What are the Aggravating Circumstances indicated in Art. 14?

1)That advantage be taken by the offender of his public position.

-applicable only when the offender is a public officer
2)That the crime be committed in contempt of or with insult to the public authorities.
Requisites:
-that the public authority is engaged in the exercise of his functions.
-that he who is thus engaged in the exercise of said functions is not the person against whom
the crime is committed.
-the offender knows him to be a public authority
-his presence has not prevented the offender from committing the criminal act
“Public Authority”
-also known as person in authority, is a public officer who is directly vested with jurisdiction,
that is, a public officer who has the power to govern and execute the laws.
3)That the act be committed with insult or in disregard of the respect due to the offended
party on account of his rank, age, or sex, or that it be committed in the dwelling of the
offended party, if the latter has not given provocation.
- In here, there are 4 aggravating circumstances, If all four are present, they have only the
weight of one aggravating circumstance.
4)That the act be committed with abuse of confidence or obvious ungratefulness.
Requisites:
-that the offended party had trusted the offender
-that the offender abused such trust by committing a crime against the offended party
-that the abuse of confidence facilitated the commission of the crime
5)That the crime be committed in the palace of the Chief Executive, or in his presence, or where
public authorities are engaged in the discharge of their duties, or in a place dedicated to
religious worship.
-cemeteries are not a place of worship
6. That the crime be committed in the nighttime, or in an uninhabited place, or by a band,
whenever such circumstances may facilitate the commission of the offense.
Whenever more than three armed malefactors shall have acted together in the commission
of an offense it shall be deemed to have been committed by a band.
*When is this aggravating?
-when it facilitated the commission of a crime; or
-when especially sought for by the offender to insure the commission of the crime or for the
purpose of impunity; or
-when the offender took advantage thereof for the purpose of impunity.
*Nighttime
-that period of darkness beginning at the end of dusk and ending at dawn. Nights are from
sunset to sunrise.
*Uninhabited place
-is one where there are no houses at all, a place at a considerable distance from town, or where
the houses are scattered at a great distance from each other.
*By a band
-whenever more than three armed malefactors shall have acted together in the commission of
an offense, it shall be deemed to have been committed by a band.
Note:
“By a band” is aggravating in robbery with homicide
7. That the crime be committed on the occasion of a conflagration, shipwreck, earthquake,
epidemic or other calamity or misfortune.
*The offender must take advantage of the calamity of misfortune.
8. That the crime be committed with the aid of armed men or persons who insure or afford
impunity.
Requisites:
-that armed men or persons took part in the commission of the crime, directly or indirectly.
-that the accused availed himself of their aid or relied upon them when the crime was
committed.
9. That the accused is a recidivist.
Who is a recidivist?
A recidivist is one who, at the time of his trial for one crime, shall have been previously
convicted by final judgment of another crime embraced in the same title of this Code.
Requisites:
-That the offender is on trial for an offense;
-That he was previously convicted by final judgement of another crime;
-That both the first and the second offense are embraced in the same title of the code;
-That the offender is convicted of the new offense.
10. That the offender has been previously punished for an offense to which the law attaches
an equal or greater penalty or for two or more crimes to which it attaches a lighter penalty.
*This is also known as REITERACION
Requisites:
-That the accused is on trial for an offense;
-That he previously served sentence for another offense to which the law attaches an equal or
greater penalty, or for two or more crimes to which it attaches lighter penalty than that for the
offense; and
-That he is convicted of the new offense.
Recidivism distinguished from Reiteracion
-In reiteracion, it is necessary that the offender shall have served out his sentence for the first
offense; whereas, in recidivism, it is enough that a final judgement has been rendered in the
first offense.
-In reiteracion, the previous and subsequent offenses must not be embraced in the same title of
this code; whereas, recidivism, requires that the offenses be included in the same title of this
code.
-Reiteracion is not always an aggravating circumstance; whereas, recidivism is always to be
taken into consideration in fixing the penalty to be imposed upon the accused.
What are the four forms of repetition?
a) Recidivism
b) Reiteracion
c) Multi-recidivism or habitual delinquency
 d) Quasi-recidivism
Habitual Delinquency
-There is habitual delinquency when a person, within a period of ten years from the date of his
release of last conviction of the crimes of serious or less serious physical injuries, robbery, theft,
estafa or falsification, is found guilty of any of said crimes a third time or oftener.
Quasi-recidivism
-Any person who shall commit a felony after having been convicted by final judgement, before
beginning to serve such sentence, or while serving the same, shall be punished by the
maximum period of the penalty prescribed by law for the new felony.
11. That the crime be committed in consideration of a price, reward, or promise.
*This aggravating circumstance presupposes the concurrence of two or more offenders
-When this aggravating circumstance is present, there must be two or more principals, the one
who gives or offers the price or promise and the one who accepts it, both of whom are
principals to the former, because he directly induces the latter to commit the crime, and the
latter because he commits it.
12. That the crime be committed by means of inundation, fire, poison, explosion, stranding of
a vessel or intentional damage thereto, derailment of a locomotive, or by the use of any
other artifice involving great waste and ruin.

