CHAPTER 1

CONCEPTS OF CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

A. Definition of Criminology
 “Criminology” was derived from the Italian term “criminologia” coined by Raffaele
Garofalo, an Italian law professor in 1885.
 The term “criminologie” was used by Paul Topinard, a French Anthropologist.
 Used to differentiate the study of criminal body types in the field of anthropology
from biometric pursuits.
 In Principles of Criminology written by Edwin Sutherland and Donald Cressey, they
define criminology as the “body of knowledge” regarding crimes as a social phenomenon.
 This includes within its scope the process of making laws, breaking of laws, and
reacting towards the breaking of laws.
 The objective of criminology is the development of a body of general and verified
principles and other types of knowledge regarding this process of law, crime, and
treatment.
 According to Curt Bartol and Anne Bartol, “criminology is a multidisciplinary study of
crimes.”
 Criminology involves the following:
 Wide array of knowledge
 Crimes and Criminals
 Economies
 Neurology
 Anthropology
 Psychology
 Sociology
 Biology
 Political Science
 According to Cirilo Tradio of 1999, “criminology is a body of knowledge regarding
delinquency and crime as social phenomenon.”
 Methods that are used in criminology:
 Statistics
 Case Histories
 Official Records
 Sociological Field Methods
 Criminals
 Criminal Acts
 Crime Rates
 Kinds of Crimes in Geographic Area
  Sec 4 (e) of Republic Act 11131 also known as Philippine Criminology Profession Act
of 2018 declares that Criminology shall be define as “The scientific study of crimes,
criminal, and victims. It also deals with the prevention and solution of crimes.”
 Section 4 (i) Implementing Rules and Regulations affirmed that Criminology “refers to
the scientific study of crimes, criminals, victims, and criminal behavior. It also deals with
the prevention and solution of crimes.”
 Criminologist as identified by Marvin Wolfgang and Franco Ferracuti is the “one whose
professional training, occupational role, and pecuniary reward are primarily concentrated
on a scientific approach to, and study and analysis of the phenomenon of crime and
criminal behavior.”
 Section 22 of the repealed Republic Act 6506 defined Criminologist “any person who is
a graduate of the Degree of Criminology, who has passed the examination for
criminologists and is registered as such by the board” (Board of Examiners for
Criminologists)
 Section 4 (g) of Republic Act 11131 decreed that Registered Criminologist (RCrim),
“refers to a natural person who holds a valid certificate of registration and an updated
professional identification card as criminologist issued by the Board and the Commission
pursuant to this Act.”

B. Nature of Criminology
 Applied Science – it studies the causes of crimes, anthropology, psychology, sociology,
and natural sciences may be applied.
 Social Science – since crime is a social creation and that it exists in the society, its study
therefore is considered part of social science.
 Dynamic – criminology changes as social condition changes. It is concomitant with the
advancement of other sciences that have been applied to it;
 Nationalistic – the study of crimes must be in relation with the existing criminal law within
a territory or country.
C. Distinction between Criminology, Criminology, Criminal Justice and Deviance
 Criminology – It explains the etiology (origin), extent and nature of crime in society.
 Criminal Justice – It refers to the study of the agencies of social control that handle
criminal offenders.
 Deviance – It refers to the study of behavior that departs from social norms.
D. Overlapping Areas
 Criminal justice experts cannot begin to design effective programs of crime prevention and
rehabilitation without understanding the nature and cause of crime.
 They require accurate criminal statistics and data to test the effectiveness of crime control
and prevention program.
 Under the circumstances do deviant behaviors become crimes?
  If an illegal act becomes a norm, should society re-evaluate its criminal status?
E. Scope of the Study of Criminology
 Study of the origin and development of criminal or penal law.
 Study of crime causation; and
 Study of factors that enhance the development of criminal behavior such as:
 Criminology Demography – the study of the relationship between criminality and
population
 Criminal Epidiomology – the study of the relationship between environment and
criminality.
 Criminal Ecology – the study of criminality in relation to the spatial distribution
in a community.
 Criminal Physical Anthropology – the study of criminality in relation to physical
constitution of men.
 Criminal Psychology – the study of human behavior in relation to criminality
 Criminal Psychiatry – the study of human mind in relation to criminality
 Victimology – the study of the role of the victim in the commission of a crime.
F. Criminological Enterprise
 Criminal Statistic – gather valid crime data. Devising new research methods. Measuring
crime patterns and trends.
 Sociology of Law – determining the origin of law. Measuring the forces that can change
laws and society.
 Theory Construction – predicting individual behavior. Understanding the cause of crime
rates and trends.
 Criminal Behavior – determining the nature and cause of specific crime patterns. Studying
violence, theft, organized, white-collar, and public order crimes.
 Penology – studying the correction and control of criminal law.
 Victimology – studying the nature and cause of victimization. Aiding the crime victim.
 CHAPTER 2
HISTORY OF CRIMINOLOGY

