CRI

MINALLAW BOOKI

MI
TIGATI
NGCI
RCUMSTANCES

 Def
ini
ti
on–Thoseci
rcumst
ancewhi
chr
educet
hepenal
tyofacr
ime

 Eff
ect–Reducest
hepenal
tyoft
hecr
imebutdoesnoter
asecr
imi
nall
i
abi
l
itynorchanget
he
nat
ureoft
hecrime

 Ki
ndsofMi
ti
gat
ingCi
rcumstance:
Pri
vi
legedMiti
gat
ing Or
dinar
yMi
ti
gat
ing
Offsetbyany Cannotbeoffsetbyanyaggr
avat
ing Can be offset by a gener
ic
aggravat
ing ci
rcumstance aggr
avat
ingcir
cumstance
ci
rcumstance
Eff
ecton t he Has t he effect of imposing the Ifnotof f
set
, hastheef f
ectof
penalt
y penaltyby1or2degr eeslowerthan imposi ng the penalt
y in the
thatprovidedbyl aw mini
mum per i
od
Ki
nds Minority
,I ncompl et
e Self-
defense, Those ci
rcumst
ances
two or more miti
gati
ng enumer at
edinpar
agraph1t o10
cir
cumst ances wit
hout any ofAr t
icle13
aggravati
ngci rcumstance( hasthe
effectofloweri
ngt hepenalt
ybyone
degree)

Ar
ti
cle13.Mi
ti
gat
ingci
rcumst
ances.-
-

1.Thosementi
onedi
ntheprecedi
ngchapt
er,
whenallt
herequisi
tesnecessarytoj
ust
if
y
theactort
oexemptf
rom cr
iminal
li
abi
li
tyi
nther
especti
vecasesarenotattendant

 Just
if
yingci
rcumst
ances

a.Self-
defense/
defenseofrelat
ive/
def
enseofst ranger– unl
awfulaggressionmustbe
presentforArt13t obeappli
cabl
e.Other2elementsnotnecessar
y.If2r equi
sit
esar
e
present–consideredapr
ivi
l
egedmi t
igat
ingci
rcumstance.

Example:Juanmakesf unofPedr o.Pedrogetspissedoff,get

sakni f
eandt r
iestostab
Juan.Juan gr abs his own knife and ki
l
ls Pedro.Incomplete self
-def
ense because
alt
houghther ewasunlawf ulaggressi
onandreasonablemeanst or epelwastaken,t
here
wassuf fi
cientprovocati
onont hepar tofJuan.Butsi nce2el ement sarepresent,i
t
consi
deredaspr iv
il
egedmi t
igat
ing.

How,
ifatal
l
,mayi
ncompl
etesel
f-
def
enseaf
fectt
hecr
imi
nall
i
abi
l
ityoft
heof
fender
?

I
fthequest
ionspecif
ical
l
yrefer
stoi
ncompl
etesel
f-
def
ense,def
enseofr
elat
iveordef
enseofst
ranger
,
y
ouhavetoqual
ifyyouranswer.

Fir
st,tohav
eincompl
etesel
f-
defense,t
heoff
endedpartymustbeguil
tyofunl
awfulaggressi
on.Wi
thout
thi
s,ther
ecanbenoincompl
eteself
-def
ense,
defenseofrel
ati
ve,
ordef
enseofstr
anger.

Second,i
fonlytheelementofunlawfulaggr
essionispresent
,theot
herrequi
sit
esbei
ngabsent
,the
off
endershal
lbegi
venonl
ythebenefi
tofanordinarymi
ti
gati
ngcir
cumst
ance.

Third,ifasidefrom theelementofunlawfulaggr
essionanotherrequisi
te,butnotal
l
,arepr
esent
,the
offendershallbegiventhebenefi
tofapri
vi
legedmiti
gatingci
rcumstance.Insuchacase,t
hei
mposable
penaltyshallbereducedbyoneort wodegreesdependinguponhowt hecour tr
egar
dsthei
mport
anceof
therequisi
tespresent.Orabsent
.

b.Stat
eofNecessity(
par4)avoidanceofgreat
erevi
lorinj
ury
;ifanyoft
hel
ast2r
equi
sit
es
isabsent
,ther
e’sonl
yanordinaryMit
igat
ingCir
cumstance.

Example:Whiledri
vinghiscar,JuanseesPedr ocarel
esslycrossi
ngt hestr
eet.Juan
swerv
est oavoi
dhim,thushi
tt
ingamot orbikewith2passenger
s,ki
ll
ingthem i
nstant
ly.
Notallrequi
sit
estojust
if
yactwerepresentbecausehar
m donetoavoidinj
uryi
sgr eat
er.
Consi
der edasmiti
gati
ng.

1
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

c.Perf
ormanceofDut y(par5)
Example:Juani
ssupposedt oar
restPedr
o.Hethusgoest
oPedr
o’shi
deout.Juanseesa
man asleep.Thinki
ng itwas Pedro,Juan shothi
m.Juan mayhave act ed i
nt he
perf
ormanceofhi sdutybutthecr i
mewasnota necessaryconsequencet hereof
.
Consider
edasmit i
gati
ng.

 Exempt
ingci
rcumst
ance

a.Mi
nori
tyover9andunder15–i
fmi
noract
edwi
thdi
scer
nment
,consi
der
edPr
ivi
l
ege
mit
igat
ing

Exampl
e:13y
earoldst
olegoodsatni
ght
ti
me.Act
edwi
thdi
scer
nmentasshownbyt
he
manneri
nwhi
chtheactwascommitt
ed.

*I
ftheof
fenderi
spr
ovent
ohav
eact
edwi
thdi
scer
nment
,thi
siswher
ethecour
tmaygi
vehi
m
t
hebenef
itofasuspendedsentence.Hemaybegi
venthebenef
itofasuspendedsent
enceunder
t
hecondi
ti
onsmentionedearl
i
erandonlyi
fhewoul
dfil
eanappli
cati
ontheref
or.

b.Causinginj
urybymereaccident–if2nd r
equisi
te(duecare)and1stpar
tof4th r
equi
sit
e
(wi
thoutfaul
t–thusnegli
genceonl
y)areABSENT, consi
deredasmiti
gati
ngbecausethe
penal
tyislowert
hanthatpr
ovidedf
orintenti
onalfel
ony.

Example:Policeoffi
certri
estostopafightbetweenJuanandPedrobyf
ir
inghi
sguni
n
theair
.Bul l
etricochetedandkill
edPetra.Off
icerwi
ll
ful
l
ydischar
gedhi
sgunbutwas
unmindfulofthefactthatareawaspopulat
ed.

c.Uncont
rol
l
abl
efear–onl
yoner
equi
sit
epr
esent
,consi
der
edmi
ti
gat
ing

Example:Underthreatthattheirf
arm wi
l
lbeburned,Pedr
oandJuant ookt ur
nsguarding
i
tatnight.Pedrof ir
edi ntheai rwhenapersoni ntheshadowsr efusedtorevealhis
i
denti
ty.Juanwasawakenedandshott heunidenti
fi
edper son.Turnedoutt o bea
nei
ghborlooki
ngf orispet.Juanmayhav eact
edundertheinf
luenceoffearbutsuchfear
wasnotentir
elyuncontroll
able.Consi
der
edmiti
gati
ng.

2.Thatt
heof
fenderi
sUNDER18YEARSofageorOVER70YEARS.

 Appl
icabl
eto:
a.Of
fenderunder15

b.Of
fenderov
er15andunder18,
whoact
edwi
thdi
scer
nment

c.Of
fenderov
er70y
ear
s

 Ageofaccusedwhi
chshoul
dbedet
ermi
nedashi
sageatt
hedat
eofcommi
ssi
onofcr
ime,
notdat
eoftri
al

3.Thatt
heof
fenderhadnoi
ntent
iont
ocommi
tsogr
aveawr
ongast
hatcommi
tt
ed
(
Praet
erI
ntent
ionem)

 Can beused onlywhen t

hefact
spr ov
et o show t
hatthereisa notableand ev i
dent
di
spr
oport
ionbetweenmeansempl
oyedtoexecutet
hecri
minalactandi
tsconsequences

*Intentisanindi
spensabl
eel
ementofthecri
me.Whentheintenti
sl esst
hantheactualact
commi tt
ed,r
easonandf ai
rpl
aydict
atethatamit
igat
edresponsi
bil
i
tybei mposedupont he
off
ender.

 I
ntenti
on:asani
nternalact,i
sjudgedbythepropor
ti
onofthemeansempl
oyedt
ot heevi
l
producedbyt
heact,
andal sobythefactt
hatt
heblowwasorwasnotai
medatavi
tal
partof
thebody.

 Judgebyconsider
ing(1)t
heweaponused,
(2)t
hei
njur
yinf
li
ctedand(
3)t
heat
ti
tudeofmi
nd
whentheaccuseratt
ackedtheot
her
.

2
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

Example:PedrostabbedTomasont
hear
m.Tomasdi
dnothav
ethewoundt
reat
ed,sohe
di
edfrom lossofblood.

 Notappl
i
cabl
ewhenof
fenderempl
oyedbr
utef
orce

Example:Rapi
stchokedv
ict
im.Br
utef
orceofchoki
ngcont
radi
ctscl
aimt
hathehadno
i
ntent
iontokil
lthegi
rl
.

 Art13,par3addressesit
sel
ftotheint
enti
onoft
heoffenderatthepar
ti
cul
armomentwhen
heexecutesorcommi t
sthecri
minal
act,nott
ohi
sint
entiondur
ingthepl
anni
ngst
age.

 I
ncr
imesagainstper
sons–i fvicti
m doesnotdie,theabsenceoft hei
ntenttoki
llr
educes
t
hef
elonytomerephysicali
njur
ies.Iti
snotconsideredasmi t
igat
ing.Mi
tigat
ingonl
ywhen
t
hev
icti
m di
es.

Example:Aspar toff un-

making,Juan mer
elyintended t
o bur
n Pedr
o’sclot
hes.Pedr
o
recei
vedminorburns.Juanischargedwit
hphysi
calinj
uri
es.HadPedr
odied,
Juanwouldbe
enti
tl
edtothemiti
gatingci
rcumstance.

 Notappli
cabletofeloni
esbynegli
gence.Why ?Inf el
oni
esthr
oughnegli
gence,t
heoffender
act
swi t
houtintent
.Theint
enti
ni nt
entionalfeloni
esi sr
epl
acedbynegli
gence,i
mprudence,
l
ackoff or
esightorlackofski
llinculpablef el
onies.Ther
eisnointentonthepartoft he
off
enderwhichmaybeconsideredasdimi ni
shed.

 Basi
sofpar3:
int
ent
,anel
ementofv
olunt
ari
nessi
nint
ent
ional
fel
ony
,isdi
mini
shed

Pr
aet
eri
ntent
ionem

Thecommonci rcumst ancegiv eninthebarofpr aet

erintent i
onem, underpar
agr aph3,meanst hat
t emustbeanot
her abledisproporti
onbet weent hemeansempl oy edbyt heof f
endercompar edtot hatof
the r esul t
ing fel
ony. I fthe r esult
ing felony coul d be expect ed fr
om t he means empl oyed,this
cir
cumst ancedoesnotav ai. Thi
l scircumst ancedoesnotappl ywhent hecr i
mer esultsfr
om cr i
minal
negligenceorcul pa. Whent hecr imei st hepr oductofr ecklessi mprudenceorsi mplenegl i
gence,
miti
gat ingci rcumstancesdoesnotappl y
. Thi sisoneoft het hreeinstanceswher et heoffenderhas
perfor medaf el
onydiff
erentf rom thatwhi chhei ntended.Ther ef or
e,thi
si sthepr oductofintenti
onal
fel
ony ,notacul pabl
eone.

4.ThattheSUFFICI
ENTPROVOCATI
ONORTHREATont
hepar
toft
heof
fendedpar
ty
i
mmedi atel
ypr
ecededt
heact
.

 Prov
ocati
on– anyunjustori
mproperconductoractoft
heof
fendedpar
ty,capabl
eof
exci
ti
ng,
inci
ti
ngori
rr
it
ati
ngany
one.

 Basi
s:di
minut
ionofi
ntel
l
igenceandi
ntent

 Requisit
es:
a.Provocationmustbesuf fi
cient.
1.Suf fi
cient– adequat eenought oexciteaper sontocommi tthewrongandmust
accordinglybepr oporti
onatet oitsgravi
ty.
2.Suf f
ici
encydependson:
 t heactconst i
tuti
ngt hepr ov
ocati
on
 t hesocialstandingoft hepersonpr ovoked
 t i
meandpl acepr ovocationtookplace
3.Exampl e:Juanl i
kest ohitandcur sehisser v
ant.Hisservantt
huski
ll
edhi
m.There’
s
miti
gatingcircumst ancebecauseofsuf fi
cientprovocat
ion.
4.Wheni twast hedef endantwhosoughtt hedeceased,t hechal
l
engetofi
ghtbyt
he
deceasedi sNOTsuf fi
cientpr ovocat
ion.

b.I
tmustor i
ginat
efrom t
heof f
endedpar
ty
1.Why?Lawsay stheprovocat
ionis“
onthepar
toftheoff
endedparty
”
2.Example:Tomas’mot heri
nsult
edPet
ra.Pet
rakil
l
sTomasbecauseoft heinsul
ts.No
Miti
gati
ngCircumstancebecausei
twasthemotherwhoinsul
tedher,
notTomas.

3
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

3.Provocat
ionbyt
hedeceasedinthefir
stst
ageoft hef
ightisnotMiti
gat
ing
Cir
cumstancewhent
heaccusedkill
edhim af
terhehadf l
edbecausethedeceased
fr
om themomenthefl
eddi dnotgi
veanyprovocat
ionfortheaccusedtopur
sueand
att
ackhim.

c.Provocati
onmustbei mmedi atetot heact.,i.
e.,tothecommi ssi
onoft hecr i
mebyt he
personwhoi sprovoked
1.Why ?Iftherewasani ntervaloftime,t heconductoft heoffendedpartycouldnot
haveexcitedtheaccusedt ot hecommi ssionoft hecri
me,hehav inghadt imet o
regai
nhisreasonandt oexerciseself
-cont r
ol.
2.Threatshouldnotbeof fensiv
eandposi ti
velystrongbecauseifitwas,thethreatto
inf
li
ctrealinj
uryisanunl awfulaggressionwhi chmaygi verisetoself-
defenseand
thusnolongeraMi t
igati
ngCi r
cumstance

*Thecommi
ssi
onoft
hef
elonymustbei
mmedi
atet
othet
hreatorpr
ovocat
ioni
nor
dert
hatt
his
ci
rcumstancebemitigati
ng.Iftherei
ssuff
ici
entbreakoft i
mebeforetheprovocati
onorthreatandthe
consequentcommissionofthecr i
me,thel
aw presupposesthatduri
ngthatinter
val
,whateverangeror
di
mi ni
shedsel
fcontr
ol mayhaveemergedfr
om theoffenderhadal
readyvani
shedordisappeared.

*Thi
sist
hecor
recti
nter
pret
ati
onofpar
agr
aph4,Ar
ti
cle13.Asl
ongast
heof
fenderatt
het
imehe
committ
edthefel
onywassti
l
lundertheinfl
uenceoftheout
ragecausedbythepr
ovocat
ionort
hreat
,hei
s
act
ingunderadi
mini
shedsel
fcontr
ol.Thisi
sthereasonwhyiti
smi t
igat
ing.

*Youhavet
olookatt
wocr
it
eri
a:

(
1) Iffrom theel ementofti
me,thereisamat eri
allapseoft imest atedinthepr oblem andt her
eis
nothingst at
edi ntheproblem thattheef f
ectoft het hreatorpr ov
ocationhadpr ol
ongedand
affectedtheof f
enderatt
het i
mehecommi tt
edt hecri
me, theny ouuset hecr i
ter
ionbasedont he
ti
meel ement.
(
2) Howev er
,iftherei
sthatti
meel ementandatt hesamet ime,f act
sar egivenindicatingthatatthe
ti
me t he of
fendercommi t
ted the cri
me,he i sst i
l
lsuf feri
ng from out rage oft he t
hreator
provocationdonet ohi
m,thenhewi l
lsti
llgetthebenefitofthismi t
igati
ngcircumst ance.

*I
nPeopl
ev.Di
okno,
aChi
namanel
opedwi
thawoman.Act
ual
l
y,i
twasal
mostt
hreeday
sbef
oreaccused
wasabl
etol
ocat
ethehousewheretheChinamanbroughtt
hewoman.Here,suff
ici
entprov
ocat
ionwas
oneoft
hemi
ti
gat
ingci
rcumst
ancesconsi
deredbyt
heSupremeCour
tinf
avoroftheaccused.

