Art.
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 applied in its maximum
period. (As amended by Act No. 4000.)
Two types of Complex Crimes:
1. Compound Crime – “When a single act
constitutes two or more grave or less
grave felonies.”
2. Complex Crime Proper – “When an
offense is a necessary means for
committing the other.”
COMPOUND CRIME
Requisites of Compound Crime:
1. Single act is performed
2. Single act produces (1) two or more
grave felonies, or (2) one or more grave
and one or more less grave felonies, or
(3) two or more less grave felonies.
SINGLE ACT IS PERFORMED
 Throwing of hand grenade producing
murder and multiple attempted
murder. (People v. Guillen, 85 Phil. 307,
318)
o Murder is committed when a
person is killed by means of
explosion. (Art. 248)
 Penalty is death, the
maximum of the
penalty for murder,
which is the graver
offense.
 Placing a time bomb in a plane, which
caused it to explode in mid-air, killing
13 persons therein, constitutes
complex crime of multiple murder and
destruction of property. (People v.
Largo, 99 Phil. 1061-1062)
 Several shots from a submachine gun
causing several deaths, caused by a
single act of pressing the trigger,
considered a complex crime.
o Firing a revolver twice in
succession, resulting to the
death of a man and injuring the
other, would not constitute a
complex crime but a penalty
for two distinct crimes. Though
there is a single criminal
impulse, the injury of the other
should be resulted from the
same bullet that killed the
other.
TWO OR MORE GRAVE OR LESS GRAVE
FELONIES
o Light felonies produced by the same
act should be treated and punished as
separate offenses or may be absorbed
by the grave felony.
o Several light felonies from one
single act – not complex.
(Ex. Collision between automobiles driven in a
careless and negligent manner, resulting in the
slight physical injuries of the passengers and
light felony of damage to property, there is no
complex crime, because the crime of slight
physical injuries, as well as that of damage to
property, is a light felony.)
 When the crime is committed by force or
violence, slight physical injuries are
absorbed.
(Ex. Where the person authority or his agent,
who was attacked while in the performance of
his duty, suffered slight physical injuries only,
the crime of such is absorbed in the crime of
direct assault.)

Reason for the ruling: That slight physical

injuries are the necessary consequence of the
force or violence inherent in the crimes of direct
assault and rape.

 RAPE WITH HOMICIDE IS SPECIAL

COMPLEX CRIME NOT COVERED BY
ARTICLE 48