A. Middle Ages/Pre-Classical Period

 Superstition and fear of satanic possession dominated thinking.
 People who violated social norms or religious practices were believed to be witches or
possessed by demons.
 The prescribed method for dealing with the possessed was burning at the stake, a practice
that survived into the seventeenth century.
B. Classical Criminology (Eighteenth Century)
 Jeremy Bentham
 He embraced the view that human behavior was a result of rational thought
processes.
 According to Bentham’s utilitarianism, people choose to act when, after
weighing costs and benefits, they believe that their actions will bring them an
increase in pleasure and a reduction of pain.

 Cesare Beccaria (1738 – 1794)

 He applied the principle of utilitarianism to criminal behavior in his famous
treatise, “On Crimes and Punishments” or “Dei Delittie e Dele Pene”.
 In every society people have free will to choose criminal or lawful solutions
to meet their needs to settle their problems.
 Criminal solutions can be very attractive because for little effort they hold
the promise of a huge payoff.
 A person will choose not to commit crime only if they believe that the pain
of expected punishment is greater than the promise of reward. This is called
the principle of deterrence.
 In order to be an effective crime deterrent, punishment must be severe, certain, and swift
enough to convince potential criminals that “crime does not pay”.
C. Positivism and Positivist Criminology (Nineteenth Century)
 Auguste Comte (1798 – 1857)
 He is considered as the founder of sociology. His positivism
applied scientific methods to the study of society.

POSITIVISM’S TWO MAIN ELEMENTS

1. All three knowledge is acquired through direct observation and not through conjecture or
beliefs. Statements that cannot be backed up by direct observation, - for instance, “all
babies are born innocent” - are invalid and worthless.
2. The scientific method must be used if research findings are to be considered valid. This
involves such steps as identifying problems, collecting data, forming hypothesis,
conducting experiments and interpreting results.
BIOLOGICAL POSITIVISM
 Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741 – 1801)
 A physiognomist who studied the facial features of criminals to
determine whether the shape of ears, nose, and eyes and the distance between
them were associated with antisocial behavior.

 Franz Joseph Gall (1758 – 1828) and Johann K. Spurzheim (1776 – 1832)
Johann Spurzheim Franz Joseph Gall
 They are phrenologist who studied the
shape of the skull and bumps on the head
to determine whether these physical
attributes were linked to criminal behavior.
 Phrenologists believed that external
cranial characteristics dictate which
areas of the brain control physical activity.
  Cesare Lombroso (1835 – 1909)
 He is known as the Father of Criminology, was a physician who served
much of his career in the Italian army, was studying the cadavers of executed
criminals in an effort to scientifically determine whether law violators were
physically different from people of conventional values and behavior.
 In his work titled “The Criminal Man” or “L’uomo Delinquente”,
Lombroso believed that serious offenders, those who engaged in repeated
assault or theft-related activities were “born criminals” who had inherited a
set of primitive physical traits that he referred to as atavistic anomalies.
 Among the crime-producing traits, Lombroso identified were enormous jaws and
strong canine teeth common to carnivores and savage who devour raw flesh.
 He attracted a circle of followers who expanded on his vision of biological
determinism.