5.Thattheactwascommi t
tedint heI
MMEDI ATEVI NDICATI
ONOFAGRAVEOFFENSE
tothe one committ
ing t
he felony (del
i
t o),his spouse,ascendants,descendant
s,
l
egit
imat
e,natur
aloradopt
edbr otherorsisters,orrel
ati
vesbyaffi
nit
ywi t
hinthesame
degr
ee.

*Thi
shasref
erencetothehonorofaper
son.I
tconcer
nst
hegoodnamesandr
eput
ati
onoft
he
i
ndi
vi .(
dual Ppvs.Anpar
, 37Phi
l.201)

Requi
sit
es:
1. t
here’
sagr
aveof
fensedonet
otheonecommi
tt
ingt
hef
elonyet
c.

2. t
hatt
hef
elonyi
scommi
tt
edi
nvi
ndi
cat
ionofsuchgr
aveof
fense.

*Lapseoftimeisal
lowedbetweent
hev
indi
cat
ionandt
heonedoi
ngt
heof
fense(
proxi
mat
e
t
ime,notj
ustimmedi
atel
yaf
ter
)

Exampl
e:Juancaughthiswifeandhisfr
iendinacompr
omi
singsi
tuat
ion.Juanki
l
lshi
sfr
iend
t
henextday–sti
llconsi
deredpr
oxi
mat e.

PROVOCATI ON VINDICATION
Made di r
ectly onl y t o t he person Gr
ave offense maybe al so againstthe
commi t
ti
ngt hef el
ony of
fender
’srelat
ivesment i
onedbyl aw
Causethatbr oughtaboutt heprovocati
on Of
fendedpar tymusthav edoneagr ave
neednotbeagr aveoffense of
fensetotheoff enderorhisrel
ati
ves
Necessary t hat provocati
on or t hr
eat Maybepr oxi
mat e.Timeinterv
alall
owed
i
mmedi atel
y pr eceded the act.No ti
me
i
nter
val

4
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

 Mor
elenienti
nvindi
cati
onbecauseof
fenseconcernst
hehonoroft
heperson.Suchismor
e
wor
thyofconsi
derat
ionthanmerespi
teagai
nsttheonegi
vi
ngthepr
ovocati
onorthreat
.

Vi
ndi
cat
ionofagr
aveof
fense

*Theword“ off
ense”shouldnotbet akenasacr i
me.Iti
senoughi
fwhatwasimput
edorwhat
wasdonewaswr ong.I nconsi
der
ingwhet herthewrongisagrav
eoneupontheper
sonwhocommit
ted
t
hecri
me,hisage,educati
onandsocialst
atuswi l
lbeconsi
der
ed.

*Here,invi
ndicati
onofagr aveoff
ense,t
hev i
ndicati
onneednotbedonebyt hepersonupon
whom thegraveoffensewascommi tt
ed.So,unli
keinsuffici
entthreatorprovocati
onwher ethecri
me
shouldbei
nfl
ictedupont hever
ypersonwhomadet het
hreatorprov ocati
on,
here,itneednotbethesame
personwhocommi tt
edt hegraveof
fenseorwhowasoffendedbyt hewr ongdonebyt heoff
endedparty
.

*Theword“ i
mmedi ate”heredoesnotcar rythesamemeani ngast hatunderparagraph4.The
word“immediat
e”hereisaner roneousSpani
shtranslati
onbecausetheSpanishwor dis“
proxima”andnot
“i
mmedi at
ement ”Ther
a. efor
e,i tisenoughthatt
heof f
endercommi t
tedthecr i
mewi t
hthegr aveoffense
donetohim,hisspouse,hi
sascendantordescendantort ohisbrot
herorsister,whet
hernatural
,adopted
orlegi
ti
mateandthatistheproximatecauseofthecommi ssi
onofthecrime.

*I twouldseem thatt
herul
eist hat
,thecour
tmustconsi
derthelasti
ngef
fectand
i
nfluenceofthegraveof
fenset
otheoff
enderwhenheresor
tedt
ocommitthecri
metovi
ndicat
e
suchgr av
eoffense.

 Vi
ndicat
ionofagr
aveof
fenseandpassi
onandobf
uscat
ioncan’
tbecount
edsepar
atel
yand
i
ndependent
ly

6.Thatofhav
ingact
eduponani
mpul
sesopower
fulasnat
ural
l
ytohav
epr
oduced
PASSIONOROBFUSCATI
ON

*Passi
onandobf uscat
ion r
efertoemotionalfeel
ingwhichproducesexci
tementso
powerf
ulastoovercomereasonandsel f
-cont
rol
.Itmustcomef rom pri
orunj
ustorimproper
act
s.Thepassi
onandobfuscati
onmustemanat efr
om legi
ti
matesenti
ments.

 Passionandobfuscati
oni
smiti
gat
ing:whent
her
earecausesnatur
all
yproduci
nginaperson
power f
ulexci
tement,hel
oseshi
sreasonandsel
f-
cont
rol.Ther
ebydismissi
ngtheexer
cise
ofhiswill
power.

 PASSIONANDOBFUSCATIONareMi t
igat
ingCir
cumst
ancesonlywhenthesamear
isef
rom
l
awfulsentiment
s(notMi
ti
gat
ing Ci
rcumstancewhen done i
nthe spi
ri
tofrev
engeor
l
awlessness)

 Requi
sit
esforPassion&Obf
uscati
on
a.Theoff
enderactedoni
mpulsepower
ful
enought
opr
oducepassi
onorobf
uscat
ion

b.Thatt
heactwascommi
tt
ednoti
nthespi
ri
tofl
awl
essnessorr
evenge

c.Theactmustcomef
rom l
awf
ulsent
iment
s

 Actwhichgaver
iset
opassi
onandobfuscat
ion
a.Thatther
ebeanact,
bot
hunl
awfulandunjust

b.Theactbesuf
fi
cientt
opr
oduceacondi
ti
onofmi
nd

c.Thatt
heactwaspr
oxi
mat
etot
hecr
imi
nal
act

d.Thev
ict
im mustbet
heonewhocausedt
hepassi
onorobf
uscat
ion

 Example:Juansaw Tomashi t
ti
nghis(Juan)son.JuanstabbedTomas.Juani
senti
tl
edto
Miti
gat
ingCircumstanceofP&Oashisact uat
ionarosef
rom anatur
ali
nsti
nctt
hati
mpelsa
fat
hert
or ushtotherescueofhi
sson.

 Theobf
uscat
ionmustbecausedbyunl
awf
ulact

5
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

 Theexerciseofarightoraf ulf
il
lmentofadut
yisnotthepropersourceofP&O.
Example:Apolicemanar restedJuanashewasmaki ngapublicdistur
banceonthestreet
s.
Juan’sangerand i ndignati
on resul
ti
ng f
rom thear r
estcan’tbeconsi der
ed passi
onate
obfuscat
ionbecauset hepolicemanwasdoingalawfulact
.

 Theactmustbesuf fi
cienttoproduceaconditi
onofmi nd.Ifthecauseoft helossofsel
f-
cont
rol
wast r
ivi
alandslight
,theobfuscat
ioni
snotmit
igating.
Exampl
e:Juan’
sbosspunchedhi mf ornotgoi
ngtoworkt heotherday.Causeissli
ght
.

 TherecouldhavebeennoMi ti
gati
ngCir
cumstanceofP&Owhenmor et
han24hourselapsed
betweentheall
egedi nsultandthecommi ssi
onoft hefel
ony,orsever
alhour
shav epassed
betweent hecauseoft heP&O andt hecommi ssionofthecr i
me,oratl east½ hours
i
ntervenedbet
weent hepr evi
ousfi
ghtandsubsequentkil
li
ngofdeceasedbyaccused.

 Notmi
ti
gat
ingi
frel
ati
onshi
pisi
l
legi
ti
mat
e

 Thepassionorobf
uscat
ionwil
lbeconsi
der
edeveni
fiti
sbasedonlyont
hehonestbel
i
efof
theof
fender,
eveni
ffact
stur
nouttoprovet
hathi
sbel
ief
swerewrong.

 Passi
onandobfuscati
oncannotco-
exi
stwi
tht
reacher
ysi
ncet
hatmeanst
heof
fenderhas
hadti
metoponderhiscour
seofacti
on.

 PASSI
ON ANDOBFUSCATI ON ari
singf
rom oneandt
hesamecauseshoul
dbet
reat
edas
onl
yonemit
igat
ingci
rcumstance

 Vi
ndicationofgraveoff
ensecan’
tco-
exi
stw/PASSIONANDOBFUSCATI ON
PASSIONANDOBFUSCATI ON IRRESITIBLEFORCE
Mit
igating Exempt i
ng
Nophy sicalf
orceneeded Requir
esphy si
cal
f orce
Fr
om t heoffenderhi
mself Mustcomef rom a3r dper
son
Mustcomef rom l
awfulsent
iment
s Unlawful

PASSIONANDOBFUSCATI ON PROVOCATION
Produced byan i mpulse which maybe Comesf
rom i
njur
edpar
ty
causedbypr ov
ocation
Offense,whichengendersperturbat
ionof Must i mmediat
ely pr
ecede t
he
mind,need notbei mmediate.Itisonly commi
ssi
onofthecri
me
requir
ed thatthe i
nfl
uence thereoflast
s
untilt
hecrimeiscommi tt
ed
Effectisl
ossofreasonandsel f-
contr
olon Same
thepartoftheoff
ender

*t her
eisar ul
ingtotheef f
ectt
hati
ftheoffenderi
sgi
vent
hebenef
itofparagr
aph4,hecannotbegiven
thebenefi
tofparagraph5or6,orv i
ce-ver
sa.Onlyoneoft
hethr
eemi t
igat
ingcir
cumstancesshoul
dbe
giv
eninfavoroftheoffender.

*However
,inonecase,
oneoft
hemi
ti
gat
ingci
rcumst
ancesunderpar
agr
aphs4,
5and6st
andsorar
ises
from asetoff
acts,andanothermi t
igat
ingcir
cumstanceari
sesfrom anothersetoff acts.Si
ncetheyare
predi
catedondif
ferentsetoffact
s,theymaybeappr eci
atedtogether
,alt
hought heyarosefr
om oneand
thesamecase.Hence, t
heprohibi
ti
onagainstconsi
deri
ngallt
hesemi t
igat
ingcircumst ancest
ogetherand
notasoneappli
esonl yi
ftheywouldbetakenont hebasi
softhesamesetoff acts.

*I
fthecasei
nvol
vesaser
iesoff
act
s,t
heny
oucanpr
edi
cat
eanyoneoft
heseci
rcumst
ancesononef
act
andt
heot
heronanot
herf
actandsoon.

7.Thatt
heoffenderhadVOLUNTARILYSURRENDEREDhimsel
ftoaper
soninaut
hor
it
y
orhisagent
s,ort hathehadVOLUNTARILYCONFESSEDHI SGUI
LTbefor
ethecourt
pri
ortot
hepresentati
onoft
heevi
dencefort
hepr
osecut
ion.

 2Mi
ti
gati
ngCir
cumstancespr
esent
:
a)v
olunt
ari
l
ysurr
endered

b)v
olunt
ari
l
yconf
essedhi
sgui
l
t

6
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

 I
fbot
harepresent,consi
der
edas2i
ndependentmi
ti
gat
ingci
rcumst
ances.Mi
ti
gat
epenal
ty
t
oagreat
erextent

 REQUI
SITESOFVOLUNTARYSURRENDER:
a)off
endernotact
ual
l
yar
rest
ed

b)of
fendersur
render
edt
oaper
soni
naut
hor
it
yort
hel
att
er’
sagent

c) sur
renderwasv
olunt
ary

 Sur
rendermustbespont
aneous–showshi
sint
erestt
osur
renderuncondi
ti
onal
l
ytot
he
aut
hori
ti
es

 Spontaneous–emphasi zest
hei deaofinneri
mpulse,act
ingwit
houtext
ernalst
imul
us.The
conductoft heaccused,nothi sintent
ionalone,aft
ert hecommissi
on oftheoffense,
deter
minesthespontaneit
yofthesurr
ender.

Exampl
e:Sur
render
edaf
ter5years,
notspont
aneousanymore.
Exampl
e:Sur
render
edaft
ertal
kingtotowncouncil
or.NotV.S.becauset
her
e’sanext
ernal
sti
mul
us

 Conductmusti
ndi
cat
eadesi
ret
oownt
her
esponsi
bil
i
ty

 Notmi t
igati
ngwhenwar r
antal r
eadyserved.Surrendermaybeconsi deredmi t
igat
ingif
war r
antnotser vedorr et
urnedunservedbecauseaccusedcan’ tbelocated.
*“Thelawdoesnotr equir
ethattheaccusedsur r
enderpriortotheorderofar r
est,
”whatmat t
ers
i
st hespont aneoussur renderoft heaccuseduponl earningthatawar rantofarresthadbeen
i
ssuedagai nsthim andt hatv ol
untarysur
renderisobedi encetotheor derofar r
estisissued
againsthim.(Ppv s.Cahili
g,68Phil.740)

 Sur
renderofper
sonr
equi
red.Notj
ustofweapon.

 Personinauthor
it
y–onedi rectl
yvestedwit
hjuri
sdict
ion,whetherasani
ndi
vi
dualorasa
member of some court
/gover
nment/
corporati
on/board/
commi
ssi
on. Bar ri
o
captai
n/chai
rmanincl
uded.

 Agentofpersoni
nauthorit
y–per sonwhobydi r
ectpr
ovi
sionofl aw,orbyelect
ion,orby
appoi
ntmentbycompetentauthor
it
yischar
gedwit
hthemaintenanceofpubl
icorderandthe
prot
ect
ionandsecur
it
yofl i
feandproper
tyandanyper
sonwhocomest otheaidofpersons
i
nauthori
ty.

 RPCdoesnotmakedi
sti
nct
ionamongt
hev
ari
ousmoment
swhensur
rendermayoccur
.

 Sur
rendermustbebyr
easonoft
hecommi
ssi
onoft
hecr
imef
orwhi
chdef
endanti
schar
ged

VOLUNTARYSURRENDER

Theessenceofvoluntar
ysurrenderrequi
resthattheoffender
,aft
erhavi
ngcommi tt
edthecrime,
hadev adedt helaw enf
orcer
sandt hel aw enf
orcersdonotknow ofhi swhereabouts.Inshort
,he
conti
nuestoel udear
rest
.I f
,underthiscircumstance,t
heof f
enderwouldcomeouti ntheopenandhe
gi
veshimselfup,hisactofdoingsowi l
lbeconsideredasi ndi
cati
veofrepent
anceandheal sosav
est he
governmentthetimeandtheexpenseofl ookingf
orhim.

Asagener
alrul
e,i
faft
ercommi t
ti
ngthecrime,t
heoffenderdi
dnotf
leeandhewentwi
tht
he
r
espondi
ngl
awenforcer
smeekl
y,v
olunt
arysur
renderi
snotappl
i
cable.

Howev er,t
hereisar uli
ngthati
faftercommi tt
ingthecri
me,t
heof f
enderdi
dnotfleeandinst
ead
waitedfort
hel aw enforcer
st oarri
veandhesur renderedtheweaponheusedi nkil
li
ngt hevi
cti
m,t he
ruli
ngwasthatv ol
untarysurrenderi
smiti
gating.I
nt hi
scase,theof
fenderhadtheopport
unit
ytogoi nto
hidi
ng,t
hefactthathedidnotf leei
svol
untarysurr
ender .

However,i
fhecomesoutf r
om hi
dingbecauseheisser
iousl
yil
landhewentt ogetmedi cal
t
reat
ment
,thesurr
enderi
snotconsi
der
edasindi
cati
veofr
emorseorrepent
ance.Thesur
renderher
eis

7
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

onl
ydoneoutofconv
eni
encet
osav
ehi
sownsel
f.Hence,
iti
snotmi
ti
gat
ing.

Evenift
heoff
endermayhavegonei
ntohidi
ng,i
fthel
awenfor
cer
shadal r
eadyknownwherehei
s
hi
dinganditi
sjustamatt
eroft
imebefor
eheisfl
ushedoutoft
hatpl
ace,
thenevenift
helawenf
orcer
sdo
notknowexactl
ywherehewashidi
ngandhewouldcomeout,t
hisi
snotvol
unt
arysurr
ender.

