ARTICLE 16.
Who are criminally liable CHIEF ACTOR
The following are criminally liable for
grave and less grave felonies:
1. Principals
2. Accomplices
3. Accessories
The following are liable for light
felonies:
1. Principals
2. Accomplices
The classification of Article 16 is only
applicable under the RPC and is not
applied in Special Penal Laws because the
penalties of SPLs are never graduated.
However, if a special penal law provides for
the same graduated penalties as those
provided under the RPC, the classification
under the RPC may be adopted.
QUESTION: Why are there no accessories in
light felonies?
ANSWER: For light felonies are punishable by
arresto menor (1 day to 30 days)
ARTICLE 17. Principals
The following are considered
Principals;
1. Those who take a direct part in the
execution of the act;
2. Those who directly force or induce
others to commit it;
3. Those who cooperate in the
commission of the offense by another
act without which it would not have
been accomplished.
PRINCIPALS BY DIRECT PARTICIPATION
They are those who materially execute
the crime. They appear at the crime scene
and perform acts necessary to commit the
crime.
For example: He is a principal by direct
participation in the crime of homicide
(unlawfully killing another) or the crime of
arson (maliciously burning another’s
property).
He is the one who committed the act
constituting a crime, such as the person
who stabbed and killed the victim. With or
without conspiracy, the chief actor is liable
as principal by direct participation.
REQUISITES
1. That they participated in the
criminal resolution; and
2. That they carried out their plan
and personally took part in its
execution by acts which directly
tended to the same end.
PRINCIPAL BY INDUCEMENT
They are those who directly force or
induce another to commit a crime.
ELEMENTS FOR PRINICIPAL INDUCEMENT
1. That the inducement be made
directly with the intention of procuring
the commission of the crime.
2. That such inducement be the
determining cause of the commission
of the crime by the material executor.
WAYS OF BECOMING PRINCIPAL BY
INDUCEMENT
1. By directly forcing another to commit
a crime
2. By directly inducing another to
commit a crime.
SCENARIO: A induced B to kill C, but B didn’t
do it, what is A and B’s participation?
ANSWER: A and B cannot be liable for
attempted or frustrated murder/homicide.
The requirement in order to incur criminal
liability to commit a crime is through overt
acts. There must be external acts.
“FORCING ANOTHER” under Article 12
1. Using irresistible force such as would
produce an effect upon the
individual that despite all his
resistance, it reduces him to a mere
instrument.
2. Causing uncontrollable fear that is
grave actua, serious and of such kind
the majority of men would succumb
to such moral compulsion.