PSYCHOLOGICAL POSITIVISM
 Philippe Pinel (1745 – 1826)
 He is one of the founder of French psychiatry, claimed that some
people behave abnormally even without being mentally ill.
 He coined the phrase manic sans delire to denote what today is
referred to as a psychopathic personality.

 Benjamin Rush (1745 – 1813)

 He described his patients with an “innate preternatural moral
depravity”.

 Henry Maudsley (1835 – 1918)

 He believed that insanity and criminal behavior were strongly
linked.
 He stated “Crime is a sort of outlet in which their unsound
tendencies are discharged; they would go mad they were not
criminals, and they do not go mad because they are criminals.”
 Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)
 He is the founder of psychoanalysis who work on the
unconsciousness minds.
 It consists processes in the mind which occur automatically and
are not available to introspection, and include thought processes,
memories, interest, and motivations.

SOCIAL POSITIVISM
 L.A.J (Adolphe) Quetelet (1796 – 1874) and Andre – Michel Guerry

 Quetelet instigated the use of data and statistics in performing

criminological research.
 Quetelet was a Belgian mathematician who began (along with a
Frenchman, Andre-Michel Guerry) what is known as a Cartographic School
of Criminology.
 He found that crime rates were greatest in the summer in northern areas,
among the poor and uneducated.
 He also found out that crime rates are influenced by drinking habits.

 David Emile Durkheim (1858 – 1917)

 Durkheim is considered one of the founders of sociology, define crime as a normal and
necessary social event.
Emile Durkheim’s Vision of Social Positivism
1. Crime is part of human nature because it has existed during periods
of both poverty and prosperity.
2. Crime is linked to the differences (heterogeneity) within society.
3. Crime can even be useful and on occasion, healthy for society.
4. Crime calls attention to social ill.
 In his influential book, “The Division of Labor in Society”,
Durkheim described the consequences of the shift from a small rural
society which he labelled “mechanical” to the more modern “organic” society with a
large urban population division of labor, and personal isolation.
C. THE CHICAGO SCHOOL
 The Chicago School sociologists initiated the view that crime and social
structural/ecological conditions were linked.
 Pioneered by urban sociologists teaching and conducting criminological research in
the Sociology Department of the University of Chicago such as:
 William Isaac Thomas (1863 – 1947)
 Robert Ezra Park (1864 – 1944)
 Ernest W. Burgess (1886 – 1996)
 Louis Wirth (1897 – 1952)

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL VIEWS

 In this view, socialization rather than social structure is the key to understanding crime.
 According to Edwin Sutherland, preeminent American Criminologist, it was the learning
of criminal attitudes from older, more experienced law violators which cause criminal
activity.
 According to Chicago trained sociologist Walter Reckless, crime occurs when children
develop an inadequate self-image, rendering them incapable of controlling their own
misbehavior.
CONFLICT CRIMINOLOGY
 Conflict Criminology viewed that capitalism precipitates criminality by creating an
unequal access to the necessities of life as well as by viewing success in economic
competition as a sign of a status.
 Karl Marx is an inspirational figure behind conflict criminological view. In his
communist manifesto and other writings, he insisted that economic substructures
determine the nature of all other institutions and social relationship to society.
 Willem Bonger (1876 – 1940)
 The foremost early Marxist Criminologist whose noted works was
“Criminality and Economic Conditions” (1969), which was fist appeared in
1910.
 He viewed criminal law as primarily protecting the interest of the
propertied class.

