Total or Absolute, or Partial or Relative Repeal. - As To The Effect of Repeal of Penal Law To
Total or Absolute, or Partial or Relative Repeal. - As To The Effect of Repeal of Penal Law To
Total or Absolute, or Partial or Relative Repeal. - As To The Effect of Repeal of Penal Law To
4. Must not impose cruel and unusual punishment or excessive fines.
Note, however, that not all violations of special laws are mala prohibita. While intentional
felonies are always mala in se, it does not follow that prohibited acts done in violation of special
laws are always mala prohibita. Even if the crime is punished under a special law, if the act
punished is one which is inherently wrong, the same is malum in se, and, therefore, good faith
and the lack of criminal intent is a valid defense; unless it is the product of criminal negligence or
culpa.
Likewise when the special laws requires that the punished act be committed knowingly and
willfully, criminal intent is required to be proved before criminal liability may arise.
When the act penalized is not inherently wrong, it is wrong only because a law punishes the same.
Distinction between crimes punished under the Revised Penal Code and crimes punished
under special laws
1. As to moral trait of the offender
In crimes punished under the Revised Penal Code, the moral trait of the offender is considered.
This is why liability would only arise when there is dolo or culpa in the commission of the
punishable act.
In crimes punished under special laws, the moral trait of the offender is not considered; it is
enough that the prohibited act was voluntarily done.
In crimes punished under the Revised Penal Code, good faith or lack of criminal intent is a valid
defense; unless the crime is the result of culpa
In crimes punished under the Revised Penal Code, the degree of accomplishment of the crime is
taken into account in punishing the offender; thus, there are attempted, frustrated, and
consummated stages in the commission of the crime.
In crimes punished under special laws, the act gives rise to a crime only when it is consummated;
there are no attempted or frustrated stages, unless the special law expressly penalize the mere
attempt or frustration of the crime.
In crimes punished under the Revised Penal Code, mitigating and aggravating circumstances are
taken into account in imposing the penalty since the moral trait of the offender is considered.
In crimes punished under special laws, mitigating and aggravating circumstances are not taken
into account in imposing the penalty.
5. As to degree of participation
In crimes punished under the Revised Penal Code, when there is more than one offender, the
degree of participation of each in the commission of the crime is taken into account in imposing
the penalty; thus, offenders are classified as principal, accomplice and accessory.
In crimes punished under special laws, the degree of participation of the offenders is not
considered. All who perpetrated the prohibited act are penalized to the same extent. There is no
principal or accomplice or accessory to consider.
A crime which occurred on board of a foreign vessel, which began when the ship was in a foreign
territory and continued when it entered into Philippine waters, is considered a continuing crime.
Hence within the jurisdiction of the local courts.
As a general rule, the Revised Penal Code governs only when the crime committed pertains to the
exercise of the public official’s functions, those having to do with the discharge of their duties in
a foreign country. The functions contemplated are those, which are, under the law, to be
performed by the public officer in the Foreign Service of the Philippine government in a foreign
country.
Exception: The Revised Penal Code governs if the crime was committed within the Philippine
Embassy or within the embassy grounds in a foreign country. This is because embassy grounds
are considered an extension of sovereignty.
Paragraph 5 of Article 2, use the phrase “as defined in Title One of Book Two of this Code.”
This is a very important part of the exception, because Title I of Book 2 (crimes against national
security) does not include rebellion.
Art 3. Acts and omissions punishable by law are felonies.
Acts – an overt or external act
Omission – failure to perform a duty required by law. Example of an omission: failure to render
assistance to anyone who is in danger of dying or is in an uninhabited place or is wounded –
abandonment.
Felonies – acts and omissions punishable by the Revised Penal Code
Crime – acts and omissions punishable by any law
Ah Chong being afraid of bad elements, locked himself in his room by placing a chair against the
door. After having gone to bed, he was awakened by somebody who was trying to open the door.
