1. FELONY are crimes or acts punishable by the RPC b.

Territoriality in penal laws means that the law is

applicable to all crimes committed within the limits
OFFENSES are crimes punishable by special laws. of Philippine territory.
c. Prospectivity means that penal laws should have
2. Ex Post Facto Law in rel. to Nullum Crimen Nulla Poena
only prospective application except if it is favorable
Sine Lege “There is no crime when there is no law
to the offender.
punishing it”

5. SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS IN CRIMINAL LAW

No ex post facto law may be enacted, and no law may
be construed in such fashion as to permit a criminal
a. CLASSICAL THEORY. Under this theory, the
prosecution offensive to the ex post facto clause.
basis of criminal liability is that man is
presumed to know what is right or wrong. When
Examples of ex post facto law:
he commits a felonious or criminal act, the act is
1. Makes an act or omission criminal which when
presumed to have been done voluntarily.
committed was not criminal.
b. POSITIVIST THEORY. Under this theory, the
2. Aggravates the seriousness of the crime than when
purpose of the penalty is corrective or curative
it was committed.
to reform the offender.
3. Imposes a penalty that is higher than when the
c. MIXED or ECCLECTIC THEORY. Under this
crime was committed.
theory, the classical theory is applied to heinous
4. Makes it easier for the prosecution to establish the
crimes, whereas, the positivist works on
guilt of the accused than when the crime was
economic and social crimes.
committed.
d. UTILITARIAN and PROTECTIVE THEORY.
3. BILL OF ATTAINDER is a legislative act which inflicts
Under this theory, the primary function of
punishment without judicial trial. It offends against the
punishment is to protect the society from
due process clause and has features of ex post facto
potential and actual wrongdoers.
law.
6. DOCTRINE OF PRO REO
4. CHARACTERISTICS OF PENAL LAW
a. Generality refers to the person who committed the Penal laws are construed strictly against the state
crime. Penal law is binding on all persons who and liberally in favor of the accused.
reside or sojourn in the Philippines whether citizens
or not. 7. EQUIPOISE RULE
Take note of the exceptions: diplomatic immunity,
immunity from suit by law
Under this rule, when the evidence of the prosecution and
defense are equally balanced, the scale should be titled in
favor of the accused because of the presumption of
innocence.
8. ABSORPTION RULES
Mala in se felony cannot absorb mala prohibita.
There are special laws that expressly disallow absorption. The
exception is when the special laws expressly allows
absorption.
A felony cannot be complexed with an offense.
Thus, when an act offends against the provisions of RPC and
SPL, the offender can be prosecuted for:
The Philippines will have jurisdiction only if the
foreign country did not assume jurisdiction.
The country of registry, not the ownership,
determines the nationality of the ship;
The crime will be subject to Philippine courts when
the Philippine merchant ship in the high seas.
2. Should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of
the Philippine Islands or obligations and securities issued
by the Government of the Philippine Islands;
3. Should be liable for acts connected with the introduction
into these islands of the obligations and securities
mentioned in the presiding number;

i. Two crimes If Forgery was committed, it must involve only

ii. Only one crime when SPL bars the prosecution for Philippine currency note or obligations and
other offenses securities.
iii. One crime absorbing the others as an element or
4. While being public officers or employees, should commit
as an aggravating circumstance
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
ARTICLE 2 Application of its provisions. - Except as provided in this Code.
the treaties and laws of preferential application, the provisions of this
Code shall be enforced not only within the Philippine Archipelago,
This covers Treason, Espionage, Provoking War, and
including its atmosphere, its interior waters and maritime zone, but
Disloyalty in Case of War, Piracy and Mutiny except Rebellion.
also outside of its jurisdiction, against those who:

1. Should commit an offense while on a Philippine ship or

airship.
The general rule is that RPC applies within the Philippine
Archipelago. The exception is that the RPC may be given application
to those crimes committed outside the Philippine territorial
jurisdiction.
9. Under International laws, sovereigns, heads of states and
their official representatives enjoy immunity from suits.
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations provides
that only diplomatic agents are vested with blanket
diplomatic immunity from civil and criminal suits. Only the
heads of missions, as well as members of the diplomatic
staff, excluding the members of the administrative, technical,
and service staff are accorded diplomatic rank.