D. INTEGRATING DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES: DEVELOPMENTAL CRIMINOLOGY

 Hans Eysenck
 He published “Crime and Personality” in 1964 and proclaimed that
antisocial behavior was linked to psychological conditions that were a product of
heredity.
  His controversial theory integrated social, biological, and psychological factors,
a vision that upset the sociologists who controlled the field at that time.
 Sheldon (1896 – 1980) and Eleanor (1898 – 1972) Glueck

 Considered as founders of the developmental branch of criminological

theory.
 The Glueck’s identified a number of personal and social factors related to
persistent offending, the most important of which was family relation in terms
of discipline and emotional ties with parents.
 Integrating biological , social, and psychological elements, the Gluecks’
research suggested that the initiation and continuity of a criminal career was a
developmental process influenced by both internal and external situations,
conditions, and circumstances.

CONTEMPORARY CRIMINOLOGY
CLASSICAL THEORY HAS EVOLVED INTO RATIONAL CHOICE AND
DETERRENCE THEORIES
 Deterrence theory, holds that this choice is structured by the fear of punishment.
BIOLOGICAL POSITIVISM HAS UNDERGONE SIMILAR TRANSFORMATION
 Behavior is altered when an individual’s biological and psychological traits interact with
environmental influences.
 Biological and psychological criminologists study the association between criminal
behavior and such traits as diet, hormonal makeup, personality, and intellegence.
SOCIOLOGICAL TRADITION MAINTAINS THAT INDIVIDUALS’ LIFESTYLE AND
LIVING CONDITIONS DIRECTLY CONTROL THEIR CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR
1) Contemporary structural and social ecological theory holds that:
a) A person’s place in the social structure controls his or her behavioral choices,
and
b) Due to the ecological conditions they face, those at the botton of the social structure,
cannot achieve success and instead experience anomie, strain, failure, and
frustration.
SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY THEORIES REMAIN INFLUENTIAL
WITH CONTEMPORARY CRIMINOLOGISTS
 Children learn to commit crime by interacting with and modelling their behavior after
others they admire.
  Whereas other criminal offenders are people whose life experiences have shattered their
social bonds to society.
THE WRITINGS OF MARX AND HIS FOLLOWERS ALSO CONTINUE TO BE
INFLUENTIAL
 Many criminologists still view social and political conflict as the root of cause of crime.
CRIMINOLOGY IN THE PHILIPPINES
 Criminology was first offered as course in the Philippines sometime in 1950’s at
Philippine College of Criminology (formerly Plaridel College or Escuela de Derechos)
at Sta. Cruz, Manila.
 Known as pioneer school of criminology for scientific crime detection and police science
in the Philippines Supreme Court Justice Felix Angelo Bautista established it on June 1,
1954.
 Later, it was Dr. Eduardo J. Bautista who took over and caused the steady and gradual
process of PCCr.
 June 11, 1956 – the school had already a four-year course leading to the Degree
of Bachelor of Science in Criminology.
 June 12, 1961 – the Bureau of the Higher Education granted recognition to the
Philippine College of Criminology its masteral program.
 July 31, 1972 – it offered a two-year graduate program leading to the Degree
of Master of Arts in Criminology.
 Apil 20, 1993 – PCCr was authorized by the government to open its graduate
program leading to the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Criminology under
Government Permit No. C-09
 April 4, 1995 – the Commission on Higher Education issued Government
Recognition No. C-035 for PCCr’s graduate program leading to the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Criminology.
PROFESSIONAL CRIMINOLOGIST ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES
 An accredited professional association of licensed criminologists of the Philippines by the
PRC (Professional Regulation Commission)
 Accredited by the PRC on March 25, 1990
 Coordinate with the PRC and the Philippine Board of Criminology in helping promote the
Criminology Profession.
 CHAPTER 3
INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINAL LAW