Whet
herornotawar rantofarresthadbeeni ssuedagai nstt heoff
enderisimmaterialand
i
rrel
evant.Thecrit
eri
oniswhetherornottheoffenderhadgonei nt
ohi dingorhadtheoppor
tunit
ytogo
i
ntohi di
ngandt helaw enf
orcersdonotknow ofhi swher eabouts. I fhewouldgiveup,hisactof
surr
enderi
ngundersuchci r
cumst ancei
ndicat
est hathei swill
ingt oaccepttheconsequencesoft he
wronghehasdoneandal sotherebysav
est hegov er
nmentt heef f
ort,theti
meandt heexpensest obe
i
ncurredinl
ooki
ngf m.
orhi

Surrendertobeconsideredv oluntaryandthusmi tigat

ing,mustbespont aneous,demonstrat
ing
anint
enttosubmi thi
mselfuncondi
tionallytothepersoninaut hori
tyorhisagenti
naut hor
it
y ,
because(1)
heacknowledgeshisgui
lt(2)hewi shest osavethegov ernmentt hetr
oubleandexpensesofsear ching
andcaptur
inghim.Wher ethereasonf ort hesurr
enderoft heaccusedwast oinsurehissafety,
hisarr
est
bypol
icemenpur sui
nghi
m beinginevitable,t
hesurrenderisnotspontaneous.

Q.Iftheaccusedescapesfr
om thesceneofthecrimeinordertoseekadvicefr
om al awyer,
and
thelatt
erorderedhi
mt osurr
endervolunt
ari
l
ytot heauthori
ti
es,whichtheaccusedf ol
lowedby
surr
enderi
nghimselftothemunici
palmayor,wi
ll
hissurrenderbeconsider
edmitigat
ing?

A.Theansweri
syes,becausehef
ledt
othesceneofacr
imenott
oescapebutt
oseekl
egal
advi
ce.

Q.Supposingthataftert
heaccusedmetav ehicul
aracci dentcausi
ngmult
ipl
ehomici
debecause
ofreckless i
mpr udence,he surr
enderstot he authorit
ies i
mmediat
elyther
eaft
er,wi
llhis
sur
rendermiti
gatehiscrimi
nalli
abi
li
tybecauseofAr t.13?

A.Theanswerisno,becauseincasesinvol
vi
ngf
eloni
escommittedbymeansofcul
pa,t
hecour
t
i
saut hor
izedunderArt
.365t oimposeapenalt
yuponof f
enderwithoutr
egar
dtotherul
eson
mit
igati
ngandaggravat
ingcir
cumstances.

 REQUI
SITESFORPLEAOFGUI LTY
a)off
enderspont
aneousl
yconfessedhi
sgui
l
t

b)conf
essi
onofgui
l
twasmadei
nopencour
t(compet
entcour
t)

c) conf
essi
onofgui
l
twasmadepr
iort
othepr
esent
ati
onofev
idencef
ort
hepr
osecut
ion

 Tobemiti
gat
ing,t
hepl
eaofguilt
ymustbewi t
houtcondi
ti
ons.Butcondi
ti
onalpl
eaofguilt
y
mayst
il
lbemiti
gati
ngi
fthecondi
tionsi
mposedbytheaccusedaref
oundtobemer i
tor
ious.

 Pl
eaofgui
l
tynotappl
i
cabl
etospeci
all
aw.

 pl
eamadeafterar
rai
gnmentandaft
ert
ri
alhasbegundoesnotent
it
leaccusedt
ohav
epl
ea
consi
der
edasMiti
gat
ingCi
rcumst
ance

 pl
eai ntheRTCinacaseappeal
edf
rom t
heMTCi
snotmi
ti
gat
ing -mustmakepl
eaatt
he
fi
rstopport
uni
ty

 pl
eadur
ingt
hepr
eli
minar
yinv
est
igat
ioni
snopl
eaatal
l

 even i
fdur i
ng arr
aignment
,accused pl
eaded notgui
l
ty,he i
s ent
itl
ed t
o Miti
gati
ng
Cir
cumstanceaslongashewi t
hdrawshispl
eaofnotgui
lt
ytothechar
gebeforet
hefiscal
coul
dpresenthi
sevidence

 pl
eatoalesserchargeisnotMi
ti
gat
ingCi
rcumst
ancebecauset
obev
olunt
arypl
eaofgui
l
ty,
mustbet
ot heoffensechar
ged

 pl
eat
ot heof
fensechargedi
ntheamendedi
nfo,
lessert
hant
hatchar
gedi
ntheor
igi
nali
nfo,
i
sMit
igati
ngCir
cumstance

 pr
esentRul
esofCour
trequi
ret
hatev
eni
faccusedpl
eadedgui
l
tyt
oacapi
talof
fense,i
ts

8
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

mandator
yforcour
ttor equi
retheprosecut
iontoprov
et hegui
l
toft heaccusedbei
ng
l
ikewi
seenti
tl
edt
opresentevi
dencet
oprove,i
nteral
i
a,Mi
ti
gati
ngCi
rcumstance

8.Thatthe of
fenderis deafand dumb,bl
i
nd orot
herwise suf
fer
ing f
rom some
PHYSI
CALDEFECTw/ cthusrest
ri
ctshi
smeansofact
ion,def
enseorcommunicati
on
w/hi
sfel
l
owbei ngs.

 Basi
s:onesuf fer
ing f
rom physi
caldef
ectwhichrestr
ict
shim doesnothav ecompl
ete
fr
eedom ofact
ionandtheref
ore,t
her
eisdimi
nut
ionofthatel
ementofv
olunt
ari
ness.

*Thel awsaysthattheoffenderisdeafanddumb, meaningnotonl ydeafbutal

sodumb, orthat
heisbl i
nd,meaninginbotheyes,butevenifheisonlydeafandnotdumb, ordumbonlybutnot
deaf,orbli
ndonlyinoneey e,heIst i
l
lent
itl
edtoami ti
gati
ngcircumstanceunderthisar
ti
cleas
l
ongashi sphysicaldefectsrestr
ictshi
smeansofact ion,defensecommuni cat
ionwithhi s
fel
lowmen.Ther estr
ict
ionhowever,mustrel
atetothemodeofcommi t
ti
ngthecri
me.

 Nodi
sti
nct
ionbet
weeneducat
edanduneducat
eddeaf
-mut
eorbl
i
ndper
sons

 The physicaldefectofthe off

endershoul
dr est
ricthis means ofacti
on,def
ense or
communi cati
onwithfel
l
owbeings,thi
shasbeenextendedtocovercri
ppl
es,
arml
esspeople
evenstut
terers.

 Theci
rcumstanceassumesthatwit
ht hei
rphysi
caldef
ect
,theoff
endersdonothav ea
compl
etefreedom ofacti
on t
her
efore di
mini
shi
ng t
he el
ementofvolunt
ari
ness i
nthe
commissi
onofacri
me.

*Thephysi
caldef
ectt
hataper
sonmayhav
emusthav
ear
elat
iont
othecommi
ssi
onoft
hecr
ime.Not
anyphy
sicaldefectwi
l
laff
ectt
hecri
me.Itwil
lonl
ydosoifi
thassomerel
ati
ontothecr
imecommit
ted.
Thi
scir
cumst ancemustal
sohaveabear
ingonthecr
imecommitt
edandmustdependonhowthecr
ime
wascommi t
ted.

9.SuchILLNESSoftheof
fenderaswoulddimini
shtheexer
ciseoft
hewi
l
l-poweroft
he
off
enderw/odepri
vi
nghim ofconsci
ousnessofhi
sacts.

 Basi
s:diminut
ionofint
ell
igenceandintent
 Requi
sit
es:
a)ill
nessoftheoffendermustdiminishtheexerci
seofhiswil
l-
power
b)suchi l
l
nessshouldnotdepr i
vetheoffenderofconsci
ousnessofhi
sact
s

*Ift
heil
lnessnotonlydi
mini
shestheexer
ciseoft
heof
fender
’swil
lpowerbutdepr
iveshim of
t
heconsciousnessofhisacts,i
tbecomesanexempt i
ngcircumstancet
obecl assif
iedas
i
nsani
tyorimbeci
li
ty.

 deceasedmi
nd,
notamount
ingt
oinsani
ty,
maygi
vepl
acet
omi
ti
gat
ion

*Feeblemindednessoft
heaccusedwho, i
naf i
tofjeal
ousy
, st
abbedhiswi
fe,
thencar
ri
edherup
tothehouse,lai
dheronthef l
oorandthenlaydownbesideher,warr
antst
hefindi
ngi
nhisfav
or
ofthi
smi t
igati
ngcir
cumstance.(
Ppvs.Formigones,87Phi
l.658)

10.AndANYOTHERCI
RCUMSTANCEofasi
mil
arnat
ureandanal
ogoust
othoseabov
e-
menti
oned

 Examplesof“ anyot
herci
rcumst
ance”
:
a)def endantwhois60y earsol
dwithf
ail
i
ngey
esi
ghti
ssi
mil
art
oacaseofoneov
er70
yearsold

b)outr
agedf eel
i
ngofownerofani
malt
akenf
orr
ansom i
sanal
ogoust
ovi
ndi
cat
ionof
grav
eoffense

c) i
mpul
seofj
eal
ousf
eel
i
ng,
simi
l
art
oPASSI
ONANDOBFUSCATI
ON

9
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

d)v
olunt
aryr
est
it
uti
onofpr
oper
ty,
simi
l
art
ovol
unt
arysur
render

e) ext
remepov
ert
y,si
mil
art
oincompl
etej
ust
if
icat
ionbasedonst
ateofnecessi
ty

f
) espr
itdecor
psi
ssi
mil
art
opassi
onorobf
uscat
ion

Anal
ogouscases

*Theactoft
heof
fenderofl
eadi
ngt
hel
awenf
orcer
stot
hepl
acewher
ehebur
iedt
hei
nst
rumentoft
he
cri
mehasbeenconsi edas equi
der val
enttovol
untar
ysurrender
. Theactofat hiefi
nl eadingt he
author
it
iestotheplacewherehedisposedofthel
oothasbeenconsi edasanal
der ogousorequivalentto
vol
untarysur
render
.

*St
eal
i
ngbyaper
sonwhoi
sdr
ivent
odosooutofext
remepov
ert
yisconsi edasanal
der ogoust
o
i
ncomplet
est
ateofnecessi
ty.However
,thi
sisnotsowher
etheoff
enderbecameimpoveri
shedbecause
ofhisownwayofli
vinghisli
fe.I
fhisli
fest
ylei
soneofhavi
ngsomanyv i
ces,asaresul
tofwhi chhe
becamepoor
,hissubsequentsteal
i
ng becauseofhispovert
ywi l
lnotbeconsidered mit
igat
ed by
i
ncomplet
est
ateofnecessi
ty.

 NOTanalogous:
a)ki
ll
ingwr ongper
son

b)notr
esi
sti
ngar
restnott
hesameasv
olunt
arysur
render

c) r
unni
ngamucki
snotmi
ti
gat
ing

 MI
TIGATI
NGCI
RCUMSTANCEwhi
char
isef
rom:

a)moralatt
ri
butesoftheoff
ender
Example:JuanandTomaski l
l
edPedro.Juanactedw/PASSI
ON ANDOBFUSCATI
ON.
OnlyJuanwillbeent
it
ledt
oMi t
igat
ingCi
rcumst
ance

b)pr
ivat
er el
ati
onswit
htheoffendedpar
ty
Example:Juanstol
ehisbrother’
swatch.Juansol
di tt
oPedro,whoknewitwasstol
en.
Thecircumstanceofrel
ati
onar osef
rom pri
vat
erelati
onofJuanandthebrot
her
.Does
notmiti
gatePedro.

c)ot
herpersonalcause
Example:Minor,acti
ngwi
thdiscer
nmentr
obbedJuan.Pedr
o,passi
ngby
,hel
pedt
he
minor
.Circumstanceofmi
nor
it
y,miti
gat
esl
i
abi
li
tyofmi
noronl
y.

Shallser
vetomiti
gat
etheli
abi
l
ityoft
hepr
inci
pal
s,accompl
i
cesandaccessor
iest
owhom t
he
ci
rcumstancesar
eatt
endant
.

 Ci
rcumstanceswhicharenei
therexempt
ingnormi
ti
gat
ing
a)mi st
akeintheblow

b)mi
stakei
nthei
dent
it
yoft
hev
ict
im

c) ent
rapmentoft
heaccused

d)accusedi
sov
er18y
ear
sol
d

e) perf
ormanceofar
ight
eousacti
on
Example:Juansav
edt
helivesof99peopl
ebutcausedt
hedeat
hoft
hel
astper
son,
hei
sst
il
l
cri
minal
lyli
abl
e

Note: UndertheRulesofCour tonpleabargai

ning,t
heaccusedisall
owedtonegot i
atewit
hthe
pr
osecuti
ondur i
nghisar r
aignment,t
oent erapleaforalesserof
fense,orf
ortheconsider
ati
on
ofmiti
gati
ngci r
cumstancesunderAr t.13;fortheprosecut
iontoforegoordelet
eaggr av
ati
ng
ci
rcumstances,wit
houtregardtotherulesandjuri
spr
udencementionedabove.

10
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

AGGRAVATI
NGCI
RCUMSTANCES

 Def
ini
ti
on–Thoseci r
cumstancewhi
chr
aiset
hepenal
tyf
oracr
imewi
thoutexceedi
ngt
he
maximum appl
i
cabl
etothatcri
me.

 Basi
s:Thegreaterperver
sityoft
heoffenseasshownby
:
a)themot i
vati
ngpowerbehi ndtheact
b)theplacewher etheactwascommi t
ted
c) t
hemeansandway sused
d)thetime
e) t
hepersonalcir
cumst anceoftheoffender
f)thepersonalcir
cumst anceofthevi
ct i
m

 Ki
nds:
a) Gener
ic–gener
all
yappl
i
cabl
etoal
lcr
imes

b) Specifi
c–applyonl
ytospeci
fi
ccr
imes(
ignomi
ny–f
orchast
it
ycr
imes;t
reacher
y–f
or
personscr
imes)

c) Qual
ify
ing–t
hoset
hatchanget
henat
ureoft
hecr
ime(
evi
dentpr
emedi
tat
ion–becomes
murder)

d) Inher
ent–necessar
il
yaccompani
esthecommi
ssionofthecr
ime;
iti
sanel
ementoft
he
crimecommitt
ed(evi
dentpr
emedit
ati
onint
hef
t,est
afa)

QUALI FYI NGAGGRAVATI NG GENERI CAGGRAVATI NGCI RCUMSTANCE

CI RCUMSTANCE
Giv es the pr oper and excl usiv
e name, Increasepenaltytothemaxi mum,wi t
hout
places t he aut hor thereof i n such a exceedingl i
mitpr
escri
bedbyl aw
situati
onast odeser venoot herpenalty
thant hatspecificall
yprescribedbyl aw
Can’ tbeoffsetbyMi ti
gati
ngCi r
cumstance May be compensat ed by Mi t
igati
ng
Cir
cumst ance
Mustbeal l
egedi ntheinformat i
on.Integr
al Neednotbeal l
eged.Maybepr ov
edov er
par toftheoffense theobjecti
onoft hedefense.Qual
ifyi
ngi f
notall
egedwi l
lmakeitgeneri
c

 Aggr
avat
ingCi
rcumst
anceswhi
chDONOThav
etheef
fectofi
ncr
easi
ngt
hepenal
ty:

1)whichthemselvesconsti
tut
eacrimespecifical
l
ypunishablebyl
aworwhi
char
eincl
uded
i
nt hel
awdef i
ningacrimeandprescr
ibingthepenal
tythereof
Example:br
eakingawindowt ogeti
nsidethehouseandr obit

2)aggrav
ati
ngci
rcumst
anceinherenti
nthecr
imet
osuchdegr
eet
hati
tmustofnecessi
ty
accompanyt
hecommi ssi
onthereof

Example:evi
dent pr
emedi
tat
ion i
nher
ent i
nthef
t,r
obber
y,est
afa,adul
ter
y and
concubi
nage

 Aggr
avat
ingcircumst
ancesarenotpr
esumed.Mustbepr
ovedasf
ull
yast
hecr
imei
tsel
fin
or
dertoi
ncreasethepenal
ty.

t14.Aggr
Ar avat
ingci
rcumst
ances.—Thef
oll
owi
ngar
eaggr
avat
ingci
rcumst
ances:

1.Thatadv
ant
agebet
akenbyt
heof
fenderofhi
sPUBLI
CPOSI
TION

 Requi
sit
e:

a.Theof
fenderi
sapubl
i
cof
fi
cer

11
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

b.The commissi
on ofthe cri
me woul
d nothave been possi
ble wi
thoutt
he power
s,
resour
cesandi
nfl
uenceoftheof
fi
ceheholds.

*Apubl icoff
icerisanypersonwho, by(
1)directprovi
sionofthelaw,(2)popularel
ecti
onor(3)
appointmentbycompet entauthor
it
yshallt
akepar ti
ntheper f
ormanceofpubl i
cfuncti
onsint
he
Gov er
nmentoft hePhili
ppineIsl
andsorshal lperfor
mi nsaidGov ernmentori nanyofi ts
branches,publi
cdutiesasanemployee,agentorsubordinat
eoffi
cialofanyrankorclass.

