PRELIMINARIES / DATE OF EFFECTIVEN

ESS / APPLICATION
Criminal Law, defined.
Criminal law is that branch or division of law which defines crimes, treats of their
nature, and provides for their punishment. (12 Cyc. 129)

Definition
Crime is an act committed or omitted in violation of a public law forbidding or
commanding it. (I Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Rawle's Third Revision, 729)
the generic term used to refer to a wrongdoing punished either under the Revised
Penal Code or under a special law
Felony – a crime punished under the Revised Penal Code
Offense – a crime punished under a special law; or a statutory offense
Misdemeanor – a minor infraction of the law, such as a violation of an ordinance
Sources of Philippine Criminal Law.
1. The Revised Penal Code (Act No. 3815) and its amendments.
2. Special Penal Laws passed by the Philippine Commission, Philippine
Assembly, Philippine Legislature, National Assembly, the Congress of the
Philippines, and the Batasang Pambansa
3. Penal Presidential Decrees issued during Martial Law.
No common law crimes in the Philippines.
The so-called common law crimes, known in the United States and England as the
body of principles, usages and rules of action, which do not rest for their authority
upon any express and positive declaration of the will of the legislature, are not
recognized in this country. Unless there be a particular provision in the penal code
or special penal law that defines and punishes the act, even if it be socially or
morally wrong, no criminal liability is incurred by its commission. (See U.S. vs.
Taylor, 28 Phil. 599, 604)
Court decisions are not sources of criminal law, because they merely explain the
meaning of, and apply, the law as enacted by the legislative branch of the
government.

Power to define and punish crimes.

The power of Congress to enact laws is generally absolute; the only limit is that it
should not violate the Constitution
The State has the authority, under its police power, to define and punish crimes
and to lay down the rules of criminal procedure. States, as a part of their police
power, have a large measure of discretion in creating and denning criminal
offenses. (People vs. Santiago, 43 Phil. 120, 124)
The right of prosecution and punishment for a crime is one of the attributes that
by a natural law belongs to the sovereign power instinctively charged by the
common will of the members of society to look after, guard and defend the
interests of the community, the individual and social rights and the liberties of
every citizen and the guaranty of the exercise of his rights. (U.S. vs. Pablo, 35 Phil.
94, 100)

Limitations on the power of the lawmaking body to enact penal legislation.

The Bill of Rights of the 1987 Constitution imposes the following limitations:
1. No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted. (Art. Ill, Sec. 22)
2. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense
without due process of law. (Art. Ill, Sec. 14[1]
The first limitation prohibits the passage of retroactive laws which are prejudicial
to the accused.
An ex post facto law is one which:
1. makes criminal an act done before the passage of the law and which was
innocent when done, and punishes such an act;
2. aggravates a crime, or makes it greater than it was, when committed;
3. changes the punishment and inflicts a greater punishment than the law
annexed to the crime when committed;
 4. alters the legal rules of evidence, and authorizes conviction upon less or
different testimony than the law required at the time of the commission of the
offense;
5. assumes to regulate civil rights and remedies only, in effect imposes penalty
or deprivation of a right for something which when done was lawful; and
6. deprives a person accused of a crime some lawful protection to which he has
become entitled, such as the protection of a former conviction or acquittal,
or a proclamation of amnesty. (In re: Kay Villegas Kami, Inc., 35 SCRA 429,
431)
Congress is also prohibited from passing an act which would inflict punishment
without judicial trial, for that would constitute a bill of attainder.
A bill of attainder is a legislative act which inflicts punishment without trial. Its
essence is the substitution of a legislative act for a judicial determination of guilt.
(People vs. Ferrer, 48 SCRA 382, 395)
Example:
Congress passes a law which authorizes the arrest and imprisonment of
communists without the benefit of a judicial trial.

Characteristics of criminal law.