He asked the identity of the person, but he did not receive a response. Fearing that this intruder
was a robber, he leaped out of bed and said that he will kill the intruder should he attempt to
enter. At that moment, the chair struck him. Believing that he was attacked, he seized a knife
and fatally wounded the intruder.
Mistake of fact would be relevant only when the felony would have been intentional or through
dolo, but not when the felony is a result of culpa. When the felony is a product of culpa, do not
discuss mistake of fact.
Art. 4. Criminal liability shall be incurred:
1. By any person committing a felony, although the wrongful act done be different
from that which he intended.
Article 4, paragraph 1 presupposes that the act done is the proximate cause of the resulting
felony. It must be the direct, natural, and logical consequence of the felonious act.
Art 5. Whenever a court has knowledge of any act which it may deem proper to repress and which
is not punishable by law, it shall render the proper decision and shall report to the Chief
Executive, through the Department of Justice, the reasons which induce the court to believe that
said act should be made subject of legislation.
In the same way the court shall submit to the Chief Executive, through the Department of
Justice, such statement as may be deemed proper, without suspending the execution of the
sentence, when a strict enforcement of the provisions of this Code would result in the
imposition of a clearly excessive penalty, taking into consideration the degree of malice and
the injury caused by the offense.
When a person is charged in court, and the court finds that there is no law applicable,
the court will acquit the accused and the judge will give his opinion that the said act should be
punished.
Paragraph 2 does not apply to crimes punishable by special law, including profiteering, and
illegal possession of firearms or drugs. There can be no executive clemency for these crimes.
Art. 6. Consummated felonies, as well as those which are frustrated and attempted, are
punishable.
A felony is consummated when all the elements necessary for its execution and
accomplishment are present; and it is frustrated when the offender performs all the acts of
execution which would produce the felony as a consequence but which, nevertheless, do not
produce it by reason of causes independent of the will of the perpetrator.
There is an attempt when the offender commences the commission of a felony directly by
overt acts, and does not perform all the acts of execution which should produce the felony by
reason of some cause or accident other than his own spontaneous desistance.
Development of a crime
1. Internal acts – intent and plans; usually not punishable
2. External acts
1. Preparatory Acts – acts tending toward the crime
2. Acts of Execution – acts directly connected the crime
Stages of Commission of a Crime
Overt acts of
execution are started
Not all acts of
execution are present
Due to reasons other
than the spontaneous
desistance of the
perpetrator
All acts of execution
are present
Crime sought to be
committed is not
achieved
Due to intervening
causes independent of
the will of the
perpetrator
All the acts of
execution are present
The result sought is
achieved
Art. 7. Light felonies are punishable only when they have been consummated with the exception
of those committed against persons or property.
Examples of light felonies: slight physical injuries; theft; alteration of boundary marks;
malicious mischief; and intriguing against honor.
In commission of crimes against properties and persons, every stage of execution is punishable
but only the principals and accomplices are liable for light felonies, accessories are not.
Art. 8. Conspiracy and proposal to commit felony are punishable only in the cases in which the
law specially provides a penalty therefore.
A conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the
commission of a felony and decide to commit it.
There is proposal when the person who has decided to commit a felony proposes its execution
to some other person or persons.
Conspiracy is punishable in the following cases: treason, rebellion or insurrection, sedition,
and monopolies and combinations in restraint of trade.
Conspiracy to commit a crime is not to be confused with conspiracy as a means of committing
a crime. In both cases there is an agreement but mere conspiracy to commit a crime is not
punished EXCEPT in treason, rebellion, or sedition. Even then, if the treason is actually
committed, the conspiracy will be considered as a means of committing it and the accused will
all be charged for treason and not for conspiracy to commit treason.