13. That the act be committed with evident premeditation.

-There must be evidence showing that the accused meditated and reflected on his intention
between the time when the crime was conceived by him and the time it was actually
perpetrated. (People v. Carillo)
Requisites of evident premeditation:
The prosecution must prove the following:
-The time when the offender determined to commit the crime;
-An act manifestly indicating that the culprit has clung to his determination; and
-A sufficient lapse of time between the determination and execution, to allow him to reflect
upon the consequences of his act and to allow his conscience to overcome the resolution of his
will.
14. That craft, fraud, or disguise be employed.
Craft- involves intellectual trickery and cunning on the part of the accused
Disguise- resorting to any device to conceal identity
How is craft distinguished from fraud?
-When there is a direct inducement by insidious words or machinations, fraud is present;
otherwise, the act of the accused done in order not to arouse the suspicion of the victim
constitutes craft.
15. That advantage be taken of superior strength, or means be employed to weaken the
defense.
-To take advantage of superior strength means to use purposely excessive force out of
proportion to the means of defense available to the person attacked.
*there is no abuse of superior strength in parricide against the wife
*the aggravating circumstance of abuse of superior strength depends on the age, size and
strength of the parties.
16. That the act be committed with treachery (alevosia).
There is treachery when the offender commits any of the crimes against the person, employing
means, methods, or forms in the execution thereof which tend directly and specially to insure
its execution, without risk to himself arising from the defense which the offended party might
make.
Rules regarding treachery
-applicable only to crimes against person
-Means, methods or forms need not insure accomplishment of crime
-the mode of attack must be consciously adopted
Requisites:
-that at the time of the attack, the victim was not in a position to defend himself; and
-that the offender consciously adopted the particular means, method or form of attack
employed by him.
*There is treachery in killing a child
*nighttime is inherent in treachery
17. That means be employed or circumstances brought about which add ignominy to the
natural effects of the act.
Ignominy- is a circumstance pertaining to the moral order, which adds disgrace and obloquy to
the material injury caused by the crime.
18. That the crime be committed after an unlawful entry.
There is an unlawful entry when an entrance is effected by a way not intended for the
purpose.
*There is an unlawful entry when an entrance is effected by a way not intended for the
purpose.
*Unlawful entry must be a means to effect entrance and not for escape.
19. That as a means to the commission of a crime a wall, roof, floor, door, or window be
broken.

20. That the crime be committed with the aid of persons under fifteen years of age or by
means of motor vehicles, airships, or other similar means.
-Two different aggravating circumstances are grouped in this paragraph. The first one tends to
repress, so far as possible, the frequent practice resorted to by professional criminals to avail
themselves of minors taking advantage of their irresponsibility; and the second one is intended
to counteract the great facilities found by modern criminal in said means to commit crime and
flee and abscond once the same is committed.
21. That the wrong done in the commission of the crime be deliberately augmented by
causing other wrong not necessary for its commission.
What is cruelty?
-there is cruelty when the culprit enjoys and delights in making his victim suffer slowly and
gradually, causing him unnecessary physical pain in the consummation of the criminal act
Requisites of cruelty:
-that the injury caused be deliberately increased by causing other wrong;
-that the other wrong be unnecessary for the execution of the purpose of the offender.
ARTICLE 15. Their Concept. — Alternative circumstances are those which must be taken into
consideration as aggravating or mitigating according to the nature and effects of the crime
and the other conditions attending its commission. They are the relationship, intoxication and
the degree of instruction and education of the offender.
The alternative circumstance of relationship shall be taken into consideration when the
offended party is the spouse, ascendant, descendant, legitimate, natural, or adopted brother
or sister, or relative by affinity in the same degrees of the offender.
The intoxication of the offender shall be taken into consideration as a mitigating circumstance
when the offender has committed a felony in a state of intoxication, if the same is not
habitual or subsequent to the plan to commit said felony; but when the intoxication is
habitual or intentional it shall be considered as an aggravating circumstance.
The alternative circumstances are:
-relationship
-intoxication; and
-degree of instruction and education of the offender
Relationship
The alternative circumstance of relationship shall be taken into consideration when the
offended party is the:
-spouse
-ascendant
-descendant
-legitimate, natural, or adopted brother or sister, or
-relative by affinity in the same degree of the offender.
*Relationship is mitigating in trespass to dwelling
Intoxication
Mitigating- (1) if intoxication is not habitual, or (2) if intoxication is not subsequent to the plan
to commit a felony.
Aggravating- (1) if intoxication is habitual, or (2) if it is intentional.
It is intentional when the offender drinks liquor fully knowing its effects, to find in the liquor a
stimulant to commit a crime or a means to suffocate any remorse.
Degree of instruction and education of the offender
Low Degree of instruction and education or lack of it is generally mitigating. High degree
of instruction and education is aggravating, when the offender avails himself of his learning in
committing the crime
*Lack of education and instruction is not mitigating in murder