AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES

those which, if attendant in the commission of the crime, serve to increase the penalty without, however, exceeding the maximum of the penalty provided by the law

FOUR KINDS OF AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES:

1.

GENERIC: those that can generally apply to all crimes

example: dwelling, nighttime or recidivism

circumstances in Pars. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 14, 18, 19 and 20 except by means of motor vehicles, are generic aggravating circumstances.

Effect is to increase penalty imposed upon accused to maximum period

May be compensated by mitigating circumstance

Does not need to be alleged

2. SPECIFIC: those that apply only to particular crimes

example: ignominy in crimes against chastity or cruelty and treachery in crimes against persons.

Circumstances in Pars. Nos. 3 (except dwelling), 15, 16, 17, 21 are specific aggravating

3. QUALIFYING: those that change the nature of the crime

example: aleviosa (treachery) or evident premeditation qualifies the killing of a person to murder

to give crime its proper and exclusive name and place the author thereof in such a situation as to deserve no other penalty than that specially prescribed by law
for said crime

cannot be offset by mitigating circumstance

must be alleged in the information

4. INHERENT: those that must of necessity accompany the commission of the crime

example: evident premeditation is inherent in robbery, theft, estafa, adultery and concubinage

5. SPECIAL: those that arise under special conditions which increase the penalty to the maximum period without however exceeding the penalty prescribe by law

example: use of unlicensed firearm in homicide or murder and on brigandage, quasi-recidivism

EFFECT ON PENALTY
Aggravating Circumstances cant be appreciated for the purpose of fixing a heavier penalty. They should be considered as bases for the award of exemplary damages, conformably
to current jurisprudence. Note especially on those:
a.

Which in themselves constitute a crime specially punishable by law

b.

Which are included by law in defining a crime and prescribing the penalty thereof

The same rule shall apply with respect to any aggravating circumstance inherent in the crime to such a degree that it must of necessity accompany the commission thereof.
(examples: evident premeditation is inherent in theft, adultery; taking advantage of public position inherent in crimes of bribery, graft, corruption)

Aggravating
Circumstance
1. Advantage Taken of
Public Position

2. Contempt or Insult to
Public Authorities

3. Disregard of Rank,
Age or Sex and
Dwelling of the
Offended Party

Basis
Generic
Greater Perversity as
shown by
o Personal
Circumstance of the
Offender
o Means used to secure
the commission of the
crime
Generic
Greater Perversity as
shown by
o Lack of respect for
public authorities
Generic
Greater Perversity as
shown by
o Personal
Circumstance of the
offended party
o Place of the
commission of the
crime

4. Abuse of Confidence
and Obvious
Ungratefulness

Generic
Greater perversity as
shown by means and ways
employed

5. Palace and Other

Places of Commission
of Offense

Generic
Greater perversity as
shown by the place of the
commission of the crime

6. Night-time,

Qualifying

Elements/Requisites

Exceptions

1. The person committing the crime is a public officer

2. That said public officer used the influence, prestige and
ascendancy of his office in the commission of the crime

- If public officer is committing the crime in his private

capacity (i.e. not using the influence of his office)

1. Public authority is engaged in the exercise of his functions

2. Said person is not the person against whom the crime is
committed
3. The offender knows him to be a public authority
4. His presence has not prevented the offender from
committing the criminal act
1. Specific fact or circumstance of deliberate intention to
disregard or insult age, sex or rank
2. Proof of fact of disregard and deliberate intent
3. Rank: difference in the social condition of the offender and
the offended party
4. Age: Tender/Old age
5. Sex: females only

- When the officer is directly assaulted

- Lack of knowledge on the part of the offender of the public
officers presence

1. That there is no sufficient provocation given by the owner

of the dwelling inside the dwelling
2. Includes: dependencies, foot of the staircase and
enclosure under the house
3. Offended party was attacked inside his own house

- When both offender and offended are occupants of the

house
- Where the robbery is committed by force upon things, for
said violation to dwelling inherent
- Crimes where trespass to dwelling is inherent
- Owner of the dwelling gave sufficient and immediate
provocation
- Dwelling did not belong to offended party
- Adultery, except if paramour lives in the same dwelling
- Betrayal of confidence
- Crimes where abuse of confidence is inherent (i.e.
malversation, qualified theft, estafa by conversion or
misappropriation, qualified seduction)