 Essent
ial-Publ
icoff
icerusedtheinf
luence,prest
igeorascendancywhi
chhi
sof
fi
cegi
ves
hi
m ast hemeansbywhichhereal
izedhispurpose.

*Ift
heaccusedcoul
dhav eper
pet
rat
edt
hecr
imewi
thoutoccupy
inghi
sposi
ti
on,t
hent
her
eis
noabuseofpubl
i
cposit
ion.

 Fai
l
urei
nof
fi
cial
dut
iesi
stant
amountt
oabusi
ngofof
fi
ce

*Whenthepubli
cposi
ti
oni
sanelementoft
heoffenseli
keBri
ber
y(Dir
ect–Ar
ti
cle210,I
ndi
rect
– 211,orQuali
fi
edBri
ber
y– Sec.4,R.A.7659),thi
scir
cumstancecannotbet akeninto
consi
der
ati
on.

 Weari
ngofuni
for
misi
mmat
eri
al–whatmat
ter
sist
hepr
ooft
hathei
ndeedt
ookadv
ant
age
ofhi
sposi
ti
on

Taki
ngadv
ant
ageofpubl
i
cposi
ti
on

Arti
cle62wasalsoamendedbyt heRepubli
cActNo.7659.Thel egali
mportoft hi
samendmenti s
thatt
hesubjectci
rcumstancehasbeenmadeaqualify
ingorspecialaggr
avati
ngthatshallnotbeoff
setor
compensatedbyami ti
gatingci
r ance.I
cumst fnotall
egedinthei nf
ormati
on,however,butprovendur
ing
thetr
ial
,i
tisonlyappr
eci
atedasagenericaggr
avati
ngcircumstance.

*UnderSec.23,1(a)ofR.A.7659,wheni
nt hecommissi
onofthecr
ime,
advant
agewas
t
akenbytheoff
enderofhispublicposit
ion,t
hepenalt
ytobeimposedshal
lbei
nit
smaximum
r
egar
dlessofmit
igat
ingci
rcumstances.

2.Thatt
hecri
mebecommi
tt
edI
NCONTEMPTOFORWI
THI
NSULTTOTHEPUBLI
C
AUTHORI
TIES

 Requi
sit
es:
a.Theof f
enderknowst
hatapubl
i
caut
hor
it
yispr
esent

b.Thepubl
i
caut
hor
it
yisengagedi
ntheexer
ciseofhi
sfunct
ions

c. Thepubl
i
caut
hor
it
yisnott
hev
ict
im oft
hecr
ime

d.Thepubl
i
caut
hor
it
y’spr
esencedi
dnotpr
eventt
hecr
imi
nalact

 Example:Juan and Pedr

o ar
e quar r
elli
ng and the muni
cipalmayor,upon passi
ng by
,
att
emptstostopt hem.Notwi
thstandi
ngt heint
ervent
ionandthepresenceofthemay or
,
JuanandPedrocontinuet
oquarr
eluntilJuansucceedsinki
ll
ingPedr
o.

 Personi
nauthor
it
y–publi
caut
hor
it
ywhoi
sdi
rect
lyv
est
edwi
thj
uri
sdi
cti
on,hast
hepower
togover
nandexecut
ethel
aws

 ExamplesofPersonsinAut
hor
it
y
a.Gov ernor
b.May or
c. Bar
angaycaptain
d.Counci l
ors
e. Governmentagents
f. Chi
efofPolice

 Rul
enotappl
i
cabl
ewhencommi
tt
edi
nthepr
esenceofamer
eagent
.

12
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

 Agent– subordi
nat
e publ
icoffi
cercharged wi
tht
he mai
ntenance ofpubl
i
cor
derand
pr
otect
ionandsecur
it
yofli
feandproper
ty

Exampl
e:bar
ri
ovi
cel
i
eut
enant
,bar
ri
ocounci
l
man

3.Thatt
heactbecommi
tt
ed:

(
1)wi
thi
nsul
tori
ndisr
egar
dofther
espectduet
otheof
fendedpar
tyonaccountofhi
s
(
A)RANK,(
B)AGE,(
C)SEXor

 ci
rcumstances(rank,age,sex
)maybet akenintoaccountonl
yincr
imesagai
nstper
sonsor
honor
,itcannotbeinvokedincri
mesagainstproper
ty

 Rank– ref
erst
oahi ghsoci
alposi
tionorstandi
ngbywhi
cht
odet
ermi
neone’
spayand
emolument
sinanyscal
eofcompari
sonwit
hinaposit
ion

 Age–t hecir
cumstanceofl
ackofr
espectduetoageappli
esi
ncasewher
ethev
ict
imi
sof
tenderageaswel
lasofoldage(
ageoftheoff
endedpar
ty)

 Sex–r eferst othefemalesex

,nott othemalesex;notappl
icabl
ewhen
a.Theof fenderactedw/PASSI ONANDOBFUSCATI ON
b.t her
eexi stsar el
ati
onbetweent heoff
enderandt hev ict
im( butincasesofdi
vor
ce
decreeswher et
hereisadirectbeari
ngontheirchi
ld,
iti
sapplicable)
c. thecondi tionofbeingawomani sindi
spensableinthecommi ssi
onofthecr
ime(Ex.
Parri
cide, r
ape,abducti
on)

 Requi
sit
eofdi
sregar
dtorank,age,orsex
a.Crimesmustbeagainstt
hev i
ctim’
spersonorhi
shonor

b.Ther
eisdel
i
ber
atei
ntentt
oof
fendori
nsul
tther
espectduet
othev
ict
im’
srank,age,or
sex

NOTE:Whi l
e night
ti
me is absorbed i
nt reachery
,t he aggravat
ing ci
rcumstance of
di
sregardofsexandagecannotbesimilarl
yabsorbed,asTr eacheryr
eferstothemannerofthe
commi ssi
onoft hecri
me,whil
et helatt
erpertai
nst ot her el
ati
onshipofthev ict
im wit
hthe
off
ender.(
Ppvs.Lapaz,
171SCRA539)

(2)thatitbecommi t
tedi
ntheDWELLI
NGoft
heof
fendedpar
ty,i
fthel
att
erhasnot
givenprovocat
ion.

 Dwell
ing – mustbe a bui ldi
ng orstructur
e excl
usiv
ely used f
orrestand comf
ort
(combinat
ionhouseandstor
enotincl
uded)
a.maybet emporar
yasinthecaseofguestsinahouseorbedspacer
s
b.basi sf
orthi
sisthesanct
it
yofpriv
acythelawaccordstohumanabode

 dwel
l
ingi
ncl
udesdependenci
es,
thef
ootoft
hest
air
caseandt
heencl
osur
eundert
hehouse

 El
ementsoft
heaggr
avati
ngci
rcumst
anceofdwel
l
ing
a.Cri
meoccurr
edinthedwel
l
ingofthevi
cti
m

b.Nopr
ovocat
ionont
hepar
toft
hev
ict
im

 Requi
sit
esforPr
ovocat
ion:ALLMUSTCONCUR
a.givenbytheownerofthedwel
l
ing

b.suf
fi
cient

c. i
mmedi
atet
othecommi
ssi
onoft
hecr
ime

*Dwel
l
ingwi
l
lonl
ybeaggr
avat
ingi
fiti
sthedwel
l
ingoft
heof
fendedpar
ty.I
tshoul
dal
sonotbet
he
dwel
l
ingoft
heof
fender
.Ift
hedwel
l
ingi
sbot
hthatoft
heof
fendedpar
tyandt
heof
fender
,dwel
l
ingi
snot

13
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

aggr
avat
ing.

*Dwel
l
ingneednotbeownedbyt
heof
fendedpar
ty.I
tisenought
hatheusedt
hepl
acef
orhi
speaceof
mind,rest
,comfortandpri
vacy.Ther ul
ethatdwell
ing,i
nordertobeaggravati
ngmustbeownedbyt he
off
endedpar t
yisnolongerabsolute.Dwell
ingcanbeaggr av
ati
ngev enifi
tisnotownedbyt
heoffended
part
y,provi
dedthattheoff
endedpar tyisconsi
deredamemberoft hefamil
ywhoownst hedwel
l
ingand
equal
lyenjoyspeaceofmind,pr
ivacyandcomf ort
.

*Dwel
l
ingshoul
dnotbeunder
stoodi
ntheconceptofadomi
cil
e.Aper
sonhasmor
ethanonedwel
l
ing.

*Dwel
l
ingi
snotl
i
mit
edt
othehousepr
oper
.Al
ltheappur
tenancesnecessar
yfort
hepeaceandcomf
ort
,
r
estandpeaceofmi
ndi
ntheabodeoft
heof
fendedpar
tyi
sconsi
der
edadwel
l
ing.

Whendwel li
ngmayandmaynotbeconsi dered
Wheni tmaybeconsi dered Wheni tmaynotbeconsi dered
 alt
hought heoffenderf i
redt heshotf rom  Ift he of f
ended party has gi ven
outsidet hehouse,asl ongashi sv i
ct i
m prov ocat
ion
wasi nside  I
f bot h t he off
ender and t he
 eveni ft hekil
li
ngt ookpl aceout si
det he offended par t
y are occupant s of
dwel l
ing,solongast hecommi ssionbegan thesamedwel li
ng
i
nsidet hedwel l
i
ng  I
nr obberywi thfor
ceupont hings,i
t
 whenadul t
eryiscommi ttedint hedwel l
ing i
si nherent
oft he husband,ev en ifi ti s also t he
dwel l
ingoft hewi f
e,itisst i
llaggr avating
becausesheandherpar amourcommi tted
agr aveof f
ensetotheheadoft hehouse
 Inrobber ywi t
hv i
olenceagai nstpersons,
robber ywithhomicide,abduct i
on,orillegal
detention

*Thev ict
im shoul
dbetheowner ,occupantorl esseeofthehouse.Howev er nPeopl
,i ev s.
Balansi
,187SCRA566,i twashel dthatthev i
ctim neednotbetheowneroroccupantoft he
dwelli
ngwher ehewasshot,since,“
thestranger,asaninvi
tedguest
,isshel
teredbythesame
roofandpr ot
ectedbyt
hesamei nti
macyofl i
feitaffor
ds.I
tmaynotbehishouse, buti
tis,
even
forabriefmoment ,
hometohim.”

*Whil
et hi
saggr avat
ingci
rcumstancecannotbeconsideredi
nTrespasstoDwel l
i
ngorRobber y
i
nanI nhabit
edHouseasi tisi
ncludednecessar
il
yinthesecri
mes(Art.62)
,itcanbeconsidered
i
nRobber ywithHomi ci
debecausethi
skindofRobberycanbecommi tt
edwithoutthenecessit
y
oft
ransgressingthesanct
it
yofthehouse.(Ppvs.Par
eja,265SCRA429)

*One-
hal
foft
hehousei
susedasast
oreandt
heot
herhal
fisusedf
ordwel
l
ingbutt
her
eisonl
yone
entr
ance.Ifthedwell
ingpor t
ionisattacked,
dwell
ingisnotaggravati
ngbecausewhenev erast or
eisopen
forbusiness,itisapubl i
cpl aceandassuchi snotcapableofbei ngt hesubj
ectoft respass. I
fthe
dwell
ingpor t
ionisattackedwher eevenifthestoreisopen,thereisanotherseparat
eent rancetothe
port
ionusedf ordwell
ing,thecircumstanceisaggravat
ing.Howev er
,incasethestor
eiscl osed,dwel
li
ng
i
saggr avat
ingsincehere,t
hest oreisnotapubli
cplaceasinthefir
stcase.

4.Thatthe actbe commi

tt
ed wi
th(
1)ABUSE OF CONFI
DENCE or(
2)OBVI
OUS
UNGRATEFULNESS

Requisi
tesofAbuseofConfidence Requisi
teofObvi
ousUngr
ateful
ness
a)Offended party has trusted the a)ungratef
ulnessmustbeobvious,thatis,
of
fender there must be somethi
ng whi ch the
offendershoul
dowethevict
im adebtof
b)Offenderabusedsuchtr
ust grati
tudefor

c) Abuseofconf
idencefaci
l
itat
edt
he Note:robber
yortheftcommitt
edbyav i
sit
or
commissi
onofthecr
ime i
n t he house of the off
ended part
yi s
aggrav
atedbyobviousungr
atef
ulness

 Exampl
e:Ajeal
ouslover
,al
readydet
ermi
nedt
oki
l
lhi
ssweet
hear
t,i
nvi
tedherf
orar
ideand
duri
ngt
hatr
ide,hest
abbedher

14
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

 Abuseofconf i
denceisinher
enti
n:
a.mal v
er sat
ion
b.qual i
fiedtheft
c. estafabyconv ersi
on
d.mi sappr opri
ati
on
e. quali
fiedseduction

*Donotconf
uset
hiswi
thmer
ebet
ray
aloft
rust
.Thi
sisaggr
avat
ingonl
ywhent
hev
eryof
fendedpar
tyi
s
theonewhor eposedtheconf
idence. I
ftheconfi
dencei
sreposedbyanot
her,t
heoff
endedpar
tyis
dif
ferentfrom t
hef el
l
ow whor eposedtheconf
idenceandabuseofconfi
denceint
hiscaseisnot
aggravati
ng.

5.Thatthecri
mebecommi tt
edinthePALACEOFTHECHIEFEXECUTI
VE,ori
nhi
s
pr
esence,orwhenPUBLI
CAUTHORITIESAREENGAGEDI
NTHEDISCHARGEOFTHEI
R
DUTIES,
orinaPLACEDEDICATEDTORELIGI
OUSWORSHI
P.

 Requi
rement
soft
heaggr
avat
ingci
rcumst
anceofpubl
i
cof
fi
ce:

a.Thecr
imeoccur
redi
nthepubl
i
cof
fi
ce

b.Publ
i
caut
hor
it
iesar
eact
ual
l
yper
for
mingt
hei
rpubl
i
cdut
ies

 Apol
l
ingpr
eci
ncti
sapubl
i
cof
fi
cedur
ingel
ect
ionday

 Natur
eofpubl
i
cof
fi
ceshoul
dbet
akeni
ntoaccount
,li
keapol
i
cest
ati
onwhi
chi
sondut
y24
hr
s.aday

 pl aceofthecommissionofthefel
ony(par5):i
fitwascommi t
tedinMalacañangpalaceora
churchi
tisaggrav
ati
ng,regardl
essofwhetherStat
eoroff
ici
al;
functi
onsarebeingheld.
*ThePr esi
dentorChiefofExecuti
veneednotbei nthePalacetoaggravatetheli
abi
li
tyofthe
of
fender.

 asregar
dsot
herpl
aceswher
epubli
cauthor
it
iesareengagedi
nthedi
schar
geoft
hei
rdut
ies,
ther
emustbesomeperf
ormanceofpubl
icf
uncti
ons

*Theaccusedmusthav
et hei
ntent
iontocommi tthecri
meinsuchplacesothatifthemeet
ing
oft
heoffenderandt
hevi
cti
m wasonlycasual
,thi
scircumst
ancecannotbeconsi
dered.

*However
,inaplacewhi
chisdedicat
edtorel
igi
ouswor
ship,anyoff
ensecommi
tt
edt
her
eat
ev
enifnocer
emonyist
aki
ngplace,
isaggr
avat
edbythi
sci
rcumstance.

 Requi
sit
esf
oraggr
avat
ingci
rcumst
ancesf
orpl
aceofwor
shi
p:

a.Thecr
imeoccur
redi
napl
acededi
cat
edt
othewor
shi
pofGodr
egar
dlessofr
eli
gion

b.Of
fendermusthav
edeci
dedt
ocommi
tthecr
imewhenheent
eredt
hepl
aceofwor
shi
p

WhenPar agraph2and5ofAr ti
cle14ar eappli
cabl
e
Commi tted int hepr esenceoft heChi ef Commi tted i n contempt of Publ i
c
Executi
ve,int hePr esident i
alPalaceora Aut hori
ty
pl
aceofwor ship(Par.5,Ar t
.14) (Par.2,Art14)
Publi
caut horit
iesar eper f
ormingoft hei
r Same
duti
eswhent hecr i
mei scommi tt
ed
When cr ime is commi tted inthe publ i
c Outsidetheoffice(
sti
ll
per
for
mingduty)
off
ice,theof fi
cermustbeper f
ormi nghis
duti
es,exceptint hePr esidenti
alPalace
Publi
caut hori
tymaybet heoffendedpar ty Publicaut hor
it
yi snotbetheoffended
part
y

15
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

6.(A)Thatthecr
imebecommi t
ted(1)i
ntheNIGHTTI
ME,or(2)inanUNINHABITED
PLACE( 3)byaBAND,whenev
ersuchcir
cumst
ancesmayf
acil
i
tatethecommissi
onof
theoff
ense.

