Group 5

Members:
Zamora, Albert
Telen, Jumarie
Tolentino, Richard
Superable, Felbien
Parochil, MarkJhun

MODULE 9: ALTERNATIVE CIRCUMSTANCES

AND PERSONS CRIMINALLY LIABLE

FINALS PROJECT

Alternative Circumstances (Art. 15, RPC)

- Alternative circumstances are those which must be taken into consideration as

aggravating or mitigating according to the nature and effects of the crime and the
other conditions attending its commission. They are the relationship, intoxication
and the degree of instruction and education of the offender.

The alternative circumstance of relationship shall be taken into consideration

when the offended party in the spouse, ascendant, descendant, legitimate,
natural, or adopted brother or sister, or relative by affinity in the same degrees of
the offender.

The intoxication of the offender shall be taken into consideration as a mitigating

circumstances when the offender has committed a felony in a state of
intoxication, if the same is not habitual or subsequent to the plan to commit said
felony but when the intoxication is habitual or intentional, it shall be considered
as an aggravating circumstance.
Persons Criminally Liable

A. Art. 16 to 20, RPC

Article 16. Who are criminally liable. - The following are criminally liable for grave and
less grave felonies:

1. Principals

2. Accomplices

3. Accessories

The following are criminally liable for light felonies:

1. Principals

2. Accomplices

Article 17. Principals. – The following are considered principals

1. Those who take a direct part in the execution of the act

2. Those who directly force or induce others to commit it;
3. Those who cooperate in the commission of the offense by another act without
which it would not have been accomplished.

Article 18. Accomplices. - Accomplices are those persons who, not being included in
Article 17, cooperate in the execution of the offense by previous or simultaneous acts.

Article 19. Accessories. - Accessories are those who, having knowledge of the
commission of the crime, and without having participated therein, either as principals or
accomplices, take part subsequent to its commission in any of the following manners:

1. By profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the

crime.
2. By concealing or destroying the body of the crime, or the effects or
instruments thereof, in order to prevent its discovery.
3. By harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the principals of the
crime, provided the accessory acts with abuse of his public functions or
whenever the author of the crime is guilty of treason, parricide, murder, or an
attempt to take the life of the Chief Executive, or is known to be habitually
guilty of some other crime.
Article 20. Accessories who are exempt from criminal liability. - The penalties
prescribed for accessories shall not be imposed upon those who are such with respect
to their spouses, ascendants, descendants, legitimate, natural, and adopted brothers
and sisters, or relatives by affinity within the same degrees, with the single exception of
accessories falling within the provisions of paragraph 1 of the next preceding article.

B. Presidential Decree No. 1612

ANTI – FENCING LAW

Section 1. Title. This decree shall be known as the Anti-Fencing Law.

Section 2. Definition of Terms. The following terms shall mean as follows:

(a) "Fencing" is the act of any person who, with intent to gain for himself or for
another, shall buy, receive, possess, keep, acquire, conceal, sell or dispose of, or
shall buy and sell, or in any other manner deal in any article, item, object or
anything of value which he knows, or should be known to him, to have been
derived from the proceeds of the crime of robbery or theft.

(b) "Fence" includes any person, firm, association corporation or partnership or

other organization who/which commits the act of fencing.

Section 3. Penalties. Any person guilty of fencing shall be punished as

hereunder indicated:

(a) The penalty of prision mayor, if the value of the property involved is more than
12,000 pesos but not exceeding 22,000 pesos; if the value of such property
exceeds the latter sum, the penalty provided in this paragraph shall be imposed
in its maximum period, adding one year for each additional 10,000 pesos; but the
total penalty which may be imposed shall not exceed twenty years. In such
cases, the penalty shall be termed reclusion temporal and the accessory penalty
pertaining thereto provided in the Revised Penal Code shall also be imposed.

(b) The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods, if the
value of the property robbed or stolen is more than 6,000 pesos but not
exceeding 12,000 pesos.

(c) The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods, if the
value of the property involved is more than 200 pesos but not exceeding 6,000
pesos.

(d) The penalty of arresto mayor in its medium period to prision correccional in its
minimum
 period, if the value of the property involved is over 50 pesos but not exceeding
200 pesos.

(e) The penalty of arresto mayor in its medium period if such value is over five (5)
pesos but not exceeding 50 pesos.

(f) The penalty of arresto mayor in its minimum period if such value does not
exceed 5 pesos.

Section 4. Liability of Officials of Juridical Persons. If the fence is a partnership,

firm, corporation or association, the president or the manager or any officer
thereof who knows or should have known the commission of the offense shall be
liable.

Section 5. Presumption of Fencing. Mere possession of any good, article, item,

object, or anything of value which has been the subject of robbery or thievery
shall be prima facie evidence of fencing.