1. Offended party trusted the offender (immediate and

personal)
2. Offender abused such trust by committing a crime against
the offended party
3. Abuse of confidence facilitated the commission of the
crime
1. Public authority is engaged in performance of his duty
2. Public authority is in his office; or place is dedicated to
the worship of God
3. Public authority may be the offended party
4. Offender must have the intention to commit a crime when
he entered the place
1. When it facilitated the commission of the crime

- Deliberate Intent to insult or disregard is not apparent

- Sex: when offender acted with passion and obfuscation
- Sex: when there exists a relationship between the offender
and offended
- Sex: when the condition of being a woman is indispensible
in the commission of the crime (i.e. parricide, rape,
abduction and seduction)

- Malacanang Palace Crime is aggravating even if Chief

Executive is not present

- When the time and place was incidental

 Time and place of the

commission of the crime and
the means and ways
employed

2. When especially sought for by the offender to insure the

commission of the crime or for purpose of impunity
3. When offender took advantage thereof for the purpose of
impunity
4. Band: Whenever more than three armed malefactors
shall have acted together in the commission of an offense
(regardless of the comparative strength)

7. On Occasion of
Calamity or
Misfortune

Qualifying
Time of the commission of
the crime (debased form of
criminality of the offender)

8. Aid of Armed Men,

etc.

Qualifying
Means and ways of
committing the crime

1. The offender must take advantage of the calamity or

misfortune
2. The crime was committed during a conflagration,
shipwreck, earthquake, epidemic or other calamity or
misfortune (i.e. typhoon or other chaotic condition)
1. Armed men or persons took part in the commission of the
crime, directly or indirectly
2. Accused availed himself of their aid or relied upon them
when the crime was committed

9. Recidivist
at the time of his trial for
one crime, shall have
been
previously
convicted
by
final
judgment of another
crime embraced in the
same title of this Code
10. Reiteration or
Habituality

Generic
Greater perversity as
shown by his inclination to
crimes

1. Offender is on trial for an offense

2. He was previously convicted by final judgment of another
crime
3. Both the first and second offense are embraced in the same
title of the Code
4. Offender is convicted of a new offense

Generic
Greater perversity as
shown by his inclination to
crimes

- May still be credited if not alleged in the information

provided that the accused does not object to the
presentation of evidence on the fact of recidivism or by the
accuseds own admission
- If the attached penalty to the previous offense is death and
the latter offenses are against property, the court should
exercise its discretion in favor of the accused

11. Price, Reward or

Promise

Qualifying
Greater perversity as
shown by motivating power

- When the attack was made in the heat of anger

- Mere threats, expression of determination, ill-feeling or
grudge without external acts

Uninhabited Place or
Band

12. By Means of
Inundation, Fire, Etc.

Qualifying
Means and ways employed

Necessary to allege the same in the info and attach thereto

certified copies of sentences rendered against the accused
1. Accused is on trial for an offense
2. Previously served sentence for another offense which the
law attaches an equal or greater penalty/ 2 or more crimes
to which it attaches lighter penalty than that for the new
offense
3. Convicted of a new offense
1. 2/more offenders: one who gives or offers the price or
promise and the one who accepts it
2. Price, reward or promise must be for the purpose of
inducing another to perform the deed
1.The circumstances mentioned must be facilitated by the
offender as a means to accomplish a criminal purpose

13. Evident
premeditation

Qualifying
Ways of committing the
crime
Note: Evident

1. The time when the offender determined to commit the

crime
2. An act manifestly indicating that the culprit has clung to

- Crimes against chastity

- Night-time: when the crime was either started or finished
beyond night-time
- Night-time: when the place of the crime is illuminated by
light
- Uninhabited place: when victim has a reasonable possibility
of getting help
- Band: when malefactors did not act together
- When the instance of a calamity is just incidental in the
commission of a crime (i.e. a person killed someone in the
midst of a flood)

- When both attacking and attacked party were equally armed

- When the accused and those who cooperated with him in the
commission of the crime acted under the same plan and for
the same purpose
- Casual presence of armed men in the place where the crime
was committed
- If subsequent conviction is for the offense committed before
the offense involved in the prior condition
- When the other offense is not embraced in the same title of
the Code

