CRIMINAL LAW REVIEW FINALS (REVIEWER)

A. Nine (9) circumstances that affect criminal liability

1. Stages in the execution of the crime
2. Degree of participation in the offense
3. Justifying circumstances
4. Exempting circumstances
5. Mitigating circumstances
6. Aggravating circumstances
7. Alternative circumstances
8. Absolutory causes
9. Degree of gravity of the offense

B. Prescription of Crimes
Art. 90. Prescription of Crime
Crimes punishable by death, reclusion perpetua or reclusion temporal
shall prescribe in 20 years;
Crimes punishable by other afflictive penalties (prision mayor) shall
prescribe in fifteen (15) years;
Those punishable by a correctional penalty (prision correctional) shall
prescribe in 10 years; with the exception of those punishable by arresto mayor,
which shall prescribe in five years.
The crime of libel or other similar offenses shall prescribe in one year.
The offenses of oral defamation and slander by deed shall prescribe in six
(6) months.
Light offenses prescribe in two (2) months.

Art. 91.Computation of prescription of offenses. – The period of prescription shall

commence to run from the day on which the crime is discovered by the offended party,
the authorities, or their agents, and shall be interrupted by the filing of the complaint or
information, and shall commence to run again when such proceedings terminate without
the accused being convicted or acquitted, or are unjustifiably stopped for any reason not
imputable to him.
The term of prescription shall not run when the offender is absent from the
Philippine Archipelago.

C. Prescription of Penalties
Art. 92. When and how penalties prescribe. – The penalties imposed by final
sentence prescribe as follows:
1. Death and reclusion perpetua, in twenty (20) years;
2. Other afflictive penalties, in fifteen (15) years;
 3. Correction penalties, in ten (10) years; with the exception of the
penalty of arresto mayor, which prescribes in five (5) years;
4. Light penalties, in oneyear

Art. 93. Computation of the prescription of penalties. – The period of prescription

of penalties shall commence to run from the date when the culprit should evade
the service of his sentence, and it shall be interrupted if the defendant should
give himself up, be captured, should go to some foreign country with which his
Government has no extradition treaty, or should commit another crime before the
expiration of the period of prescription.

D. Circumstances that Affect Imposition of Penalties under the Law

1. Stages of the execution of the crime
2. Degree of participation in the offense; and
3. Presence of mitigating and aggravating circumstances

E. Titles of Crimes in Book 2 of the RPC

Title 1 Crimes Against National Security and the Law of Nations
Title 2 Crimes Against the Fundamental Laws of the State
Title 3 Crimes Against Public Order
Title 4 Crimes Against Public Interest
Title 5 Crimes Relative to Opium and Other Prohibited Drugs (Repealed)
RA 9165 The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002
Title 6 Crimes Against Public Morals
Title 7 Crimes Committed by Public Officers
Title 8 Crimes Against Persons
Title 9 Crimes Against Personal Liberty and Security
Title 10 Crimes Against Property
Title 11 Crimes Against Chastity
Title 12 Crimes Against Civil Status of Persons
Title 13 Crimes Against Honor
Title 14 Quasi – Offenses

F. Can coup d’ etat be complexed with crime of sedition? Why?

Yes. Coup d’ etat can be complexed with sedition because the two crimes are
essentially different and distinctly punished under the RPC. Sedition may not be
directed against the government or be non-political in objective, whereas coup d’
etat is always political in objective as it is directed against the government and
led by persons or public officer holding public office belonging to the military or
 national police. Art. 48 of the RPC may apply under the conditions therein
provided. (Lifted from 2019 UST Golden Notes)

G. Complex Crime under Art. 48 vs Special Complex Crime

Complex Crime under Art. 48
1. It is made up of two or more crimes being punished under distinct
provisions of the RPC but alleged in one information either because
they were brought about by a single felonious act or because one
offense is a necessary means for committing the other offense or
offenses.
2. The penalty for the most serious crime shall be imposed and in its
maximum period.
Special Complex Crime
1. It is made up of two or more crimes which are considered only as
components of a single indivisible offense being punished in one
provision of the RPC.
2. One one penalty is specifically prescribed for all the component crimes
which are regarded as one indivisible offense. The component crimes
are not regarded as distinct crimes and so the penalty to be imposed is
that specifically provided for under the special compex crime
committed.

H. Estafa vs Qualified Theft

When the person committing the crime has juridical possession of the subject
matter of the offense, the crime committed is estafa; meanwhile, when the one
committing the crime has only physical possession of the subject matter of the
offense, the crime committed is qualified theft. (Notes from Atty. Merin’s class
discussion)

I. Grave Coercion vs Robbery

Grave coercion is a crime against personal liberty and security while
robbery is a crime against property.
In robbery the taking of the property is with intent to gain; meanwhile, if the
taking of the property is not with intent to gain, but to prevent the doing of an act,
the crime is grave coercion.
Grave coercion is committed in two ways: (a) by preventing another, by
means of violence, threats or intimidation, from doing something not prohibited
by law; or (2) by compelling another, by means of violence, threats or
intimidation, to do something against his will, whether it be right or wrong. On the
other hand, robbery is committed by the taking of personal property belonging to
another, with intent to gain, by means of violence against, or intimidation of any
person, or using force upon things.
J. Impossible Crime v Praeter Intentionem
Impossible crime refers to an act which would be an offense against persons or
property, were it not for the inherent impossibility of its accomplishment or on
account of the employment of inadequate or ineffectual means. Meanwhile,
praeter intentionem is a mitigating circumstance wherein the resulting
consequence of an act of the offender was greater than that intended.

K. Rebellion vs Coup d’ etat vs Terrorism

As to overt acts, rebellion is

As to purpose,

As to participation

L. Three (3) ways of committing arbitrary detention

Arbitarary detention is committed by:
1. Detaining a person without legal ground (Art. 124, RPC);
2. Delay in the delivery of detained persons to the proper authorities (Art. 125,
RPC); and
3. Delaying release (Art. 126, RPC).

M. Legal Grounds for Detention

1. Commission of a crime; and
2. Violent insanity or other ailment requiring compulsory confinement of the
patient in a hospital.

N. Arrest without warrant, when lawful

Rule 113. Sec. 5. Arrest without warrant, when lawful. – A peace officer or a
private person may, without a warrant, arrest a person:
1. When, in his presence, the person to be arrested has committed, is actually
committing, or is attempting to commit an offense;
2. When an offense has just been committed, and he has probable cause to
believe based on personal knowledge of facts or circumstances that the
person to be arrested has committed it; and
3. When the person to be arrested is a prisoner who has escaped from a penal
establishment or place where he is serving final judgment or is temporarily
confined while his case is pending, or has escaped while being transferred
from one confinement to another.
O. Eight (8) Acts of Falsification under the RPC
1. Counterfeiting or imitating any handwriting, signature, or rubric;
2. Causing it to appear that persons have participated in any act or proceeding
when they did not in fact so participate;
3. Attributing to persons who have participated in an act or proceeding
statements other than those in fact made by them;
4. Making untruthful statements in a narration of facts;
5. Altering true dates;
6. Making any alteration or intercalation in a genuine document which changes
its meaning;
7. Issuing in an authenticated form a document purporting to be a copy of an
original document when no such original exists, or including in such a copy a
statement contrary to, or different from, that of the genuine original; or
8. Intercalating any instrument or note relative to the issuance thereof in a
protocol, registry, or official book.