, murder, or an
attempt to take the life of the Chief Executive, or is known
to be habitually guilty of some other crime. [2 Classes of
Accessories: (1) Public officers; (2) Private persons]
j. Discuss Vino v. People
k. Read Presidential Decree No. 1612 (Anti-Fencing Act of
1979)
 Who is a fence?
A fence is any person, firm, association corporation or partnership or
other organization who/which commits the act of fencing.
Fencing - the act of any person who, with intent to gain for 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
the crime of robbery or theft.
 Discuss Dizon-Pamintuan v. People
l. Memorize and discuss Article 20.
Article 20. Accessories who are exempt from criminal liability. The
penalties prescribed for accessories shall not be imposed upon those
who are such with respect to their spouses, ascendants,
descendants, legitimate, natural, and adopted brothers and sisters,
or relatives by affinity within the same degrees, with the single
exception of accessories falling within the provisions of paragraph 1
of the next preceding article. [(Art. 19) By profiting themselves or
assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the crime.]
m. Discuss Article 21.
Article 21. Penalties that may be imposed. No felony shall be
punishable by any penalty not prescribed by law prior to its
commission.
n. What is a penalty?
A penalty is the suffering that is inflicted by the State for the
transgression of a law.
o. What is the purpose of the state in punishing crimes?
To secure justice. The State has an existence of its own to maintain,
a conscience of its own to assert, and moral principles to be
vindicated.
Penal justice must therefore be exercised by the State in the service
and satisfaction of a duty, and rests primarily on the moral
rightfulness of the punishment inflicted.
p. Discuss the theories justifying penalty.
1. Prevention - the State must punish the criminal to prevent
or suppress the danger to the State arising from the
criminal acts of the offender
2. Self-defense - the State has a right to punish the criminal
as a measure of self-defense so as to protect society from
the threat and wrong inflicted by the criminal.
3. Reformation - the object of punishment in criminal cases is
to correct and reform the offender
4. Exemplarity - the criminal is punished to serve as an
example to deter others from committing crimes
5. Justice - that crime must be punished by the State as an
act of retributive justice, a vindication of absolute right
and moral law violated by the criminal
q. Discuss Article 22.
Article 22. Retroactive effect of penal laws. Penal laws shall have a
retroactive effect insofar as they favor the persons guilty of a felony,
who is not a habitual criminal, as this term is defined in Rule 5 of
Article 62 of this Code, although at the time of the publication of
such laws a final sentence has been pronounced and the convict is
serving the same.
When the culprit is a HABITUAL DELINQUENT, he is not entitled to
the benefit of the provisions of the new favorable statute.
r. Who is a habitual delinquent?
[Rule 5, Article 62] A person shall be deemed to be [a] habitual
delinquent, if within a period of 10 years from the date of his release
or last conviction of the crimes of serious or less serious physical
injuries, robo, hurto, estafa, or falsification, he is found guilty of any
of said crimes a third time or oftener.
s. Discuss Article 23.
Article 23. Effect of pardon by the offended party. A pardon of the
offended party does not extinguish criminal action except as
provided in Article 344 of this Code, but civil liability with regard to
the interest of the injured party is extinguished by his express
waiver.
t. Discuss Article 25 in relation to Article 27 - Duration of
Penalties
Article 25. Penalties which may be imposed. The penalties which
may be imposed according to this Code, and their different classes,
are those included in the following:
Scale
Principal Penalties
Capital punishment:
Death
Afflictive penalties:
Reclusion perpetua - Any person sentenced to any of the perpetual
penalties shall be pardoned after undergoing the penalty for 30
years, unless such person by reason of his conduct or some other
serious cause shall be considered by the Chief Executive as unworthy
of pardon.
Reclusion temporal - The penalty of reclusion temporal shall be
from 12 years and 1 day to 20 years.
Perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification
Perpetual or temporary special disqualification
Prision mayor (and temporary disqualification) - The duration of the
penalties of prision mayor and temporary disqualification shall be
from 6 years and 1 day to 12 years, except when the penalty of
disqualification is imposed as an accessory penalty, in which case its
duration shall be that of the principal penalty.
