LESSON 5: FELONIES
Article 3 Revised Penal Code
- Acts and omissions punishable by law are felonies
- Felonies are committed not only by means of deceit but also by means of fault
- There is deceit when the act is performed with deliberate intent; and there is fault
when the wrongful act results from imprudence, negligence, lack of foresight, or
lack of skill
General Classes of Crimes
- Intentional felonies
- Culpable felonies
- Crimes defined and penalized by special laws which include crimes punishable
by municipal or city ordinances
Elements of Felonies
- There must be an act or omission
- The act and omission must be punishable by the RPC
- The act is performed or the omission incurred by means of dolo or culpa; and
- The act of omission must have been done voluntarily
Kinds of Felonies
1. Intentional felonies – committed with malice or deliberate intent
2. Culpable felonies – committed as a result of imprudence, negligence, lack of
foresight or lack of skill
Intentional Felonies
Requisites:
1. The offender must have freedom while doing the act/omitting to the act
2. The offender must have intelligence while doing the act or omitting to the act
3. The offender commits the act with intent
Culpable Felonies
Requisites:
1. The offender must have freedom while doing the act/omitting to do the act
2. The offender must have intelligence while doing the act or omitting to do the act
3. The offender is imprudent, negligent, or there is lack of foresight or skill while
doing the act or omitting to do the act
Crimes Mala in Se and Mala Prohibita
Distinctions:
1. Crimes in mala in se are wrong from their nature
2. Crimes mala prohibita are wrong because they are prohibited by special laws
3. In crimes mala in se, intent governs while in crimes mala prohibita, intent is
immaterial. Good faith and lack of intent are not valid defenses
4. Crimes mala in se are penalized under the RPC while crimes mala prohibita are
punished by special laws
5. The stages of execution affect the penalty impossible in crimes mala in se. thus,
the penalty depends on whether the crime is consummated, frustrated or
attempted. The stages of execution are not considered mala prohibita
LESSON 6: CRIMINAL LIABILITY
Article 4 Criminal Liability
Criminal Liability shall be incurred:
1. By any person committing a felony although the wrongful act done be different
from that which he intended
2. By any person performing an act which would be an offense against persons or
property, were it not for the inherent impossibility of its accomplishment or on
ineffectual means
Mens rea: it is a wrongful intent
Actus rea: it is a wrongful act
Honest Mistake of Fact
It is an act or omission which is the result of a misapprehension of facts that is
voluntary but not intentional. The actor performs act which would be lawful had the facts
been as he believed them to be.
Requisites:
a. The act would have been lawful had the facts been as the accused believed
them to be
b. In performing the act, the intent of the accused was lawful
c. The mistake was without fault or carelessness on the part of the accused
Motive
Motive is the reason why a person commits an act. It impels him to commit an act
for a definite result.
When is motive material?
1. The act brings about variant crimes
2. When the perpetrator has not been positively identified as when nobody
witnesses the commission of the offense
3. To determine whether a shooting was intentional or accidental
4. To determine the specific nature of the crime
5. Where the accused claims self-defense
LESSON 7: CRIMINAL LIABILITY
Mode No.1
By any person committing a felony although the wrongful act done be different
from that which he intended
2 Wrongful Acts
- The one intended to be committed
- The one actually committed
When the wrongful act done be different from the Intended
1. Error in Personae
- or mistake of identity of the victim
- the offender is liable even if the victim turns out to be different from the intended
victim
- penalty prescribed for the offense which has a lesser penalty in its maximum
period
Transferred Intent Rule
It results when the actual victim turns out to be different from the intended victim.
The intent to kill or the intent to cause an injury is deemed transferred to the actual
victim.
2. Aberratio Ictus
- Or mistake in the blow
- Offender intending to do an injury to one person actually inflicts it on another
- Single act was performed, the accused is liable for a complex crime, the penalty
for the graver offense shall be imposed in its maximum period
3. Praeter Intentionem
- Takes place when the result of the felonious act is graver than what was intended.
It is a mitigating circumstance. The offender is liable for the felony actually
committed but the penalty shall be imposed in its minimum period.
Requisites:
1. An intentional felony has been committed
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 natural and continuous sequence, unbroken by any efficient
intervening cause, produces the injury, and without which the result would not have
occurred.
Not a Proximate Cause
1. When there is an active force that intervened between the felony committed and the
resulting injury, and the active force is a distinct act or fact absolutely foreign from the
felonious act of the accused.
2. When the resulting injury is due to the intentional act of the victim.
Mode No.2 Impossible Crime
Impossible Crime is an act which would be an offense against persons or
property where it not for the inherent impossibility of its accomplishment or on account
of the employment of inadequate or ineffectual means.
Requisites:
1. The act performed would be an offense against persons or property
2. The act was done with evil intent
3. Its accomplishment is inherently impossible, or that the means employed is either
inadequate or ineffectual
4. The act performed should not constitute a violation of another provision of the RPC
Factual or Physical Impossibility
It occurs when extraneous circumstances unknown to the perpetrator prevent the
commission of the intended crime.
Legal Impossibility
It occurs when an essential element of a crime is not present during it
commission making it impossible of accomplishment.
N.B Impossible crime is punishable under Article 59, RPC
N.B There is no attempted or frustrated impossible crime
N.B In impossible crime, the act performed should not constitute another offense
specifically punished by law particularly a felony against persons or property
LESSON 8: STAGES OF A CRIME
Stages of Development of a Crime:
a. Internal Acts – exist in the mind and are not punishable
b. External Acts – Preparatory Acts and Acts of Execution
Preparatory Acts
Initial acts of a person who has conceived the idea of committing a crime, but
which cannot be themselves logically and necessarily ripen into a concrete offense.
They are not even overt acts and hence, they do not constitute the attempted stage of
the acts of execution.
Acts of Execution
a. Directly connected to the intended crime
b. Is punishable under the RPC
c. Usually overt act with a logical relation to a particular concrete offense
3 Stages of Execution
Attempted
Frustrated
Consummated
Stages do not apply:
- Offenses punished by special laws
- Formal crimes- consummated by a single act
- Impossible crimes
- Crimes consummated by mere attempt
- Felonies of omission
- Crimes committed by mere agreement
Attempted
When the offender commences the commission of a felony directly by overt acts,
and does not perform all the acts of execution which would produce the felony by
reason of some cause or accident other than his own spontaneous desistance.
Essential Elements of Attempted Felony
The offender commences the commission of the felony directly by overt acts
He does not perform all the acts of execution which should produce the felony
Offender’s act be not stopped by his own spontaneous desistance
Non-performance of all the acts of executing was due to cause or accident other
than his spontaneous desistance
Effect of Spontaneous Desistance
In attempted felony, if the offender spontaneously desists before performing all
the acts of execution, he is not liable for attempted felony.
Desistance – absolutory cause which negates criminal liability because the law allows
a person to desist from committing a crime.
Frustrated Felony
A felony is frustrated when the offender performs all the acts of execution which
would produce it by reason of causes independent of the will of perpetration.
Elements of Frustrated Felony
The offender performs all the acts of execution
All the acts performed would reduce the felony as a consequence
The felony is not produced
By reason of causes independent of the will of the perpetrator
Crimes which do not admit of Frustrated Stage:
Rape
Indirect Bribery
Corruption of Public Officials
Adultery and Concubinage
Consummated Felony
A felony is consummated when all the elements necessary for its execution and
accomplishment are present. Every crime has its own elements which must all be
present to constitute a violation of the law.
