Art 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.
Art 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.
Requisites for 2 or more to be principals by direct
participation:
a. participated in the criminal resolution
(conspiracy)
b. carried out their plan and personally took part
in its execution by acts which
directly tended to the same end
PRINCIPALS BY INDUCTION (INDUCEMENT)
Those who directly force or induce others to
commit it
a. Principal by induction liable only when
principal by direct participation committed the
act
induced
b. Requisites:
1. inducement be made directly with the
intention of procuring the commission of the
crime
2. such inducement be the determining cause of
the commission of the crime by the material
Executor
c. Requisites for words of command to be
considered inducement:
1. Commander has the intention of procuring the
commission of the crime
2. Commander has ascendancy or influence
3. Words used be so direct, so efficacious, so
powerful
4. Command be uttered prior to the commission
5. Executor had no personal reason
PRINCIPALS BY INDISPENSABLE COOPERATION
Those who cooperate in the commission of the
offense by another act without which it would not
have been accomplished
* Principals by Indispensable
Requisites:
1. Participation in the criminal resolution
2. Cooperation through another act (includes
negligence)

Art. 18. Accomplices. Accomplices are

those persons who, not being included in
Art. 17, cooperate in the execution of the
offense by previous or simultaneous acts.
Requisites:
a. there be a community of design (principal
originates the design, accomplice only concurs)
b. he cooperates in the execution by previous or
simultaneous acts, intending to give material and
moral aid (cooperation must be knowingly done,
it must also be necessary and not
indispensable
c. There be a relation between the acts of the
principal and the alleged accomplice
Art. 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.
Art. 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, withthe
single exception of accessories falling
within the provisions of paragraph 1 of the
next preceding article.
Basis: Ties of blood and the preservation of the
cleanliness of ones name which compels
one to conceal crimes committed by relatives so
near as those mentioned.
Nephew and Niece not included
Accessory not exempt when helped a relativeprincipal by profiting from the effects of the
crime, or assisted the offender to profit from the
effects of the crime.
Only accessories covered by par 2 and 3 are
exempted.

Public officer who helped his guilty brother

escape does not incur criminal liability as ties of

blood constitutes a more powerful incentive than

the call of duty.