Correctional penalties:
Prision correccional (suspension + destierro) - The duration of the
penalties of prision correccional, suspension and destierro shall be
from 6 months and 1 day to 6 years, except when suspension is
imposed as an accessory penalty, in which case, its duration shall be
that of the principal penalty.
Arresto mayor - The duration of the penalty of arresto mayor shall
be from 1 month and 1 day to 6 months.
Suspension
Destierro
Light penalties
Arresto menor - The duration of the penalty of arresto menor shall
be from 1 day to 30 days.
Public censure
Penalties common to the 3 preceding classes:
Fine, and
Bond to keep the peace - The bond to keep the peace shall be
required to cover such period of time as the court may determine.
Accessory penalties
Perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification
Perpetual or temporary special disqualification
Suspension from public office, the right to vote and be voted for,
the profession or calling.
Civil interdiction
Indemnification
Forfeiture or confiscation of instruments and proceeds of the
offense
Payment of costs
u. What is a fine? Read Article 26 in relation to Sec. 2 of
Republic Act No. 10951.
Article 26. Fine. When afflictive, correctional, or light penalty. - A
fine, whether imposed as a single or as an alternative penalty, shall
be considered an afflictive penalty, if it exceeds P1,200,000; a
correctional penalty, if it does not exceed P1,200,000 but it is not
less than P40,000; and a light penalty, if it be less than P40,000.
v. Read Articles 28 to 33.
Article 28. Computation of penalties. If the offender shall be in
prison, the term of the duration of the temporary penalties shall be
computed from the day on which the judgment of conviction shall
have become final.
If the offender be not in prison, the term of the duration of the
penalty consisting of deprivation of liberty shall be computed from
the day that the offender is placed at the disposal of the judicial
authorities for the enforcement of the penalty. The duration of the
other penalties shall be computed only from the day on which the
defendant commences to serve his sentence.
Article 29. Period of preventive imprisonment deducted from term of
imprisonment. Offenders who have undergone preventive
imprisonment shall be credited in the service of their sentence
consisting of deprivation of liberty, with the full time during which
they have undergone preventive imprisonment, if the detention
prisoner agrees voluntarily in writing to abide by the same
disciplinary rules imposed upon convicted prisoners, except in the
following cases:
1. When they are recidivists or have been convicted
previously twice or more times of any crime; and
2. When upon being summoned for the execution of their
sentence they have failed to surrender voluntarily.
If the detention prisoner does not agree to abide by the same
disciplinary rules imposed upon convicted prisoners, he shall be
credited in the service of his sentence with 4/5ths of the time during
which he has undergone preventive imprisonment.
Whenever an accused has undergone preventive imprisonment for a
period equal to or more than the possible maximum imprisonment
of the offense charged to which he may be sentenced and his case is
not yet terminated, he shall be released immediately without
prejudice to the continuation of the trial thereof or the proceeding
on appeal, if the same is under review. In case the maximum penalty
to which the accused may be sentenced is destierro, he shall be
released after 30 days of preventive imprisonment.
Article 30. Effects of the penalties of perpetual or temporary
absolute disqualification. - The penalties of perpetual or temporary
absolute disqualification for public office shall produce the following
effects:
1. The deprivation of the public offices and employments which the
offender >may have held even if conferred by popular election.
2. The deprivation of the right to vote in any election for any popular
office or to be elected to such office.
3. The disqualification for the offices or public employments and for
the exercise of any of the rights mentioned.
In case of temporary disqualification, such disqualification as is
comprised in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this article shall last during the
term of the sentence.
4. The loss of all rights to retirement pay or other pension for any
office formerly held.
Article 31. Effect of the penalties of perpetual or temporary special
disqualification. - The penalties of perpetual or temporary special
disqualification for public office, profession or calling shall produce
the following effects:
1. The deprivation of the office, employment, profession or calling
affected;
2. The disqualification for holding similar offices or employments
either perpetually or during the term of the sentence according to
the extent of such disqualification.