Under the VCDR, a diplomatic agent enjoys immunity from criminal
jurisdiction of the receiving state except in the case of an action
relating to any professional or commercial activity exercised by the
diplomatic agent in the receiving state outside of his official
functions.
Dolo – intent, intelligence, freedom of action
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.
Culpa- negligence, intelligence, freedom of action
Intent is a mental state and it is demonstrated by the overt act of the
person.
Motive is the moving power of force which impels a person to a
desired result.
The general rule is that motive is immaterial in determining criminal
liability, except in the following instances; act may gave rise to
variant crimes; there is doubt if the accused committed the crime and
the identity of the accused is doubtful; and the evidence is purely
circumstantial.
Intelligence is the capacity to understand what is right and what is
wrong.
Freedom of action means that volition is absolutely unimpaired or
that a person is not acting under duress.
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.
Mistake of fact – intent to commit a crime is lacking. This is an
absolutory cause for had the facts been true to the belief of the
offender , the act he did can be justified. Here, the offender is not
criminally liable.
Aberratio ictus or error in the Victim of the blow – the offender
intends the injury in one person but the harm fell on another. The
offender is criminally liable because any person committing a felony
although wrongful act done be different from that which he intended
is criminally liable.
Error in personae or mistake in identity involves only one offended
party but the offender committed a mistake in ascertaining the
identity of the victim.
Praeter intentionem so grave a wrong caused than that intended.
Here, the injury is on the intended victim but the resulting
consequence is much graver than intended.
Impossible Crime – (par. 2)
There is now impossible crime of rape because crime of rape
is reclassify crimes against person.
ARTICLE 5
There is no crime when there is no law that defines and punishes it.
Article 6. Consummated, frustrated, and attempted
____________________________
In Consummated stage, all elements necessary for its execution are
present. Hence, the offender is in the objective stage as he no longer
has control over the outcome of his acts, having performed all the
acts necessary to accomplish his purpose.
In frustrated stage, the offender has also reached the objective stage
for he has performed all the acts which would produce the felony,
but the crime was not committed for the reasons independent of his
wil.
In attempted stage, the offender commences the commission of the
felony directly by overt acts but he does not perform all the acts of
execution which should produce the felony; the offenders act be not
stopped by his own spontaneous desistance and that the non-
performance of all acts of execution was due to cause or accident
other than his spontaneous desistance.
There are crimes does not admit frustrated stage. There is no
frustrated rape because the slightest penetration consummate the
felony. There is also no frustrated arson.
There is also no frustrated theft because the moment the offender
gain possession of the things consummates the crime.
Attempted rape vs. Acts of Lasciviousness
The offender has all the chance to penetrate the women but the
offender did not hence the crime committed is acts of lasciviousness.
When there is no intention from the acts of the offender to have
sexual intercourse with the victim the crime would be downgraded to
acts of lasciviousness not attempted rape.
In Attempted homicide to frustrated homicide or frustrated murder to
attempted murder, one of the thing you have to consider is the injury
sustained by the victim.
Physical injuries do not admit stages of execution because this is a
crime classified according to the injuries sustained. Slight, less
serious and serious.
Article 7 Light Felonies
Light felonies are punishable only when consummated except for
crimes against persons or property.
Accessories are not criminally liable for light felonies.
Article 8 Conspiracy and proposal to commit conspiracy
Conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an agreement
concerning the commission of a felony and decide to commit it.
It is essential for one to be liable for the acts of the others that there
be intentional participation in the transaction with a view to the
furtherance of the common design.
Conspiracy must be sufficiently established.
The essence of conspiracy is community of criminal intent. Hence, it
is not necessary that the offenders prepared and planned the crime
together as long as it can be deduced from their acts that there is
community of criminal intent. This is also called implied conspiracy.
Two kinds of Conspiracy
Conspiracy as a crime itself – the mere act of conspiring is defined
and punished as crime by the RPC. E.g. Proposal and conspiracy to
commit treason or rebellion; coup d’, arson; drug importation, sale,
manufacture; cultivation and maintenance of drug den; torture and
child pornography.
Conspiracy as a mode of committing a felony or as a basis of
incurring criminal liability-- it is either conspiracy by prior
agreement or implied conspiracy.
