Criminal Law 2 Study Guide

Crimes against chastity to criminal negligence

Crimes against chastity

Adultery (Article 333)

-principal offender is a married woman
-secondary offender is a man, who should know that the woman is married
A married woman having homosexual sex with another woman is not liable for
adultery
- Committed even though the marriage is subsequently declared void.

Concubinage (Article 334)

- Husband: 1) who shall keep a mistress in the conjugal dwelling, or
2) who shall have sexual intercourse with a woman who is not his wife under
scandalous circumstances, or
3) who shall cohabit with her in any other place.

Bar Question

Suspecting that her husband was having an affair, the wife hired a private investigator
to spy on him. After two weeks the private investigator showed the wife a video of her
husband having sexual intercourse with another woman in a room in a 5 star hotel.
Based on what she saw on the video, the wife filed a complaint for concubinage
against her husband. Will the case proper?

Acts of lasciviousness (AOL)

- Gender free crime
- Under circumstances similar with rape
- Lewd design, absence of lewd design the crime is either unjust vexation (annoy
or irritate) or slander by deed (to cast dishonor)

Bar Question

Eduardo trailed a teenage girl up to the LRT station. While ascending the stairs, he
stayed one step behind her and in a moment of bravado, placed his hand on her hip
and gently massaged it. What was the crime committed?

Sexual abuse under Section 5 RA 7610

- Sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct with a child under coercion or
influence
- Intent to abuse, humiliate, harass or degrade the child

Qualified seduction (Art. 337)

- Abuse of authority, confidence and relationship who has carnal knowledge of a
virgin and minor not under 12 years (otherwise its statutory rape).

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 - Virginity is not physical but legal, meaning of good reputation. A prostitute
may not be a victim of seduction.

Simple seduction (Art. 338)

- Carnal knowledge with a single woman or widow, chaste and of good
reputation and minor not under 12 years of age by means of deceit (ie. Promise
to marry)

Consented AOL (Art. 339)

- In seduction there is carnal knowledge

Forcible abduction (Art. 342)

- Committed by any person who abducts with lewd designs a woman against her
will or below 12 years of age.
- Without lewd design, abducting the victim constitutes serious illegal detention
- If the abduction is a necessary means to commit rape, the crime is a complex
crime of rape through forcible abduction ie. Bringing the victim to a desolated
place to have carnal knowledge.

Consented abduction (Art. 343)

- Abducts with lewd design a virgin, minor not under 12 years with her consent
after solicitation or cajolery from the offender
- Essence of the offense is not the wrong done to the woman but the outrage to
the family and the alarmed produced in it by the disappearance of one of its
members
- Absence of lewd design the crime is serious illegal detention

Prosecution of crimes against chastity

1. Adultery, concubinage, seduction, abduction, or AOL can only be filed by the

offended party/ spouse they are considered as private crimes, but bigamy is a
public crime, rape is also a public crime.
2. For adultery or concubinage, pardon and consent can be given subsequent to
the commission of the crime, they cannot be given after the institution of the
criminal action
3. For seduction, abduction or AOL, pardon must be expressly made subsequent
to the commission of the crime but prior to institution of criminal action. If the
victim is a minor, pardon must be given by both the minor and her parents.
4. Marriage of the offender and offended party in seduction, abduction, or AOL
and rape shall extinguish the criminal action or penalty. The marriage should
be a valid marriage.

Crimes against civil status

Simulation of birth (Art. 347)

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R.A. 8552- tampering of the civil registry making it appear in the birth records that a
certain child was born to a person who is not his/her biological mother, causing such
child to lose his/her rue identity and status.
- any person who shall cause the fictitious registration of the birth of a child under the
name of a person who is not his/her biological parent shall be guilty of simulation of
birth

Simulation of birth by the doctor for the purpose of selling, trading or dealing with the
child the crime is attempted child trafficking under RA 7610 or attempted trafficking
in persons under R.A. 9208

After simulating the birth, the baby is delivered to a buyer, the crime is child
trafficking under Section 7 of R.A. 7610. If the child is exploited for purposes of
prostitution, pornography, forced labor or sale of organs, the crime is qualified
trafficking in persons under Section 6 of R.A. 9208.

Substitution of child for another (Art. 347)

Usurpation of civil status (Art. 348)

- One who impersonates himself to be another person to enjoy the right and
privilege arising from the civil status of the person impersonated or to assume
the filiation or the parental or conjugal right of another

Bigamy (Art. 349)

1) Offender has been legally married
2) First marriage has not been legally dissolved or absent spouse has not been
judicially declared presumptively dead
3) He contracts a subsequent marriage
4) The subsequent marriage would have been valid had it not been for the
existence of the first
5) Fraudulent intention

GR: First marriage should be declared void by a court, otherwise accused is liable for
bigamy
XPN: When the parties merely signed a marriage contract without marriage ceremony
performed by a duly authorized solemnizing officer, there is no need for a judicial
declaration of nullity. (Morigo vs. People)

GR: Declaration of nullity of the second marriage on the ground of psychological

incapacity is not a defense
XPN: The second marriage was celebrated one day before the issuance of the marriage
license. Accused can use it as a defense in bigamy. The crime is illegal marriage.