Article 32. Effect of the penalties of perpetual or temporary special
disqualification for the exercise of the right of suffrage. - The
perpetual or temporary special disqualification for the exercise of
the right of suffrage shall deprive the offender perpetually or during
the term of the sentence, according to the nature of said penalty, of
the right to vote in any popular election for any public office or to be
elected to such office. Moreover, the offender shall not be
permitted to hold any public office during the period of his
disqualification.
Article 33. Effects of the penalties of suspension from any public
office, profession or calling, or the right of suffrage.- The suspension
from public office, profession or calling, and the exercise of the right
of suffrage shall disqualify the offender from holding such office or
exercising such profession or calling or right of suffrage during the
term of the sentence.
The person suspended from holding public office shall not hold
another having similar functions during the period of his suspension.
w. Discuss Article 34.
Article 34. Civil interdiction. - Civil interdiction shall deprive the
offender during the time of his sentence of the rights of parental
authority, or guardianship, either as to the person or property of any
ward, of marital authority, of the right to manage his property and
of the right to dispose of such property by any act or any
conveyance inter vivos.
x. Discuss Article 35.
Article 35. Effects of bond to keep the peace. - It shall be the duty of
any person sentenced to give bond to keep the peace, to present
two sufficient sureties who shall undertake that such person will not
commit the offense sought to be prevented, and that in case such
offense be committed they will pay the amount determined by the
court in the judgment, or otherwise to deposit such amount in the
office of the clerk of the court to guarantee said undertaking.
The court shall determine, according to its discretion, the period of
duration of the bond.
Should the person sentenced fail to give the bond as required he
shall be detained for a period which shall in no case exceed six
months, is he shall have been prosecuted for a grave or less grave
felony, and shall not exceed thirty days, if for a light felony.
y. Distinguish bond to keep peace from bail bond.
Bond to keep the peace or for good behavior is imposed as a penalty
in threats. (Article 284) This is different from a bail bond (Rule 114,
Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure) to secure the provisional
release of an accused person after his arrest or during trial but
before final judgment of conviction.
z. Discuss Article 36.
Article 36. Pardon; its effect. - A pardon shall not work the
restoration of the right to hold public office, or the right of suffrage,
unless such rights be expressly restored by the terms of the pardon.
A pardon shall in no case exempt the culprit from the payment of
the civil indemnity imposed upon him by the sentence.
Effect of pardon by the President:
1. A pardon shall not restore the right to hold public office or
the right of suffrage UNLESS when expressly restored by
the terms of the pardon
2. It shall not exempt the culprit from the payment of civil
indemnity = the pardon cannot make an exception to this
rule
 Discuss Risos-Vidal v. COMELEC and Estrada
aa. Discuss Article 39 in relation to R.A. No. 10159.
Article 39. Subsidiary Penalty. – If the convict has no property with
which to meet the fine mentioned in paragraph 3 of the next
preceding article, he shall be subject to a subsidiary personal liability
at the rate of one day for each amount equivalent to the highest
minimum wage rate prevailing in the Philippines at the time of the
rendition of judgment of conviction by the trial court, subject to the
following rules:
"1. If the principal penalty imposed be prision correctional or arresto
and fine, he shall remain under confinement until his fine referred in
the preceding paragraph is satisfied, but his subsidiary
imprisonment shall not exceed one-third of the term of the
sentence, and in no case shall it continue for more than one year,
and no fraction or part of a day shall be counted against the
prisoner.
"2. When the principal penalty imposed be only a fine, the subsidiary
imprisonment shall not exceed six months, if the culprit shall have
been prosecuted for a grave or less grave felony, and shall not
exceed fifteen days, if for a fight felony.
"3. When the principal penalty imposed is higher than prision
correctional, no subsidiary imprisonment shall be imposed upon the
culprit.