By prior agreement, the liability of the conspirators is only for the
crime agreed upon except when the other crime committed in their
presence and they did not prevent its commission, when the other
crime is a natural consequence of the crime planned; and when the
resulting crime is special complex crime or composite crime.
Mere knowledge,acquiescence to or approval of the act without
cooperation or agreement to cooperate is not enough to constitute
conspiracy.
Multiple Conspiracies;
a. in Wheel or circle conspiracy, there is a single person or
group (the “hub”) dealing individually with two or more
other persons or group (the “spoke”); and
b. In chain conspiracy, there is successive communication
and cooperation in much the same way as with
legitimate business operations between manufacturer and
wholesaler, then wholesaler and retailer, and then retailer
and consumer.
The overt act of a co-conspirator in the furtherance of conspiracy
may be active participation; lending moral assistance to his co-
conspirators by being present at the commission of the crime; or
exerting moral ascendancy over the other co-conspirators.
Direct proof of previous agreement to commit a crime is not
necessary for conspiracy may be deduced from the mode and manner
in which the offense was perpetrated or inferred from the mode and
manner of the commission of the crime.
It is not necessary to prove that all the conspirators actually
committed all the elements of the crime charged; what is important is
that all of them performed specific acts withc such closeness and
coordination as to indicate an unmistakably common purpose or
design to commit the crime.
For conspiracy to exist, there must be conscious design to commit an Absolutory – exempting circumstances outside Article 12
offense.
Extenuating – mitigating circumstances not found in Article
Article 9 13

The purpose of article 9 is to determine prescription and penalty to Absolutory Circumstances

be imposed.
a. Instigation due to public policy
If the penalty of the crime is less than 6yrs, it is cognizable by the b. Article 6 (3) spontaneous desistance in the attempted
MTC. Above 6 yrs, rtc’s jurisdiction. stage unless the overt act committed constitutes a crime
c. Article 7 – attempted/light felonies except those against
Article 10 Special Laws persons or property
d. Article 16 – accessories in light felonies
The general rule is that SPLs are not subject to the provision of the
e. Article 20 – accessories- relatives except for profiting in
RPC.
the crime
If the special law does not provide for any civil liabily, can the court f. Article 247 – injuries except serious physical injuries
imposed civil liability against the offender? Article 100 provides that g. Article 332 – certain relatives in theft, estafa and
any person criminally liable is also civilly liable. Hence, even if the malicious mischief
special law is silent awarding a civil liability, applying the h. Mistake of Fact due to lack of intent
supplementary applicability of the revised penal code, the court can i. Total repeal of penal law which decriminalize the act
still imposed civil liability.
Entrapment vs. Instigation
When the special law is silent, the revised penal code can be applied
In Entrapment, the evil idea originated from the accused who
suppletorily.
merely trapped by the peace officer in flagrante delicto. It is not an
Modifying Circumstances absolutory cause as the offender authored the evil idea. It is
consistent with public policy. The police officer is not criminally
Justifying – Article 11 liable.
Exempting – Article 12 On the otherhand, in Instigation, the evil idea originated
from the peace officer who induced the accused to commit the crime.
Mitigating – Article 13
it is an absolutory cause by reason of public policy. It is contrary to
Aggravating – Article 14 public policy. The peace officer is principal by inducement.
Article 11 – Justifying Circumstances -- are those where the acts are
in accordance with law thus there is no criminal or civil liability.
A. DEFENSE OF SELF,RELATIVES, OR OF STRANGERS
SELF-DEFENSE
It includes defense of life, chastity, property, and honor of
the accused who must prove with clear and convincing
evidence the following elements;
Unlawful aggression
Reasonable necessity of the means employ to
prevent or repel it
Lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the
person defending himself
Unlawful aggression is the requisite which must at
all times be present.
It must be real or at least imminent. Real aggression
means an attack with physical force or with a weapon.
Aggression is imminent if an attack is impending or at the
point of happening.
The person defending himself must stop when
aggression ceased and he still continued to attack, he then
becomes the aggressor.
Reasonable necessity of the means employed
depends upon the circumstances surrounding the aggression,
the state of mind of the aggressor, and the available weapon
at the defender’s disposal.
