FELONIES  A felony is consummated when all the elements
necessary for its execution and accomplishment
Art. 3 --Acts and omissions punishable by law
are f​ elonies (delitos).
Felonies ​ are committed not only by means of
deceit (dolo) ​but also by means of ​fault
(culpa).
There is deceit when the act is performed with
deliberate intent; ​and there is fault when the
wrongful act r​ esults from i​ mprudence,
negligence, lack of foresight, or lack of skill.
Felonies ​- acts and omissions punishable by the
RPC.
Elements of felonies:
1. There must be an act or omission
2. That the act or omission must be
punishable by law
3. That the act or omission is incurred by
means of dolo (deceit) or culpa (fault).
ACT
Act​ - understood as any bodily movement
tending to produce some effect in the ​external
world​. It’s not necessary that the effect be
produced as the mere possibility of its
production is sufficient.
BUT THE ACT MUST BE ONE WHICH IS
DEFINED IN THE AND PUNISHABLE BY THE
RPC--OR AT LEAST, IS AN OVERT ACT OF
THAT FELONY WHICH IS AN EXTERNAL
ACT THAT HAS DIRECT CONNECTION WITH
THE FELONY INTENDED TO BE
COMMITTED. (See Art. 6)
Note: ​Art. 6 - Art. 6. Consummated, frustrated,
and attempted felonies. — Consummated
felonies as well as those which are frustrated
and attempted, are punishable.
are present; and 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.
There is an attempt when the offender
commences the commission of a felony directly
or over acts, and does not perform all the acts of
execution which should produce the felony by
reason of some cause or accident other than
this own spontaneous desistance.
Note: Only external act is punished. ​The act
must be external, because internal acts are
beyond the sphere of penal law.
OMISSION
Omission
- “Inaction”
- The failure to perform a positive duty
which one is ​bound​ t​ o do.
Note​: In felonies by omission: there is a law
requiring a certain act to be performed and the
person required to do the acts fails to perform it.
The omission must be punishable by law.
BECAUSE THERE IS NO LAW THAT
PUNISHES A PERSON WHO DOES NOT
REPORT TO THE AUTHORITIES THE
COMMISSION OF A CRIME WHICH HE
WITNESSED, THE OMISSION TO DO SO IS
NOT A FELONY.
PUNISHABLE BY LAW
- Is based on the maximum: “​nullum
crimen, nulla poena, sine lege”; there is
no crime where there is no law to punish
it.
- Is understood as “punishable by the
RPC.” (and not by a special law)
Note: Felony is distinguished from “crime” and Note: There is an act performed voluntarily and
“offense” which are applied to ​infractions of the intentionally, and another committed
law punished by special statues. unconsciously and quite unintentionally.

Classification of felonies accdng to the

means by which they are committed:

1. Intentional felonies (deceit)

2. Culpable felonies (fault)

Intentional felonies

- The act or omission of the offender is

malicious; ​it is done with deliberate
intent (with malice)
- The offender performed it with the intent
to cause an injury to another

Deceit = dolo = dolus (is equivalent to alive,

which is the intent to do an injury to another)

“...has the intention to do an injury to the person,

property, or right of another…”

Note​: Most of the felonies defined and penalized

in Book II of the RPC are committed by means
of dolo or with malice. There are few felonies
committed by means of fault or culpa.

Note:

Art. 217 - punishes malversation through

negligence
Art. 365 - acts by imprudence or negligence

Note: ​There are crimes which cannot be

committed through imprudence or negligence,
such as, murder, treason, robbery, and
malicious mischief.

Culpable felonies

- The act or omission is not malicious

- The injury caused by the offender to
another person is “unintentional, it being
simply the incident of another act
performed without malice.”