 Ni
ght
ti
me,
Uni
nhabi
tedPl
aceorbyaBandAggr
avat
ingwhen:

a.i
tfaci
l
itat
edt
hecommi
ssi
onoft
hecr
ime

b.especial
l
ysoughtforbyt
heof
fendert
oinsur
ethecommi
ssi
onoft
hecr
imeorf
ort
he
purposeofi
mpunit
y

c. whent
heof
fendert
ookt
headv
ant
aget
her
eoff
ort
hepur
poseofi
mpuni
ty

d.commi
ssi
onoft
hecr
imemusthav
ebeganandaccompl
i
shedatni
ght
ti
me

 Impuni
ty– meanstopreventt
heaccused’
sbei
ngrecogni
zedortosecur
ehi
msel
f
agai
nstdet
ect
ionorpuni
shmentort
ofacil
i
tat
ehi
sescapemoreeasi
l
y.

 Ni
ght
ti
mebegi
nsatt
heendofduskandendi
ngatdawn;
from sunsett
osunr
ise

*commi
ssi
onoft
hecr
imemustbegi
nandbeaccompl
i
shedi
ntheni
ght
ti
me

*whent
hepl
aceoft
hecr
imei
sil
l
umi
nat
edbyl
i
ght
,ni
ght
ti
mei
snotaggr
avat
ing

*absor
bedbyTr
eacher
y

*Eveni
fther
ewasdar
knessbutt
heni
ght
ti
mewasonl
yani
nci
dentofachancemeet
ing,t
her
eisno
aggravat
ingcircumstancehere.Itmustbeshownt hatt
heof fenderdeli
berat
elysoughtthecov erof
darknessandt heoffenderpurposel
yt ookadvantageofni ghtt
imet ofaci
li
tatethecommissionoft he
off
ense,toinsurehi
simmunityfrom captur
e,orotherwiset
of aci
li
tat
ehisgetaway.(
ppvs.par
eja,265scra
429)

 Uninhabi
tedPl
ace–onewherether
earenohousesatall
,aplaceataconsider
abl
edi
stance
fr
om town,wher
ethehousesar
escatt
eredatagr
eatdi
stancefrom eachot
her

Requi
sit
es:
a.Theplacef
aci
l
itat
edt
hecommi
ssi
onoromi
ssi
onoft
hecr
ime

b.Del
i
ber
atel
ysoughtandnoti
nci
dent
alt
othecommi
ssi
onoromi
ssi
onoft
hecr
ime

c. Takenadv
ant
ageoff
ort
hepur
poseofi
mpuni
ty

*Whil
ether
ei snohardandfastr
uleont
hematter,aplacewher et
her
earenopeopleorhouses
wi
thi
nadistanceof200metersorlessi
sconsi
dereduninhabi
ted.(
Ppvs.Egot
,130SCRA134)

 Whatshoul
dbeconsider
edhereiswhet
herint
heplaceoft
hecommi
ssi
onoft
heof
fense,
t
herewasareasonabl
epossi
bil
i
tyoft
hevi
cti
mrecei
vi
ngsomehel
p

6.(B)-Whenevermorethan3ar medmalef
act
orsshallhav
eactedtoget
heri
nthe
commissi
onofanof
fense,
itshal
lbedeemedt
ohavebeencommit
tedbyaBAND.

 Requi
sit
es:
a.Facil
itat
edt
hecommi
ssi
onoft
hecr
ime

b.Del
i
ber
atel
ysought

c. Takenadv
ant
ageoff
ort
hepur
posesofi
mpuni
ty

d.Ther
emustbef
ourormor
ear
medmen

 I
foneoft hefour
-armedmalefactor
si sapri
nci
palbyinducement,theydonotf
orm aband
becausei
tisundoubtedl
yconnotedthathehadnodir
ectparti
cipat
ion,

16
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

*Wher emor ethanthr

eearmedmal efact
orsparti
cipat
edinthecommissionoftheof
fense,i
fthe
aggrupat
ion did notfaci
lit
atet he commi ssi
on oft he cr
ime,i
twi l
lnotbe considered as
aggravat
ingbecauseoft hel anguageoft helaw whichrequir
esthatsuchcir
cumstancemust
havefaci
lit
atedthecommi ssi
onoft heoffense.

*Whent hetwo( 2)gr

oupsar ealmostsimil
arl
yar med,l
ikewheret hegr
oupoftheoffendedpar t
y
numberedf i
ve(5)butonl ythree(
3)wer earmedsot hatt
hereisnoband,whi l
et heoffenders
werefour( 4)who wer eal larmed and theref
oreconstit
uted aband,thereisno bandas
aggr
avatingcir
cumst anceasi tdi
dnotf aci
li
tatethecommi ssi
onoft hecr
ime.Likewise,ifthe
meeti
ngi scasual,
thehomi ci
decommi t
tedbyt hekil
ler
scompr i
singabandisnotaggravated.

 Ar
msi
snotl
i
mit
edt
ofi
rear
ms,
sti
cksandst
onesi
ncl
uded

 Bandi
sinher
enti
nrobber
ycommi
tt
edi
nbandandbr
igandage

*Cor
rel
atet
hiswi
thAr
ti
cle306-Br
igandage.Thecr
imei
sthebandi
tsel
f.Themer
efor
mingofaband
evenwithoutthecommi ssi
onofacri
meisalreadyacri
mesot hatbandisnotaggr
avati
nginbri
gandage
because the band i
tsel
fisthe wayto commi tbr
igandage.Howev er
,where bri
gandage i
sactuall
y
commi t
ted,bandbecomesaggrav
ati
ng.

 I
tisnotconsi
der
edi
nthecr
imeofr
ape

 I
thasbeenappl
i
edi
ntr
easonandi
nrobber
ywi
thhomi
cide

7.Thatt he cr
ime be committ
ed on t
he occasi
on ofa conf
lagr
ati
on,shi
pwr
eck,
ear
thquake,
epidemi
corotherCALAMITYORMI SFORTUNE

 Requi
sit
es:
a.Commi ttedwhenther
eisacal
ami
tyormi
sfor
tune
1.Conflagr
ati
on
2.Shipwreck
3.Epidemic

b.Of
fendert
ookadv
ant
ageoft
hest
ateofconf
usi
onorchaot
iccondi
ti
onf
rom such
mi
sfort
une

 Basi
s:Commi
ssi
onoft
hecr
imeaddst
othesuf
fer
ingbyt
aki
ngadv
ant
ageoft
hemi
sfor
tune.

 basedonti
me
 off
endermustt
akeadv
ant
ageoft
hecal
ami
tyormi
sfor
tune

Di
sti
nct
ionbetweenParagr
aphs7and12ofAr t
icl
e14
Commit
tedduri
ngacal
amityormisfor
tune Committ
edwit
htheuseofwast efulmeans
Cri
me is commit
ted DURING any of t he Cri
meiscommi t
tedBYusi ngfi
re,inundat
ion,
cal
ami
ti
es expl
osi
onorot
herwast ef
ulmeans

8.Thatt
hecr
imebecommi
ttedwi
tht
heAI
DOF(
1)ARMEDMENOR(
2)PERSONSWHO
I
NSUREORAFFORDIMPUNITY

 basedont
hemeansandway
sofcommi
tt
ingt
hecr
ime

 Requi
sit
es:
a.thatarmedmenorper
sonst
ookpar
tint
hecommi
ssi
onoft
hecr
ime,
dir
ect
lyori
ndi
rect
ly

b.thatt
heaccusedav
ail
edhi
msel
foft
hei
rai
dorr
eli
edupont
hem whent
hecr
imewas
committ
ed

*Iftheaccusedr el
iedonthepresenceofar medmen, av
aili
nghimselfoftheaidofthelatt
er,
his
l
iabi
lit
yisaggr avat
ed.However,whereitappearedthatappellant
swerenotmer elypr
esentatthe
sceneoft hecr i
mebutwer einconspi
racywi t
ht heassai
lant,shoot
ingthevicti
m andleavi
ngthe
scenet ogetherafterappar
entl
yaccompl ishi
ngt hei
rpur poseclearl
yevincingconspir
acy,t
his

17
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

ci
rcumst
ancecannotbeappr
eci
ated.(
Ppv
s.Umbr
ero,
196SCRA821)

*Theremustbenounityofpurposebetweent
heoffenderandthearmedmenpr
esentinthe
commissi
onofthecrime.Theexi st
enceofconspi
racywillmakethearmedmenliabl
eas
pri
nci
pal
sbydi
rectpar
ti
cipat
ion.

 Except
ions:
a.whenbot ht
heat
tacki
ngpar
tyandt
hepar
tyat
tackedwer
eequal
l
yar
med

b.notpr
esentwhen t
he accused as wel
las t
hose who cooper
ated wit
h him i
nthe
commi
ssionoft
hecr
imeactedunderthesameplanandf
orthesamepur pose.

c. Casualpr
esence,orwhentheoff
enderdi
dnotavai
lhimsel
fofanyoft
hei
rai
dnordi
dnot
knowingl
ycountuponthei
rassi
stancei
nthecommissi
onofthecri
me

WITHTHEAI DOFARMEDMEN BYABAND

Presenteveni
foneoft
heoffender
smerely Requi
resmor ethan3armedmalef
actors
rel
ied on thei
r ai
d.Actualaidi s not whoallactedtoget
heri
nthecommission
necessary ofanoffense

 i
fther
ear
emor
ethan3ar
medmen,ai
dofar
medmeni
sabsor
bedi
ntheempl
oymentofa
band.

*Ift
heaccused,upom assuranceofpoli
cemenAandBt hatt
heywouldnotpatr
olthear
easo
t
hathecouldt hef
torrobberythereat
,thecommissi
onofburgl
aryi
nthesaidareawhereno
r
outi
nepatr
oll
ingwasdonei saggravat
edbytheai
dofper
sonswhoinsur
eoraff
ordimpuni
ty.
9.Thatt
heaccusedi
saRECI
DIVI
ST

 Reci
div
ist– onewhoatt heti
meofhi str
ialf
oronecr i
me,shal
lhavebeenprev
iousl
y
conv
ict
edbyfinal
judgmentofanot
hercr
imeembracedi
nthesameti
tl
eoftheRPC

*I
tisi
mpor
tantt
hatt
heconv
ict
ionwhi
chcameear
li
ermustr
efert
othecr
imecommi
tt
edear
li
ert
hant
he
subsequentconv
ict
ion.

 Basi
s:Gr
eat
erper
ver
sit
yoft
heof
fenderasshownbyhi
sincl
i
nat
iont
ocommi
tcr
imes

 Requi
sit
es:
a.offenderi
sont
ri
alf
oranof
fense

b.hewaspr
evi
ousl
yconv
ict
edbyf
inal
judgmentofanot
hercr
ime

c. t
hatboththefi
rstandt
hesecondof
fensesar
eembr
acedi
nthesamet
it
leoft
heRPC
(
notspeci
all
aw)

d.t
heof
fenderi
sconv
ict
edoft
henewof
fense

 Whatiscont
rol
li
ngistheti
meofthet
ri
al,nott
heti
meoft hecommissi
onoftheoffense.At
t
hetimeofthet r
ialmeansfr
om t
hearr
aignmentunt
ilaf
tersent
enceisannouncedbyt he
j
udgeinopencourt.

 Whendoesjudgmentbecomefi
nal
?(Rul
esofCourt
)
a.aft
erthelapseofaperi
odf
orperf
ect
inganappeal

b.whent
hesent
encehasbeenpar
ti
all
yort
otal
l
ysat
isf
iedorser
ved

c. def
endanthasexpr
essl
ywai
vedi
nwr
it
inghi
sri
ghtt
oappeal

d.t
heaccusedhasappl
i
edf
orpr
obat
ion

 Exampl
eofCri
mesembr acedintheSameti
tl
eoft
heRPC
a.robber
yandthef
t–titl
e10
b.homici
deandphysi
calinj
uri
es–t i
tl
e8

18
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

*I
nreci
div
ism,t
he cr
imes commi
tt
ed shoul
d be f
eloni
es.Reci
div
ism cannotbe had i
fthe cr
ime
commi
tt
edi
sav
iol
ati
onofaspeci
all
aw.

 Q:Theaccusedwaspr
osecutedandt
ri
edf
ort
hef
t,r
obber
yandest
afa.Judgment
swer
eread
onthesameday.I
shearecidiv
ist
?

A:No.Becausethejudgmenti
nanyoft
hef
ir
stt
woof
fenseswasnoty
etf
inalwhenhewas
tr
iedf
orthethi
rdoff
ense

 Reci
div
ism mustbet
akenint
oaccountnomat
terhowmanyy
ear
shav
eint
erv
enedbet
ween
thef
ir
standsecondf
eloni
es

 Par
don does notobl
iter
atethe f
actthatt
he accused was a r
eci
div
i ,butamnest
st y
ext
ingui
shest
hepenal
tyandit
seff
ects

*I
ftheof
fenderhasal
readyser
vedhi
ssent
enceandhewasext
endedanabsol
utepar
don,t
hepar
don
shal
leraset
heconvi
cti
onincl
udi
ngreci
divi
sm becauset
her
eisnomor
epenal
tysoi
tshal
lbeunder
stood
asref
erri
ngtot
heconvi
cti
onortheeff
ectsoft
hecr i
me.

 Toprov
ereci
div
ism,itmustbeal
legedintheinf
ormat
ionandwi
that
tachedcer
ti
fi
edcopi
es
oft
hesent
encesrender
edagai
nsttheaccused

 Except
ions:i
ftheaccuseddoesnotobj
ectandwhenheadmi
tsi
nhi
sconf
essi
onandont
he
wit
nessstand

10.Thatt heoff
enderhasbeenprevi
ouslypuni
shedf
oranoffenset
owhichthelaw
att
achesanequalorgr eat
erpenal
tyorfort
woormor ecr
imestowhichi
tat
tachesa
l
ighterpenal
ty

 REI
TERACIONORHABI TUALITY–i
tisessent
ialt
hatt
heof
fenderbepr
evi
ousl
ypuni
shed;
t
hati
s,hehasser
vedsent
ence.

.10speaksofpenal
 Par tyat
tachedt
otheof
fense,
nott
hepenal
tyact
ual
l
yimposed

*i
nrei
ter
aci
on,t
hepenal
tyat
tachedt
othecr
imesubsequent
lycommi
tt
edshoul
dbehi
gheroratl
east
equalt
ot hepenal tythathehasalreadyserved.Ift
hatist hesituat
ion,t
hatmeanst hattheoffenderwas
neverr
efor medbyt hefactthatheal readyser
vedt hepenal t
yi mposedonhi m ont hefir
stconv i
cti
on.
However,ifhecommi tsafelonycarr
yingal i
ght
erpenalty;subsequentl
y,t
helawconsidersthatsomehow
hehasbeenr ef
ormedbuti fhe,againcommi t
sanot herf el
onywhi chcarr
iesalighterpenal
ty,thenhe
becomesar epeaterbecausethatmeanshehasnoty etreformed.

*Youwi
l
lonl
yconsi
dert
hepenal
tyi
nrei
ter
aci
oni
fther
eisal
readyasecondconv
ict
ion.Whent
her
eisa
thi
rdconvict
ion,youdisregar
dwhateverpenalt
yforthesubsequentcr
imescommi t
ted.Eveni
fthepenal
ty
forthesubsequentcri
mescommi t
tedarelight
erthantheonesalr
eadyser
ved,si
ncethereareal
readyt
wo
ofthem subsequentl
y,theoff
enderi
salreadyarepeater.

*However
,ift
her
eisonl
yasecondconv
ict
ion,payat
tent
iont
othepenal
tyat
tachedt
othecr
imewhi
ch
wascommi tt
edforthesecondcrime.Thati
swhyi ti
ssaidthatreit
eraci
onisnotalwaysaggr
avati
ng.Thi
s
i
ssobecausei ft
hepenaltyatt
achedtothefel
onysubsequentl
ycommi tt
edisnotequalorhi
ghert
hanthe
penal
tyal
readyserv
ed,evenifl
it
eral
ly
,theof
fenderisarepeat
er,repeti
ti
onisnotaggrav
ati
ng.

REITERACION RECIDI
VISM
Necessarythatoffendershallhaveserved Enough thatfinaljudgmenthas been
outhissent
encef orthefi
rstsentence render
edinthefir
stoff
ense
Previ
ousand subsequentof fensesmust Samet i
tl
e
notbeembr acedint hesamet i
tl
eoft he
Code
Notalwaysanaggr avati
ngcircumstance Al
way
saggr
avat
ing

*Thus,ifAhasbeenconv i
ctedofMurder
,andaf t
ergrantofparol
ecommi tt
edHomi ci
de,he
l
aborsunderthi
sparagr
aph(10)knownasreiteraci
on,butheisalsosuff
eri
ngf r
om r
ecidivi
sm
(r
eci
dencia)
.Insuchacase,hewil
lbeconsideredonlyasr eci
div
ist
,andpar.10wil
lnol onger
appl
ytohim.

