CRIMINAL LAW REVIEW

1 September 2021
 

Crimes Against Public Order

Rebellion
- Elements:
o Public uprising by taking up arms against the govt.
o The purpose is:
 To remove from the allegiance to said govt or its laws:
 Territory of the Phils or any part thereof;
 Any body of land, naval or other armed forces
 To deprive the Chief Executive or Congress of any of its powers or
prerogatives
- Typically, now used as a defense since filing for the individual crimes would be more
onerous
- Taking up of arms:
o Civil War
o Public uprising and taking up of arms
o Purpose
o Actual clash not necessary
 Merely means the group has actually taken steps to try and achieve the
purposes in the elements and they are armed and prepared to go to war
- Gravamen of the crime:
o The gravamen of the crime of rebellion is an armed public uprising against the
govt. By its very nature, rebellion is essentially a crime of masses or multitudes
involving crow action, which cannot e confined a priori within predetermined
bounds PP v Castro GR 112235
- Political motivation must be shown
o The political motivation for the crime must be shown in order to justifying a
finding of rebellion.
- Burden of proof on the defense
o The burden of proving rebellion lies with the defense.
o The political motive must be proven by conclusive evidence
- Rebellion as a continuing crime
o Unlike other common offenses, subversion and rebellion are anchored on an
ideological base which compels the repletion of the same acts of lawlessness and
violence until the overriding objective of overthrowing organized govt is attained.
 - Warrantless arrest in rebellion
o Mere suspicion of being a member of the rebellion is not a ground for arrest
without warrant Umil v. Ramos
o There is still a need to comply with the constitutional requirements of a valid
warrantless arrest
- Subversion Act (Act No. 1700)
o Penalizes membership in any organization or association repealed by 7636
 However, it is revived through the anti-terror law
- No complex crimes in rebellion
o Under the Hernandez ruling, there is no complex crimes of rebellion with murder
and other common crimes.
 Only applies to common crimes in pursuance or occasion of rebellion
o If the crime is done for private purposes or profit, without any political
motivation, the crime should be separately punished
o On the occasion of rebellion
 An unintended but a part of the rebellion
Coup d’etat
- Is the crime of Mutiny under the Articles of War
- The attack is on any military camp, or installation, communication networks, public
utilities, etc.
- Elements:
o Belongs to the military or police or holding any public office or employment;
o Swift attack accompanied by violence, intimidation, threat, strategy or stealth;
o Directed against duly constituted authorities, military camp/installation,
communication network, public utilities or facilities needed for the exercise of
continued possession of power;
o Purpose is to diminish state power
- Even without this law, it may still fall under rebellion
- Conspiracy and Proposal under this crime is also punishable
- Different from Rebellion
o However, the Information in fact merely charges Beltran for “conspiring and
confederating” with others in forming a “tactical alliance” to commit rebellion. As
worded, the Information does not charge Beltran with Rebellion but with
Conspiracy to Commit Rebellion
 Ladlad v. Velaso GR no. 172070-72, 172074-75 & 175013, June 1, 2007
Inciting to Rebellion or Insurrection
- Elements:
o Offender does not take arms/not in open hostility against the government;
o He incites others to acts constituting rebellion;
 o IT is by means of speeches, proclamation, writings, emblems, banners or other
representations tending to the same end.
- Inciting v. Proposal:
o Inciting
 Not required that offender himself has decided to commit rebellion
 Done publicly
o Proposal to commit rebellion
 Offender himself has decided to commit rebellion
 Done secretly
Sedition
- Elements:
o A public uprising that is tumultuous
o The offenders employ any of the following:
 Force
 Intimidation
 Other means outside of legal methods
o The offender’s purpose is to attain any of the following:
 To prevent the promulgation or exec of any law or holding of any popular
election;
 To prevent Natl Govt, provincial or municipal govt, or any public office
from freely exercising his functions, or prevent the exec of any admin
order;
 To inflict any act of hate or revenge upon the person or property of any
pub officer or employee;