- If the price or reward was given without previous promise

*Price, reward or promise must be the primary motivation of
the crime
- When another aggravating circumstance already qualifies
the crime, these shall be considered as generic aggravating
circumstance only.
- When there is no actual design to kill a person

premeditation implies
deliberate planning

his determination
3. A sufficient lapse of time between the determination and
execution, to allow him to reflect upon the consequences of
his will
Note: The essence of premeditation is that the execution
of the criminal act must be preceded by cool thought and
reflection upon the resolution to carry out the criminal intent
during the space of time sufficient to arrive at a calm
judgement. Particularity on the person is not required

14. Craft, fraud, disguise

Qualifying
Means employed in the
commission of the crime

15.Superior
Strength Or
Means to Weaken Defense

Qualifying
Means and ways employed
in the
commission of the
crime

16.Treachery

Qualifying
Means and ways employed
in the commission of the
crime

17. Ignominy

Qualifying
Means employed to commit
the crime
Note: moral suffering

- Implied conspiracy (must be express)

- When the victim is different from the one intended for
specific attacks
- Inherent in robbery, BUT is aggravating in robbery with
homicide if the premeditation included the killing of the
victim

1. That craft, fraud or disguise was used to aid in the

execution of the criminal design
2. Craft: involves intellectual trickery in order not to arouse
suspicion
3. Fraud: involves insidious words or machinations for direct
inducement
4. Disguise: resorting to any device to conceal identity

- Craft: when it partakes of an element of the offense

- Craft: where the offender did not exert an effort to
camouflage his true intentions
- Disguise: when the disguise subsequently fell during the
commission of the crime
- Disguise: where the device was not used to conceal identity

1. Applicable only to crimes against persons

2. Superior strength: There was deliberate intent to take
advantage of superior strength
3. Superior strength: That there is evidence of relative
physical strength and notorious inequality of forces (age, sex,
size)
4. Superior strength: The purpose is to overpower
5. Weaken defense: The purpose is to materially weaken the
victims resisting power

- Absorbed in the circumstance of treachery

- Superior strength: The attack was due to passion and
obfuscation
- Superior strength: Unexpected turn-out of an altercation
- Superior strength: When the attack was made on the victim
alternately
- Superior strength: Inherent in the crime of parricide
- Superior strength: No abuse of superior strength when one
acted as principal and the other two as accomplices

1. That the crime is committed against persons

2. That the mode of attack be consciously adopted by the
offender
3. That the means, methods, or forms need to ensure the
execution of the crime
4. That at the time of the attack, the victim was not in a
position to defend himself
5. When the aggression is continuous, treachery must be
present in the beginning of the assault
6. When the assault was not continuous in that

- Cases involving accidents, chance encounters or spurs of the

moment (not deliberately sought)
- Cases attendant of negligence or carelessness
- Cases attendant of passion and obfuscation or those w/
sufficient provocation
- When the attack was preceded by an altercation or heated
discussion
- When the victim was appropriately warned
- When the accused did not camouflage their intentions

1. Applicable to crimes against chastity, less serious physical

injuries, light or grave coercion, and murder
2. Where the acts tend to make the effects of the crime more

- When the victim is already dead

- No ignominy when a man is killed in the presence of his
wife

humiliating or shameful
18.UnlawfulEntry

19.Breaking Walletc

Qualifying
Means and ways employed
to commit the crime

1. When an entrance is effected by a way not intended for that

purpose

- Trespass to dwelling
- When the entrance was effected as a means to escape
- Inherent to robbery with force upon things

Qualifying
Means and ways employed
to commit the crime

1. Done as a means to the commission of a crime

2. That it was done as a means to effect entrance only

- Inherent to robbery with force upon things

- Arrests by an officer
- Done due to refused admittance to an officer

1. Minor: That the minor is under 15 years old

2. Vehicle: That the vehicle be used to furnish a quick means
to commit the crime, flight and concealment

- Not applicable to vehicles not considered as motorized by

the LTO
- Estafa
- When the crime is already done and the motor vehicle was
just incidental
- Inherent in carnapping

1. That the injury caused be deliberately increased by causing

other wrong
2. That the wrong be unnecessary for the execution of the
purpose of the offender
3. Deliberate prolongation of the physical suffering

- When the cruelty is done on a corpse

- That there was no positive proof that the damages seen on
the victim were inflicted to prolong his suffering

20. Aid of minororby

meansof Motor Vehicle

Qualifying
Means and ways employed
to commit the crime

21. Cruelty

Qualifying
Ways employed in
committing the crime
Note: physical suffering