A. CRIMINAL LAW
 Criminal Law - Criminal law is that branch or division of law which defines crimes
and its nature, and provides for their punishment. The Revised Penal Code (Act
No.3815) and other special penal laws enacted by Congress are the sources of the
penal laws in the country.
B. BASIC ELEMENTS OF CRIMINAL LAW
 There must be a law or statue promulgated by the state
 The law or statue must specifically define what act or conduct is criminal; and
 The law or statue musty have a penal sanction.
C. THE POWER TO DEFINE AND PUNISH CRIME
 Police power is the “state of authority to enact legislation that may ionterfere with
personal liberty or property in order to promote the general welfare.”
 It is consists of:
 An imposition of restraint upon liberty or preoperty.
 In order to foster the common good.
D. LIMITATIONS UPON POWER OF THE STATE TO ENACT PENAL LAW
 It cannot enact an ex post facto law nor bill of attainder.
 Penal laws must be of general application; and
 It cannot provide for a cruel or unusual punishment nor can it impose excessive fines.
 EX POST FACTO LAW – a law to be call ex post facto must refer to penal
matters, retroactive in application and prejudicial to the accused.
 BILL OF ATTAINDER – A bill of attainder is a legislative act which inflicts
punishment without trial; then essence of which the substantial legislative fiat
for judicial determination of guilt.
 CRUEL OR UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT
 Torture or degrading conduct towards a prisoner.
 A penalty that is out of all proportion to the offense committed.
E. CHARACTERISTICS OF CRIMINAL LAW
 GENERALITY – The provision of the criminal or penal law must be applied equally to all
persons within the territory regardless of sex, race, nationality, and other personal
circumstances, with the following exceptions:
 HEAD OF STATES OR COUNTRY
 FOREIGN DIPLOMATS AND AMBASSADORS
 TERRITORIALITY – As part of the right of the state to self-preservation, each independent
country has the right to promulgate laws enforceable within its territorial jurisdiction, subject
 only to the limitations imposed by treaties of preferential applications and by the operations of
international law of nation.
 The Revised Penal Code and other special laws are applicable only to the areas within the
Philippine territorial jurisdiction, such as:
 TERRESTRIAL JURISDICTION is the jurisdiction exercised over the land or the
Philippine archipelago which refers all the islands that comprise the Philippines.
 FLUVAIL JURISDICTION is the jurisdiction exercised over maritime and interior
waters.
 INTERIOR WATERS – all bodies of water that connect all the islands such
as bays, river and streams.
 MARITIME ZONE – the twelve (12) Nautical Mile limit beyond our shore
measured at low tide.
 AERIAL JURISDICTION is the jurisdiction exercised over the atmosphere.
 ABSOLUTE THEORY
 The subjacent state has complete jurisdiction over the atmosphere
above it subject only to innocent passage by air craft of foreign
country.
 Under this theory, if the crime is committed in an aircraft, no matter
how high as long it can establish that it is within the Philippine
atmosphere, Philippine law will govern.
EXCEPTIONS TO THE TERRITORIAL CHARACTER OF THE RPC
 The Revised Penal Code shall be applicable to all cases committed outside the Philippine
territorial jurisdiction under the following circumstances:
 Should commit an offense while on Philippine ship or airship: (international laws
but the ship of the Philippine)
 Should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of the Philippine Island or
obligations and securities issued by the government of the Philippines. (reason
for this exception is to preserve the financial and stability of the state or
country)
 While being a public officer or employee, should commit an offense in the exercise
of their functions.
 Should commit any of the crimes against national security and law of nations.
(against to the laws of the Philippines)
 PROSPECTIVITY – No person may be punished for his act when at the time he commited
the act, it is still not yet punishable by law. However, penal laws may be given retroactive
effect when is favorable to the accused, who is not a habitual criminal.
 Lex prospicit, non respicit – The law looks forward, not to be backward.
 CHAPTER 4
DEVELOPMENTAL OF LAWS

