TITLE 5 WHEN CIVIL LIABILITY EXISTS EVEN IF ACCUSED 2.

When the criminal action is commenced BEFORE the

CIVIL LIABILITY NOT CRIMINALY LIABLE separate civil action, the civil action cannot be
The extinction of the criminal liability does not carry with it instituted until final judgment on the criminal action
CHAPTER 1: the extinction of the civil liability
PERSONS CIVILLY LIABLE FOR FELONIES Note: The suspension is applicable only when the claimant in
1. Acquittal was due to reasonable doubt the civil action is the same offended party in the criminal action
- Prosecution was not able to prove the guilt of the and both cases arise from the same offense or transaction.
CLASSES OF INJURIES PRODUCED BY OFFENSE
accused beyond reasonable doubt
SOCIAL INJURY PERSONAL INJURY
Offense against the state Offense against private 2. Acquittal because of non-imputability INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ACTION
person - Imbecility, minority, acting under uncontrollable GENERAL RULE
The disturbance and alarm Injury caused to the person, fear or irresistible force • Civil action shall be deemed instituted with the
caused by the offense property, honor, or chastity criminal action
of the victim 3. Acquittal in a criminal action for negligence EXCEPTION
Repaired through imposition Repaired through indemnity, • The 2 actions are not deemed instituted together if the
of penalty which is civil in nature 4. When there is only civil responsibility offended party:
- When the judge says that there is only civil and not 1. Waives the civil action
ARTICLE 100 criminal liability, and such was the reason for 2. Reserves the right to institute it separately
GENERAL RULE: acquittal 3. Institutes the civil action prior to the criminal
• Every person criminally liable for a felony is also action
civilly liable. 5. In cases of independent civil actions
• BASIS: What gives rise to the civil liability is the - Articles 31, 32, 33, 34 of the Civil Code Note: A final judgment in a civil action absolving the defendant
obligation to repair the damage caused to another - Under those provisions, the civil action may from civil liability is not a bar to a criminal action against the
person by one’s act or omission, intentionally or proceed independently of the criminal action defendant for the same act or omission.
negligently done, and whether or not punishable by regardless of the latter’s outcome
law. - However, reservation to file this independent civil The court may also sentence the accused to pay for damages
action shall be necessary (except Article 31) even if there is no specific allegation of such damages in the
EXCEPTION: offense, PROVIDED that:
Even if the offender is criminally liable for the offense Note: If the acquittal was due to that fact that there is a finding 1. The offended party has not expressly waived such
committed, there is no civil liability in the following crimes that the act or omission from which the civil liability may arise liability or
because there is no damage to be compensated and there is no DID NOT EXIST, the civil action is extinguished. 2. He reserved his right to have civil damages determined
private person injured by the crime: in a separate civil action.
1. Treason SUSPENSION OF CIVIL ACTION
2. Rebellion 1. When the criminal action is commenced AFTER the APPEALS
3. Espionage institution of the separate civil action, the civil action • From a judgment of conviction, an appeal for both the
4. Contempt shall be suspended until final judgment on the criminal criminal and civil action may be taken.
5. Other crimes where there is no private person injured action o The appeals are independent and one may
o What is contemplated here is the choose to appeal one, both, or not at all.
commencement of the criminal action in • The offended party has no right to appeal if the criminal
court and not a mere filing of complaint to action is dismissed by the court on motion of the fiscal
the prosecution officer. upon the ground of insufficiency of evidence.
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 o His remedy is to file a separate civil action
after proper reservation
• When the court finds the accused guilty of a crime but
fails to enter judgment of civil liability, the private
prosecutor has the right of appeal.
o Civil liability may be added within 15 days
even if the convict had started serving the
sentence
o No appeals allowed beyond 15 days. The court
cannot amend its decision by adding the civil
liability
ARTICLE 101
Although there is no criminal liability, there is civil liability in
the following:
1. Justifying circumstance in Article 11 Paragraph 4
2. Exempting Circumstances in Article 12 Paragraphs
1,2,3,5,6
Quick Recall: In article 11, all are exempt from civil liability
except Paragraph 4. In Article 12, only Paragraphs 4 and 7 are
exempt.
THE FOLLOWING RULES SHALL BE APPLIED:
1. Article 12: Paragraph 1 (insane or imbecile),
Paragraph 2 (under 15years), Paragraph 3 (above 15
years but below 18 without discernment)
• PRIMARY LIABILITY: The liability shall
devolve upon those having such person under
their legal authority or control
o EXCEPT: If there was no fault or
negligence on their part.