SCENARIO: A forced B to kill C, A told B if he
won’t kill C, then A will kill B. No choice, B
killed C. What is B’s participation?
ANSWER: Principal by inducement (A),
Direct participation (B).
QUESTION: Will B incur criminal liability?
ANSWER: NO. Under Article 12.
Circumstances which Exempt from Criminal
Liability, Section. 5 Any person who acts
under the compulsion of an irresistible force
is exempted from criminal liability. However,
A is not exempted from criminal liability
because the crime could not have
happened without A.
“INDUCING ANOTHER”
1. Giving price, offering reward or
promise.
For example: A wife, who induced the
killing of the mistress of her husband by
giving money to the killer, is a principal by
induction. The killer is a principal by direct
participation.
2. By using words of command
SCENARIO: A (inducement) command B
(participation) to kill C. But B has personal
reasons why B has to kill C. B killed C
because of that personal reason. What is
A’s participation?
ANSWER: A does not have criminal liability
REQUIREMENTS OF USING WORDS OF
COMMAND
1. That the one uttering the words of
command must have the intention of
procuring the commission of the
crime;
2. That the one who made the
command must have ascendancy or
influence over the person who acted;
3. The words use must be so direct as to
amount to physical or moral
coercion;
4. The words of command must be
uttered prior to the commission of the
crime.
5. The material executor of the crime
has no reason to commit the crime.
before the commission of the crime
charged;
PRINCIPAL BY INDISPENSABLE
COOPERATION
They are people who cooperate in
the commission of the offense by another
without which it would not have been
accomplished.
QUESTION: What is the difference between
indispensable cooperation to an
accomplice?
ANSWER: If a person accomplishes the
crime without the help of a person then he
is an accomplice. While indispensable
cooperation is the cooperation of the
person “without which the felony would not
have been committed”
SCENARIO: C is a master blacksmith. A, B,
and C, agreed to commit robbery. C can
open the vault. Without C, do you think A
and B can perform a heist?
ANSWER: No. C is considered as an
indispensable by cooperation. However, if
A and B are blacksmiths, then C is an
accomplice.
ELEMENTS
1. Participation in the criminal resolution,
that is, there is either anterior
conspiracy or unity of criminal
purpose and intention immediately
before the commission of the crime
charged;
2. Cooperation in the commission of the
offense by performing another act,
without which it would not have been
accomplished.
ACCOMPLICES are mere instruments
that perform acts not essential to the
perpetration of the offense
ACCOMPLICES do not decide
whether the crime should be committed;
they merely assent to the plan and
cooperation in its accomplishment.
QUESTION: WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF ARTICLE 17,
18, AND 19 IF WE ALREADY HAVE CONSPIRACY?
ANSWER: In cases where the prosecution
cannot prove conspiracy, then Articles 17, 18,
and 19 are applied in their participation in the
crime. A criminal code is a house bill that
intends to amend the RPC and its entirety.
ELEMENTS
1. The community of criminal design;
that is, knowing the criminal design
of the principal and concurs with the
latter.
2. That he cooperates in the execution
by previous or simultaneous act, with
the intention of supplying material or
moral aid in the execution of the
crime in an efficacious way.
3. That there be a relationship between
the acts done by the principal and
those attributed to the person
charged as accomplice.
SCENARIO: A saw C, A and B are friends, A
killed C, then B robbed C. What is A and B’s
participation?
ANSWER: A and B (Direct Participation)
EXPLANATION: In order for a person to be
an accomplice, there must be a
relationship between the acts done by the
principal and those attributed to the person
charged as accomplice. Homicide is not
related to theft. Unless B committed
physical injury.
What is the effect of lack of knowledge?
If the accused has no knowledge of
the criminal design of the chief actor. There
is neither implied nor community of design.
Hence, not liable as a principal nor
accomplice.
That he cooperates in the execution by
previous or simultaneous act
a. BY PREVIOUS ACTS
The example of cooperation by
previous act is the lending of a dagger
or pistol to the murderer, knowing the
latter’s criminal purpose.
In the crime of rape, the pharmacist
who, knowing the criminal purpose of
another, furnishes him the drug with
which he will put his victim to sleep in
order to rape her, is also an accomplice
in the crime.
THAT THERE BE A RELATION BETWEEN THE
ACTS DONE BY THE PRINCIPAL AND THOSE
ATTRIBUTED TO THE PERSON CHARGED AS
ACCOMPLICE.
Example:
1. The wounds inflicted by the accused
did not materially contribute to the
death of the deceased.
2. The wound inflicted by the accused
was not of a character that would
have resulted in the death of the
deceased.
3. That the accused who were armed
with clubs merely struck the victim, as
he fell by the fatal blow made by the
principal, without causing the victim
serious injuries
4. Stoning the victim already mortally
wounded by other (unclear) accused,
the stoning not being the cause of
death.
IN CASE OF DOUBT
In case of doubt, the participation of
the offender will be considered that of an
accomplice rather than that of a principal.
Dubio Pro Reo Principle is the rule of lenity. He
is considered an accomplice because the
penalty is lower. Lenient to the accused.
ARTICLE 19. ACCESSORIES
Accessories are those who, having