Criminal law has three main characteristics:
(1) general,
(2) territorial, and
(3) prospective.
I. GENERAL, in that criminal law is binding on all persons who live or sojourn in
Philippine territory. (Art. 14, new Civil Code)
In a case where the accused contended that being an American citizen, he cannot
be prosecuted for, much less convicted of, the crime of illegal possession of
firearms, because it is a constitutional right of the citizens of the United States of
America "to keep and bear arms" without any need of applying and securing a
government license therefor, the Court of Appeals held:
"The Philippines is a sovereign state with the obligation and the right of every
government to uphold its laws and maintain order within its domain, and with
the general jurisdiction to punish persons for offenses committed within its
 territory, regardless of the nationality of the offender. (Salonga and Yap, Public
International Law, p. 169) No foreigner enjoys in this country extra-territorial
right to be exempted from its laws and jurisdiction, with the exception of
heads of states and diplomatic representatives who, by virtue of the
customary law of nations, are not subject to the Philippine territorial
jurisdiction." (People vs. Galacgac, C.A., 54 O.G. 1027)
The Revised Penal Code or other penal law is not applicable when the military
court takes cognizance of the case.
When the military court takes cognizance of the case involving a person subject to
military law, the Articles of War apply, not the Revised Penal Code or other penal
law.
"By their acceptance of appointments as officers in the Bolo Area from the
General Headquarters of the 6th Military District, the accused, who were civilians
at the outbreak of the war, became members of the Philippine Army amenable to
the Articles of War." (Ruffy, et al. vs. Chief of Staff, et al., 75 Phil. 875)
Exceptions to the general application of Criminal Law.
There are cases where our Criminal Law does not apply even if the crime is
committed by a person residing or sojourning in the Philippines. These constitute
the exceptions.
The opening sentence of Article 2 of the Revised Penal Code says that the
provisions of this Code shall be enforced within the Philippine Archipelago,
"except as provided in the treaties and laws of preferential application.
Article 14 of the new Civil Code provides that penal laws and those of public
security and safety shall be obligatory upon all who live or sojourn in Philippine
territory, subject to the principles of public international law a n d to treaty
stipulations.
Persons exempt from the operation of our criminal laws by virtue of the
principles of public international law.
The following are not subject to the operation of our criminal laws:
(1) Sovereigns and other chiefs of state.
(2) Ambassadors, ministers plenipotentiary, ministers resi- dent, and charges
d'affaires.
It is a well-established principle of international law that diplomatic
representatives, such as ambassadors or public ministers and their official retinue,
possess immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the country of their sojourn and
cannot be sued, arrested or punished by the law of that country. (II Hyde,
International Law, 2nd Ed., 1266)
II. TERRITORIAL, in that criminal laws undertake to punish crimes committed
within Philippine territory.
The principle of territoriality means that as a rule, penal laws of the Philippines are
enforceable only within its territory.
Exceptions to the territorial application of criminal law.
The same Article 2 of the Revised Penal Code provides that its provisions shall be
enforced outside of the jurisdiction of the Philippines against those who:
1. Should commit an offense while on a Philippine ship or airship;
2. Should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of the Philippines or
obligations and securities issued by the Government of the Philippines;
3. Should be liable for acts connected with the introduction into the Philippines
of the obligations and securities mentioned in the preceding number;
4. While being public officers or employees, should commit an offense in the
exercise of their functions; or
5. Should commit any of the crimes against national security and the law of
nations, defined in Title One of Book Two of the Revised Penal Code.
III. PROSPECTIVE, in that a penal law cannot make an act punishable in a
manner in which it was not punishable when committed. As provided in
Article 366 of the Revised Penal Code, crimes are punished under the laws in
force at the time of their commission.
Exceptions to the prospective application of criminal laws.
Whenever a new statute dealing with crime establishes conditions more lenient or
favorable to the accused, it can be given a retroactive effect.
But this exception has no application:
1. Where the new law is expressly made inapplicable to pend- ing actions or
existing causes of action. (Tavera vs. Valdez, 1 Phil. 463, 470-471)
2. Where the offender is a habitual criminal under Rule 5, Article 62, Revised
Penal Code. (Art. 22, RPC)
Different effects of repeal of penal law.
1. ABSOLUTE or EXPRESS - the effect is decriminalization - the obliteration of a
crime - for pending cases, the case shall be dismissed - for those serving time,
they shall be released because there is no more reason for the accused to serve
time
2. PARTIAL or IMPLIED
- the crime is still punishable but modified, i.e. in terms of penalty - eg. The case
of Robin Padilla: PD 1866 was partially repealed by RA 8294, which reduced the
sentence for illegal possession of firearms, thus qualifying Robin Padilla for parole
3. SELF-REPEALING
- is deemed repealed upon expiration of the date specified by the law - the law
dies a natural death, eg. Rent Control Law
1. If the repeal makes the penalty lighter in the new law, the new law shall be
applied, except when the offender is a habitual delinquent or when the new
law is made not applicable to pending action or existing causes of action.
2. If the new law imposes a heavier penalty, the law in force at the time of the
commission of the offense shall be applied.
3. If the new law totally repeals the existing law so that the act which was
penalized under the old law is no longer punishable, the crime is obliterated.
When the repeal is absolute the offense ceases to be criminal.
When the new law and the old law penalize the same offense, the offender
can be tried under the old law.
When the repealing law fails to penalize the offense under the old law, the
accused cannot be convicted under the new law.
A person erroneously accused and convicted under a repealed statute may
be punished under the repealing statute.
Construction of penal laws.
1. Penal laws are strictly construed against the Government and liberally in
favor of the accused. (U.S. vs. Abad Santos, 36 Phil. 243; People vs. Yu Hai,
99 Phil. 728) The rule that penal statutes should be strictly construed
against the State may be invoked only where the law is ambiguous and there
is doubt as to its interpretation. Where the law is clear and unambiguous,
there is no room for the application of the rule. (People vs. Gatchalian, 104
Phil. 664)
 2. In the construction or interpretation of the provisions of the Revised Penal
Code, the Spanish text is controlling, because it was approved by the
Philippine Legislature in its Spanish text. (People vs. Manaba, 58 Phil. 665,
668)