A. THE CODE OF HAMMURABI (1792 – 1750 B.C.E)

 An early code which was promulgated by King Hammurabi, the sixth king of
Babylon, created the most famous set of laws of ancient world known today as the
code of Hammurabi.
 Preserved on basalt rock column, the code established a system of crime and
punishment based in retribution and physical relation (“an eye for an eye”) this refer
to the law of retaliation or “lex talionis”.
 The severity of punishment depended on class standing: if convicted of an unprovoked
assault, a slave would be killed whereas a freeman might lose a limb.
B. MOSAIC CODES OF THE ISRAELITES (1200 B.C.E)
 According to tradition, God entered into a covenant or contract with the tribes of Israel
in which they agreed to obey his law (the 613 las of the old testament, including the
Ten Commadments), as presented to them by Moses, in return for God’s special care
and protection.
 First to incorporate humanism and the democratic spirit into a written Judicial code.
 Based on the dignity of man and individual equality before the law. Individuals
accused of the crimes were considered innocent until proven guilty, had the right to
confront accusers, will allowed to testify on their own behalf. Will not subject to double
jeopardy, could appeal convictions, use of restitution.
 The Mosaic code is not only the foundation of Judeo-Christian moral teachings but also
a basis for the U.S legal system.
C. THE CODE OF DRACO (621 B.C.E)
 Draco was a Greek Citizen chosen to write a code of law for Athens.
 These were the first written laws of Greece. They introduce the idea of the state (rather
than private parties) providing the punishments for criminal acts.
 The punishment were very harsh (often death), hence the modern word “Dracionian”
(unduly harsh)
 The code of Draco is known to be law that provide very harsh punishment.
D. THE CODE OF TWELVE TABLES (451 B.C.E)
 The Decemviri Consulari Imperio Legibus Scribundis, a special commission of ten
noble Roman men, formulated the Twelve Tables from the lower classes, who
referred as plebeians.
  The written recording of the law in the Twelve Tables enabled the plebeians both to
became acquainted with law and protect themselves against patricians’ abuses of
power.
 An injured person could seek compensation from those who caused the harm
(precursor of Tort System) even people from the lower classes who were harmed by
the ruling class.
E. THE JUSTINIAN CODE (527-565 B.C.E)
 Emperor Justinian I was the ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire, or the Byzantine
Empire who set out to reform the Roman legal system by creating his own set of laws
and interpretations based on the old roman laws.
 The purpose of these set of laws was to create universal set of laws that all of the
Byzantine Empire could follow and was given precedence over any local laws,
preventing any contradictions in court rulings.
 This set of laws would be known as Corpus Juris Civilis, which translates to “Body
of Civil law” and would be also known to be as the Justinian Code.
 The Justinian Code was used as the foundation for many European countries legal
system that cite code to interpret laws and their meanings (Civil Law System)
F. THE COMMON LAW (1066)
 After the Noman conquests of England, a common law developed that helped
standardized law and justice.
 The common law was based on judge decisions. Judges would decide cases, and
future cases would be decided based on those previous decisions. This system known
as stare decisis (Latin for “to stand by decided cases”), was used by the early courts
to determine the outcome of criminal cases.

