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

DEVELOPMENT OF CRIMES

1. Mental Stage/Internal acts

➢ Mental acts such as thoughts, ideas, opinions and beliefs, are not subject of
penal legislations.
➢ One may express an idea which is contrary to law, morals or is unconventional,
but as long as he does not act on them or induce others to act on them, such
mental matters are outside the realm of penal law and the person may not be
subjected to criminal prosecution.
➢ Mere criminal thoughts will never give rise to criminal liability.

2. External Stage/External acts

➢ The accused performs acts which are observable.
➢ Includes preparatory acts and acts of execution.
➢ Preparatory acts - Acts which may or may not lead to the commission of a
concrete crime. Being equivocal they are not as rule punishable except when
there is an express provision of law punishing specific preparatory acts.
➢ E.g. Buying of gun, bolo or poison, Conspiracy to commit a crime, proposal to
commit a crime, Except: conspiracies to commit treason, rebellion, sedition and
coup d’etat
➢ Acts of Execution – this is the actual act of committing the crime; it has three
stages (Attempted, Frustrated, Consummated)
STAGES OF CRIMES

1. Attempted Stage
➢ There is an attempt when the offender commences the commission of a felony
directly by overt acts, and does not perform all the acts of execution which
should produce the felony by reason of some cause or accident other than his
own spontaneous desistance (Art 6, par 3)
➢ Overt Acts-any external act which if allowed to continue will naturally and
logically ripen into a crime.
➢ Directly by overt acts-the overt act performed by the offender must be directly
connected to the intended felony. The attempted felony that is punished by law
is one which is directly connected to the overt act performed by the offender
although he has admitted the crime.
➢ The attempt which the Penal Code punishes is that which has a connection to a
particular, concrete offense, that which is the beginning of the execution of the
offense by overt acts of the perpetrator, leading directly to the its realization and
commission
➢ Elements:
a. The offender commences the commission of the felony directly by overt
act.
b. That he does not perform all acts of execution that would have produced
the felony.
c. That his act was not stopped by his own spontaneous desistance.
d. That he was not able to perform all acts of execution by reason of some
cause or accident other than his own spontaneous desistance

2. Frustrated Stage
➢ it is frustrated when the offender performs all the acts of execution which would
produce the felony as a consequence but which, nevertheless, do not produce
it by reason of causes independent of the will of the perpetrator (Art 6, par 2)
➢ The non-production of the crime should not be due to the acts of the accused
himself, for if it were he would be liable not for the frustrated stage of the
intended crime, but possibly for another offense.
➢ Elements:
a. The offender performs all the acts of execution.
b. All the acts performed would produce the felony as a consequence.
c. But the felony is not produced.
d. By reason of causes independent of the will of the perpetrator.

3. Consummated Stage
➢ A felony is consummated when all the elements necessary for its execution and
accomplishment are present (Art 6, par 2)

NOTE:

➢ Each felony under the Revised Penal Code has Subject Phase and Objective Phase.
➢ Subjective Phase is that portion of the acts constituting the crime included between
the act which begins the commission of the crime and the last act performed by the
offender which, with the prior acts, should result in the consummated crime. From that
time forward the phase is objective.
➢ Material Crimes - if a crime admits stages of attempted, frustrated and consummated
➢ Formal Crimes - if a crime does not admit of any stage, it only punishes a
consummated stage; e.g. adultery, physical injuries

APPLICATION OF ART 6
➢ Only to intentional felonies by positive acts but not to: (i). Felonies by omission (ii)
Culpable felonies and (iii) Violations of special laws, unless the special law
provides for an attempted or frustrated stage.
➢ E.g. The Dangerous Drugs Law which penalizes an attempt to violate some of its
provisions, and The Human Security Act of 2007
LIGHT FELONIES
➢ those infractions of law for the commission of which the penalty of arresto menor
or a fine no exceeding Forty Thousand pesos (P40,000) is provided (Art 9, RPC)
➢ Duration of Arresto Menor: 1 day-30 days (Art 27, RPC)
➢ the following are liable criminally liable for light felonies: Principals (Art 17, RPC)
and Accomplices (Art 18, RPC)
➢ e.g. Slight Physical Injuries & Maltreatment, Altering boundaries or landmarks,
special cases of malicious mischief