Laws of Preferential Application

1. Republic Act 75/ Public International Law
- the following possess diplomatic immunity and cannot be sued, arrested or
punished by the law of the country where they are officially assigned:
(a) sovereigns or other chiefs of state
(b) ambassadors
(c) ministers plenipotentiary or minister residents
(d) charge dʼ affairs (e) domestic servants of the persons mentioned in (a)-(d) (RA
75)
- Consuls and other consular officials are not exempt from criminal liability
because they represent the business, commercial mercantile interests of their
country of origin; while on the other hand, chiefs of state, ambassadors, ministers
and charges represent the political interests of their country of origin
- the diplomat should be officially recognized by the Philippine government
eg. An Ambassador of Japan to the US commits a crime in the Philippines = can
be subjected to the criminal law of the Philippines because he is not a recognized
diplomatic representative of his country to the Philippines
2. Warship Rule
- a warship of another country, even though docked in the Philippines, is
considered an extension of the territory of its respective country
- acts done within a warship of another country cannot be subjected to the
criminal law of the Philippines
eg. Daniel Smithʼs case = the Philippines had jurisdiction not because of the
provisions of the VFA but because of the warship rule, wherein the acts of Daniel
Smith were done outside of their warship
3. Rule concerning Embassies
- same with warships; foreign embassies in the Philippines are considered
extensions of their respective governments
Article 2, Section 1
- Philippine ship – refers to private, merchant vessels; should be registered with
the Marina
- generally, does not apply when the ship is outside the Philippine territory -
Philippine courts, however, have jurisdiction over registered private merchant
vessels that are outside Philippine territory but within international waters and
outside the jurisdiction of other countries - if the vessel is unregistered, Philippine
courts lose jurisdiction
Article 2, Section 2
- Obligations and securities of the GSIS, SSS, Landbank are not of the government
because they have separate charters
- Examples of obligations and securities of the Philippine government are:
(a) treasury bills
(b) tickets of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and Lotto
(c) bonds of the Central Bank of the Philippines
Article 2, Section 3
- those who introduced the counterfeit items are criminally liable, even if they
were not the ones who counterfeited the obligations and securities
- on the other hand, those who counterfeited the items are criminally liable even if
they did not introduce the counterfeit items
Article 2, Section 4
- the crime committed should be related to the offenderʼs official functions as a
public officer
- eg. Philippine Ambassador to Australia, committed malversation of funds and
falsification of public documents, while in office in Australia = can be held liable in
Philippine courts
if, however, he committed rape = he cannot necessarily be held liable because it is
not related to his official functions as diplomat
Article 2, Section 5
Crimes against national security
treason
espionage
Crimes against the law of the nation
genocide
terrorism
crimes against humanity
war crimes
Coup de etat and rebellion are not covered by Art.2, Sec.5 because these are
crimes against public order

French rule - when a vessel is in the territory of another country, crimes

committed in that area are not triable in that other country, unless the crimes
committed have endangered the peace and security of that other country
- the emphasis is on the nationality of the vessel; jurisdiction lies where the
merchant vessel is registered
English rule - when a vessel is in the territory of another country, crimes
committed in that area are triable in that other country, unless the crimes
committed involve purely internal matters within the vessel
- the emphasis is on the territoriality of the vessel; where the vessel is found
the Philippines adheres to the English rule