-If the second marriage was annulled in a civil action due to force or intimidation
committed against the accused to obtain his consent, accused should be acquitted in
the bigamy case.

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Illegal Marriage (Art. 350)
- Committed by a person who entered into a marriage knowing that the
requirements of the law have not been complied with or that the marriage is in
disregard of a legal impediment provided it does not constitute bigamy
ie. One of the party is below 18 years old

Performance of illegal marriage ceremony (Art. 352)

- Priests or ministers of a religious denomination or sect or civil authorities who
shall perform or authorize an illegal marriage ceremony
ie. Couple had no marriage license
- If the marriage was solemnized by a person without authority (like the chief of
staff of a Mayor), the crime is usurpation of function under Art. 177

Crimes against honor

Libel, oral defamation and slander by deed

Elements:
a) The writing, utterance or acts must be defamatory
b) It must be malicious
- Malice in law (presumed from the defamatory character of the statement) and
malice in fact
c) It must be given publicly
- It must be communicated to a third person
- Without publicity, the crime is unjust vexation
d) The victim must be identifiable

Libel or written defamation (Art. 355)

- Author, editor or business manager of a book, daily newspaper or magazine or
serial publication shall be responsible for the defamations contained therein as
if he were the author thereof

Cyber libel R.A. 10175

- Libel defined under Art. 355 of RPC committed through a computer system or
any other similar means. Penalty is increased one degree higher

Slander or oral defamation (Art. 358)

Grave slander- serious and insulting in nature
Slight slander

Gravity depends on:

1) Expressions used
2) Personal relations of the accused and the offended party
3) Circumstances surrounding the case, ie. Social standing and position of
offended party

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“Putang ina” principle- It is not really meant to slander but expression of anger or
displeasure

Privilege communication

1. Absolute privilege communication- lack of malice is conclusively presumed

- Not actionable
- Ie. Speech or debate in congress, words uttered in judicial proceedings provided
they are relevant to the case, it also extends to preliminary investigations and
other proceedings preparatory to trial
Belen v. People- defamatory allegations against the public prosecutor in the
motion are not relevant to the issue.

2. Qualified privilege communication (Art. 354)

- No malice in law, malice in fact/ actual malice should be established
a) Private communication of a complaint
- Made by a person to another in the performance of any legal, moral, or social
duty. There are no elements of malice and publicity
- Privileged character is lost when: 1.) Actual malice is proven; 2.) When several
agencies which had no interest or right or duty in the prosecution of the said
charges were furnished copies thereof.

b) Fair and true report

- Made in good faith without any comments or remarks of any judicial, legislative
or other official proceedings which are not confidential in nature.

c) Fair commentaries
- Statement is directed to a public officer, public figure or aspirant of public
position, that pertains to an act committed in connection with their official
function or work and the accused does not know that the comment is false or
has not recklessly disregarded of knowing whether it is false or not.
- The conduct, moral fitness, and ability of a public official to discharge his
duties are undoubtedly matters of public interest
- Any attack upon the private character of the public officer on matters which are
not related to the discharge of their official functions may constitute libel

Bar Question

X, a tabloid columnist, wrote an Article describing Y, a public official, as stupid,

corrupt and having amassed ill-gotten wealth. X relied on a source from Y’s own office
who fed him information. Did X commit libel?

Defense for libel

1. Good motives and justifiable ends

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 2. Truth is not an absolute defense, but can be considered in: A) the publication
of the defamatory but truthful statements was made with good motives and for
justifiable ends, or
B) the publication of defamatory but truthful statements pertain to a crime or a
function-related act made by a public officer.

Slander by deed (Art. 359)

- Performance of an act that cast dishonor, discredit or contempt upon another
person
ie. Slapping or spitting on the face of someone in full view of a crowd, pointing
a dirty finger
- Serious or simple slander by deed

Incriminating an innocent person (Art. 363)

- Planting of evidence. Correlate with planting of dangerous drugs or loose
firearms under special laws
- Can be complexed with crimes such as theft, ie. Stealing property then planting
stolen property to impute to the victim the crime of theft

Intriguing against honor (Art. 364)

- Blemish the honor and reputation of another
- Use of scheme or plot by means of trickery

Reckless imprudence
- Doing or failing to do an act from which material damage results by reason of
inexcusable lack of precaution on the part of the person performing or fialing to
perform such act.

Simple imprudence
- Lack of precaution displayed in cases which the damage impending to be
caused is not immediate nor the danger clearly manifest

- Failure to lend on the spot to the injured parties such help as may be in his
hands to give is a qualifying circumstance.