Conspiracy Proposal
Agreement among 2 or
more persons to commit a
crime
They decide to commit it
A person has decided to
commit a crime
Element He proposes its commission
s to another
1. Conspiracy to commit
sedition
2. Conspiracy to commit
rebellion
3. Conspiracy to commit
treason
4. Proposal to commit treason
5. Proposal to commit
Crimes rebellion
Mere conspiracy in combination in restraint of trade (Art. 186), and brigandage (Art. 306).
Two ways for conspiracy to exist:
(1) There is an agreement.
(2) The participants acted in concert or simultaneously which is indicative of a meeting
of the minds towards a common criminal goal or criminal objective. When several offenders act
in a synchronized, coordinated manner, the fact that their acts complimented each other is
indicative of the meeting of the minds. There is an implied agreement.
Two kinds of conspiracy:
(1) Conspiracy as a crime; and
(2) Conspiracy as a manner of incurring criminal liability
When conspiracy itself is a crime, no overt act is necessary to bring about the criminal
liability. The mere conspiracy is the crime itself. This is only true when the law expressly
punishes the mere conspiracy; otherwise, the conspiracy does not bring about the commission of
the crime because conspiracy is not an overt act but a mere preparatory act. Treason, rebellion,
sedition, and coup d’etat are the only crimes where the conspiracy and proposal to commit to
them are punishable.
When the conspiracy is only a basis of incurring criminal liability, there must be an overt
act done before the co-conspirators become criminally liable. For as long as none of the
conspirators has committed an overt act, there is no crime yet. But when one of them commits
any overt act, all of them shall be held liable, unless a co-conspirator was absent from the scene
of the crime or he showed up, but he tried to prevent the commission of the crime.
As a general rule, if there has been a conspiracy to commit a crime in a particular place,
anyone who did not appear shall be presumed to have desisted. The exception to this is if such
person who did not appear was the mastermind.
For as long as none of the conspirators has committed an overt act, there is no crime yet.
But when one of them commits any overt act, all of them shall be held liable, unless a co-
conspirator was absent from the scene of the crime or he showed up, but he tried to prevent the
commission of the crime
As a general rule, if there has been a conspiracy to commit a crime in a particular place,
anyone who did not appear shall be presumed to have desisted. The exception to this is if such
person who did not appear was the mastermind.
When the conspiracy itself is a crime, this cannot be inferred or deduced because there is
no overt act. All that there is the agreement. On the other hand, if the co-conspirator or any
of them would execute an overt act, the crime would no longer be the conspiracy but the overt
act itself.
conspiracy as a crime, must have a clear and convincing evidence of its existence. Every
crime must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. it must be established by positive and conclusive
evidence, not by conjectures or speculations.
When the conspiracy is just a basis of incurring criminal liability, however, the same may
be deduced or inferred from the acts of several offenders in carrying out the commission of the
crime. The existence of a conspiracy may be reasonably inferred from the acts of the offenders
when such acts disclose or show a common pursuit of the criminal objective.
mere knowledge, acquiescence to, or approval of the act, without cooperation or at
least, agreement to cooperate, is not enough to constitute a conspiracy. There must be an
intentional participation in the crime with a view to further the common felonious objective.
When several persons who do not know each other simultaneously attack the victim, the
act of one is the act of all, regardless of the degree of injury inflicted by any one of them. All
will be liable for the consequences. A conspiracy is possible even when participants are not
known to each other. Do not think that participants are always known to each other.
Conspiracy is a matter of substance which must be alleged in the information, otherwise,
the court will not consider the same.
Proposal is true only up to the point where the party to whom the proposal was made has
not yet accepted the proposal. Once the proposal was accepted, a conspiracy arises. Proposal is
unilateral, one party makes a proposition to the other; conspiracy is bilateral, it requires two
parties.
SEDITION;
Proposal to commit sedition is not a crime. But if Union B accepts the proposal, there will be
conspiracy to commit sedition which is a crime under the Revised Penal Code.
Composite crimes
Composite crimes are crimes which, in substance, consist of more than one crime but in
the eyes of the law, there is only one crime. For example, the crimes of robbery with homicide,
robbery with rape, robbery with physical injuries.