COMMON LAW CIVIL LAW

uncodified Codified
Judicials precedents are binding Judicial precedents are not binding (or atleast
not so much)
main sources of the laws : (1) Case- Main source of the law :
law more than legislation; (2) custom + legislation/constitution
practice
 The present English system, which still relies on common law has come to
existence during the reign of Henry II (1154-1189)
 Common law is not applicable in the Philippines. The Supreme Court once held,
“xxx unless there be a particular provision in the penal code or special law that
defines and punishes the act, even if it be socially or morally wrong, no criminal
liability is incurred by its commission”
G. THE PHILIPPINE LEGAL SYSTEM
 The Philippine legal system is a mixture of customary usage, Roman (civil law) and
Anglo-American (common law) systems and Islamis law.
 The legal system is the result of the immigration of Muslim Malays in the fourteenth
century and the subsequent colonization of the islands by Spain and United States.
 The main source of Philippine law are:
 The Constitution – the fundamental and supreme law of the land
 Statues – including Acts of Congress, municipal chapters, municipal
legislation, court rules, administrative rules and orders, legislative rules and
presidential issuances.
 Acts of congress – Republic Act
 Municipal Chapter – Ordinance
 Court rules – Procedure of process of a case in the court.
 Administrative rules and orders
 Legislative rules – sa congress, house of represenatives and senate may
sariling legislative rules.
 Presidential issuances – there’s a time in our history that our president
has the power to create laws that maybe considered as a criminal law, it
defines crime and it provides punishment.
 Presidential decrease – during the time of former President Ferdinand
Marcos. He issued a lot of presidential decrease that in this decrease it
provides definitions of crimes and punishment.
 Court Rules, Administrative Rules, Legislative Rules – Processes or
steps in filing jurisdiction.
 Treaties and conventions – these have the same force of authority as statues.
 Judicial decisions – Art 8 of the Civil Code provides that ‘judicial decisions
applying to or interpreting the laws or the constitution shall form a part of the
legal system of the Philippines’. Only decisions of its Supreme Court
established jurisprudence and are binding on all other courts.
 To some extent, customary law also forms part of the Filipino legal system. Article 6,
part 2 of the Constitution provides that ‘the state shall recognize, respect and protect
their right of indigenous cultural communities to preserve and develop their cultures,
traditions and institutions’.
 The primary sources of Muslim law or Shariah are the Quran, Sunnaqh, Ijma, and
Qiyas.
 Quran – Holy book of Muslim
 Sunnaqh – Tradition/customs/practices of the Islamic Community
 Ijma – refers to agreement of Muslim community
 Qiyas – refers to interpretation of Quran and Sunnaqh
 CHAPTER 5
THE PHILIPPINE CRIMINAL LAW