WHEN IS IT PUNISHABLE?
➢ Light felonies are punishable only when they have been consummated, with the
exception of those committed against person or property (Art 7, RPC)

WHAT IS CONSPIRACY?
➢ when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the commission of
a felony and decide to commit it-Art 8 (2) RPC
➢ conspiracy is a bilateral act
➢ as a rule, conspiracy is not a punishable act because they are mere preparatory
acts
➢ Exception: when the law specially provides for a penalty for the mere conspiracy
or mere proposal to commit conspiracy-Art 8 (1) RPC e.g. conspiracy to commit
treason, rebellion, sedition

PROPOSAL TO COMMIT A FELONY

➢ when the person who has decided to commit a felony proposes its execution to
some other person or persons-Art 8 (3) RPC
➢ it is a unilateral act

KINDS OF CONSPIRACY

1. DIRECT OR EXPRESSED
➢ when the offenders or conspirators met, planned, agreed, decided to
commit a crime.
➢ There is a preconceived plan prior to the commission of the crime.
➢ For one to be criminally liable, it is necessary that he is not only a part of
the agreement, he must also be present at the time of the commission of
the crime.
➢ In case of direct or express conspiracy, the conspirators are liable only for
the crime agreed upon.

EXCEPTIONS:

• When the other crime was committed in the presence of the other
conspirators and they did not perform acts to prevent its
commission.
• When the other crime committed was the natural consequence of
the crime agreed upon.
• When the resulting crime is a composite crime or a special complex
crime or a single indivisible complex crime.

➢ In case of direct or express conspiracy, for one to be conspirator, it is not

necessary that he actually participate in the actual execution of the crime.
The participation of the conspirator may be direct or indirect in the execution
of the crime. Since there was a prior agreement, mere presence at scene
of the crime, mere exercise of moral ascendancy over the others will already
bring about criminal liability as a conspirator because there was a prior
agreement, there was a pre conceived plan.
 2. IMPLIED OR INFERRED
➢ deduced from the mode and manner of committing the crime
➢ there is no pre conceived plan but the offenders acted simultaneously in a
synchronized and coordinated manner, their acts complimenting one
another towards a common criminal objective or design.
➢ they are all liable as conspirators.
➢ In case of implied conspiracy, for one to be considered as a conspirator, it
is necessary that the offender actually participates in the commission of the
crime. Because the basis is on the acts performed by the offender.
➢ Unlike a preconceived plan there was a prior agreement, therefore mere
presence or exercise of moral ascendancy will make one a conspirator.
➢ In implied the conspiracy is established based on the acts performed.
Therefore, if you do not perform an act, if you are merely present then you
cannot be held a conspirator.

KINDS OF MULTIPLE CONSPIRACY

1. WHEEL CONSPIRACY
➢ when a single person or group of persons known as a hub, deals individually
with another person or group of persons known as the spokes

2. CHAIN CONSPIRACY
➢ usually involving the distribution of narcotics or other contraband, in which
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.

KINDS OF FELONIES ACCORDING TO SEVERITY

1. GRAVE FELONIES
➢ those to which the law attaches the capital punishment or penalties which
in any of their periods are afflictive, in accordance with Art. 25 of this Code.

2. LESS GRAVE FELONIES

➢ those which the law punishes with penalties which in their maximum period
are correctional, in accordance with the above-mentioned Article

3. LIGHT FELONIES
➢ those infractions of law for the commission of which a penalty of arresto
menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos or both; is provided.

WHAT IS A SPECIAL PENAL LAW?

➢ A penal law which punishes acts not defined and penalized by the Revised Penal
Code.
➢ The suppletory application of the Revised Penal Code to Special Penal Laws by
virtue of Art 10, finds relevance only when the provisions of the special law are
silent on a particular matter.