ARTICLE 7.

Light Felonies

When are light Felonies punishable?

- Light Felonies are infractions of law penalized with arresto menor or a fine
not exceeding 200 pesos, or both, is provided.
- They are punishable: (a) In general, when they are consummated; and (b)
As an exception, in all stages when committed against persons or
property.
Who are punishable in light felonies?
- Under Article 16, only the principals and the accomplices are punishable.
Accessories are not punishable because light felony is penalized with
arresto menor. Accessories are penalized two degrees lower than the
principa or two degrees below arresto menor which is non exsistent.

ARTICLE 8. Conspiracy and Proposal to commit felony

What is conspiracy?
- Conspiracy is when there are two or more persons come to an agreement
concerning the commission of a felony and decide to commit it.
What proof is required for conspiracy?
- The same degree of proof required for establishing the crime is required to
support a finding of conspiracy. It must be shown to exist as clearly and as
convincingly as the commission of the offense itself in order to uphold the
fundamental principle that no one shall be found guilty of a crime except
upon proof beyond reasonable doubt.
To be liable for conspiracy, what is to be done by a conspirator?
- It is essential for one to be a party to a conspiracy as to be liable for the
acts of others that there is intentional participation in the transaction with
a view to the furtherance of the common design. Except when he is the
mastermind of a conspiracy, it is necessary that a conspirator should have
performed some overt act as a direct or indirect contribution in the
execution of the crime planned to be committed.
Two concepts of conspiracy:
- Conspiracy as the crime itself
- Conspiracy as a means of committing a crime.
(a) By pre-agreement or planning
(b) Implied from the concerted acts of the offenders or implied conspiracy.
What is Implied conspiracy?
- Implied conspiracy is one that is deduced from the mode and manner in
which the offense was committed.
When conspiracy involves a pre-conceived plan, what is required of a coconspirator to incur liability?
- To be liable as a co-conspirator, unless he is the mastermind, he should
appear in the scene of the crime. It is essential for one party to a
conspiracy as to be liable for the acts of the others that there is
intentional participation in the transaction with a view to the furtherance
of the common design.
Does finding of conspiracy require direct proof thereof?

No, for conspiracy may be inferred from the acts of the accused before,
during and after the commission of the crime, all of which indubitably
point to or indicate a joint purpose, a concert of action and a community
of interest.
Is it necessary for the co-conspirator to perform equally each and every part
of the acts constituting the offense?
- No. As long as the parts played by each of the principals in the conspiracy
contribute to the realization of the common design, they are all liable
equally.
Concept of The Act of One is the Act of All.
- When conspiracy is established, all who participated therein, irrespective
of the quantity and quality of his participation is liable equally, whether
the conspiracy Is pre-planned or instantaneous. The criminal liability of
one is the same as the criminal liability of the other, unless one or some of
the conspirators committed another crime, which is not part of the
intended crime.
In the absence of conspiracy, what is the liability of the offenders?
- In the absence of the conspiracy, unity of criminal purpose and intention
immediately before the commission of the crime, or community of
criminal design, the criminal responsibility arising from different acts
directed against one and the same person is individual and not collective,
and each of the participants is liable only for the act committed by him.
What is Arias Doctrine?
- All the heads of offices have to rely to a reasonable extent on their
subordinates and on the good faith of those who prepare bids, purchase
supplies, or enter into negotiations. There has to be some added reason
why he should examine each voucher in detail. Any executive head of
even small government agencies can attest to the volume of papers that
must be signed. There are hundreds of documents, letters, memoranda,
vouchers, and supporting papers that routinely pass through his hands.
The number in bigger offices or departments is even more appalling.
ARTICLE 9. Grave felonies, Less grave felonies, light felonies.

How are felonies classified according to gravity?

(a) Grave Felonies- penalized by capital punishment or afflictive penalties in
any of its period. This means that whenever the minimum, medium, or
maximum period of the penalty is an afflictive penalty, the felony is a
grave felony. Afflictive penalties cover prison mayor, disqualification,
reclusion perpetua, and reclusion temporal.
(b) Less Grave Felonies- punished with penalties which in their maximum
period are correctional, that is, destierro, suspension, arresto mayor, or
prison correctional.
(c) Light Felonies- punished with arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200
pesos.
Significance in classifying felonies
- Whether a complex crime was committed
- The duration of the subsidiary penalty to be imposed where the subsidiary
penalty is based on the severity of the penalty.

ARTICLE

The duration of the detention in case of failure to post the bond to keep
the peace.
Whether the crime has prescribed.
Whether or not there is delay in the delivery of detained persons to the
judicial authority.
The proper penalty for quasi-offenses.
10. Offenses not subject to the RPC

What are special laws?

- They are laws that define and penalize crimes not included in the RPC;
they are of a ature different from those defined and punished in the code.
When is the suppletory effect of the Code not available?
- The suppletory effect of the Code to special laws under this article cannot
be invoked where there is legal or physical impossibility of or a prohibition
in special laws against such supplementary application. But where the
penalty is actually taken from the Code in its technical nomenclature, then
it is necessarily with its duration, correlation and legal effects under the
system of penalties in the Code.
What is the relationship between dolo and the special law?
- Dolo is not required in crimes punished by a special statute because it is
the act alone, irrespective of the motives which constitute the offense.
When it was proved that petitioner committed the unlawful acts alleged in
the information, it was properly presumed that they were committed with
full knowledge and with criminal intent, and it was incumbent upon him to
rebut such a presumption.
- The concept of delito continuado has been applied to crimes penalized
under special laws. Legal principles developed from penal code may be
applied in supplementary capacity to crimes punished under special laws.