• SECONDARY LIABILITY: In the absence
or insolvency of those primarily liable, said
insane, imbecile, or minor shall respond with
their own property,
o EXCEPT: property exempt from
execution, in accordance with the civil
law.
2. Article 11: Paragraph 4 (state of necessity)
• The persons for whose benefit the harm has
been prevented shall be civilly liable in
proportion to the benefit which they may have
received.
o The courts shall determine, in sound
discretion, the proportionate amount
for which each one shall be liable.
o When the respective shares cannot be
equitably determined, even
approximately, or when the liability
also attaches to the Government, or to
the majority of the inhabitants of the
town, and, in all events, whenever the
damages have been caused with the
consent of the authorities or their
agents, indemnification shall be made
in the manner prescribed by special
laws or regulations.
3. Article 12: Paragraph 5 (irresistible force),
Paragraph 6 (uncontrollable fear)
• PRIMARY LIABILITY: Persons using
violence or causing the fears
• SECONDARY LIABILITY: Those doing
the act shall be liable, saving always to the
latter that part of their property exempt from
execution.
ARTICLE 102
PRIMARILY LIABLE: The persons criminally liable
SECONDARILY LIABLE: The innkeepers, tavernkeepers,
and any other persons or corporations
WHEN THOSE SECONDARILY LIABLE MAY BE
HELD LIABLE
Paragraph 1:
1. Innkeepers, tavernkeepers, and any other persons or
corporations, or their employees committed a violation
of municipal ordinances or some general or special
police regulation
2. A crime is committed in the establishment
3. The perpetrator of the crime is insolvent
Paragraph 2:
Subsidiary liability for restitution of goods or payment of
the value of such goods taken by robbery or theft from the
guests
1. The guests shall have notified in advance the innkeeper
himself, or the person representing him, of the deposit
of such goods within the inn
2. The guests have followed the directions which such
innkeeper or his representative may have given them
with respect to the care and vigilance over such goods
3. The goods were taken with robbery with force upon
things or theft.
• No liability shall attach in case of robbery with
violence against or intimidation of persons
unless committed by the innkeeper's
employees.
ARTICLE 103
Subsidiary civil liability of other persons
1. The employers, teachers, persons, and corporations are
engaged in any kind of industry
• A hospital is not engaged in industry, hence,
no subsidiary liability
• Private persons with no business or industry
cannot be held liable, even if a crime is
committed by their employees in the discharge
of their duties.
o EXCEPT: Page 933: Employers are
liable for damages caused by their
employees and household helpers
acting within the scope of their
assigned tasks even though the
employers are not engaged in a
business or industry
2. Their servants, pupils, workmen, apprentices, or
employees commit a felony IN the discharge of their
duties
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 • It must be THE legitimate duty, and not just
any action performed during work hours.
3. The people in #2 are insolvent and have not satisfied
the civil liability.
• In this case, the employer shall be liable for the
full amount that is enforced against the
employee
• Defense of a good father of a family cannot
be raised by persons secondarily liable
• If it is established that the employee was
indeed that of the employer’s, the subsidiary
civil liability attaches even without express
pronouncement of such in the order.
• The liability of the employer cannot be
separated from that of the employee
Note: Subsidiary liability arises only upon conviction in a
criminal case of the person primarily liable. It may be enforced
only upon:
1. Motion for subsidiary writ of execution and
2. Proof that employee is insolvent
CHAPTER 2:
WHAT CIVIL LIABILITY INCLUDES
ARTICLE 104
The civil liability established in Articles 100, 101, 102, and 103
of this Code includes:
1. Restitution
2. Reparation of the damage caused
3. Indemnification for consequential damages
The first remedy granted is restitution or return. If it cannot be
made, the law allows reparation. In either case, damages may
be required.
CIVIL LIABILITIES V PECUNIARY LIABILITIES
Restitution Fines and costs
Reparation/ Indemnification Reparation/ Indemnification
ARTICLE 105
RESTITUTION
• Restitution is the return of the thing
o The restitution of the thing itself must be made
whenever possible, with allowance for any
deterioration, or diminution of value as
determined by the court.
o The convict must return the very thing itself
and cannot give the offended party a similar
thing of the same amount, kind, species, and
quality.
▪ If it cannot be done, reparation is the
remedy.