In case the crime committed is a composite crime, the conspirator will be liable for all
the acts committed during the commission of the crime agreed upon. This is because, in the
eyes of the law, all those acts done in pursuance of the crime agreed upon are acts which
constitute a single crime.
As a general rule, when there is conspiracy, the rule is that the act of one is the act of
all. This principle applies only to the crime agreed upon.
The exception is if any of the co-conspirator would commit a crime not agreed upon.
This happens when the crime agreed upon and the crime committed by one of the co-conspirators
are distinct crimes.
Exception to the exception: In acts constituting a single indivisible offense, even though
the co-conspirator performed different acts bringing about the composite crime, all will be liable
for such crime. They can only evade responsibility for any other crime outside of that agreed
upon if it is proved that the particular conspirator had tried to prevent the commission of such
other act.
Art. 9. Grave felonies are those to which the law attaches the capital punishment or penalties
which in any of their are afflictive, in accordance with Article 25 of this Code.
Less grave felonies are those which the law punishes with penalties which in their maximum
period are correctional, in accordance with the above-mentioned article.
Light felonies are those infractions of law for the commission of which he penalty of arresto
mayor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos, or both is provided.
Capital punishment – death penalty.
Penalties (imprisonment): Grave – six years and one day to reclusion perpetua (life); Less
grave – one month and one day to six years; Light – arresto menor (one day to 30 days).
CLASSIFICATION OF FELONIES
This question was asked in the bar examination: How do you classify felonies or how are felonies
classified?
What the examiner had in mind was Articles 3, 6 and 9. Do not write the classification of
felonies under Book 2 of the Revised Penal Code. That was not what the examiner had in mind
because the question does not require the candidate to classify but also to define. Therefore,
the examiner was after the classifications under Articles 3, 6 and 9.
Felonies are classified as follows:
(1) According to the manner of their commission
Under Article 3, they are classified as, intentional felonies or those committed with deliberate
intent; and culpable felonies or those resulting from negligence, reckless imprudence, lack of
foresight or lack of skill.
(2) According to the stages of their execution
Under Article 6., felonies are classified as attempted felony when the offender commences the
commission of a felony directly by overt acts, and does not perform all the acts of execution
which should produce the felony by reason of some cause or accident other than his own
spontaneous desistance; frustrated felony when the offender commences the commission of a
felony as a consequence but which would produce the felony as a consequence but which
nevertheless do not produce the felony by reason of causes independent of the perpetrator; and,
consummated felony when all the elements necessary for its execution are present.
(3) According to their gravity
Under Article 9, felonies are classified as grave felonies or those to which attaches the capital
punishment or penalties which in any of their periods are afflictive; less grave felonies or those
to which the law punishes with penalties which in their maximum period was correccional; and
light felonies or those infractions of law for the commission of which the penalty is arresto
menor.
Why is it necessary to determine whether the crime is grave, less grave or light?
To determine whether these felonies can be complexed or not, and to determine the prescription
of the crime and the prescription of the penalty. In other words, these are felonies classified
according to their gravity, stages and the penalty attached to them. Take note that when the
Revised Penal Code speaks of grave and less grave felonies, the definition makes a reference
specifically to Article 25 of the Revised Penal Code. Do not omit the phrase “In accordance with
Article 25” because there is also a classification of penalties under Article 26 that was not
applied.
If the penalty is fine and exactly P200.00, it is only considered a light felony under Article 9.
If the fine is imposed as an alternative penalty or as a single penalty, the fine of P200.00 is
considered a correctional penalty under Article 26.
If the penalty is exactly P200.00, apply Article 26. It is considered as correctional penalty and it
prescribes in 10 years. If the offender is apprehended at any time within ten years, he can be
made to suffer the fine.
This classification of felony according to gravity is important with respect to the question of
prescription of crimes.