A. CLASIFICATION OF PHILIPPINE CRIMINAL LAW

 SUBSTANTIVE LAW - It deals with the “substance” of someone charges. Every
charge is comprised of elements. Elements are the specific act needed to complete a
crime.
 A substantive law will tell to us what particular acts considered as crime or
what particular acts committed by a certain person will be considered as crime.
 Substantive law requires that the prosecutor prover every element of a crime
in order for someone to be convicted of a specific crime.
 In charge of prosecuting in a particular offense or crime based on a
substantive law is called “Prosecutor”.
 PROCEDURAL LAW O REMEDIAL LAW - To provide the process that the case
will go through (whether it goes to trial or not)
 It determines how a proceeding concerning the enforcement of substantive
law will occur.
 It sets out the procedure for how a criminal case will proceed.
 RULES OF COURT THIS IS NOT A LAW ENACTED BY THE
CONGRESS, BUT WAS PROMULGATED BY THE SUPREME COURT
OF THE PHILIPPINES
B. SOURCES OF PHILIPPINE CRIMINAL LAW
 The sources of criminal law in the Philippines are:
 The Revised Penal Code (Act No. 3815) and its amendments.
 Republic Acts – are special laws which were passed after the 1987
Philippine Constitution was enacted where the system of our government is
now democratic and republican.
 The 1987 Philippine Constitution is the governing supreme law in our
country.
 ALL ACTS ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS, CONSTITUTING THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATE ARE CALLED
REPUBLIC ACTS.
 The sources of criminal law before the 1987 Philippine Constitution:
 Presidential Decrees – are special law which were passed during the Martial
Law era wherein the Philippines was placed under a Parliamentary system of
a government.
 Executive Order of Former President Corazon C. Aquino during her
incumbency.
  Other special penal laws passed by the Philippine Commission, Philippine
Assembly, Philippine Legislature, National Assembly, the Congress of the
Philippines and the Batasang Pambansa.
 The legislative power is shared by the Congress with the local legislatives or the
local law – making bodies of the different political divisions of the Philippines which
are the provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays.
 Ordinance – a law passed by a local legislative and is only applicable within
their respective political jurisdiction.
C. HISTORY OF THE REVISED PENAL CODE
 It replaced the old Penal Code, which was based on the Spanish Penal Code of 1870.
A Spanish royal order in 1886 extended the application of the Spanish Penal Code
(with some modification) to the Philippines (see Us vs. Tamparong, 31 Phil.323).
 Administrative Order No. 94 of the Department of Justice, dated October 18, 1927,
created a committee to revised the old Penal Code, taking into consideration the
existing conditions, the special penal laws and the rulings laid down by the Supreme
Court. The Committee is composed of the following:
 Chairman: ANACLETO DIAZ
 Members: QUINTIN PAREDES, GUILLERMO GUEVARA, ALEX REYES
and MARIANO H. DE JOYA
 this committee was able to revised or finish their task of revising the old Penal
law and approved on December 8, 1930 and took effect on January 1, 1932.
D. THEORIES GOVERNING THE REVISED PENAL CODE
1) CLASSICAL
 RPC (Revised Penal Code) continues like the old Penal Code, to be based on the
principle of the old or Classical School.
 The basis of criminal liability is human freewill and the purpose of the penalty is
retribution.
 The classical theory is applied to heinous crimes.
2) POSITIVIST
 In other words positivist believed that person who committed crime have
something that is not right inside their body that makes them not in control of their
actions that unfortunately lead into commission of crime.
 Recognizes the redeemable good in the accused. Hence penalty is imposed for
preventive and corrective purposes.
E. PARTS OF THE REVISED PENAL CODE
 RPC is consist of two (2) books, namely;
 Book 1 – consist of two (2) parts;
 Basic principles affecting criminal liability (Article 1-20)
 Provision on penalties including criminal and civil liability (Article 21-113)
  Book 2 – consist of defined felonies with the corresponding penalties, classified
and group under fourteen different titles.
 Crimes against national security (e.g., treason and espionage);
 Crimes against fundamental laws of the state (e.g., arbitrary detention
and crimes against religious worship);
 Crimes against public order (e.g., rebellion and sedition);
 Crimes against public interest (e.g., forgeries and fraud);
 Crimes relating to prohibited drugs (this title is amended na by Republic
Act 9165 also known as the comprehensive dangerous drug act);
 Crimes against public morals (e.g., gambling and betting);
 Crimes committed by public officers (e.g., bribery and malversation of
public funds)
 Crimes against persons (e.g., murder [more serious than homicide] and
homicide);
 Crimes against personal liberty and security (e.g., kidnapping, slavery
and trespassing)
 Crimes against property (e.g., robbery [used by forces and intimidation]
and theft [no force and intimidation]);
 Crimes against chastity (e.g., adultery and concubinage
 Crimes against the civil status of a person (e.g., simulation of birth and a
usurpation of civil status)
 Crimes against honor (e.g., libel); and
 Criminal negligence
F. CARDINAL PRINCIPLES OBSERVED BY THE REVISED PENAL CODE
 Criminal/Penal laws are liberally in favor of the accused and strictly against the state
when the law is ambiguous and there is doubt as to its interpretation.
 Equipoise Doctrine – when the evidence of the prosecution and the defense is equally
balance, the scale should be tilted in favor of the accused in obedience to the constitutional
presumption of innocence. Hence should be acquitted.
 Void-for-vagueness Doctrine – a satue establishing a criminal offense with sufficient
definetness that person of ordinary intelligence can understand what conduct is prohibited.
 The Doctrine of Pro Reo – when a circumstance is susceptible of two interpretations
one favorable to the accused and the other against him, that interpretation favorable to him
shall prevail.
 There is no crime when there is no law punishing the act (Nullem crimen nulla poena
sine lege)
 Ignorance of the law excuses no one (ignorantia lege neminem excusat)
 The cannot be criminal unless the mind is not criminal (actus non facit reum, nisi mens
sit rea). Since intent is an essential element of intentional felony, when the accused acted
in good faith, there is no crime committed.
 He who is the cause of the cause is the cause of the evil caused. (el que de la cause es
causa del mal causado)
 Proximate cause – that cause, which in a natural and continuous sequence,
unbroken by any efficient intervening cause, produces the injury, and without
which the result would not have occurred.