• The thing itself shall be restored, even though it be
found in the possession of a third person who has
acquired it by lawful means, saving to the latter his
action against the proper person, who may be liable to
him.
o The property shall be returned to the owner
WITHOUT REIMBURSEMENT.
o However, the present possessor shall be
REIMBURSED when:
1. The property is a movable property
2. It was acquired at a public sale
3. It was acquired in good faith
• This provision is not applicable in cases in which the
thing has been acquired by the third person in the
manner and under the requirements which, by law, bar
an action for its recovery.
1. Innocent purchaser of property covered by Torrens
Title
2. When the sale is authorized
o this happens when the owner authorizes
another person to sell the property and the
latter sells it at a lower price
o in this case, the owner cannot recover the
property that has already been sold to a
third person
• When the liability to return a thing arises from a
contract and not from a criminal act, the court cannot
order its return in the criminal case
• When the crime is not against property, there can be no
restitution or reparation.
o In the crimes of treason and abduction,
however, the defendants were ordered to return
the things that they took in the process of
committing the crime.
o The return of the usurious interest in violation
of the usury law was also ordered.
ARTICLE 106
REPARATION
The court shall determine the amount of damage, taking into
consideration the following:
1. The price of the thing and
2. Its special sentimental value to the injured party
If there is no evidence as to the value of the thing unrecovered,
reparation cannot be made.
Civil damages are limited to those caused by and flowing from
the commission of the crime.
Payment made by the insurance company does not relieve the
offender of his obligation to pay the damage caused.
ARTICLE 107
INDEMNIFICATION
Indemnification for consequential damages shall include not
only those caused the injured party, but also those suffered by
his family or by a third person by reason of the crime.
INDEMNITY VS REPARATION
This is ordinarily the remedy This is ordinarily the remedy
granted to crimes against granted to crimes against
persons properties
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DAMAGES RECOVERABLE IN CASE OF DEATH
1. Civil liability ex delicto (arising from crime): P75,000
even in the presence of mitigating circumstances
2. For the loss of earning capacity- this needs
documentary evidence
3. Support in favor of a person to whom the deceased was
obliged to give
4. Moral damages for mental anguish
5. Exemplary damages in certain cases
DAMAGES IN CRIMES AND QUASI-DELICTS
• The defendant shall be liable for all damages which are
natural and probable consequences of the act or
omission complained of.
o It is not necessary that such damages have
been foreseen or could have reasonably been
foreseen by the defendant.
o The amount of damages to be adjudicated may
be increased or lessened according to the
aggravating or mitigating circumstances.
DAMAGES IN RAPE
• Moral damages is automatically granted in rape cases
without need of further proof other than the
commission of the crime
• Exemplary damages is justified if there is an
aggravating circumstance.
• Civil indemnity of P100,000 is mandatory in a finding
of rape.
INDEMNITY FOR LOST EARNINGS
Net Earning Capacity = Life Expectancy of deceased
x (Gross Annual Income-Living Expenses)
*in the absence of proof, living expenses is 50% of the gross
annual income.
LOSS OF EARNING CAPACITY
GENERAL RULE:
• Documentary evidence should be presented to
substantiate claim for loss of earning capacity.
o Note that it is not necessary for the victim to
be gainfully employed. Loss of capacity to
earn money is also compensated
EXCEPTION:
• Damages may be awarded despite the absence of
documentary evidence if the testimony that the victim
is either:
1. Self-employed earning less than minimum wage
2. Daily-wage worker earning less than the minimum
wage
TYPES OF DAMAGES
M.E.N.T.A.L.
1. MORAL
It may be recovered in the following and analogous cases:
a. physical injuries
b. seduction, abduction, rape, or other lascivious
acts
c. adultery or concubinage
d. illegal or arbitrary detention or arrest
e. illegal search
f. libel, slander, defamation
g. malicious prosecution
The award of this does not require proof of pecuniary loss.
2. EXEMPLARY
o Exemplary or corrective damages are imposed
by way of example or correction for the public
good, in addition to the moral, temperate,
liquidated, or other compensatory damages
o This may also be awarded when the
circumstances show highly reprehensible or
outrageous conduct of the offender.
o Awarded NOT ONLY when there are one or
more aggravating circumstances alleged in the
information and proved during the trial, but
also where the circumstances of the case show
reprehensible or outrageous conduct of the
offender.
o This is intended to serve as a deterrent
o However, this cannot be recovered as a matter
of right. It rests upon discretion of the court
The award of this does not require proof of pecuniary loss
3. NOMINAL
4. TEMPERATE
o Temperate or moderate damages, which are
more than nominal but less than compensatory,
may be recovered when the court finds that
pecuniary loss was suffered but the amount
cannot be proved with certainty
o It may also be awarded if income is not
sufficiently proved
5. ACTUAL
o It is necessary to prove the actual amount of
loss with a reasonable degree of certainty,
premised upon competent proof and the best
evidence obtainable by the injured party
o The recovery of attorney’s fees in the concept
of actual or compensatory damage is allowed
when the court deems it so.
