• __
by direct provision of law, or by election or
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Article 13. Mitigating circumstances. - The following are
mitigating circumstances;
7. That the offender had voluntarily surrendered himself to a person
in authority or his agents, or that he had voluntarily confessed his
guilt before the court prior to the presentation of the evidence for
the prosecution; [VOLUNTARY AND SPONTANEOUS]]
REASON
• Lesser perversity of the offender —
o Act of repentance and respect of the law
o Indicates a moral disposition favorable to the
accused’s reform
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RULES
- Two mitigating circumstance in the paragraph
- 1 voluntarily surrendered himself to a person in authority or
his agents,
- 2 voluntarily confessed his guilt before the court prior to the
presentation of the evidence for the prosecution;
- they should have an effect as two independent
circumstance
- When they mitigate the penalty, when both are
present, they should produce this effect to a greater
extent.
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VOLUNTARILY SURRENDERED HIMSELF TO A PERSON
IN AUTHORITY OR HIS AGENTS
- RULE: The accused must actually surrender his own person to
the authorities, admitting complicity of the crime.
Requisites
a. Offender has not been actually arrested
- EXCEPTION: Where a person, after committing the
offense and having opportunity to escape,
voluntarily waited for the agents of the authorities
and voluntarily gave up, he is entitled to the benefit
of the circumstance, even if he was placed under
arrest by a policeman then and there. [People v.
Parana, G.R. No. L-45373 (1937)]
- EXCEPTION: Where the arrest of the offender was
after his voluntary surrender or after his doing an act
amounting to a voluntary surrender to the agent of
a person in authority. [People v. Babiera, G.R. No.
28871 (1928); People v. Parana, supra.]
b. Offender surrendered himself to a person in authority or to
the latter’s agent
- PERSON IN AUTHORITY
- Person in authority – one directly vested
with jurisdiction. [Art. 152]
- Agent of person in authority – person, who,
by competent authority, is charged with
the maintenance of public order and the
protection and security of life and property
and any person who comes to the aid of
persons in authority. [Art. 152]
c. The surrender was voluntary
- If the only reason for the supposed surrender is to
ensure the safety of the accused whose arrest is
inevitable, the surrender is not spontaneous and
hence not voluntary. [People v. Pinca, G.R. No.
-
129256 (1999)]
The surrender must be unconditional
- Merely requesting a policeman to accompany the
accused to the police headquarters is not voluntary
surrender. [People v. Flores, G.R. No. 137497 (1994)]
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VOLUNTARY
- VOLUNTARY
- Surrender is voluntary if spontaneous showing the
interest of the accused to surrender unconditionally to
the authorities, either because
- (1) he acknowledges his guilt or
- (2) wishes to save them the trouble and
expenses that would be necessarily incurred
in his search and capture. [Andrada v.
People, G.R. No. 135222 (2005)].
- If none of these two reasons impelled the
accused to surrender, the surrender is not
spontaneous and therefore not voluntary.
[People v. Laurel, G.R. No. 120353 (1998)].
- SPONTANEOUS
- Spontaneous - idea of an inner impulse, acting without
external stimulus.
- There is spontaneity even if the surrender is induced by
fear of retaliation by the victim’s relatives
- When the offender imposed a condition or acted with
external stimulus, his surrender is not voluntary.
- A surrender is not voluntary when forced by
circumstances.
- RULE: Whether or not a warrant of arrest had been issued is
immaterial and irrelevant. The RPC does not distinguish among
the various moments when the surrender may occur. [Reyes].
- The fact that a warrant of arrest had already been
issued is no bar to the consideration of that
circumstance because the law does not require that
the surrender be prior the arrest. [People v. Yecla, G.R.
Nos. 46526-27(1939)]. What is important is that the
surrender be spontaneous.
- RULE: Even if accused did not go into hiding and even
accompanied the police to the scene of the crime, such act is
not voluntary surrender if he did not submit himself or admit
complicity to the crime.
- RULE: The surrender must be by reason of the commission of the
crime for which defendant is prosecuted
- Thus, if the defendant surrendered as a Huk to take
advantage of the amnesty, but the crime for which he
was prosecuted was distinct and separate from
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