Section 6. Clearance/Permit to Sell/Used Second Hand Articles. For purposes of

this Act, all stores, establishments or entities dealing in the buy and sell of any
good, article item, object of anything of value obtained from an unlicensed dealer
or supplier thereof, shall before offering the same for sale to the public, secure
the necessary clearance or permit from the station commander of the Integrated
National Police in the town or city where such store, establishment or entity is
located. The Chief of Constabulary/Director General, Integrated National Police
shall promulgate such rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this
section. Any person who fails to secure the clearance or permit required by this
section or who violates any of the provisions of the rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder shall upon conviction be punished as a fence.

Section 7. Repealing Clause. All laws or parts thereof, which are inconsistent
with the provisions of this Decree are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 8. Effectivity. This Decree shall take effect upon approval.

C. Presidential Decree No. 1829

PENALIZING OBSTRUCTION OF APPREHENSION AND PROSECUTION OF

CRIMINAL OFFENDERS

Section 1. The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period, or a fine ranging
from 1,000 to 6,000 pesos, or both, shall be imposed upon any person who knowingly
or willfully obstructs, impedes, frustrates or delays the apprehension of suspects and
the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases by committing any of the following
acts:

(a) preventing witnesses from testifying in any criminal proceeding or from

reporting the commission of any offense or the identity of any offender/s by
means of bribery, misrepresentation, deceit, intimidation, force or threats;

(b) altering, destroying, suppressing or concealing any paper, record, document,

or object, with intent to impair its verity, authenticity, legibility, availability, or
admissibility as evidence in any investigation of or official proceedings in, criminal
cases, or to be used in the investigation of, or official proceedings in, criminal
cases;

(c) harboring or concealing, or facilitating the escape of, any person he knows, or
has reasonable ground to believe or suspect, has committed any offense under
existing penal laws in order to prevent his arrest prosecution and conviction;

(d) publicly using a fictitious name for the purpose of concealing a crime, evading
prosecution or the execution of a judgment, or concealing his true name and
other personal circumstances for the same purpose or purposes;

(e) delaying the prosecution of criminal cases by obstructing the service of

process or court orders or disturbing proceedings in the fiscal's offices, in
Tanodbayan, or in the courts;

(f) making, presenting or using any record, document, paper or object with
knowledge of its falsity and with intent to affect the course or outcome of the
investigation of, or official proceedings in, criminal cases;

(g) soliciting, accepting, or agreeing to accept any benefit in consideration of

abstaining from, discounting, or impeding the prosecution of a criminal offender;

(h) threatening directly or indirectly another with the infliction of any wrong upon
his person, honor or property or that of any immediate member or members of
his family in order to prevent such person from appearing in the investigation of,
or official proceedings in, criminal cases, or imposing a condition, whether lawful
or unlawful, in order to prevent a person from appearing in the investigation of or
in official proceedings in, criminal cases;

(i) giving of false or fabricated information to mislead or prevent the law

enforcement agencies from apprehending the offender or from protecting the life
or property of the victim; or fabricating information from the data gathered in
confidence by investigating authorities for purposes of background information
and not for publication and publishing or disseminating the same to mislead the
investigator or to the court.
If any of the acts mentioned herein is penalized by any other law with a higher penalty,
the higher penalty shall be imposed.

Section 2. If any of the foregoing acts is committed by a public official or employee, he

shall in addition to the penalties provided thereunder, suffer perpetual disqualification
from holding public office.

Section 3. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

D. Art. 50 to 57, RPC

Article 50. Penalty to be imposed upon principals of a frustrated crime. - The

penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for the consummated
felony shall be imposed upon the principal in a frustrated felony.

Article 51. Penalty to be imposed upon principals of attempted crimes. - A

penalty lower by two degrees than that prescribed by law for the consummated
felony shall be imposed upon the principals in an attempt to commit a felony.

Article 52. Penalty to be imposed upon accomplices in consummated crime. -

The penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for the
consummated shall be imposed upon the accomplices in the commission of a
consummated felony.

Article 53. Penalty to be imposed upon accessories to the commission of a

consummated felony. - The penalty lower by two degrees than that prescribed by
law for the consummated felony shall be imposed upon the accessories to the
commission of a consummated felony.

Article 54. Penalty to imposed upon accomplices in a frustrated crime. - The

penalty next lower in degree than prescribed by law for the frustrated felony sha ll
be imposed upon the accomplices in the commission of a frustrated felony.

Article 55. Penalty to be imposed upon accessories of a frustrated crime. - The

penalty lower by two degrees than that prescribed by law for the frustrated felony
shall be imposed upon the accessories to the commission of a frustrated felony.

Article 56. Penalty to be imposed upon accomplices in an attempted crime. -

The penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for an attempt to
commit a felony shall be imposed upon the accomplices in an attempt to commit
the felony.
Article 57. Penalty to be imposed upon accessories of an attempted crime. - The
penalty lower by two degrees than that prescribed by law for the attempted felony
shall be imposed upon the accessories to the attempt to commit a felony.

References:

https://lawphil.net/statutes/acts/act_3815_1930.html

https://lawphil.net/statutes/presdecs/pd1981/pd_1829_1981.html

https://lawphil.net/statutes/presdecs/pd1979/pd_1612_1979.html