Felonies

Elements of
Criminal Liability

violations of the RPC

Offense
- crime punished under a special law
Crime
- Whether the wrongdoing is punished under the Revised Penal
Code or under a special law, the generic word crime can be used
Misdemeanor
- minor infraction of the law

Actus Reus
Mens Rea
Concurrence
Result
Causation
3.

Impos
sible
Crime

Attemp
ted

x
x

Frus
trated

x
x

Consum
mated

x
x

According to their gravity

Grave felonies those to which the law attaches the
capital punishment or penalties which in any of their
Elements of Felonies
periods are afflictive.
1.
There must be an act or omission
i. Reclusion perpetua
2.
Act or omission must be punishable by the RPC.
ii. Reclusion temporal
3.
Act is performed or the omission incurred by means of
iii.
Perpetual or Absolute DQ
dolo or culpa.
iv. Perpetual or Temporary Special DQ
Note:
v. Prision mayor
a.
If any of the elements is absent, there is no dolo. If there
vi. Fine more than P6,000
is no dolo, there could be no intentional felony.
b.
Less grave felonies those to which the law punishes
b.
Liability even in the absence of Criminal Intent
with penalties which in their maximum period is
i. Felonies committed by Culpa
correctional.
ii. Offenses Mala Prohibita
i. Prision correccional
ii. Arresto mayor
Classification of Felonies
iii. Suspension
1.
According to the manner of their commission
iv. Destierro
a.
Intentional Felonies
v. Fines equal to or more than P200
- with deliberate intent or malice
c.
Light felonies those infractions of law for the
- requisites of dolo or malice:
commission of which the penalty is arresto menor, or a
i.
Freedom
fine not exceeding P200, or both.
ii.
Intelligence
Other classifications:
iii.
Criminal Intent
4.
As to count
General CI
Specific CI
a.
Compound Crime
Complex crime
The intention to do
The intention to commit a definite b.
c.
Composite crime
something wrong
act
5.
As to nature
Presumed from the mere doing
Existence
of a is not
a.
Mala in se
wrong act
presumed
b.
Mala prohibita
The burden is upon
the burden is upon the
Mala in Se
Mala Prohibita
The wrong doer to
prosecution to
As
to
Nature
Wrong
from
its
Wrong because
prove that he acted
establish its existence
very
nature
it is prohibited
without such criminal
by law
intent
As to use of
Valid, unless the
Not valid
Good
Faith
as
crime
is
the
b.
Culpable Felonies
a defense
result of culpa
- those resulting from negligence, reckless imprudence,
As to use of
Intent is an
Criminal intent
lack of foresight or lack of skill.
Intent as an
element
Is immaterial
- requisites of culpa:
i.
Freedom
element
ii.
Intelligence
As to degree
DOA is taken
Act gives rise to
iii.
Negligence lack of foresight
Of accompinto acct in
a crime only
iv.
Imprudence lack of skill
lishment of
punishing the
when it is
the crime
offender
consummated
Intentional
Culpable
As to mitiTaken into acct
Not taken into
Act is malicious
Not malicious
gating and
In imposing the
acct
Aggravating
penalty
With deliberate intent.
Unintentional
circumstance
Has intention to cause an Wrongful act results from imprudence,
As to degree
When there is
Not taken into
injury
negligence, lack of foresight, or lack of
of participamore than 1
acct. All who
skill
tion
offender, DOP
participated are
of
each
in
the
punished to the
2.
According to the stages of their execution
commission of
same extent
- only to crimes under the Revised Penal Code. It does NOT
the crime is
apply to crimes punished under special laws.
a.
Attempted - When the offender commences the
taken into acct
commission of a felony directly by overt acts, and does not
As to persons
Penalty is
Penalty is the
perform all the acts of execution which should produce the
criminally
computed on
same
felony by reason of some cause or accident other than his
liable
the basis of
own spontaneous desistance.
whether he is a
b.
Frustrated - When the offender performs all the acts of
principal or
execution which would produce the felony as a
merely an
consequence but which, nevertheless, do not produce it
accessory
by reason of causes independent of the will of the
As to what
GR: Violation
GR: Violation
perpetrator.
laws are
of the RPC
of Special Laws
c.
Consummated - When all the elements necessary for
violated
its execution and accomplishment are present; the felony
is produced.
a.