In the case of light felonies, crimes prescribe in two months. If the crime is correctional, it
prescribes in ten years, except arresto mayor, which prescribes in five years.
Art. 10. Offenses which are or in the future may be punishable under special laws are not
subject to the provisions of this Code. This Code shall be supplementary to such laws, unless
the latter should specially provide the contrary.
For Special Laws: Penalties should be imprisonment, and not reclusion perpetua, etc.
Offenses that are attempted or frustrated are not punishable, unless otherwise stated.
Plea of guilty is not mitigating for offenses punishable by special laws.
No minimum, medium, and maximum periods for penalties.
No penalty for an accessory or accomplice, unless otherwise stated.
Provisions of RPC applicable to special laws:
1. Art. 16 Participation of Accomplices
2. Art. 22 Retroactivity of Penal laws if favorable to the accused
3. Art. 45 Confiscation of instruments used in the crime
SUPPLETORY APPLICATION OF THE REVISED PENAL CODE
In Article 10, there is a reservation “provision of the Revised Penal Code may be applied
suppletorily to special laws”. You will only apply the provisions of the Revised Penal Code as a
supplement to the special law, or simply correlate the violated special law, if needed to avoid an
injustice. If no justice would result, do not give suppletorily application of the Revised Penal
Code to that of special law.
For example, a special law punishes a certain act as a crime. The special law is silent as to the
civil liability of one who violates the same. Here is a person who violated the special law and he
was prosecuted. His violation caused damage or injury to a private party. May the court
pronounce that he is civilly liable to the offended party, considering that the special law is silent
on this point? Yes, because Article 100 of the Revised Penal Code may be given suppletory
application to prevent an injustice from being done to the offended party. Article 100 states
that every person criminally liable for a felony is also civilly liable. That article shall be applied
suppletory to avoid an injustice that would be caused to the private offended party, if he would
not be indemnified for the damages or injuries sustained by him.
In People v. Rodriguez, it was held that the use of arms is an element of rebellion, so a rebel
cannot be further prosecuted for possession of firearms. A violation of a special law can never
absorb a crime punishable under the Revised Penal Code, because violations of the Revised Penal
Code are more serious than a violation of a special law. But a crime in the Revised Penal Code
can absorb a crime punishable by a special law if it is a necessary ingredient of the crime in the
Revised Penal Code
In the crime of sedition, the use of firearms is not an ingredient of the crime. Hence, two
prosecutions can be had: (1) sedition; and (2) illegal possession of firearms.
But do not think that when a crime is punished outside of the Revised Penal Code, it is already a
special law. For example, the crime of cattle-rustling is not a mala prohibitum but a
modification of the crime theft of large cattle. So Presidential Decree No. 533, punishing cattle-
rustling, is not a special law. It can absorb the crime of murder. If in the course of cattle
rustling, murder was committed, the offender cannot be prosecuted for murder. Murder would
be a qualifying circumstance in the crime of qualified cattle rustling. This was the ruling
in People v. Martinada.
The amendments of Presidential Decree No. 6425 (The Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972) by Republic
Act No. 7659, which adopted the scale of penalties in the Revised Penal Code, means that
mitigating and aggravating circumstances can now be considered in imposing penalties.
Presidential Decree No. 6425 does not expressly prohibit the suppletory application of the
Revised Penal Code. The stages of the commission of felonies will also apply since suppletory
application is now allowed.
Circumstances affecting criminal liability
There are two others which are found elsewhere in the provisions of the Revised Penal Code:
In justifying and exempting circumstances, there is no criminal liability. When an accused invokes
them, he in effect admits the commission of a crime but tries to avoid the liability thereof. The
burden is upon him to establish beyond reasonable doubt the required conditions to justify or
exempt his acts from criminal liability. What is shifted is only the burden of evidence, not the
burden of proof.
Justifying circumstances contemplate intentional acts and, hence, are incompatible with dolo.
Exempting circumstances may be invoked in culpable felonies.
