ARTICLE 3- FELONIES

FELONIES- It is an Act or Omission punishable by Revised Penal Code.

Offense- It is an Act or Omission punishable by Special Laws.
Crime- A general term used regardless if RPC or Special Law is violated
Misdemeanour- Minor Infractions of the Law like Ordinance

ACT- a voluntary bodily movement or physical action or an external act that affects
someone.
Example of Felony by Performing Act: Punching, robbery, theft, threatening, and
more that shows an external act.
1.) A took the watch of B with intent to gain and without the consent of the latter. The
act of taking the watch of B, with intent to gain constitutes the crime of theft.
Note: Not all external acts are punishable.
INTERNAL ACTS are beyond the sphere of Penal law. A criminal thought or a mere
intention, no matter how immoral or improper it may be, will never constitute a felony.
Example: A entertains the idea of killing B, as long as he does not commence the
commission of the crime directly by the overt act, A is not criminally liable.
Omission- a failure to do an act or to do something.
Example of Felony by Omission:
1.) Failure to do an assistance to a person who is in an uninhabited place wounded
or in danger (Art. 275, par. 1).
2.) An officer entrusted with collection of taxes who voluntarily fails to issue as
provided by law, is guilty of illegal exaction (Art. 213, par. 2[b]).
3.) Every person owing allegiance to the Philippines, without being a foreigner, and
having knowledge of any conspiracy against the government, who DOES NOT
DISCLOSE and make known the same to the proper authority, is liable for misprision
or treason (Art. 116).
Notes: In felonies by Omission, there is a law requiring a certain act to be performed
and the person required to do the act fails to perform it.
 NULLUM CRIMEN NULLA POENA SINE LEGE. There is no crime where
there is no law punishing it.
Case: In People vs. Silvestre and Atienza
Held: Mere passive presence at the scene of another’s crime, mere silence
and failure to give the alarm, without evidence of agreement or conspiracy, is not
punishable. That’s why Romana Silvestre was ACQUITTED.