F.L.

VARGAS COLLEGE
CRIMINOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Criminal Law (Book 1)

Module No. 2
1st Semester, SY 2022-2023

II. THE REVISED PENAL CODE, ACT NO. 3815

A. History
➢ Enacted on December 8, 1930
➢ Supplanted the 1870 Spanish Código Penal, which was in force in the Philippines
from 1886 to 1930
➢ Contains the general penal laws of the Philippines

B. Divisions of the RPC

1. Books 1 & 2
2. Titles – Book I: Prelim Title + Titles 1-5; Book II: Titles 1-14
3. Chapters - Book I: 15 Chapters; Book II: 46 Chapters
4. Sections – Book I: 8 Sections; Book II: 35
5. Articles – Book I: Arts. 1–113; Book II: Arts. 114-367

III. PRELIMINARY TITLE – DATE OF EFFECTIVENESS AND APPLICATION OF THE

PROVISIONS OF THIS CODE

➢ Date of Effectivity: This Code shall take effect on the First day of January, 1932
(Art 1, RPC)
➢ Exception to Territoriality Principle: Art 2, RPC

IV. TITLE ONE: FELONIES AND CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH AFFECT CRIMINAL

LIABILITY

Chapter One. Felonies

FELONIES
➢ Acts or omissions punishable by law (Art 3, RPC)
➢ ELEMENTS:
a. There must be an act or omission
b. The act or omission must be punishable under the Revised Penal Code
c. The act is performed or the omission is incurred by means of deceit or
fault

ACTS
➢ Any body movement which has a direct connection to the felony intended to be
committed.
OMISSIONS
➢ The failure of a person to perform an act or to do a duty which is required by law

HOW ARE FELONIES COMMITTED?

➢ Felonies are committed not only be means of deceit (dolo) but also by means of
fault (culpa) (Art 3, RPC)

WHEN IS THERE DECEIT/FAULT?

➢ 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 (Art 3, RPC)
CRIMES COMMITTED UNDER ART 3
1. Intentional Felonies
➢ The act is done with deliberate intent
➢ INTENT: A state of mind demonstrated by the overt acts of a person
➢ ELEMENTS:
a. Freedom of action in doing the act on the part of the offender
b. Intelligence of the offender
c. Intent
➢ “Actus non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea”-the act cannot be criminal unless the
mind is criminal
➢ “Mens rea”- a guilty mind, a guilty or wrongful purpose or criminal intent

2. Culpable Felonies
➢ The wrongful act results from imprudence, negligence, lack of foresight or
lack of skill
➢ ELEMENTS:
a. Freedom of action
b. Intelligence
c. Negligence, imprudence, lack of foresight or lack of skill

HOW SHALL CRIMINAL LIABILITY BE INCURRED?

➢ 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. (Art 4,
RPC)

PROXIMATE CAUSE DOCTRINE

➢ By any person committing a felony (delito) although the wrongful act done be
different from that which he intended.
➢ Proximate Cause: that cause which in natural and continuous sequence, unbroken
by an efficient intervening cause, produces the injury, and without which the result
would not have occurred
➢ The offender is performing a felonious act and since he is performing a felonious
act, he becomes liable for all the resulting crime although different from that which
he intended.
➢ Instances where a person becomes criminally liable for the resulting felony
although different from that which he intended:
1. Abberatio Ictus
• “mistake in the victim of the blow”
• The offender intends the injury on one person but the harm fell on
another
• There are 3 persons involved: offender, intended victim and actual victim
• May result to a greater penalty to the offender

2. Error in personae
• “mistake in identity:
• The offender committed a mistake in ascertaining the identity of the
victim
• There 2 persons involved: offender and the actual but unintended victim
• May or may not be mitigating

3. Praeter intentionem
• “the consequence went beyond the intention”
• The injury is on the intended victim but the resulting consequence is so
grave a wrong than what was intended
• It is a mitigating circumstance
IMPOSSIBLE CRIME DOCTRINE
➢ 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.
➢ Impossible crime: one where the act would have amounted to a crime against
persons or property but it is not accomplished because of its inherent impossibility
or because of the employment of inadequate or ineffectual means.
➢ Kinds of inherently impossibility:
1. Legal impossibility
• there is legal impossibility when all the intended acts even if committed
would not have amounted to a crime.
2. Physical and Actual impossibility
• when an extraneous circumstance unknown to the offender prevented
the consignation of the crime. Here, there are circumstances unknown
to the offender, the inadequate control of the offender which prevented
the consignation of the crime.

COMMON LAW CRIMES

➢ Principles, usages and use of action which the community considers as
condemnable even if there’s no law that punishes it
➢ Art 5, RPC 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.
➢ There are no common law crimes in the Philippines; Penal laws are enacted