"4. If the principal penalty imposed is not to be executed by
confinement in a penal institution, but such penalty is of fixed
duration, the convict, during the period of time established in the
preceding rules, shall continue to suffer the same deprivations as
those of which the principal penalty consists.
"5. The subsidiary personal liability which the convict may have
suffered by reason of his insolvency shall not relieve him from the
fine in case his financial circumstances should improve."
bb. Does subsidiary imprisonment violate a person’s right not
be imprisoned for non-payment of a debt?
No, subsidiary imprisonment is not imprisonment for debt. The laws
which prohibit imprisonment for debt relate to the imprisonment of
debtors for liability incurred in the fulfillment of contracts, but not
to the cases seeking the enforcement of penal statutes that provide
for the payment of money as a penalty for the commission of the
crime.
cc. Read Articles 40 to 46.
Section Three. - Penalties in which other accessory penalties are
inherent
Article 40. Death; Its accessory penalties. - The death penalty, when
it is not executed by reason of commutation or pardon shall carry
with it that of perpetual absolute disqualification and that of civil
interdiction during thirty years following the date sentence, unless
such accessory penalties have been expressly remitted in the
pardon.
Article 41. Reclusion perpetua and reclusion temporal; Their
accessory penalties. - The penalties of reclusion perpetua and
reclusion temporal shall carry with them that of civil interdiction for
life or during the period of the sentence as the case may be, and
that of perpetual absolute disqualification which the offender shall
suffer even though pardoned as to the principal penalty, unless the
same shall have been expressly remitted in the pardon.
Article 42. Prision mayor; Its accessory penalties. - The penalty of
prision mayor, shall carry with it that of temporary absolute
disqualification and that of perpetual special disqualification from
the right of suffrage which the offender shall suffer although
pardoned as to the principal penalty, unless the same shall have
been expressly remitted in the pardon.
Article 43. Prision correccional; Its accessory penalties. - The penalty
of prision correccional shall carry with it that of suspension from
public office, from the right to follow a profession or calling, and
that of perpetual special disqualification from the right of suffrage, if
the duration of said imprisonment shall exceed eighteen months.
The offender shall suffer the disqualification provided in the article
although pardoned as to the principal penalty, unless the same shall
have been expressly remitted in the pardon.
Article 44. Arresto; Its accessory penalties. - The penalty of arresto
shall carry with it that of suspension of the right to hold office and
the right of suffrage during the term of the sentence.
Article 45. Confiscation and forfeiture of the proceeds or instruments
of the crime. - Every penalty imposed for the commission of a felony
shall carry with it the forfeiture of the proceeds of the crime and the
instruments or tools with which it was committed.
Such proceeds and instruments or tools shall be confiscated and
forfeited in favor of the Government, unless they be property of a
third person not liable for the offense, but those articles which are
not subject of lawful commerce shall be destroyed.
Section One. - Rules for the application of penalties to the persons
criminally liable and for the graduation of the same.
Article 46. Penalty to be imposed upon principals in general. - The
penalty prescribed by law for the commission of a felony shall be
imposed upon the principals in the commission of such felony.
Whenever the law prescribes a penalty for a felony is general terms,
it shall be understood as applicable to the consummated felony.
dd. Discuss Article 47.
Article 47. In what cases the death penalty shall not be imposed. -
The death penalty shall be imposed in all cases in which it must be
imposed under existing laws, except in the following cases:
1. When the guilty person be more than seventy years of age.
2. When upon appeal or revision of the case by the Supreme court,
all the members thereof are not unanimous in their voting as to the
propriety of the imposition of the death penalty. For the imposition
of said penalty or for the confirmation of a judgment of the inferior
court imposing the death sentence, the Supreme Court shall render
its decision per curiam, which shall be signed by all justices of said
court, unless some member or members thereof shall have been
disqualified from taking part in the consideration of the case, in
which even the unanimous vote and signature of only the remaining
justices shall be required.
ee. When is the death penalty not imposed?
Death penalty is not imposed in the following cases:
1. When the guilty person is below 18 years of age at the
time of the commission of the crime.
