Who are criminally liable?

For grave and less grave felonies:

1. Principals
2. Accomplices
3. Accessories

For light felonies.

1. Principals
2. Accessories

Treble division of persons criminally liable:

1. Rests upon the very nature of their participation in the commission of the crime.
2. A crime committed by many, without being equally shared by all, a different
degree of responsibility is imposed upon each and every one of them.

Accessories not liable for light felonies:

3. The social wrong as well as the individual prejudice is so small that penal
sanction is deemed not necessary for accessories.

Rules relative to light felonies:

1. Light felonies are punishable only when they have been consummated.
2. But when light felonies are committed against persons or property, they are
punishable even if they are only in the attempted or frustrated stage of execution.
3. Only the principals and accomplice are liable for light felonies.
4. Accessories are not liable for light felonies, even if they are committed against
persons or property.

(all crimes have always two parties)

1. Active subject of the crime – the criminal
2. Passive subject of the crime – the injured party.

Only natural persons can be active subject of the crime.

- Highly personal in nature of the criminal responsibility.

Officers, not the corporation, are criminally liable.

- A corporations can only act through its officers or incorporators, with regards
to the violations of the law committed by such officers in the exercise of his
duties.
- Corporations cannot prosecuted criminally because of being an artificial
person.

Juridical persons are criminally liable under certain special laws.

- Corporation code of the Philippines.
- Public service law
- Election code.
Only the officers of the corporation who participated either as principals by direct
participation or principals by induction or by cooperation, or as accomplices in the
commission of an act punishable by law are liable.
- General rule, a director or other officer of a corporation is criminally liable for
his acts, though in his official capacity, if he participated in the unlawful act
either directly or as an aider, abettor or accessory, but is not liable criminally
for the corporate acts performed by other officers or agents thereof.

Manager of partnership is liable even if there is no evidence of his participation in the

commission of the offense.

Passive subject of crime.

- The passive subject of a crime is the holder of the injured right, the man, the
juristic person, the group, the state.
- While the corporation or partnership cannot be an active subject of the crime,
it can be a passive subject of the crime.

Corpse of animal cannot be a passive subject.

- Have no rights that may be injured.

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.

ACCOMPLICE
1. cooperate in the execution of an offense by previous or simultaneous acts.
2. He intends by said acts to commit or take part in the execution of the crime.

Requisites:
1. Knowing the criminal design of the principal by direct participation, he concurs
with the latter in his purpose.
2. 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.
3. That there be a relation between the acts done by the principal and those
attributed to the person charged as accomplice.

Being present and giving moral support when a crime is being committed will make a
person responsible only as an accomplice in the crime committed.

Moral aid may through an advise, encouragement, or agreement.

Accomplice and conspirator distinguish:

Conspirator and accomplices have one thing in common: they know and agree with the
criminal design:

Conspirator : know and decided the criminal intention, decided that the crime should
be committed, authors of the crime.

Accomplice : know the criminal intention after the principals have reached the decision
and only then they agree to cooperate in the execution, do not decide whether the crime
should be committed, they merely assent to plan and cooperate in its accomplishment,
merely instrument who perform act not essential to the perpetration of the offense.

Accessories – accessories are those who, having knowledge (after) 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 ff. 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 principal 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 live of the chief executive, or is known to be habitually guilty of some other
crime.

Take part subsequent to its commission:

- The accessory takes part after the crime has been committed.

An accessory does not participate in the criminal design, nor cooperate in the
commission of the crime.

Having knowledge – the accessory must have knowledge of the commission of the
crime, and having that knowledge, he took part subsequent to its commission.

Mere possession of the stolen property does not make the accused an accessory where
the thief was already convicted.

Entertaining suspicion (not knowledge) that a crime has been committed is not enough.

Knowledge of the commission of crime may be acquired subsequent to the acquisition

of stolen property.
Specific acts of accessories:
1. By profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the
crime:
a. By profiting themselves by the effect of the crime.
i. The accessory should not take the property without the consent of
the principal, if he take it without consent, he is not an accessory
but principal.
b. By assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the crime.
i. An accessory should not be in conspiracy with the principal.

2. By concealing or destroying the body of the crime to prevent its discovery.

a. Body of the crime same as “corpus delicti”
b. Destroying the body of the crime
c. There must be an attempt to hide the body of the crime.
d. Concealing or destroying the effects or instruments of the crime to prevent
its discovery.

3. By harboring, concealing or assisting in the escape of the principal of the crime.

2 Classes of accessories are contemplated:

a. Public officers who harbor, conceal or assist in the escape of the principal
of any crime (no light felony) with abuse of his public functions.
Requisites:
1. The accessory is a public officer.
2. He harbors, conceals, or assists in the escape of the principal.
3. The public officer acts with abuse of his public functions.
4. The crime committed by the principal is any crime, provided it is not a
light felony.
b. Private persons who harbor, conceal or assist in the escape of the author
of the crime (guilty of treason, parricide, murder, or an attempt against life
of the president, or who is known to be a habitually guilty of some other
crime.
Requisites:
1. That the accessory is a private person.
2. That he harbors, conceals or assists in the escape of the author of the
crime
c. That the crime committed by the principal is either (guilty of treason,
parricide, murder, or an attempt against life of the president, or who is
known to be a habitually guilty of some other crime)

Habitually guilty of some other crime – a person was previously punished three times for
less serious physical injuries and now commits estafa, the one how helps in his escape
is liable as an accessory.
 - A mayor who refuse to prosecute offender is accessory.
- One who kept silent with regard to the crime he witnessed is not an
accessory.
- Accessories liability is subordinate and subsequent to that of the principal.
- A conviction of an accessory is possible, even if principal is acquitted when
the said principal is insane or minor.

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 proceeding article.

Grounds for exemption:

- The exemption provided for in this article is based on the ties of blood and the
preservation of the cleanliness of one’s name, which compels one to conceal
crimes committed by relatives so near as those mentioned in this article.

Principals related to accessories exempt from criminal liability:

- An accessory is exempt from criminal liability, when the principal is his:
o Spouse
o Ascendant
o Descendant
o Legitimate, natural or adopted brother, sister or relative by affinity within
the same degree.

Nephew or niece not included among such relatives (art. 20)

Accessory is not exempt from criminal liability even if the principal is related to him, if
such accessory:
1. Profited by the effects of the crime
2. Assisted the offender to profit by the effects of the crime.

Only accessories under paragraph 2 and 3 of article 19 are exempt from criminal liability
if they are related to the principals.

Does the concealing of the effects of the crime, not to prevent its discovery, but to
obtain gain, fall under paragraph 2 of article 19? Yes, the act is prompted not by
affection but by a detestable greed.

Liability of a public officer when related to the principal, does not incur any criminal
liability, ties of blood or relationship constitutes a more powerful incentive than the call
of duty.