 To commit for political or social ends, any act of hate or revenge against
any private person or any social class;
 To despoil for nay political or social end, any person, municipality or
province or the Natl Govt of all its property or any part thereof
 Unlike in rebellion, here the deprivation is for some political or
social end vis-à-vis overthrowing the govt
- Usually arises right after the elections
- Tumultuous
o In sedition, there must be at least 4 offenders because Art. 153 defines tumultuous
as caused by more than three persons who are armed or with means of violence
o The elements of public uprising and the object must both be present otherwise, no
sedition
o There may be complex crimes with sedition unlike that in rebellion
Conspiracy to Commit Sedition
- Proposal to commit sedition is not a felony unlike in rebellion
Inciting to Sedition
- Acts punished:
o Inciting others to accomplishment of any act which constitutes sedition
o Uttering seditious words or speeches which tend to disturb the public peace
o Writing, publishing, or circulating scurrilous libels which tend to disturb the
peace
- Means:
o Inciting others by means of speeches, writings, emblems, cartoons, banners, or
other representations tending to the same end;
o Uttering seditious speeches which tend to disturb the public peace;
o Writing, publishing or circulating scurrilous libels
o Knowingly Concealing the above mentioned
- The seditious tendency must be clear
o “anyone reading these dramas or seeing them presented could not fail to
understand their seditious tendencies” US v. Abad Gr. No. 2535 Aug 9, 1906
Direct Assault
- Two ways of committing direct assault:
o Employing force and intimidation to attains any of the purposes of rebellion and
sedition
o Attacking, Employing Force, Seriously Intimidating or Seriously Resisting any
person in authority or his agents while engaged in the performance of official
duties, or on the occasion of such performance
- Person in authority/ Agent
o Person in authority – person directly vested with jurisdiction
 Mayors
 Division Superintendent of Schools
 President of Sanitary Division
 Teachers, professors
 Barangay captain or barangay chairman
o Agent – persons charged with the maintenance of public order and protection and
security of life and property
 Policeman
 Barrio Councilman
 Barrio Policeman
 A person who comes to the aid of a person in authority
- Matter of law
o As to whether a public officer or employee is a person in authority is a matter of
law, therefore ignorance thereof is not an excuse
 Thus, “I didn’t know he was a policeman” may be a defense but “I didn’t
know a policeman is considered a person in authority/agent” is not
- Employ force
o Person In authority – need not be of a serious character because when the offender
lays hands on a person in authority, the crime is qualified
o Agent – must be of a serious character
- Degree of Force Examples
o Serious – three offenders struck a policeman several times with a club
o Not Serious – Hitting a policeman on the breast with a fist
o Not serious – pushing a policeman and delivering fist blows that did not hit
- Intimidation or Resistance
o Person in authority – serious
o Agent – serious
o In both instances, the intimidation or resistance must be serious
- Serious Resistance and Intimidation examples
o Threatening a policeman who was about to arrest the accused with a knife
o Pointing a gun at a military police captain
- Engaged in the performance of duties
 o A governor who was shot while holding office
o A governor inspecting the office of chief of police
o Barrio captain who reprimanded someone for unruly behavior during the dance
o A fiscal who was on his way to another municipality to investigate a matter upon
orders of the Solicitor General
- NOT engaged in the performance of duties
o A barrio lieutenant who intervened in a case investigated by a justice of the peace;
o A mayor who approached a person who was disturbing a meeting of a candidate
supported by him;
o A teacher who went out of the classroom to talk to his creditor
- ON the occasion of such performance
o Means “because” or “by reason”
o A justice of the peace who was assaulted on his way home because he had earlier
reprimanded the accused in his court
o A barangay captain who was killed by the accused on his way home after he had
an altercation with them about unpaid slaughter fees
- Qualified Direct Assault
o Committed with a weapon; or
o Offender is a public officer or employee; or
o Laying hands on a public officer