knowledge of the commission of the crime,
and without having participated therein
either as principals or accomplices, take
part subsequent to its commission in any of
the following manners;
1. By profiting themselves or assisting the
offender to profit by the effects of the
crime.
2. By concealing or destroying the body
of the crime, or the effects or
instruments thereof, in order to
prevent its discovery.
3. By harboring, concealing, or assisting
in the escape of the principals of the
crime, provided the accessory acts
with abuse of his public functions or
whenever the author of the crime is
guilty of treason, parricide, murder, or
an attempt to take life of the chief
Executive, or is known to be habitually
guilty of some other crime.
 The accessory comes in when the
crime is already consummated, not before
consummation of the crime.
If the offender has already involved
himself as a principal or accomplice, he
cannot be an accessory any further even
though he performs acts pertaining to an
accessory.
ELEMENTS FOR AN ACCESSORY
1. That has knowledge of the
commission of the crime;
2. That he took part in it subsequent to
its commission by any of the three
modes enumerated in Article 19 of
the RPC.
SCENARIO: A killed C, but A didn’t know
that C is still alive. Therefore, he committed
FRUSTRATED homicide. A told B to bury C
and A will give B PHP10, 000. So B buried C.
The cause of death of C is suffocation.
What is A and B’s participation?
ANSWER: A is indispensable cooperation
and B is direct participation.
HAVING KNOWLEDGE
An accessory must have knowledge
of the commission of the crime, and having
that knowledge, he took part subsequent to
its commission. In the absence of positive
proof, direct or circumstantial, of his
knowledge that the goods were of illegal
origin or fraudulently acquired by the
vendors at the time of the transaction, a
customer who purchases such goods
cannot be criminally responsible as
accessory.
Thus, if A buys a stolen property, not
knowing that it was stolen, he is not liable.
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE, it is not direct
but there is evidence that a person
committed a crime. Example: 20 cases of
redhorse theft case.
2 CLASSES OF ACCESSORY IN ARTICLE 19(3)
1. PUBLIC OFFICERS
a. The accessory is a public officer
b. He harbors, conceals, or assists
in the escape of the principal.
c. The public officer acts with
abuse of his public functions
PUBLIC OFFICERS. Always aggravating
circumstance, increased penalty, because
they have authority and power, but if they
committed a crime without using their
authority or power, it is not aggravating.
ARTICLE 48. Penalty for Complex Crimes
When a single act constitutes two or
more grave or less grave felonies, or when
an offense is a necessary means for
committing the other, the penalty for the
most serious crime shall be imposed, the
same to be applied in its maximum period.
COMPLEX CRIMES
It is when a single act constitutes two
or more grave or less grave felonies, or
when an offense is a necessary means for
committing the other.
In a complex crime, although two or
more crimes are actually committed, they
constitute only one crime in the eyes of the
law as well as in the conscience of the
offender. The offender has only one criminal
intent. Even in the case where an offense is
a necessary means for committing the
other, the evil intent of the offender is only
one.
TWO KINDS OF COMPLEX CRIMES
1. When a single act constitutes two or
more grave or less grave felonies
(Compound Crime/Delito
Compuesto)
Example of a complex crime is throwing
a grenade in public, it is a single act,
multiple victims.
.
2. When an offense is a necessary
means for committing the other
(Complex Crime Proper/Delito
Complejo)
Example of a complex crime is ESTAFA
(falsified a document to claim money)
and Rape by Abduction.
.
REQUISITES OF COMPOUND CRIME
1. That only a single act is performed by
the offender
 2. That the act produces;
a. Two or more grave felonies
b. One or more grave and one less
grave felonies, or
c. Two or more less grave felonies
Example:
Guillen, by single act of throwing a
highly explosive hand grenade at President
Roxas resulting in the death of another
person, committed several grave felonies
REQUISITES OF COMPOUND CRIMES
1. That at least two offenses are
committed;
2. That one or some of the offense must
be necessary to commit the other;
3. That both or all offenses must be
punished under the same statute.
Example: Abduction as a necessary means
of committing rape
The act of forcible abduction (taking
a woman against her will with lewd designs
– Article 342) was a necessary means for
committing the crime of rape (having
sexual intercourse with a woman by using
force, etc. – article 266A)
PENALTY FOR COMPLEX CRIMES
The penalty for complex crime is the
penalty for the most serious crime the same
to be applied in its maximum period
In the example given the complex
crime of forcible abduction with rape is
penalized by reclusion perpetua, the
penalty proper to rape.
SPECIAL COMPLEX CRIMES
The substance is made up of two or
more crimes that the law treats as a single
indivisible and unique offense for being the
product of a single criminal impulse.
Example: A committed robbery to his
father’s house, he was caught in the act
and killed his father.
CRIME: Robbery with homicide. It is
irrelevant who committed the crime, as
long as robbery is different from
homicide. Robbery with homicide in
two provisions: Two felonies in one
circumstance
ARTICLE 49. Penalty to Be imposed Upon the
Principals When the Crime Committed is
Different from that Intended. — In cases in