6. LIQUIDATED
Civil liability is not part of the punishment. Therefore, the
action of the SC in affirming judgment as to the guilt and
punishment of the accused and of reversing it as to the question
of damages, with instructions to try the civil branch of the case,
does not constitute double jeopardy.
ARTICLE 108
WHO MAY TAKE ACTION
• The obligation to make restoration or reparation for
damages and indemnification for consequential
damages devolves upon the heirs of the person liable.
• The action to demand restoration, reparation, and
indemnification likewise descends to the heirs of the
person injured.
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NOTE: If the offender dies AFTER the final judgment, the civil
liability subsists. But if the offender dies BEFORE the final
judgment, the civil liability must necessarily be dismissed.
ARTICLE 109
SHARE OF EACH PERSON CIVILLY LIABLE
The liability shall be apportioned among the persons who
cooperated in the commission of the crime according to:
1. Degree of liability
2. Respective responsibilities
3. Actual participation in the criminal act
There are no fixed rules for apportionment. The courts exercise
a wide discretion. Persons with great participation in the
commission of the crime should have a greater share than those
who played a minor role in the crime or those who had no
participation at all but merely profited from its effects.
ARTICLE 110
NATURE OF LIABILITY
1. Within the same class: SOLIDARY
• the principals, accomplices, and accessories,
each within their respective class, shall be
liable severally (in solidum) among
themselves for their quotas
2. For the other persons liable: SUBSIDIARY
For example: The total to be paid is 1,000. The court ordered
that the quota of the principals is 700, while that of their
accomplices is 300. The principals in this case shall be
solidarily liable for 700, and subsidiarily liable for the 300,
which represents the quota of the accomplices.
PREFERENCE IN PAYMENT
The subsidiary liability shall be enforced against the following
in the order of priority:
1. Principals
2. Accomplices
3. Accessories
Whenever the liability in solidum or the subsidiary liability has
been enforced, the person by whom payment has been made
shall have a right of action against the others for the amount of ARTICLE 113
their respective shares. Except in case of extinction of his civil liability as provided in
the next preceding article the offender shall continue to be
ARTICLE 111 obliged to satisfy the civil liability resulting from the crime
Any person who has participated gratuitously in the proceeds committed by him, NOTWITHSTANDING THE FACT
of a felony shall be bound to make restitution in an amount THAT HE HAS SERVED HIS SENTENCE CONSISTING
equivalent to the extent of such participation. OF DEPRIVATION OF LIBERTY OR OTHER RIGHTS,
or has not been required to serve the same by reason of:
PARTICIPATED GRATUITOUSLY 1. Amnesty
• This refers to an innocent person who • Amnesty wipes out all the vestiges of the crime, it
participates in the proceeds of the felony does not extinguish the civil liability of the
through the liberality of the offender. offender.
o This person should not have paid for 2. Pardon
the article. Otherwise, Article 105 will • Pardon shall in no case exempt the culprit from the
apply: he shall make restitution. payment of the civil indemnity imposed upon him
• The fortune of the innocent person must be by the sentence.
augmented by his participation in the 3. Commutation of sentence or
proceeds of the crime. 4. Any other reason.
o If, for instance, he merely participated • Probation affects only the criminal aspect of the
in the eating of the stolen property. case, and not the civil aspect.
o So dapat ikinayaman niya
CHAPTER 3:
EXTINCTION AND SURVIVAL OF CIVIL LIABILITY
ARTICLE 112
Civil liability established in Articles 100, 101, 102, and 103 of
this Code shall be extinguished in the same manner as
obligations, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Law.
PA.LO.RE.ME.CO.NO- A.R.F.P
1. Payment or performance
2. Loss of the thing due
3. Remission or condonation of debt
4. Merger or confusion of the rights of the debtor and
creditor
5. Compensation
6. Novation
7. Annulment
8. Rescission
9. Fulfillment of a resolutory condition
10. Prescription
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