FELONIES

Article 3. Definitions. - Acts and omissions punishable by law are felonies (delitos).

Felonies are committed not only be 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 results from imprudence, negligence, lack of foresight, or lack
of skill.

Felonies, defined.
Felonies are acts and omissions punishable by the Revised Penal Code.

Elements of felonies.
The elements of felonies in general are:

1. That there must be an act or omission.

2. That the act or omission must be punishable by the Revised Penal Code.
3. That the act is performed or the omission incurred by means of dolo or culpa. (People vs.
Gonzales, G.R. No. 80762, March 19, 1990, 183 SCRA 309, 324)

Classification of felonies according to the means by which they are committed.

In intentional felonies, the act or omission of the offender is malicious. In the language of Art. 3,
the act is performed with deliberate intent (with malice). The offender, in performing the act or
in incurring the omission, has the intention to cause an injury to another. In culpable felonies, the
act or omission of the offender 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."
(People vs. Sara, 55 Phil. 939) As stated in Art. 3, the wrongful act results from imprudence,
negligence, lack of foresight or lack of skill.

Requisites of dolo or malice.

In order that an act or Omission may be considered as having been performed or incurred with
deliberate intent, the following requisites must concur:

(1) He must have FREEDOM while doing an act or omitting to do an act;

(2) He must have INTELLIGENCE while doing the act or omitting to do the act;
(3) He must have INTENT while doing the act or omitting to do the act.
Mistake of fact.
While ignorance of the law excuses no one from compliance therewith (ignorantia legis
non excusat), ignorance or mistake of fact relieves the accused from criminal liability (ignorantia
facti excusat)

Mistake of fact is a misapprehension of fact on the part of the person who caused injury
to another. He is not, however, criminally liable, because he did not act with criminal intent.

An honest mistake of fact destroys the presumption of criminal intent which arises upon
the commission of a felonious act. (People vs. Coching, et al., C.A., 52 O.G. 293, citing People
vs. Oanis, 74 Phil. 257)

Requisites of mistake of fact as a defense:

1. That the act done would have been lawful had the facts been as the accused believed
them to be.
2. That the intention of the accused in performing the act should be lawful.
3. That the mistake must be without fault or carelessness on the part of the accused.

Criminal intent is replaced by negligence and imprudence in felonies committed by means of

culpa.

In felonies committed by means of culpa, since the doing of or failing to do an act must
also be voluntary, there must be freedom and intelligence on the part of the offender, but the
requisite of criminal intent, which is required in felonies by dolo, is replaced by the requisite of
imprudence, negligence, lack of foresight, or lack of skill.

Such negligence or indifference to duty or to consequence is, in law, equivalent to

criminal intent. (U.S. vs. Catolico, 18 Phil. 507)

But in felonies committed by means of culpa, the mind of the accused is not criminal.
However, his act is wrongful, because the injury or damage caused to the injured party results
from the imprudence, negligence, lack of foresight or lack of skill of the accused.

Therefore, in order that the act or omission in felonies committed by means of fault or
culpa may be considered voluntary, the following requisites must concur:

(1) He must have FREEDOM while doing an act or omitting to do an act;

(2) He must have INTELLIGENCE while doing the act or omitting to do the act;
(3) He is IMPRUDENT, NEGLIGENT or LACKS FORESIGHT or SKILL while doing
the act or omitting to do the act.

Mala in se and mala prohibita, distinguished.

 There is a distinction between crimes which are mala in se, or wrongful from their nature,
such as theft, rape, homicide, etc., and those that are mala prohibita, or wrong merely because
prohibited by statute, such as illegal possession of firearms.

Crimes mala in se are those so serious in their effects on society as to call for almost
unanimous condemnation of its members; while crimes mala prohibita are violations of mere
rules of convenience designed to secure a more orderly regulation of the affairs of society.
(Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Rawle's 3rd Revision)

(1) In acts mala in se, the intent governs; but in those mala prohibita, the only inquiry is,
has the law been violated? (People vs. Kibler, 106 N.Y., 321, cited in the case of U.S. vs.
Go Chico, 14 Phil. 132)

Criminal intent is not necessary where the acts are prohibited for reasons of public policy,
as in illegal possession of firearms. (People vs. Conosa, C.A., 45 O.G. 3953)

(2) The term mala in se refers generally to felonies denned and penalized by the Revised
Penal Code. When the acts are inherently immoral, they are mala in se, even if punished by
special laws. On the other hand, there are crimes in the Revised Penal Code which were
originally defined and penalized by special laws. Among them are possession and use of
opium, malversation, brigandage, and libel.

The term mala prohibita refers generally to acts made criminal by special laws.

Article 4. Criminal liability. - Criminal liability shall be incurred:

1. By any person committing a felony (delito) although the wrongful act done be
different from that which he intended.

2. By any person performing an act which would be an offense against persons or

property, were it not for the inherent impossibility of its accomplishment or an
account of the employment of inadequate or ineffectual means.

 One who commits an intentional felony is responsible for all the consequences which
may naturally and logically result therefrom, whether foreseen or intended or not.

Requisites of paragraph 1 of Art. 4.