- Complex Crime
o PP v. Vibal – when the assault leads to the death of an agent or a person in
authority, the resulting offense is the complex crime of direct assault with murder
or homicide
o It is unlikely that a person would commit assault without any other purpose in
mind
Indirect Assault
- A person comes to the aid of the victim of the assault and he himself is attacked by the
offender
- Elements:
o A person in authority or his agent is the victim of direct assault
o A person who comes to the aid of such person/authority
o Offender makes use of force or intimidation upon such person
- There must be a direct assault being committed
o When it is only the person coming to the aid of a policeman is attacked, there is
no indirect assault as there is no direct assault being committed
Resistance and Disobedience to a person in authority or his agent
- Par. 1 – Resistance and Serious Disobedience
- Par. 2. – Simple Disobedience
 - In this felony, the person in authority or his agent must be engaged in the performance of
his official duties
o Does not include those committed on the” occasion of”
- Resistance and serious disobedience
o Resistance must not be serious otherwise it would be direct assault
- Simple Disobedience Elements:
o An agent of a person in authority is engaged in the performance of official duty or
gives a lawful order to the offender;
o The offender disobeys such order;
o The disobedience is not serious
- Simple disobedience may only be committed to an agent of a person in authority
Tumults and other disturbances
- May be through:
o Serious Disturbance in a public place, office or establishment;
 Must not be violation of the fundamental laws of the state
o Interrupting or disturbing performances, functions or gatherings or peaceful
meetings (not included in 131 nor 132)
o Making an outcry tending to incite rebellion or sedition in any meeting
association or public place
o Displaying placards or emblems which provoke …
o Bury with pomp when sentenced to death
- Disturbance must not be planned
- When the offender is a participant or a private person, this is the crime. If it is a public
officer, it is 131 or 132
Alarms and Scandals
- Through:
o Discharging any firearm, rocket, firecracker or other explosive within any town or
public place, which produces alarm or danger;
o Instigation or taking part in any charivari or other disorderly meeting offensive to
another prejudicial to public tranquility
o Disturbing public peace while wandering about at night or while engaged in other
nocturnal activities
o Causing any disturbance or scandal in public places
- It is not enough that it is intended to cause alarm, It MUST cause alarm to be liable for
this offense
o It must also be done with the intent to cause alarm in mind
- Discharge any firearm
o The discharge must be intended to merely cause alarm otherwise it might be some
other crime
o Must produce alarm or danger as a consequence
 - Charivari
o A medley of discordant voices, a mock serenade of discordant noises made on
kettles, tins, horns, etc., designed to annoy and insult
Delivering Prisoners from Jail
- Felony is committed by anyone who removes from any jail or penal establishment nay
person confined therein or shall help the escape of such person
- Any person confined therein – does not require to be by final judgement
- The offender is usually an outsider but may also be:
o An employee
o Another prisoner
- Qualified by:
o Violence
o Intimidation
o Bribery
- Liability of Prisoner
o Convicted by final judgment – Evasion of Service of Sentence
o Detention Prisoner - no criminal liability

Evasion of Service of Sentence

- Flee to avoid service of sentence, including violating distierro
- Qualified by:
o Unlawful entry
o Breaking doors, windows, gates, walls, roofs or floors,
o Using picklocks, false keys, disguise, deceit, violence or intimidation
o Connivance with other convicts or employees
- On the occasion of calamity, if he fails to give up, increase 1/5 of time remaining to be
served if gives up, deduct 1/5
o Increase should not exceed 6 mos
o If you choose to stay, 2/5 deduction

Quasi- recidivism
- Elements:
o Conviction of one offense
o Commits another felony before or while serving sentence
- Felony presupposes the second acts should only be from the RPC
- A special aggravating circumstance as it cannot be offset by any number of mitigating
circumstances
- Repeat Offenders:
o Recidivism
o Reitarcion/Habituality
o Habitual Criminal/Offender/Delinquency
o Quasi-recidivism