19
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

 4FORMSOFREPETI TI
ON
a. Reci
div
ism –gener
ic

b. Rei
ter
aci
onorHabi
tual
i
ty–gener
ic

c. Mul
ti
pler
eci
div
ism orHabi
tualdel
i
nquency–ext
raor
dinar
yaggr
avat
ing

d. Quasi
-Reci
div
ism –speci
alaggr
avat
ing

Di
sti
nct
ionsbet
weenr
eci
div
ism andhabi
tual
del
i
nquency
I
nreci
div
ism –

(
1) Twoconv
ict
ionsar
eenough.

(
2) Thecri
mesarenotspeci
fi
ed;i
tisenought
hatt
heymaybeembr
acedundert
hesamet
it
leoft
he
Revi
sedPenalCode.

(
3) Ther
eisnot i
meli
mitbet
weent
hef
ir
stconv
ict
ionandt
hesubsequentconv
ict
ion.Reci
div
ism i
s
i
mprescr
ipt
ibl
e.

(
4) Itis a generi
c aggr
avati
ng ci
rcumst
ance whi
ch can be of
fsetby an or
dinar
y mit
igat
ing
ci
rcumstance.Ifnotof
fset
,itwouldonl
yincr
easethepenal
typrescr
ibedbyl
aw forthecri
me
committ
edt oit
smaximum peri
od.

(
5) Theci
rcumst
anceneednotbeal
l
egedi
nthei
nfor
mat
ion.

I
nhabi
tualdel
i
nquency–

(
1) Atl
eastt
hreeconv
ict
ionsar
erequi
red.

(
2) Thecr i
mesar eli
mit
edandspecif
iedto:(
a)seriousphysi
calinj
uri
es,(b)l
essser
iousphy
sical
i
njur
ies,(c)r
obber
y,(
d)t
hef
t,(
e)est
afaorswindl
i
ngand( f
)fal
sif
icat
ion.

(
3) Ther
eisatimelimitofnotmorethan10yearsbetweenev er
yconvi
cti
onscomputedf
rom t
hefir
st
conv
ict
ion orrelease f
rom punishmentthereoft o convi
cti
on comput
ed fr
om the second
conv
ict
ionorr
eleasetheref
rom t
othethi
rdconvict
ionandsoon...

(
4) Habit
ualdelinquencyi saspecialaggrav
ati
ngcircumstance,henceitcannotbeoffsetbyany
miti
gatingcir
cumst ance.Asi
defrom thepenal
typrescr
ibedbyl aw f
orthecri
mecommi t
ted,an
addi
tionalpenal
tyshallbeimposeddependinguponwhet heri
tisalr
eadythethi
rdconvi
cti
on,the
four
th,thefi
fthandsoon...

(
5) The cir
cumstance mustbe all
eged i
nt he i
nfor
mat
ion;ot
her
wise t
he cour
tcannotacqui
re
j
uri
sdict
iont
oi mposeaddi
ti
onalpenal
ty.

 HABITUALDELI NQUENCY–whenaper sonwit

hinaperi
odof10year
sf r
om thedateofhi
s
r
eleaseorlastconvi
ctionofthecrimesofseri
ousorl
essser
iousphy
sicali
njur
ies,r
obber
y,
t
heft,est
afaorfal
sif
icati
oni
sf oundgui
lt
yofanyofsai
dcri
mesathi
rdti
meorof t
ener.

*Whent
heof
fenderi
sar
eci
div
istandatt
hesamet
imeahabi
tualdel
i
nquent
,thepenal
tyf
ort
hecr
imef
or
whichhewillbeconvict
edwi l
lbei ncreasedtothemaxi
mum peri
odunl
essoffsetbyami ti
gat
ing
ci
rcumst
ance.Af
terdet
ermini
ngthecorrectpenal
tyf
ort
hel
astcr
imecommi
tt
ed,anaddedpenal
tywil
lbe
i
mposedinaccor
dancewithArti
cle62.

*Habi
tualdel
i
nquency
,bei
ngaspeci
alorspeci
fi
caggr
avat
ingci
rcumst
ancemustbeal
l
egedi
nthe
i
nfor
mation.Ifi
tisnotal l
egedinthei nf
ormat i
onandi nthecour
seofthetr
ial
,theprosecut
iont
riedt
o
pr
ovethatt heoffenderisahabi tualdel
inquentov ert
heobject
ionoftheaccused,thecourthasno
j
uri
sdi
cti
ont oconsidert
heoffenderahabitualdel
inquent
.

 QUASI-
RECIDI
VISM –anypersonwhoshal
lcommitaf elonyaft
erhavi
ngbeenconvict
edby
fi
nalj
udgment,bef
orebegi
nni
ngtoserv
esuchsentence,orwhil
eservi
ngthesame,shallbe
puni
shedbythemaximum per
iodoft
hepenal
typr
escri
bedbyl awfort
henewfelony

*Theemphasi
sher
eisont
hecr
imecommi
tt
edbef
oresent
enceorwhi
l
eser
vingsent
encewhi
chshoul
d
beaf el
ony,avi
olat
ionoft heRev
isedPenalCode.I
nsof
arast
heear
li
ercr
imei
sconcer
ned,i
tis
necessaryt
hati
tbeaf el
ony
.

20
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

*Theemphasi
sisont
henat
ureoft
hecr
imecommi
tt
edwhi
l
eser
vingsent
enceorbef
oreser
ving
sent
ence.I
tshoul
dnotbeav
iol
ati
onofaspeci
all
aw.

*Quasi
-r
eci
div
ism i
sa speci
alaggr
avat
ing ci
rcumst
ance.Thi
scannotbe of
fsetbyanymi
ti
gat
ing
cir
cumstanceandtheimposi
tionofthepenal
tyinthemaximum periodcannotbeloweredbyanyor di
nar
y
miti
gati
ngcircumst
ance.Whenthereisapri
vil
egedmiti
gati
ngcircumstance,
thepenal
typrescr
ibedbylaw
forthecri
mecommi t
tedshallbeloweredby1or2degr ees,asthecasemaybe,butt heni tshal
lbe
i
mposedi nthemaximum per
iodift
heoffenderisaquasi
-r
ecidi
vi
st.

11.Thatthe cr
ime be commi
tt
ed I
N CONSI
DERATI
ON OF A PRI
CE,REWARD OR
PROMISE.

 Requisi
tes:
a.Atl east2pri
ncipal
s
1.Theprinci
palbyinducement
2.Theprinci
palbydirectpar
ti
cipat
ion

b.the pr
ice,reward,orpromise shoul
d be pr
evi
ous t
o and i
n consi
der
ati
on oft
he
commissionofthecri
minalact

 Appl
i
cabl
etobot
hpr
inci
pal
s.

*Toconsi derthiscir
cumst t
ance,heprice,rewardorpromisemustbet hepr i
maryreasonorthe
pri
mor di
almot i
v eforthecommi ssionoft hecr i
me.Thus,ifAappr oachedBandt ol
dt hel
att
er
whathet houghtofX, andBanswer ed“ heisabadman”t owhi chAr et
orted,“
youseeIam going
tokillhimt hisaf t
ernoon”,andsoBt oldhim“ I
fyoudot hat,I’
l
lgivey ouP5,000.
00”andaf t
er
ki
lli
ngX,Aagai nappr oachedB,tol
dhi m hehadal r
eadykil
ledX,andBi ncompli
ancewi t
hhis
promi se,deli
veredtheP5, 000.
00,t
hisaggrav at
ingcir
cumstancei snotpresent.

12.Thatthe cri
mebecommi tt
ed bymeansofinundati
on,f
ir
e,poi
son,expl
osion,
str
andi
ngav esselorint
enti
onaldamaget
heret
o,orderai
l
mentofalocomoti
ve,orby
useofanyot
herarti
fi
ceinvol
vingGREATWASTEORRUI N.

 Requi
sit
e:Thewast
efulmeanswer
eusedbyt
heof
fendert
oaccompl
i
shacr
imi
nal
pur
pose

*Fi
rei
snotaggr
avat
ingi
nthecr
imeofar
son.

*Wheneveraki
l
li
ngi
sdonewi
tht
heuseoff
ir
e,aswhent
oki
l
lsomeone,y
oubur
ndownhi
shousewhi
l
e
t
hel
att
eri
sinsi
de,
thi
sismur
der
.

*Ther
eisnosuchcr
imeasmur
derwi
thar
sonorar
sonwi
thhomi
cide.Thecr
imecommi
tt
edi
sonl
y
mur
der
.

*I
fthev
ict
imi
sal
readydeadandt
hehousei
sbur
ned,
thecr
imei
sar
son.I
tisei
therar
sonormur
der
.

*I
fthei
ntenti
stodest
roypr
oper
ty,t
hecr
imei
sar
sonev
eni
fsomeonedi
esasaconsequence.I
fthe
i
ntenti
stoki
l
l,t
her
eismur
derev
eni
fthehousei
sbur
nedi
nthepr
ocess.

*UnderR.A.8294whi chamendsP. D.1866,whenaper soncommi tsanycri

meunderthe
Revi
sedPenal
Codeorspeci all
awswiththeuseofexplosi
vesincl
udi
ngbutnotl
imit
edtopi
ll
box,
motol
ovcocktai
lbombs,det onat
ionagentsorincendiar
ydev i
cesresul
ti
nginthedeat
hofa
per
son,t
hesamei saggrav
ating.(
Sect
ion2)

13.Thatt
heactbecommi
tt
edwi
thEVI
DENTPREMEDI
TATI
ON

 Essenceofpr emeditat
ion:t
heexecuti
onoft hecri
mi nalactmustbepr ecededbycool
thoughtandr ef
lect
ionupontheresol
uti
ontocarr
youtthecri
minali
ntentdur
ingthespaceof
ti
mesuf fi
cienttoarri
veatacalmjudgment

 Requi
sit
es:
a.thetimewhent
heof
fenderdet
ermi
nedt
ocommi
tthecr
ime

21
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

b.anactmani
fest
lyi
ndi
cat
ingt
hatt
hecul
pri
thascl
ungt
ohi
sdet
ermi
nat
ion

c. asuffi
cientl
apseoftimebetweenthedet
ermi
nati
onandexecut
iont oal
l
owhimt or
efl
ect
upon the consequences ofhi
s actand to al
l
ow hi
s conscience t
o ov
ercome the
resol
uti
onofhiswi l
l

 Conspi
racygener
all
ypr
esupposespr
emedi
tat
ion

*Therear ecaseshowev er,whenconspi

racyisestabli
shedbecauseoft hemannert hecr ime
wascommi t
tedbyt heof
fenders,
whichmoreoftenismanifestedbyt hei
ractsbefore,
dur i
ngand
aft
erthecommi ssi
onofthecri
me.Thisi
scalledimpli
edconspi racy
.Whensuchsi t
uationar ises,
thecourtcannotpresumeev i
dentpr
emeditat
ion.Ther
eisuni t
yofpur poseandt heyallt ookpar t
i
nt hecommi ssionofthecr i
me,butsuchi snotev identpr emeditat
ion.Itonlyest abl
ishes
conspir
acy.

 Whenv i
cti
mi sdi
ffer
entfrom t
hati
ntended,premedit
ati
onisnotaggr
avati
ng.Al
thoughitis
notnecessar
ythatthereisaplant
oki llapar
t i
cul
arpersonf
orpremedit
ati
ontoexist(
e.g.
pl
ant okil
lfi
rst2per sonsonemeet s,gener
alattackonav il
l
age…foraslongasi twas
pl
anned)

 Thepr emedi
tati
onmustbebaseduponext
ernalf
act
s,andmustbeev
ident
,notmer
ely
suspectedi
ndicat
ingdel
i
ber
atepl
anni
ng

 Ev
identpr
emedi
tat
ioni
sinher
enti
nrobber
y,adul
ter
y,t
hef
t,est
afa,
fal
sif
icat
ion,
andet
c.

*I
nev
identpr
emedi
tat
ion,t
her
emustbeacl
earr
efl
ect
ionont
hepar
toft
heof
f .Howev
ender er,i
fthe
ki
l
lingwasaccidental,t
her
ewasnoev i
dentpr
emedit
ati
on.Whati
snecessar
ytoshowandtobringabout
evi
dentpremeditat
ionasidefrom showingthatassomepr i
orti
me,theoffenderhasmani
festedthe
i
ntenti
ont
okill
t hevicti
m,andsubsequent
lyki
l
ledt
hevict
im.

*I nPeoplevs.Moj i
ca,10SCRA515, thelapseofonehourandf ort
y-f
iveminutes(4:
15p.m.to6
p.m. )wasconsideredbytheSupremeCour tassuff
ici
ent
.InPeoplev s.Cabodoc,263SCRA187,
wher eat1:00p. m.,t
heaccusedopenedhi sbali
songanduttered“Iwillki
l
lhim( r
eferr
ingtothe
victi
m) ”
,at4:30p.m.oft hesai
ddat eaccusedstabbedthevicti
m,itwashel dthatthelapseof
threeandahal fhours(3½ hours)fr
om theincept
ionoftheplant otheexecuti
onoft hecri
me
satisfi
edthelastrequi
sit
eofevidentpremedit
ati
on.

14.That(
1)CRAFT,
(2)FRAUD,
OR(
3)DI
SGUI
SEbeempl
oyed

 CRAFT–i nvolvesi
ntell
ectualt
ri
ckeryandcunni
ngont hepar
toftheaccused.
Iti
sempl oy
edasaschemei nt heexecuti
onoft hecri
me( e.
g.accusedpretendedtobe
members oft he constabul
ary,accused i
n orderto per
petr
ater ape,used chocol
ates
cont
aini
ngdr ugs)

*Crafti
spr esentsi
ncetheaccusedandhi
scohor
tspret
endedtobebonafi
depassengersofthe
j
eepinor dernottoarousesuspi
cion;
whenoncei
nsi
dethejeep,
theyr
obbedthedri
verandother
passengers(Peoplevs.Lee,
204SCRA900)

 FRAUD–invol
vesi
nsidi
ouswordsormachinat
ionsusedtoi
nducev
ict
imt
oacti
namanner
whichwoul
denabl
etheoff
endertocar
ryouthi
sdesign.

 asdi
sti
nguishedf
rom craf
twhi
chinvol
vesact
sdoneinordernottoar
ousethesuspici
onof
thevi
ctm,f
i r
audi
nvol
v esadir
ecti
nducementthr
oughentr
appingorbegui
l
inglanguageor
machi
nations

 DI
SGUISE–r
esor
ti
ngt
oanydev
icet
oconceali
dent
it
y.Pur
poseofconceal
i
ngi
dent
it
yisa
must
.

*Buttheaccusedmustbeabl et
ohi dehi
sidenti
tydur
ingt
hei
nit
ialstage,i
fnotallt
hroughout,
thecommi ssi
onoft hecri
meandhi sidenti
tymusthavebeendi scover
edonl ylat
eron,to
consi
derthisaggravati
ngcir
cumstance.I
fdespit
ethemaskwornbyt heaccused,orhisput
ti
ng
ofcharcoaloverhisbody,t
heoff
endedpar t
yevenbeforet
hei
nit
ialstageknewhim, hewasnot

22
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

abl
etohi
dehi
sident
it
yandt
hisci
rcumst
ancecannotbeappr
eci
ated.

Disti
nctionbetweenCraft
,Fraud,andDisgui
se
Craft Fraud Di
sguise
Invol
vestheuseofintell
ectual Involv
es the use of di rect I
nvolv
es t he use of
tri
ckeryandcunni
ngt oarouse i nducement by i nsidi
ous devise t o conceal
suspici
onofthevict
im wor dsormachinati
ons i
denti
ty

 Requisi
te:Theof
fendermusthav
eactual
l
ytakenadv
ant
ageofcr
aft
,fr
aud,ordi
sgui
set
o
faci
l
itat
ethecommissionoft
hecr
ime.

*Thecircumst
ancei
scharact
eri
zedbythei
ntel
lect
ualorment alappr
oach,r
athert
hant
he
phy
sical
meanstowhi
chcr
iminalr
esor
tst
ocar
ryouthisi
ntent
ion.

 I
nher
enti
n:est
afaandf
alsi
fi
cat
ion

15.That(
1)ADVANTAGE BE TAKEN OFSUPERI
OR STRENGTH,or(
2)MEANS BE
EMPLOYEDTOWEAKENTHEDEFENSE

 Topurposel
yuseexcessi
vef
orceoutoft
hepr
opor
ti
ont
othemeansofdef
enseav
ail
abl
eto
theper
sonattacked.