Note: The penalties are graduated according to their degree of

severity.
a.
The stages (Art. 6) may not apply to all kinds of felonies.
b.
There are felonies which do not admit of division.
Distinction between intent, discernment, and motive
Intent
determination to do a certain thing, an aim or purpose of
the mind.
element of crime, except in unintentional felonies
(culpable).
essential in intentional felonies
establishes the nature and extent of culpability in
intentional felonies.
Discernment
mental capacity to tell right from wrong.
integral to the element of intelligence, NOT intent.
necessary whether the crime is dolo or culpa.
Motive
reason or moving power which impels one to do an act.
Gr: not an essential element of a crime; hence, it need
not be proved for purposes of conviction (except in certain
cases enumerated below).
Motive is relevant when:
1.
Variant Crimes
2.
Doubt as to the identity of the assailant.
3.
Need to ascertain the truth between two antagonistic.
4.
Identification of the accused proceeds from an
unreliable source.
5.
No eyewitnesses and suspicion is likely to fall upon a
number of persons.
6.
Evidence is purely circumstantial
Article 4 Criminal Liability
Par 1. Criminal Libaility for a felony different from that intended
to be committed
Rationale: el que es causa de la causa es causa del mal causado
(he who is the cause of the cause is the cause of the evil caused).
Requisites:
1.
An intentional felony has been committed.
a. Committed by means of dolo (with malice).
b. The act should not be punished by a special
law because the offender violating a special
law may not have the intent to do an injury to
another.
c. No felony is committed when:
i.
act or omission is not punishable by the RPC.
ii.
act is covered by any of the justifying
circumstances enumerated in Art. 11.
2.
The wrong done to the aggrieved party be the direct,
natural and logical consequence of the felony committed by
the offender.
Proximate Cause - That cause, which, in a natural and
continuous sequence, unbroken by any efficient intervening
cause, produces the injury without which the result would not
have occurred.
Immediate cause The last event in a chain of events,
though not necessarily the proximate cause of what follows.
Remote cause A cause that does not necessarily or
immediately produce an event or injury.
Note: Criminal liability exists from the concurrence of the
mens rea and the actus reus.
Criminal liability for some felonies arises only upon a specific
resulting harm:
a. Homicide and its qualified forms requires DEATH of
the victim to be consummated.
b. Estafa: requires that the victim incur damage for
criminal liability for the consummated felony to
arise.
General rule: The offender is CRIMINALLY LIABLE for ALL
the natural and logical consequences of his felonious act,
although not intended, if the felonious act is the proximate
cause of the resulting harm.

a.

Error in personae - mistake in the identity of the

victim (Art. 49 penalty for lesser crime in its max
period)
i.
At least two subjects
ii.
A has intent to kill B, but kills C
iii.
Under Art. 3, if A hits C, he should have no
criminal liability. But because of Art. 4, his
act is a felony.
b. Aberratio ictus - mistake in the blow; when offender
intending to do an injury to one person actually
inflicts it on another (Art. 48 on complex crimes
penalty for graver offense in its max period)
i.
There is only one subject.
ii.
The intended subject is a different subject,
but the felony is still the same.
c. Praeter intentionem - injurious result is greater than
that intended (Art. 13 mitigating circumstance)
When there is proximate cause or none

Intance
When there
is
intervening
disease

When the
death was
caused by
an infection
due to the
unskilled
medical
treatment
from the
doctors

Disease is closely
related to the
wound
Disease is
Unrelated to the
wound
Disease is
combined
force with
wound
If the wound is
mortal

If the wound is
slight

Criminally Liable?
Yes
No
Yes. Mortal wound is
a contributing
factor to victims
death
Yes. Unskilled
treatment an
infection are not
efficient
intervening causes
No.