2. When the guilty person is more than 70 years of age.
3. When upon appeal or automatic review of the case by the
Supreme Court, the vote of eight members is not obtained
for the imposition of the death penalty.
ff. Discuss Article 48.
Article 48. Penalty for complex crimes. - When a single act
constitutes two or more grave or less grave felonies, or when an
offense is a necessary means for committing the other, the penalty
for the most serious crime shall be imposed, the same to be applied
in its maximum period.
gg. What is a complex crime?
In complex crime, although 2 or more crimes are actually
committed, they constitute only one crime in the eyes of the law as
well as in the conscience of the offender. The offender has only one
criminal intent. Even in the case where an offense is a necessary
means for committing the other, the evil intent of the offender is
only one. Hence, there is only one penalty imposed for the
commission of a complex crime.
hh. What are the 2 kinds of complex crimes?
1. When a single act constitutes 2 or more grave or less grave
felonies. [COMPOUND CRIME]
2. When an offense is a necessary means for committing the
other. [COMPLEX CRIME PROPER]
ii. What is a special complex crime or a composite crime?
A special complex crime, or more properly a composite crime has its
own definition and special penalty in the Revised Penal Code, They
do not consist of a single act giving rise to 2 or more grave or less
grave felonies (compound crimes), nor do they involve an offense
being a necessary means to commit another (complex crime proper)
BUT only a single penalty is imposed for each of such composite
crimes although composed of 2 or more offenses.
EXAMPLES:
Robbery with Homicide
Rape with Homicide
 In a special complex crime, even if there are aggravating
circumstances such as TREACHERY, the killing will not
qualify the homicide to murder, the crime would still be
Rape with Homicide or Robbery with Homicide.
 The Treachery would only be regarded as a generic
aggravating circumstance, not to be considered to add to
the penalty but may be considered to add to the CIVIL
indemnity
 Discuss People v. Jugueta
jj. What is plurality of crimes?
Plurality of crimes consists in the successive execution by the same
individual of different criminal acts upon any of which no conviction
has yet been declared.
kk. What are the kinds of plurality of crimes?
1. Formal or Ideal Plurality - Article 48 provides for 2 cases of
this. There is but one criminal liability in this kind of
plurality. There is only 1 penalty.
2. Real or Material Plurality - there are different crimes in law
as well as in the conscience of the offender. In such cases,
the offender shall be punished for each and every offense
that he has committed.
Example of Real - A stabbed B with a knife. Then, A also stabbed C.
There are 2 crimes committed and 2 acts performed
3 Kinds of Formal Plurality
1. When the offender commits any of the complex crimes
defined in Article 48 of the Code.
2. When the law specifically fixes a single penalty for 2 or
more offenses committed.
Example:
 Robbery with homicide (Art. 294)
 Kidnapping with serious physical injuries (Ar.t. 267)
3. When the offender commits continued crimes.
ll. What is a continued crime?
A continued (continues or continuing) crime is a single crime,
consisting of a series of acts but all arising from one criminal
resolution.
A continuing offense is a continuous, unlawful act or series of acts
set on foot by a single impulse and operated by an unintermittent
force, however long a time it may occupy.
Although there is a series of acts, there is only 1 crime committed,
hence, only 1 penalty shall be imposed.
mm. Distinguish between a continued crime and a complex
crime.
The offender in continued or continuous crime does not perform a
single act, but a series of acts, and one offense is not a necessary
means for committing the other. Not being a complex crime, the
penalty for continued crime is not to be imposed in the maximum
period.
nn. What is a transitory crime?
When a transitory crime is committed, the criminal action may be
instituted and tried in the court of the municipality, city, or province
wherein any of the essential ingredients thereof took place.
A transitory crime, also called a moving crime, is kidnapping a
person for the purpose of ransom, by forcibly taking the victim from
Manila to Bulacan where ransom was demanded. The offenders
could be prosecuted and tried either in Manila or in Bulacan.
Different from continued crime in terms of determining venue in
criminal procedure.