*Super
iori
tymayar i
sefrom aggr
essor
’ssex,weaponornumberascomparedt
othatoft
he
vi
cti
m(e.g.accusedatt
ackedanunarmedgirlwi
thakni
fe;3menstabbedt
odeatht
hefemal
e
vi
cti
m).

*Noadv ant
ageofsuperi
orstrengt
hwhenonewhoatt
acksisover
comewithpassi
onand
obfuscat
ionorwhenquar
relar
oseunexpect
edl
yandt
hef
atalbl
owwasst
ruckwhi
l
ev i
cti
m and
accusedwerestr
uggl
i
ng.

VS.BYABAND:ci rcumstanceofabuseofsuper
iorstr
engt
h,whati
st akenint
oaccounti
snot
thenumberofaggr
essor
snort hef
actthatt
heyar
ear medbutt
heirr
elati
vephysi
calmi
ghtvi
s-à-
vist
heoff
endedpart
y

*Ther
emustbeev
idenceofnot
ori
ousi
nequal
i
tyoff
orcesbet
weent
heof
fenderandt
heof
fendedpar
tyi
n
thei
rage,si
zeandstrength,andthattheoffendertookadv
antageofsuchsuper
iorst
rengt
hincommitt
ing
thecrme.Themer
i ef actthatt
herewer etwoper sonswhoattackedt
hevi
cti
m doesnotperseconst
it
ute
abuseofsuper
iorst
rength( Peoplev.Carpi
o,191SCRA12) .

*Toappr eci
ateabuseofsuperi
orstr
ength,whatshoul
dbeconsideredisnotthatther
ewere
thr
ee,fourormor eassail
ant
soft hevicti
m.Whatmat ter
siswhet hertheaggressor
stook
advant
ageofthei
rcombinedstr
engt
hinordertoconsummatethecri
me.

*Thef actknownhoweverthatt
hereweretwopersonswhoat t
ackedthev i
cti
m doesnotperse
establ
ishthatthecri
mewascommi t
tedwit
habuseofsuper iorst
rength.Totakeadv ant
ageof
superi
orst r
engthmeanstopur posel
yuseexcessiveforceoutofpr oporti
ontot hemeans
avail
abletotheper
sonat
tackedtodefendhi
msel
f.(Peopl
ev s.Casingal
,243SCRA37)

*Hadtreacheryoralev
osiabeenprov
en,i
twoul
dhav
eabsor
bedabuseofsuper
iorst
rengt
h.
(
Peopl
ev s.Pangani
ban,241SCRA91)

 Requi
sit
eofMeanstoWeakenDefense
a.Meanswerepurposel
ysoughtt
oweakent
hedef
enseoft
hev
ict
imt
oresi
stt
heassaul
t

b.Themeansusedmustnott
otal
l
yel
i
minat
epossi
bledef
enseoft
hev
ict
im,ot
her
wisei
t
wil
lfal
lundert
reacher
y

 Toweakenthedefense–ill
ust
rat
edinthecasewher
eonestr
uggl
ingwithanothersuddenl
y
thr
owsacloakovertheheadofhisopponentandwhi
lei
nthesai
dsituati
on,hewoundsor
kil
l
shim.Othermeansofweakeningt
hedefensewoul
dbeint
oxi
cati
onordi sabl
i
ngt hr
uthe
senses(
casti
ngdi
rtofsanduponanot
her’
seyes)

23
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

16.Thatt
heactbecommi
tt
edwi
thTREACHERY(
alev
osi
a)

 TREACHERY:whent heof
fendercommi tsanyoft hecri
meagai nsttheper
son,employing
means,methodsorfor
msintheexecut
ionthereofwhichtenddi
rectl
yandspeci
all
ytoinsure
i
tsexecut
ionwit
houtri
skt
ohimselfari
singfr
om thedefensewhichtheoff
endedpart
ymi ght
make.

 Requi
sit
es:
a.thatatt
het
imeoft
heat
tack,
thev
ict
im wasnoti
ntheposi
ti
ont
odef
endhi
msel
f

b.thatt
heoffenderconsci
ousl
yadopt
edt
hepar
ti
cul
armeans,met
hodorf
orm ofat
tack
employedbyhim

*Theessenceoft
reacher
yist
hatbyv
irt
ueoft
hemeans,met
hodorf
orm empl
oyedbyt
heof
fender
,the
of
fendedpar t
ywasnotabl et
oputupanydefense.Iftheoff
endedpar
tywasabletoputupadefense,
evenonlyatokenone,ther
eisnotr
eacher
yanymore.Inst
eadsomeotheraggr
avat
ingci
rcumst
ancemay
bepresentbutnott
reacher
yanymor
e.

 Tr
eachery– can’
tbeconsi deredwhentherei
snoev i
dencethatt
heaccused,pr
iort
othe
momentofthekill
ing,resol
vedtocommittocr
ime,ortherei
snoprooft
hatthedeathoft
he
vi
cti
m wast
her esultofmeditat
ion,
cal
cul
ati
onorr
eflect
ion.

*doesnotexi
stiftheaccusedgavet
hedeceasedchancet
opr
epar
eort
her
ewaswar
ninggi
ven
ort
hati
twaspr ecededbyaheatedar
gument

*t
her
eisal
way
str
eacher
yint
heki
l
li
ngofchi
l
d

*gener
all
ycharact
eri
zedbythedel
i
berat
eandsuddenandunexpect
edattackofthevi
cti
mfr
om
behi
nd,wi
thoutanywarni
ngandwit
houtgiv
ingt
hevi
cti
m anopport
unit
ytodefendhimsel
f

*Tr
eacher
yisoutwhent
heat
tackwasmer
elyi
nci
dent
aloracci
dent
albecausei
nthedef
ini
ti
onof
t
reacher
y,t
heimplicat
ioni
st hatt
heoffenderhadconsci
ousl
yanddel
i
ber
atel
yadopt
edt
hemet
hod,
meansandfor
m usedoremployedbyhi
m

 Examples:vi
cti
m asl
eep,
hal
f-
awakeorj
ustawakened,
vict
im gr
appl
i
ngorbei
nghel
d,at
tacks
fr
om behind

 Buttreacher
ymayexi
steveni
fat
tacki
sface-
to-
face–asl
ongasv
ict
im wasnotgi
venany
chancetoprepar
edef
ense

 Wher
ether
eisconspi
racy
,tr
eacher
yisconsi
der
edagai
nstal
ltheof
fender
s

 Treacher
yabsor
bsabuseofst
rengt
h,ai
dofar
medmen,
byabandandmeanst
oweakent
he
defense

TREACHERY ABUSEOFSUPERI OR MEANSEMPLOYEDTO

STRENGTH WEAKENDEFENSE
Means,met hodsorfor
ms Offenderdoesnotempl oy Meansar eempl
oyedbutit
are empl oyed by t he means,met hodsorf or
ms onlymat er
ial
l
yweakenst
he
off
ender t o make i t of attack,he onl
yt akes resisti
ng power of the
i
mpossibleorhardforthe advantage ofhi
s superi
or offendedpart
y
off
ended partyt
o putany str
ength
sortofr
esi
stance

INTOXI
CATIONi
st hemeansdeli
ber
atel
yemployedbyt
heoff
endert
oweakenthedef
enseoft
heoffended
part
y.I
fthi
swastheverymeansemployed,t
hecir
cumst
ancemaybetr
eacher
yandnotabuseofsuperi
or
str
engt
hormeanst oweakent
hedefense.

*Ther
emustbeev
idencedonhow t
hecr
imewascommi
tt
ed.I
tisnotenought
oshow t
hatt
hev
ict
im
sust
ainedt
reacher
ouswound.I
tmustbeshownt
hatt
hev
ict
im wast
otal
l
ydef
ensel
ess.

*Suddennessoft
heat
tackdoesnotbyi
tsel
fconst
it
utet
reacher
yint
heabsenceofev
idencet
hatt
he
manneroftheattackwasconsci
ousl
yadopt
edbyt
heof
fendert
orendert
heof
fendedpar
tydef
ensel
ess
(
Peoplev.I
lagan,
191SCRA643) .

24
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

*Evenifthepersonkil
ledisdi
ff
erentfr
om theintendedvicti
m,treacher
ymustbeconsider
ed
agai
nstt
heoffenderbecausehei
sresponsi
bleei
therfortheint
endedv i
cti
m ort
heact
ual
victi
m.

*Fortreacherytobeappr eci
atedhowev er,
thecircumstancemustbepr esentattheincepti
onof
theatt
ackandi fabsent,andtheat tackisconti
nuous,treacheryatasubsequentst ageisnotto
beconsidered.(Peopl
ev s.Escoto,244SCRA382) .Howev er,i
fthereisabr eakintheconti
nuit
y
oftheaggression,i
tisnotnecessar ythatt
reacherybepr esentinthebeginningoftheassault
;it
i
ssuf f
ici
entthatwhent hef atalblow wasinfl
icted,t
herewast reacher
y.(U.S.vs.Balagt
as,19
Phil
.164)

17.Thatt
hemeansbeempl
oyedorci
rcumst
ancesbr
oughtaboutwhi
chaddI
GNOMI
NY
tothenat
ural
eff
ect
soft
heact
s

 I
GNOMI NY– i
sacircumstancepertai
ningt
othemor
alor
der
,whi
chaddsdi
sgr
aceand
obl
oquytot
hemat
eri
alinj
urycausedbythecr
ime

*Appl
icabl
etocri
mesagai
nstchast
it
y(r
apei
ncl
uded)
,lessser
iousphy
sicali
njur
ies,l
i
ghtor
gr
avecoerci
onandmur
der

 Requi
sit
es:

a.Cr
imemustbeagai
nstchast
it
y,l
essser
iousphy
sicali
njur
ies,
li
ghtorgr
avecoer
cion,
and
murder

b.Theci
rcumst
ancemadet
hecr
imemor
ehumi
l
iat
ingandshamef
ulf
ort
hev
ict
im

 Examples:accusedembracedandkissedtheoffendedpartynotoutoflustbutoutofanger
i
nf r
ontofmanypeople,r
apedinfrontofthehusband,rapedsuccessi
vel
ybyf i
vemen

 t
endt
omaket
heef
fect
soft
hecr
imemor
ehumi
l
iat
ing

 I
gnominynotpresentwheret
hev
ict
im wasal
readydeadwhensuchact
swer
ecommi
tt
ed
agai
nsthi
sbodyorperson

Di
sti
nct
ionbet
weeni
gnomi
nyandcr
uel
ty

Ignominyshockst hemoralconsci
enceofmanwhi lecruelt
yisphysi .I
cal gnominyrefer
st othemoral
effectofacr i
meandi tpert
ainstothemor alorder
,whetherornotthevi
ctimisdeadoral ie.Cr
v uel
ty
pertai
nst ophysicalsuf
fer
ingofthev i
cti
m sot hevict
im hastobeali
ve.I
npl ai
nlanguage,i
gnomi
nyi s
addinginsul
ttoinjury
.

*Cr
uel
tyandi
gnomi
nyar
eci
rcumst
ancesbr
oughtaboutwhi
char
enotnecessar
yint
hecommi
ssi
onof
t
hecr
ime.

18.Thatt
hecr
imebecommi
tt
edaf
teranUNLAWFULENTRY

 Unlawfulent
ry–whenanentrancei
sef
fect
edbyawaynoti
ntendedf
ort
hepur
pose.Meant
toeffectent
ranceandNOTexi
t.

 Whyaggr avat
ing?Onewhoact s,notrespecti
ngthewal
lserect
edbyment oguar
dt hei
r
proper
tyandpr ov
ideforthei
rpersonalsafety
,showsgr
eaterper
ver
sit
y,agr
eat
eraudacit
y
andhencethelawpunisheshim wit
hmor eseveri
ty
 Example:Rapi
stgainsent
rancethruthewindow

 I
nher
enti
n:Tr
espasst
odwel
l
ing,
andr
obber
ywi
thf
orceupont
hings.

*Unl
awf
ulent
ryi
sinher
enti
nthecr
imeofr
obber
ywi
thf
orceupont
hingsbutaggr
avat
ingi
nthecr
imeof
r
obber
ywi
thv
iol
enceagai
nstori
nti
midat
ionofper
sons.

* Wherethe escape was done t

hrough t
he wi
ndow,t
he cr
ime i
s notat
tended by t
his
ci
rcumst
ancesincether
ewasnounlawfulent
ry.

25
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

19.Thatasameanst
othecommi
ssi
onoft
hecr
ime,
AWALL,
ROOF,
DOORORWI
NDOW
BEBROKEN

 Requi
sit
es:
a.Awal l,
roof
,wi
ndow,
ordoorwasbr
oken

b.Theywer
ebr
okent
oef
fectent
rance

 Appl
i
cabl
eonl
yifsuchact
swer
edonebyt
heof
fendert
oef
fectent
rance.

*Thebreaki
ngofthepart
softhehousemustbemadeasameanst ocommi
ttheoff
ense.So,i
f
Aenter
edt hedoorofhisnei
ghborafterki
l
li
nghim,escapedbybr
eaki
ngt
hejal
ousiesofthe
wi
ndowort hedoor
,thi
saggr
avati
ngcir
cumstancei
sabsent.

*Thebasisoft
hisaggravatingcircumst anceref
erstomeansandway semployedtocommi tthe
cri
me.Iti
snotnecessarythatt heoffendershouldhaveenter
edthebuil
dingbecausethephrase
“asameanst othecommi ssionoft hecr ime”doesnotrequi
reent
rytot hebuil
ding.I
tisalso
i
nherenti
nthecr
imeofr obberywi thforceupont hi
ngs.

 Br
eaki
ngi
slawf
uli
nthef
oll
owi
ngi
nst
ances:

a.anof
fi
cerinordertomakeanar
restmaybreakopenadoororwindowofanybui
l
dingi
n
whi
chthepersontobearr
est
edi
sorisreasonabl
ybel
i
evedtobe;

b.anoffi
ceri
fref
usedadmi t
tancemaybr
eakopenanydoororwi
ndow t
oexecut
ethe
sear
chwarr
antorl
iber
atehi
mself,

20.Thatt
hecri
mebecommi
tt
ed(
1)wit
htheAIDOFPERSONSUNDER15YEARSofage,
or(2)byMEANSOFMOTORVEHI
CLES,
air
shi
psorot
hersi
mil
armeans.

 Reason f
or#1:tor epr
ess,so faras possi
ble,t
he frequentpr act
ice r
esort
ed to by
prof
essi
onalcr
imi
nal
stoavai
lthemselvesofmi
norstaki
ngadv antageofthei
rresponsi
bil
i
ty
(r
ememberthatmi
norsar
egivenleni
encywhent
heycommi tacr i
me)

*Themi
norsher
ecouldbeaccessor
ies,
accompl
i
cesorpr
inci
pal
swhoai
dedt
heaccusedi
nthe
commi
ssi
onofthecr
ime.

Example:Juaninstr
ucteda14-
yearol
dtocl
i
mbupt
hef
enceandopent
hegat
eforhi
m so
thathemayr obthehouse

 Reasonfor#2:t
ocounter
actthegr
eatfaci
li
ti
esfoundbymoderncr
imi
nal
sinsai
dmeanst
o
commitcri
meandfleeandabscondoncethesameiscommit
ted.

 Necessar
ythatt
hemot orv
ehi
clebeani
mpor
tantt
oolt
otheconsummat
ionoft
hecr
ime
(
bicycl
esnoti
ncl
uded)

Exampl
e:JuanandPedr
o,i
ncommi
tt
ingt
hef
t,usedat
ruckt
ohault
heappl
i
ancesf
rom t
he
mansi
on.

*Thi
sci
rcumst
ancei
saggr
avat
ingonl
ywhenusedi
nthecommi
ssi
onoft
heof
fense.I
fmot
orv
ehi
clei
s
usedonlyi
ntheescapeoftheof
fender
,motorv
ehi
clei
snotaggr
avat
ing.Tobeaggr
avat
ing,i
tmusthav
e
beenusedtofaci
l
itat
ethecommi
ssionoft
hecri
me.

*Themot
orv
ehi
clemusthav
ebeensoughtbyt
heof
fendert
ofaci
l
itat
ethecommi
ssi
onoft
he
cr
ime.

21.Thatt
hewr ongdoneint hecommissi
onoft
hecri
mebedel
i
ber
atel
yaugment
edby
causi
ngotherwrongnotnecessar
yfori
tscommi
ssi
on

26
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

 CRUELTY:whent hecul
pri
tenj oy
sanddel i
ghtsinmaki
nghi svi
cti
m suffersl
owlyand
gr
adual l
y,causi
nghi
m unnecessaryphysi
calpaini
ntheconsummati
onofthecr i
minalact
.
Cruelt
ycannotbepresumednormer elyinf
erredfr
om t
hebodyofthedeceased.Hastobe
pr
ov en.