In defense of a property, killing is not justified. there
must be, in addition, the necessity to save another life.
Lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the
person defending himself is present when no provocation at
all was given to the aggressor; even if provocation was given
it was not sufficient; or when provocation was given by the
person defending himself, it was not the proximate and
immediate to the act of aggression.
DEFENSE OF RELATIVES
Unlawful aggression
Reasonable necessity of the means employ to
prevent or repel it
In case the provocation was given by the person
attacked, the person defending had no part therein
DEFENSE OF STRANGERS
Unlawful aggression
Reasonable necessity of the means employ to
prevent or repel it
The person defending is not induced by revenge,
resentment, or other evil motives
Defense of relatives beyond the fourth degree of
consanguinity is defense of strangers and the third element in defense
of relatives will be replaced.
The presence or lack of some of the requisites for the defense has the
following effects:
a. All the requites are present – justifying circumstances
 b. Two requisites are present – privileged mitigating
circumstances but in all cases unlawful aggression must
be present
c. If only unlawful aggression is present – ordinary
mitigating circumstance
STATE OF NECESSITY
The evil sought to be avoided actually exists;
The injury feared be greater than that done to avoid it;
There is no other practical or less harmful means of
preventing it.
It must not be caused by the negligence or violation of the law of the
actor.
Under article 101, the civil liability shall be borne not by the actor
but the ones benefited by the avoidance of the evil.
FULFILLMENT OF THE DUTY OR EXERCISE OF RIGHT OR
OFFICE
The offender acted in the performance of duty or the
lawful exercise of a right or office
The injury caused or the offense committed is the
necessary consequence of the due performance of such right
or office.
OBEDIENCE TO SUPERIOR ORDER
An order has been issued by a superior
The order is for legal purpose
The means used to carry out such order is lawful.
ARTICLE 12 – EXEMPTING CIRCUMSTANCES
The basic reason behind the enactment of exempting circumstances
is the complete absence of intelligence, freedom of action, or intent,
or on the absence of negligence on the part of the accused.
INSANITY
There must be a complete deprivation of intelligence in
commtting the act, the accused is deprived of reason, he acts without
discernment because there is complete absence of power to discern
or there is total deprivation of freedom of the will.
When insanity is alleged, the evidence on this point must
refer to the time preceding the act or to the very moment of its
execution. If the evidence pointed to the insanity subsequent to the
commission of the crime, the accused cannot be acquitted.
Where the accused failed to show complete impairment or
loss of intelligence, it is at most a mitigating circumstance under
Article 13 (9)
MINORITY
RA 9344 took effect on May 20 2006. It was modified on
October 3, 2013 by RA 10360
A child is deemed to be 15 yrs old on the day of the fifteenth
anniversary of its birthdate.
 A child 15 YRS OR UNDER at the time of the commission
of the offense shall be exempt from criminal liability.
A child over 15 BUT BELOW 18 who did not act
with discernment shall likewise be exempt from criminal liability.
Minority is a privileged mitigating circumstance. Hence, it is
mandatory to reduce the penalty on the minor at least one degree.
What is controlling with respect to exemption from criminal
liability is not the age at the time of the promulgation of judgment
but his age at the time of the commission of the crime.
The age of the child is determined from his birth certificate,
baptismal certificate or any other pertinent documents; in the absence
of these documents, from the child himself or testimony of other
persons; or the physical appearance of the child and other relevant
evidence.
Suspension of sentence could not be retroactively applied
when the CICL has reached 21 or over.
ACCIDENT
The accused is performing a lawful act with due care
The injury caused is by mere accident
There was no fault or intent of causing the injury
The basis of exemption for accident is the lack of criminal intent. For
it to be exempting, the act has to be lawful.
IRRESISTABLE FORCE
The force must be physical, must come from an outside
source, and the accused acted against his will;
The actor must be reduced to a mere instrument, hence the
element of freedom is wanting;
The duress, fear, force, or intimidation must be present,
imminent, and impending and of such a nature as to induce a well-
grounded fear of death or serious bodily injury if the act is not done.
IMPULSE OF UNCONTROLLABLE FEAR
Threat which caused the fear of an evil greater than or at
least equal to that which the accused was required to commit;
It promised an evil of such gravity and imminence that the
ordinary man would have succumbed to it.