Absolutory cause
The effect of this is to absolve the offender from criminal liability, although not from civil
liability. It has the same effect as an exempting circumstance, but you do not call it as such in
order not to confuse it with the circumstances under Article 12.
Article 20 provides that the penalties prescribed for accessories shall not be imposed upon those
who are such with respect to their spouses, ascendants, descendants, legitimate, natural and
adopted brothers and sisters, or relatives by affinity within the same degrees with the exception
of accessories who profited themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the
crime.
Then, Article 89 provides how criminal liability is extinguished:
Death of the convict as to the personal penalties, and as to pecuniary penalties, liability therefor
is extinguished if death occurs before final judgment;
Service of the sentence;
Amnesty;
Absolute pardon;
Prescription of the crime;
Prescription of the penalty; and
Marriage of the offended woman as provided in Article 344.
Under Article 247, a legally married person who kills or inflicts physical injuries upon his or her
spouse whom he surprised having sexual intercourse with his or her paramour or mistress in not
criminally liable.
Under Article 219, discovering secrets through seizure of correspondence of the ward by their
guardian is not penalized.
Under Article 332, in the case of theft, swindling and malicious mischief, there is no criminal
liability but only civil liability, when the offender and the offended party are related as spouse,
ascendant, descendant, brother and sister-in-law living together or where in case the widowed
spouse and the property involved is that of the deceased spouse, before such property had passed
on to the possession of third parties.
Under Article 344, in cases of seduction, abduction, acts of lasciviousness, and rape, the
marriage of the offended party shall extinguish the criminal action.
Absolutory cause has the effect of an exempting circumstance and they are predicated on lack of
voluntariness like instigation. Instigation is associated with criminal intent. Do not consider
culpa in connection with instigation. If the crime is culpable, do not talk of instigation. In
instigation, the crime is committed with dolo. It is confused with entrapment.
Entrapment is not an absolutory cause. Entrapment does not exempt the offender or mitigate
his criminal liability. But instigation absolves the offender from criminal liability because in
instigation, the offender simply acts as a tool of the law enforcers and, therefore, he is acting
without criminal intent because without the instigation, he would not have done the criminal act
which he did upon instigation of the law enforcers.
Difference between instigation and entrapment
In instigation, the criminal plan or design exists in the mind of the law enforcer with whom the
person instigated cooperated so it is said that the person instigated is acting only as a mere
instrument or tool of the law enforcer in the performance of his duties.
On the other hand, in entrapment, a criminal design is already in the mind of the person
entrapped. It did not emanate from the mind of the law enforcer entrapping him. Entrapment
involves only ways and means which are laid down or resorted to facilitate the apprehension of
the culprit.
The element which makes instigation an absolutory cause is the lack of criminal intent as an
element of voluntariness.
If the instigator is a law enforcer, the person instigated cannot be criminally liable, because it is
the law enforcer who planted that criminal mind in him to commit the crime, without which he
would not have been a criminal. If the instigator is not a law enforcer, both will be criminally
liable, you cannot have a case of instigation. In instigation, the private citizen only cooperates
with the law enforcer to a point when the private citizen upon instigation of the law enforcer
incriminates himself. It would be contrary to public policy to prosecute a citizen who only
cooperated with the law enforcer. The private citizen believes that he is a law enforcer and
that is why when the law enforcer tells him, he believes that it is a civil duty to cooperate.
If the person instigated does not know that the person is instigating him is a law enforcer or he
knows him to be not a law enforcer, this is not a case of instigation. This is a case of
inducement, both will be criminally liable.
In entrapment, the person entrapped should not know that the person trying to entrap him was a
law enforcer. The idea is incompatible with each other because in entrapment, the person
entrapped is actually committing a crime. The officer who entrapped him only lays down ways
and means to have evidence of the commission of the crime, but even without those ways and
means, the person entrapped is actually engaged in a violation of the law.
