The Revised Penal Code[edit]

Main article: Revised Penal Code of the Philippines

The Revised Penal Code took effect on January 1, 1932. It is composed of two parts – Book One of
the Revised Penal Code provides the general provisions on the application of the law, and the
general principles of criminal law. It defines felonies and circumstances which affect criminal liability,
justifying circumstances and circumstances which exempt, mitigate or aggravate criminal liability,
and defines the classification, duration, and effects of criminal penalties. Finally, it provides for the
extinction and survival of criminal and civil liabilities in crimes.
Book Two of the Revised Penal Code on the other hand defines the specific crimes and the
penalties imposable for each crime. Crimes are classified into crimes against national security (such
as treason, espionage and piracy), crimes against the fundamental laws of the state (rebellion, coup
d'état, sedition and public disorders), crimes against public interest (counterfeiting of currency,
falsification of public documents), crimes against public morals, crimes committed by public officers,
crimes against persons (parricide, murder, physical injuries, rape), crimes against security
(kidnapping), and crimes against property (robbery, theft), among others. Criminal negligence is also
an offense under the Revised Penal Code. Under the Revised Penal Code, acts and omissions
punishable by law are called felonies. Thus, to be considered as a felony there must be an act
or omission.

Degree of consummation of crimes[edit]

Felonies can be consummated, frustrated, and attempted. A felony is consummated when all the
elements necessary for its execution and accomplishment are present. 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 overt acts,
and does not perform all the acts of execution which should produce the felony by reason of some
cause or accident other than his own spontaneous desistance.
Conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the commission of a
felony and decide to commit it. Conspiracy can also be proven based on the idea of "unity of
purpose" and acts leading to a common design. There is proposal when the person who has decided
to commit a felony proposes its execution to some other person or persons. Conspiracy and
proposal to commit a felony are generally not punishable, except for conspiracy and proposal to
commit treason, coup d'état, and rebellion. While not generally punishable, conspiracy can
determine the degree of participation in criminal offenses in order to determine criminal liability.