INSUPERABLE CAUSE
It is an exempting circumstance for felonies by omission.
MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCE
It is considered to lower the penalty imposable generally to
the minimum period of the penalty prescribed in the law.
Ordinary mitigating vs. Privileged mitigating
OMC can be offset by generic aggravating circumstance;
PMC cannot be offset by any kind of aggravating circumstance.
OMC lowers the penalty prescribed to the minimum period
except where there are two OMCs and absolutely no aggravating in
which case the penalty is lowered by one degree; PMC lowers
penalty by degree.
 OMC is not considered in the determination of penalty when
the penalty prescribed by law is a single indivisible penalty; PMC is
considered whatever penalty is imposable.
INCOMPLETE JUSTIFYING OR EXEMPTING
CIRCUMSTANCE
Art. 69 provides that the penalty shall be reduced by one or
two degrees if majority of the of the requisites to exempt or justify
are present.
MINORITY
When the offender is over 15 but less than 18, the penalty
shall be one degree lower but in the proper period.
SENILITY (over 70)
It is generally an OMC.
SUFFICIENT PROVOCATION
The provocation must be sufficient;
It must be immediate to the commission of the crime,
meaning there is no interval of time elapsed between the provocation
and the commission of the crime;
It must originate from the offended party.
Sufficient provocation as an element of self-defense requires
its absence on the part of the person defending himself. On the
otherhand, sufficient provocation as a mitigating circumstance, its
presence on the part of the offended party is essential.
IMMEDIATE VINDICATION OF GRAVE OFFENSE
The offense need not be a crime, it may be any act or event
which offends the accused causing mental agony to him and moves
him to vindicate himself of such offense.
Immediate mean proximate and allow an interval of time
between the commission of the offense and its vindication as long as
the offender is still suffering from mental agony brought by the
offense to him. Unless, there is sufficient time to recover serenity.
PASSION OR OBFUSCATION
It is necessary that it arose from offender’s lawful
sentiments.
There must be an act on the part of the offended which is
unlawful and sufficient to excite passion or obfuscation on the
accused.
VOLUNTARY SURRENDER
The offender surrendered at a person in authority or
his agent;
The offender surrendered before arrest is affected;
It must be voluntary and must show intent of the accused to
submit himself unconditionally to the authorities either because he
acknowledges his guilt or he wishes to save them the trouble and
expense incidental to his search and capture.
VOLUNTARY PLEA OF GUILTY
The plea was made in open court;
It was spontaneous and unconditional;
 Made before the presentation of the evidence by the
prosecution;
A confession before the media is not within the benefit of
this provision.
DEAF AND DUMB, OR BLIND
The offender’s being deaf and dumb, or blind, or
otherwise suffering from some physical defect must be related to the
offense committed because the law requires that the defect has the
effect of restricting his means of action, defense, or communication
to his fellow beings.
AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES
The list under Article 14 is exclusive to curtail discretion of the judge
to determine what other circumstances may increase the penalty.
It must be alleged in the information before they can be proved and
appreciated.
4 kinds of AC
Generic Aggravating Circumstances (GAC) –
Increase the penalty of the offense to its maximum period; it
can be offset by an ordinary mitigating circumstance; it must be
alleged in the information.
Qualifying Circumstances –
It cannot be offset by mitigating circumstances; It changes
the nature of the crime and the designation of the offense; must be
alleged in the information; must be proved as conclusively as the
guilt of the offender;
Special Aggravating Circumstances (SAC) –
It applies to a specific felony; it does not change the
character of the offense but it guides the court in imposing proper
penalty.
Inherent Aggravating Circumstance –
It is an element of the felony.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OFFICIAL POSITION
This is present when the accused abused his office in order
to commit a crime.
If the public office is an element of the offense, when the
offense committed cannot exists without the office, it can no longer
be considered as aggravating.
IN CONTEMPT OF OR WITH INSULT TO PUBLIC
AUTHORITIES
The public authority is engage in the discharge of his official
duties;
Offender knows knows the identity of the public auhotirty;
The crime was committed in his presence.
If the crime committed was against the public authority, the crime is
direct assault and this circumstance is absorbed.