Instigation absolves the person instigated from criminal liability. This is based on the rule that a
person cannot be a criminal if his mind is not criminal. On the other hand, entrapment is not an
absolutory cause. It is not even mitigating.
In case of somnambulism or one who acts while sleeping, the person involved is definitely acting
without freedom and without sufficient intelligence, because he is asleep. He is moving like a
robot, unaware of what he is doing. So the element of voluntariness which is necessary in dolo
and culpa is not present. Somnambulism is an absolutory cause. If element of voluntariness is
absent, there is no criminal liability, although there is civil liability, and if the circumstance is
not among those enumerated in Article 12, refer to the circumstance as an absolutory cause.
Mistake of fact is an absolutory cause. The offender is acting without criminal intent. So in
mistake of fact, it is necessary that had the facts been true as the accused believed them to be,
this act is justified. If not, there is criminal liability, because there is no mistake of fact
anymore. The offender must believe he is performing a lawful act.
Extenuating circumstances
The effect of this is to mitigate the criminal liability of the offender. In other words, this has
the same effect as mitigating circumstances, only you do not call it mitigating because this is not
found in Article 13.
Illustrations:
An unwed mother killed her child in order to conceal a dishonor. The concealment of dishonor is
an extenuating circumstance insofar as the unwed mother or the maternal grandparents is
concerned, but not insofar as the father of the child is concerned. Mother killing her new born
child to conceal her dishonor, penalty is lowered by two degrees. Since there is a material
lowering of the penalty or mitigating the penalty, this is an extenuating circumstance.
The concealment of honor by mother in the crime of infanticide is an extenuating circumstance
but not in the case of parricide when the age of the victim is three days old and above.
In the crime of adultery on the part of a married woman abandoned by her husband, at the time
she was abandoned by her husband, is it necessary for her to seek the company of another man.
Abandonment by the husband does not justify the act of the woman. It only extenuates or
reduces criminal liability. When the effect of the circumstance is to lower the penalty there is
an extenuating circumstance.
A kleptomaniac is one who cannot resist the temptation of stealing things which appeal to his
desire. This is not exempting. One who is a kleptomaniac and who would steal objects of his
desire is criminally liable. But he would be given the benefit of a mitigating circumstance
analogous to paragraph 9 of Article 13, that of suffering from an illness which diminishes the
exercise of his will power without, however, depriving him of the consciousness of his act. So
this is an extenuating circumstance. The effect is to mitigate the criminal liability.
Distinctions between justifying circumstances and exempting circumstances
In justifying circumstances –
(1) The circumstance affects the act, not the actor;
(2) The act complained of is considered to have been done within the bounds of
law; hence, it is legitimate and lawful in the eyes of the law;
(3) Since the act is considered lawful, there is no crime, and because there is no
crime, there is no criminal;
(4) Since there is no crime or criminal, there is no criminal liability as well as civil
liability.
In exempting circumstances –
(1) The circumstances affect the actor, not the act;
(2) The act complained of is actually wrongful, but the actor acted without
voluntariness. He is a mere tool or instrument of the crime;
(3) Since the act complained of is actually wrongful, there is a crime. But because
the actor acted without voluntariness, there is absence of dolo or culpa. There is no criminal;
(4) Since there is a crime committed but there is no criminal, there is civil liability
for the wrong done. But there is no criminal liability. However, in paragraphs 4 and 7 of Article
12, there is neither criminal nor civil liability.
When you apply for justifying or exempting circumstances, it is confession and avoidance and
burden of proof shifts to the accused and he can no longer rely on weakness of prosecution’s
evidence.
[1]The difference between murder and homicide will be discussed in Criminal Law II.
These crimes are found in Articles 248 and 249, Book II of the Revised Penal Code.
[2] The difference between theft and robbery will be discussed in Criminal Law II.
These crimes are found in Title Ten, Chapters One and Three, Book II of the Revised Penal Code.