*mer
epl
ural
i
tyofwr
ongdonotshowcr
uel
ty

*nocr
uel
tywhent
heot
herwr
ongwasdoneaf
tert
hev
ict
im wasdead

 Requi
sit
es:
a.thatthei
njur
ycausedbedel
i
ber
atel
yincr
easedbycausi
ngot
herwr
ong

b.t
hatt
heot
herwr
ongbeunnecessar
yfort
heexecut
ionoft
hepur
poseoft
heof
fender

* Forcr
uel
tyt
oexi
stasanaggr
avat
ingci
rcumst
ance,t
her
emustbeev
idenceshowi
ngt
hatt
heaccused
i
nfl
ict
edtheal
legedcr
uelwoundssl
owlyandgr adual
lyandthathei
sdel
i
ght
edseei
ngt
hev
ict
im suf
feri
n
pai
n.Int
heabsenceofevi
dencet
othi
seffect
,thereisnocruel
ty.

*Thereiscr
uel
tywhent
heof
fenderi
sdel
i
ber
atel
yandi
nhumanl
yaugment
edt
hesuf
fer
ingof
t
hevict
im.

*Theessenceofcr
uel
tyi
sthatt
hecul
pri
tfi
ndsdel
i
ghti
npr
olongi
ngt
hesuf
fer
ingoft
hev
ict
im.

I
GNOMINY CRUELTY
Mor
alsuf
fer
ing–subj
ect
edt
ohumi
l
iat
ion Physi
cal
suf
fer
ing

OTHERAGRAVATI
NGCI
RCUMSTANCES:

Or
gani
zedorsy
ndi
cat
edcr
imegr
oup
Inthesameamendmentt oArt
icl
e62oft heRevi
sed PenalCode,par
agraphswer
eaddedwhi
chprov
ide
thatt
hemaximum penal
tyshal
lbeimposediftheof
fensewascommi ttedbyanyper
sonwhobel
ongsto
anorgani
zedorsy
ndicat
edcri
megr oup.

An organi
zed orsy
ndi
cat
ed cri
me group means a gr
oup oftwo ormor
e per
sons col
l
abor
ati
ng,
conf
ederat
ingormut
ual
l
yhelpi
ngoneanotherf
orpur
posesofgai
nint
hecommi
ssi
onofacri
me.

Withthi sprovision,t
heci rcumst anceofanor gani zedorsy ndicat edcr i
megr ouphav ingcommi ttedt he
cri
mehasbeenaddedi ntheCodeasaspeci alaggr avat i
ngci r
cumst ance.Theci rcumst ancebei ngspeci al
orqualifyi
ng,itmustbeal legedi nthei nformat ionandpr oveddur ingt hetri
al.Ot herwise,ifnotal legedi n
theinformation,ev enthoughpr ovendur i
ngt het r
ial,thecour tcannotv ali
dlyconsi dertheci rcumst ances
becausei tisnotamongt hoseenumer atedunderAr t
icle14oft heCodeasaggr av at
ing.I tisnot ewor thy,
howev er,thatt herei sanor ganizedorsy ndicatedgr oupev enwhenonl yt woper sonscol labor ated,
confederated,ormut uall
yhelpedoneanot herint hecommi ssi onofacr i
me,whi chact sar einher entina
conspiracy.Wher etherefore,conspir acyint hecommi ssi
onoft hecr imeisallegedi nthei nformat ion,the
all
egationmaybeconsi deredaspr ocedur all
ysuf fi
ci enttowar rantr eceivi
ngev idenceont hemat terdur ing
tri
alandconsequent l
y ,
thesaidspeci alaggr avatingci rcumst ancecanbeappr eciat edifprov en.

Undert
heI
nfl
uenceofDanger
ousDr
ugs

Sec.17ofB.
P.Bl
g.179pr
omul
gat
edonMar
ch2,
1982pr
ovi
des:

“Theprovisi
onofanylawt othecontr
arynotwit
hst
anding,whenacri
mei s
committ
edbyanof f
enderwhoisundert heinfl
uenceofdangerousdrugs,such
stat
eshallbeconsideredasqual
i
fyingaggrav
ati
ngcircumstance.
”

UseofUnl
i
censedFi
rear
m

Alt
hought hecircumstancethathumanlifewasdestroy edwi ththeuseofanunl i
censedf i
rear mis
notaggravatingunderAr t
.14,RPC, i
tmaystil
lbetakenintoconsi derati
ont oincreaset hepenaltybecause
oftheexplici
tprovi
sionsofthePr esi
denti
alDecr
eeNo.1866asamendedbyR. A.8294.Sect ion(1)
, 3rdpar
.
ofsaidlawsay sthatifhomi ci
deormur deriscommi t
tedwitht heuseofanunl icensedf ir
earm,suchuse
ofanunlicensedfirear
m shallbeconsider
edasanaggr avati
ngci rcumst ance.Further,
underSec.3t hereof,
whenaper soncommi t
sanyoft hecrimesdefi
nedintheRev isedPenalCodeorspeci allawswi t
ht heuse
ofexplosivesli
kepi l
lbox,mot ol
ovcocktai
lbombs,fir
ebombsorot heri ncendi
arydev iceswhi chresultin
thedeathofaper son,suchuseshal lbeconsi
deredasanaggr av ati
ngcir cumstance.

27
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

Art15.ALTERNATI VECI RCUMSTANCES.Thei rconcept.— Alt

ernat
ivecircumst
ances
arethosewhichmustbet akeni
ntoconsi
derat
ionasaggravati
ngormi t
igati
ngaccordi
ng
tothenatureandeffect
softhecri
meandt heothercondi
ti
onsattendi
ngitscommission.
Theyar ether
elat
ionshi
p,int
oxi
cat
ionandthedegreeofinstr
ucti
onandeducat i
onofthe
offender.

Thealter
nati
vecir
cumst anceofrelati
onshi
pshal lbet akenintoconsider
ation
whentheoffendedpart
yi sthespouse,ascendant,descendant,legi
timat
e,natur
al,or
adopt
edbrot
herorsist
er,orr
elati
vebyaff
init
yinthesamedegr eesoft heoff
ender.

Theintoxi
cati
onoftheoffendershal
lbetakenint
oconsiderati
onasami t
igat
ing
ci
rcumstanceswhent heoff
enderhascommi t
tedafel
onyinastateofint
oxi
cat
ion,i
fthe
samei snothabitualorsubsequenttotheplantocommi tsaidf el
onybutwhent he
i
ntoxi
cati
on is habitualorintent
ional
,itshallbe consi
dered as an aggravat
ing
ci
rcumstance.

 ALTERNATI VE CIRCUMSTANCES – t hose which mustbe taken i

nto consi
der
ati
on as
aggravati
ng ormi ti
gati
ng accordi
ng t
ot he natur
e and ef
fect
s ofthe cri
meand other
condit
ionsattendi
ngitscommi ssi
on.

*Useonl
ythet
erm al
ter
nat
iveci
rcumst
ancef
orasl
ongast
hepar
ti
cul
arci
rcumst
ancei
snoti
nvol
vedi
n
anycaseorprobl
em.Themomenti tisgi
veni
napr obl
em,donotusealter
nat
iveci
rcumstance,r
efert
oit
asaggrav
ati
ngormit
igat
ingdependi
ngonwhethert
hesameisconsider
edassuchort heother
.

 Theyar
e:

a. RELATI ONSHIP–t aken into consi

derat
ion when of
fended par
tyisthe spouse,
ascendant
,descendant
,legit
imate,nat
uraloradoptedbrotherorsi
ster
,orr
elat
iveby
aff
ini
tyint
hesamedegr ee(2nd)
oftheof
fender

*Therelat
ionshi
pofst ep-
daughterandstepfat
heri
si uded(
ncl Ppv
s.Tan,
264SCRA425)
,But
notofuncl
eandni ece.(
Peopl
ev s.Cabr
esos,244SCRA362)

b. I
NTOXI CATION–mi t
igat
ingwhent heoff
enderhascommitt
edafel
onyi
nthestat
eof
i
ntoxi
cati
on,ift
hesamei snothabitualorsubsequentt
othepl
antocommitt
hesaid
f
elony.Aggr
avat
ingi
fhabit
ualori
ntenti
onal

c.DEGREEOFI
NSTRUCTI
ONANDEDUCATI
ONOFTHEOFFENDER

*Exceptf
ort
heci
rcumst
anceofi
ntoxi
cat
ion,t
heot
herci
rcumst
ancesi
nAr
ti
cle15maynotbet
akeni
nto
accountatallwhent hecircumst
ancehasnobeari
ngont hecri
mecommitt
ed. Sothecourtwi
llnot
considert
hisasaggr
av at
ingormit
igat
ingsi
mpl
ybecauset
hecir
cumst
ancehasnorel
evancet
othecri
me
thatwascommi t
ted.

*I
tisonl
ytheci
rcumst
anceofi
ntoxi
cat
ionwhi
chi
fnotmi
ti
gat
ing,i
saut
omat
ical
l
yaggr
avat
ing.Butt
he
othercir
cumstances,ev eniftheyarepresent,butiftheydonoti nf
luencethecrime,t
hecourtwil
lnot
consideritatall. Relati
onship maynotbeconsi deredatall,especial
l
yi fitisnotinher
entinthe
commi ssi
onoft hecrime. Degr eeofinstr
uctionalsowillnotbeconsideredifthecri
mei ssomethi
ng
whichdoesnotrequireaneducat edper
sont ounderstand.
RELATI
ONSHI
P
MI
TIGATI
NGCI
RCUMSTANCE AGGRAVATI
NGCI
RCUMSTANCE
I
ncrimesagai
nstproper
ty(r
obber
y,usur
pat
ion, Incr imesagainstpersons– incaseswher e
f
raudul
enti
nsol
vency,ar
son) the offender
,orwhen t he of
fenderand the
offendedpartyarerel
ati
vesofthesamel evel
,
aski l
li
ngabr ot
her
,adoptedbr otherorhalf
-
brother.

Al
way
saggr
avat
ingi
ncr
imesagai
nstchast
it
y.

28
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

Exception:Ar t332ofCC–nocr i
minalli
abil
ity,
civi
ll i
abili
ty onl yf or t he cr imes of t hef , Somet
t imes,relat
ionshi pisaqual i
fyi
ngandnot
swindli
ngormal ici
ousmi schiefcommi t
tedor onl yagener i
caggr av at
ingcircumst ance. In
caused mut uall
y by spouses, ascendant s, thecr i
meofqual ifi
edseduct i
on,theof fended
descendant s or r elat i
ves by af f
ini
ty( also womanmustbeav irginandl essthan18y r
s
brother
s,si sters,br ot hers-in-
law orsi st
ers-in- old. Buti ft heof fenderi sabr ot
heroft he
l
aw i f l i
ving t oget her).I t becomes an of fended woman or an ascendant of t he
EXEMPTI NGci rcumst ance. offended woman,r egardlessofwhet hert he
womani sofbadr eputation,evenifthewoman
(1) I
nt hecaseofan accessor ywho i s i
s 60 y ear
s old ormor e,crime is qual i
fi
ed
r
elated t o t he pr i
ncipalwi thi
nt he seduct ion. I n such a case,r el
ati
onshipi s
r
elationshippr escribedi nArti
cle20; qualif
ying.

(
2) AlsoinAr ti
cle247,aspousedoesnot
i
ncurcr iminall i
abil
it
yf oracr imeof
l
essser i
ousphy si
calinj
uri
esorser i
ous
phy si
calinjur
ies ifthis was infl
i
cted
afterhav i
ng sur pri
sed the offended
spouse or par amour or mi str
ess
commi tt
ingact ualsexuali
nter
course.

 Relat
ionshi
p neit
hermi ti
gati
ng noraggr
avat
ing when r
elat
ionshi
pisan el
ementoft
he
off
ense.
Example:parr
ici
de,adul
tery,
concubi
nage.

I
NTOXICATION
MITI
GATINGCI
RCUMSTANCE AGGRAVATI NGCIRCUMSTANCE
a)i
fint
oxi
cat
ioni
snothabi
tual a)ifintoxi
cati
onishabit
ual–suchhabi
t
mustbeactualandconfi
rmed
b)i
fint
oxi
cat
ionisnotsubsequentt
othe b)ifitsi nt
enti
onal(subsequentt
othe
pl
antocommitafel
ony pl
ant ocommitafel
ony)

*Thi
sci
rcumst
ancei
sipsof
act
omi
ti
gat
ing,sot
hati
fthepr
osecut
ionwant
stodenyt
heof
fendert
he
benefi
tofthi
smiti
gati
on,theyshoul
dprovet
hatiti
shabi
tualandt
hatiti
sint
ent
i .Themomenti
onal tis
shownt obehabi
tualori
ntenti
onalt
othecommissi
onofthecri
me,thesamewil
limmedi
atel
yaggr
avat
e,
regar
dlessoft
hecri
mecommi tt
ed.

 Mustshow t
hathehastakensuchquant
it
ysoast
obl
urhi
sreasonanddepr
ivehi
m ofa
cer
tai
ndegr
eeofcont
rol

INTOXICATI ONmeanst hattheof fender’

sment alfacul
ti
esareaffectedbydrunkenness.I
tisnot
thequant i
tyofalcoholt
akenbyt heof fenderthatdeter
minesdrunkenness.I
tistheef f
ectofthe
alcoholtakenbyhi mthatmatters.Ifthealcoholtakenbyhim bl
ur shisr
easonanddepr iv
eshim
ofself-
control
,thenheisint
oxicated.

*I
ntoxi
cat
ion t
o be consi
der
ed mi
ti
gat
ing,r
equi
res t
hatt
he of
fenderhas r
eached t
hatdegr
ee of
i
ntoxi
cati
onwher ehehasnocont rolofhi msel
fanymor e. Thei deaistheof f
ender,becauseoft he
i
ntoxi
cati
onisalr
eadyacti
ngunderdi
minishedsel
fcontrol.I
tisnotthequanti
tyofalcohol
icdri
nk.Rather
i
tistheeff
ectoftheal
coholupont
heoffenderwhichshallbethebasisoft
hemi t
igati
ngcir
cumst ance.

 The conductoftheof f
ender,t
he mannerofcommi tt
ing t
hecr
ime,hisbehav
ioraft
er
commi t
ti
ngthecrimemustshow t hebehavi
orofamanwhohasal readyl
ostcontr
olof
hi
mself.Other
wiseint
oxi
cati
oncannotl
egall
ybeconsi
der
ed.

 Ahabi
tual
drunkar
disgi
vent
oinebr
iet
yort
heexcessi
veuseofi
ntoxi
cat
ingdr
inks.

 Habit
ualdrunkennessmustbeshownt obeanact
ualandconf
ir
medhabi
toft
heof
fender
,
butnotnecessari
l
yofdai
lyoccur
rence.

DEGREEOFI NSTRUCTIONANDEDUCATI ON
MITIGATI
NGCI RCUMSTANCE AGGRAVATINGCI RCUMSTANCE
Low degr
eeofi nst
ructi
on/educat i
onor Highdegreeofinstr
ucti
onandeducation–
the l
ack ofit
.Because he does notf y of
ul
l f
ender av
ail
s himsel
f of hi
slear
ning i
n
r
eali
zetheconsequencesofhiscri
minalact. commi
tt
ingt
heof
fense.
Notj
ustmer
eill
it
eracybutl
ackofi
ntel
li
gence.

29
 CRI
MINALLAW BOOKI

*Inappreciat
ingtheseci rcumstances,thecourtconsider
snotonl yli
ter
all
ybutalsolackof
i
ntel
l
igenceoft heoffender.Il
l
iter
acyreferstot
heabi l
i
tyoftheindivi
dualt
or eadandwri
teand
t
heabili
tytocompr ehendanddi scer
nthemeani ngofwhathehasr ead.I
nordertobemiti
gat
ing,
t
heremustbet heconcurrenceorcombi nati
onofil
l
iter
acyandlackofintel
l
igenceonthepar
tof
t
heoffender.

*Thenat
ureoft
hecr
imecommi
tt
edmustbeconsi
der
edi
nmaki
ngsuchaconcl
usi
on.

*Thef
actt
hatt
heof
fenderdi
dnothav
eschool
i
ngandi
sil
l
iter
atedoesnotmi
ti
gat
ehi
sli
abi
l
ityi
fthe
cr
imecommi
tt
edi
sonewhi
chhei
nher
ent
lyunder
standsaswr
ongsuchaspar
ri
cide.

 Excepti
ons(
notmi t
igati
ng):
a.cr i
mesagainstpropert
y
b.cr i
mesagainstchasti
ty(r
apei
ncl
uded)
c. cri
meoftreason

30