In order that a person may be held criminally liable for a felony different from that which
he intended to commit, the following requisites must be present:

a. That an intentional felony has been committed; and

b. That the wrong done to the aggrieved party be the direct, natural and logical consequence of
the felony committed by the offender. (U.S. vs. Brobst, 14 Phil. 310, 319; U.S. vs. Mallari, 29
Phil. 14, 19)

 Any person who creates in another's mind an immediate sense of danger, which causes
the latter to do something resulting in the latter's injuries, is liable for the resulting
injuries.

 The felony committed must be the proximate cause of the resulting injury.

Proximate cause is "that cause, which, in natural and continuous sequence,

unbroken by any efficient intervening cause, produces the injury, and without
which the result would not have occurred." (Bataclan vs. Medina, 102 Phil. 181,
186, quoting 38 Am. Jur. 695)

The felony committed is not the proximate cause of the resulting injury when:

a) there is an active force that intervened between the felony committed and the
resulting injury, and the active force is a distinct act or fact absolutely foreign
from the felonious act of the accused; or

b) the resulting injury is due to the intentional act of the victim.

The 2nd paragraph of Art. 4 defines the so-called impossible crimes (impossible attempts).

Requisites of impossible crime:

1. That the act performed would be an offense against persons or property.

2. That the act was done with evil intent.
3. That its accomplishment is inherently impossible, or
4. That the means employed is either inadequate or ineffectual. That the act performed
should not constitute a violation of another provision of the Revised Penal Code.

Article 5. Duty of the court in connection with acts which should be repressed but
which are not covered by the law, and in cases of excessive penalties. - Whenever a
court has knowledge of any act which it may deem proper to repress and which is
not punishable by law, it shall render the proper decision, and shall report to the
Chief Executive, through the Department of Justice, the reasons which induce the
court to believe that said act should be made the subject of legislation.

In the same way, the court shall submit to the Chief Executive, through the
Department of Justice, such statement as may be deemed proper, without
suspending the execution of the sentence, when a strict enforcement of the
 provisions of this Code would result in the imposition of a clearly excessive penalty,
taking into consideration the degree of malice and the injury caused by the offense.

Article 6. Consummated, frustrated, and attempted felonies. - Consummated

felonies as well as those which are frustrated and attempted, are punishable.

A felony is consummated when all the elements necessary for its execution and
accomplishment 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.

Consummated felony, defined.

A felony is consummated when all the elements necessary for its execution and accomplishment
are present.

Frustrated felony, defined.

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.

The requisites of a frustrated felony are: (1) that the offender has performed all the acts of
execution which would produce the felony; and (2) that the felony is not produced due to causes
independent of the perpetrator's will. (People vs. Orita, G.R. No. 88724, April 3,1990,

Attempted felony, defined.

There is an attempt when the offender commences the commission of a felony directly by 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.

Frustrated felony distinguished from attempted felony.

1. In both, the offender has not accomplished his criminal purpose.

 2. While in frustrated felony, the offender has performed all the acts of execution which
would produce the felony as a consequence, in attempted felony, the offender merely
commences the commission of a felony directly by overt acts and does not perform all
the acts of execution.

In other words, in frustrated felony, the offender has reached the objective phase; in
attempted felony, the offender has not passed the subjective phase.

Attempted or frustrated felony distinguished from impossible crime.

1. In attempted or frustrated felony and impossible crime, the evil intent of the offender
is not accomplished.
2. But while in impossible crime, the evil intent of the offender cannot be accomplished,
in attempted or frustrated felony the evil intent of the offender is possible of
accomplishment.
3. In impossible crime, the evil intent of the offender cannot be accomplished because it
is inherently impossible of accomplishment or because the means employed by the
offender is inadequate or ineffectual; in attempted or frustrated felony, what
prevented its accomplishment is the intervention of certain cause or accident in which
the offender had no part.

Article 7. When light felonies are punishable. - Light felonies are punishable only
when they have been consummated, with the exception of those committed against
person or property.

General Rule:
Light felonies are punishable only when they have been consummated.

Exception:
Light felonies committed against persons or property, are punishable even if attempted or
frustrated.

Article 8. Conspiracy and proposal to commit felony. - Conspiracy and proposal to

commit felony are punishable only in the cases in which the law specially provides
a penalty therefor.

A conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning

the commission of a felony and decide to commit it.

There is proposal when the person who has decided to commit a felony proposes its
execution to some other person or persons.
Requisites of conspiracy:

1. That two or more persons came to an agreement;

2. That the agreement concerned the commission of a felony; and
3. That the execution of the felony be decided upon.

Requisites of proposal

1. That a person has decided to commit a felony; and

2. That he proposes its execution to some other person or persons.

Article 9. Grave felonies, less grave felonies and light felonies. - Grave felonies are
those to which the law attaches the capital punishment or penalties which in any of
their periods are afflictive, in accordance with Art. 25 of this Code.

Less grave felonies are those which the law punishes with penalties which in their
maximum period are correctional, in accordance with the above-mentioned Art..

Light felonies are those infractions of law for the commission of which a penalty of
arrest menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos or both; is provided.

Article 10. Offenses not subject to the provisions of this Code. - Offenses which are
or in the future may be punishable under special laws are not subject to the
provisions of this Code. This Code shall be supplementary to such laws, unless the
latter should specially provide the contrary.