which the felony committed is different from
that which the offender intended to
commit, the following rules shall be
observed:
1. If the penalty prescribed for the
felony committed be higher than
that corresponding to the offense
which the accused intended to
commit, the penalty
corresponding to the latter shall
be imposed in its maximum period.
RULES AS TO THE PENALTY TO BE IMPOSED
UNDER ARTICLE 4(1)
1. If the penalty for the felony
committed be higher than the
penalty for the offense which the
accused intended to commit, the
lower penalty shall be imposed in its
maximum period
2. If the penalty for the felony
committed be lower than the penalty
for the offense which the accused
intended to commit, the lower
penalty shall be imposed in its
maximum period
3. If the act committed also constitutes
an attempt or frustration of another
crime, and the law prescribes a
higher penalty for either of the latter,
the penalty for the attempted or
frustrated crime shall be imposed in its
maximum period.
PLURALITY OF CRIMES
It consists of crimes in the successive
execution by the same individual of
different criminal acts upon any of which no
conviction has yet been declared.
Multiple of crimes committed by the same
person
There are two kinds of plurality of
crimes (1) formal or ideal plurality, and (2)
real or material plurality.
Art. 48 provides for two cases of
formal or ideal plurality of crimes. There is
but one criminal liability in this kind of
plurality.
Example – Formal or Ideal Plurality
If A stabbed B, but C was nadamay. (There
is only one information)
In real or material plurality, there are
different crimes in law as well as in the
conscience of the offender. In such cases,
the offender shall be punished for each and
every offense that he committed.
Example – Real or material plurality
A stabbed B with a knife and died.
Then A also stabbed C and died. There are
two crimes committed (Two cases of
homicide, thus, there are two informations
to be filed against A. One is for the death of
B and the other is for the death of C)
PLURAL CRIMES OF THE FORMAL OR IDEAL
TYPE ARE DIVIDED INTO THREE GROUPS:
A person committing multiple crimes
is punished with ONE penalty in the
following cases:
1. When the offender commits any
of the complex crimes defined in
Art. 48 of the Code
2. When the law specifically fixes a
single penalty for two or more
offenses committed (Special
Complex Crimes)
Example:
(a) Robbery with homicide
(Art.249)
(b) Kidnapping with serious
physical injuries (Art.267, par.3)
(c) When the offender commits
continued crimes
3. Continuing Crimes
CONTINUED CRIME
A continued (continuous or
continuing) crime is a single crime,
consisting of a series of acts but all arising
from one criminal resolution.
A continuing offense is a continuous,
unlawful act or series of acts set on foot by
a single impulse and operated by an
unintermittent force, however long a time it
may occupy.
Although there is a series of acts,
there is only one crime committed. Hence,
only one penalty shall be imposed.
EXAMPLE:
A thief who takes from the yard of a
house two game roosters belonging to two
different persons commits only one crime,
for the reason that there is a unity of thought
in the criminal purpose of the offender.
In getting hold of the two roosters, it is
not done by a single act of taking, but by
two separate acts. There is, however, a unity
of thought and action in taking the two
roosters.
Eight robberies as component parts
of a general plan. While the inhabitants of a
barrio were working in a sugar mill, seven
armed persons, who had a general plan to
commit robbery against all those in the
place, entered the mill and while two of the
bandits guarded the people with guns
leveled at them, five of them ransacked the
houses for their personal properties.
The several acts of ransacking the
different houses were not unconnected
and entirely distinct from one another. They
formed component parts of the general
plan to despoil all those within the vicinity.
There is only one crime of robbery in this
case.
 In real or material plurality as well as in SCENARIO: A is a guard with .45 caliber,
continued crime, there is a series of acts during the commission of the robbery,
performed by the offender. he killed B. Is it robbery with homicide?
ANSWER: Yes. Because during the
While in real or material plurality,
occasion of the robbery, someone
each act performed by the offender
died. Even if it is the offender who died.
constitutes a separate crime, because
each act is generated acts constitute only
one crime because all of the acts
performed arise from one criminal
resolution.

ADDITIONAL:
SPECIAL CRIMES

2nd par. A composite crime has its own

definition and special penalty in the RPC.
Composite crimes are neither of the same
legal basis as nor subject to the rules on
complex crimes in Art.48, since they do not
consist of a single act giving rise to two or
more grave or less grave felonies nor do
they involve an offense being a necessary
means to commit another.

Example of Special Complex Crimes

Robbery with Homicide

Robbery with Rape

Robbery with Arson

Robbery with intentional mutilation

Robbery with physical injuries

Robbery with unnecessary violence

Kidnapping with Rape

Kidnapping with serious physical injuries

Kidnapping with homicide

Rape with Homicide

ELEMENTS OF ROBBERY WITH HOMICIDE

1. The taking of personal property with
the use of violence or intimidation against
the person
2. The property taken belongs to
another

3. The takin is characterized by intent to

gain of animus lucrandi
4. On the occasion of the robbery or by
reason thereof the crime of homicide was
committed.