Public authority covers not only persons in authority but also agents
of persons in authority and other public officers.
A municipal mayor, brgy captain, or brgy tanod, public school
teacher, municipal health officer or a nurse, municipal councilor, and
an agent of BIR are considered person in authority/public authority.
AGE,SEX, RANK DWELLING
If all are present, only one credit should be given because
they all refer to the circumstance of lack of respect due to the
offended.
There must be proof that offender deliberately intended to
offend or insult the age or sex of the offended.
In circumstance of sex, it must further appear that there is
some specific insult or disrespect shown to her womanhood.
These are considered in crimes against persons, security or
honor. However, these are not considered in crimes where gender is
an element of the crime such as parricide, rape, abduction, or
seduction, or crimes against property such as robbery with homicide.
Rank refers to high social position or standing. It is absorbed in the
crime of direct assault since it is an element thereof.
Age refers to both elderly and the youth.
Dwelling includes dependencies, staircase and enclosures under the
house. It is not necessary that the house be owned by the offended. It
must be a building or structure exclusively used for rest and comfort.
Dwelling is not appreciated when the offended has given
provocation; both the offended and offender live therein; and when it
is inherent in the crime.
It is not necessary that the accused enters the dwelling of the victim
to commit the offense. It is enough that the victim was attacked
inside his own house.
ABUSE OF CONFIDENCE
Offended had trusted the offender;
Offender abused such trust;and
Such abused of confidence facilitated the commission of the
crime.
The confidence between the parties must be immediate and personal.
COMMITTED IN THE PALACE OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE,
ETC.
Performance of function is necessary only in offices where
public authorities are engaged in the performance of their duties.
Offender must have sought any of the four places for the
commission of the crime.
NIGHTIME, UNINHABITED PLACE, BAND, AID OF ARMED
MEN
Nighttime is the period of darkness beginning at dusk and ending at
dawn or from sunset to sunrise. The crime must be committed
exclusively at night time and not started at daytime.
It is absorbed in treachery if it is part of the treacherous means to
insure execution of crime.
It becomes aggravating when it is especially sought by the offender
or taken advantage by him to facilitate the commission of the crime
or to insure his immunity from capture.
Uninhabited place is determined by the reasonable possibility of the
victim receiving some help, or where there are no people or any
number of houses within the perimeter of less than 200 meters.
Band consists of at least 4 armed malefactors organized with the
intention of carrying out any unlawful design. They acted together in
the commission of the crime.
it is similar to abuse of superior strength whose essence is the
utilization of th combined strength of the assailants to overpower the
victim to consummate the offense.
Aid of armed men – armed men or persons took part in the
commission of the crime, directly or indirectly, and the accused
availed himself of their aid or relied upon them when the crime was
committed.
Band vs Aid of armed men
In band, there must be at least 4 armed men while in aid of armed
men, there is no required number of malefactors.
The band members are all principals for they take part in the
commission of the felony under the same plan for the same purpose.
The armed men who aided the principal offender are mere
accomplices for they give material and moral aid and encouragement
in the commission of the crime.
Band as a qualifying circumstance applies only to robbery with
physical injuries.
ON THE OCCASION AND BY MEANS OF CALAMITY OR
MISFORTUNE
Other calamity or misfortune refers to occasion of
conflagaration, shipwreck, earthquake or epidemic taken advantage
of in the commission of the crime.
The calamity is the means employed in the commission of
the crime. it is aggravating because instead of lending aid to the
victims, the offender adds to their sufferings.
RECIDIVISM, REITERACION, HABITUAL DELINQUENCY,
AND QUASI-RECIDIVISM
A recidivist is one who, at the time of his trial for one crime, shall
have been previously convicted by final judgment of another crime
embraced in the same title of the RPC. There must be two
convictions.
In Reiteracion, the offender has been previously punished and served
sentence. The first offense was punished with an equal or greater
penalty or he committed 2 or more crimes previously where he was
meted lighter penalty.
Recidivism vs. Reiteracion
Recidivism requires a previous conviction by final judgment while
reiteracion requires service of sentence.
In recidivism, the offenses are under the same title of the code but
not in the case of reiteracion .
In recidivism, the crimes must be felonies while in reiteracion, it may
be felonies and/or offenses punishable by special laws.
Habitual Delinquency is a special aggravating circumstance.
A person is habitual delinquent if within a period of 10 years from
the date of his release or last conviction of the crimes of
Falsification, Robbery, Estafa, Theft, Serious or Less Serious
Physical Injuries, he is found guilty of the said crimes a third time or
oftener.
A offender may be recidivist and habitual delinquent at the same
time if he was convicted for the third crimes within the same title.
Quasi-recidivism is a special aggravating circumstance which may
not be offset by a mitigating circumstance. The offender has been
previously convicted by final judgment and before beginning to
serve such sentence or while serving the same he committed a
felony.
PRICE, PROMISE, OR REWARD
The price, promise or reward is the primary consideration in the
commission of the crime. these are the real and moving cause of the
crime.
EVIDENT PREMEDITATION
The time when the offender determined to commit the crime;
An Act manifestly indicating that he has clung his
determination;
Sufficient Lapse of time between such determination and
execution to allow him to reflect upon the consequence of his act.
CRAFT, FRAUD AND DISGUISE
Craft is cunning or intellectual trickery resorted by the accused to
carry out his evil design.
Fraud constitutes deceit manifested by insidious words or
machinations.
Disguise is resorted to conceal identity.
ABUSE OF SUPERIOR STRENGTH
It is intentionally employing excessive force out of proportion to the
means of defense available to the offended party.
Superiority in number does not necessarily mean that the offender
abused their superior strength. It must be proved that the attackers
cooperated in such a way as to secure advantage from superiority of
strength.
TREACHERY
It must insure that the offended was not able to put up any defense,
and the means, manner, and form was consciously and deliberately
chosen.
Whereas the essence of evident premeditation is cool thought and
reflection, the essence of treachery is the swiftness and the
unexpectedness of the attack upon the unsuspecting and unarmed
victim.
It is a specific aggravating because it is present in crimes against
persons only. It is qualifying in murder. It is a special aggravating in
serious physical injuries.
It absorbs both nighttime and taking advantage of superior strength.
IGNOMINY AND CRUELTY
Ignominy pertains to the moral order which adds disgrace and
obloquy to the material injury caused by the crime. it produces more
suffering on account of its humiliating effect.
Cruelty refers to physical suffering . there is cruelty when the
offender delights in making his victim suffer slowly and gradually,
causing unnecessary moral and Physical pain.
UNLAWFUL ENTRY, BREAKING OF DOOR ETC.
There is unlawful entry when an entrance is effected by a way not
intended for that purpose. As a means of the commission of the
crime, a wall, roof, floor, door or window be broken showing that
unlawful entry excludes ingress by means of such breaking.
AID OF MINOR, OR USE OF MINOR
What is aggravating is the use of motor vehicle to commit the crime
not to escape. It is purposely chosen to facilitate the commission of
the offense or when it is intentionally sought to insure the success of
the act.
ALTERNATIVE CIRCUMSTANCES
These are those which must be taken into consideration as
aggravating or mitigating to the nature and effects of the crime and
other conditions attending its commissions.
RELATIONSHIP is considered when the offended is a Spouse,
Ascendant, Descendant, legitimate, natural or adopted Brother or
Sister or relative by Affinity of the offender.
In crimes against chastity, relationship is aggravating.
INTOXICATION as mitigating circumstance, it must be shown that
the offender ha taken a quantity of alcoholic beverage prior to the
commission of the crime, sufficient to produce the effect of
obfuscating reason, and he is not a habitual drinker and did not take
the alcoholic drink with the intention to reinforce his resolve to
commit the crime.
DEGREE OF INSTRUCTION AND EDUCATION OF THE
OFFENDER – high education could be aggravating but never
mitigating. Low education could be mitigating but never aggravating.
ARTICLE 16 WHO ARE CRIMINALLY LIABLE
For grave and less grave felonies, principals, accomplices,
and accessories
For light felonies, principals and accomplices . accessories
are not liable for light felonies because two degrees lower than
arresto menor is not possible.
ARTICLE 17 PRINCIPALS
Principal by direct participation are those who materially
execute the crime. they actually perform acts necessary in the
commission of the offense.