ANEXO IX. GLOSARIO DE TÉRMINOS
CUENTA DE PÉRDIDAS Y GANANCIAS CONSOLIDADA
3. Harboring, concealing or assisting in the escape of the principal of the crime.
Note: One cannot be an accessory unless he knew of
the commission of the crime.
An accessory must not have participated in the commission of the crime.
The accessory comes into the picture when the crime is already consummated, not before the consummation of the crime.
Q: What if the offender has already involved himself as a principal or accomplice?
A: He cannot be an accessory any further even though he performs acts pertaining to an accessory. Q: In what situations are accessories not criminally liable? A:
1. When the felony committed is a light felony.
2. When the accessory is related to the principal as spouse, or as an ascendant, or descendant or as brother or sister whether legitimate, natural or adopted or where the accessory is a relative by affinity within the same degree, unless the accessory himself profited from the effects or proceeds of the crime or assisted the offender to profit therefrom. 1. PROFITING OR ASSISTING THE OFFENDER TO PROFIT BY THE EFFECTS OF THE CRIME Illustration:
If a person having participated as principal or accomplice in robbery or theft but knowing that the property being offered to him is the proceeds or subject matter of the said crime, bought or purchased or dealt in any manner with which such property, obtaining benefit from said transaction or helping the thief or robber to profit there from.
Note: The accessory must receive the property from
the principal. He should not take it without the consent of the principal. If he took it without the consent of the principal, he is not an accessory but a principal in the crime of theft. 2. DESTROYING THE CORPUS DELICTI Q: What is a corpus delicti?
A: The corpus delicti is the body of the crime, not necessarily the corpse.
It is a compound fact made up of two things:
1. The proof of the occurrence of certain events
2. Some person’s criminal responsibility
Thus, even if the corpse is not recovered, as long as that killing is established beyond reasonable doubt, criminal liability will arise and if there is someone who destroys the corpus delicti to prevent discovery, he becomes an accessory. (Inovero v. Coronel, CA, 65 O.G. 3160)
3. HARBORING OR CONCEALING AN OFFENDER
Q: Who may be guilty as an accessory by harboring, concealing or assisting in the escape of the principal of the crime? A: 1. Public officers Requisites: a. Accessory is a public officer
b. He harbors, conceals, or assists in the escape of the principal
c. He acts with abuse of his public functions
d. The crime committed by the principal is any crime, provided it is not a light felony.
Note: In the case of a public officer, the crime
committed by the principal is immaterial. Such officer becomes an accessory by the mere fact that he helped the principal escape by harboring, concealing, making use of his public function and thus abusing the same. 2. Private person Requisites: a. Accessory is a private person b. He harbors, conceals or assists in the escape of the author of the crime
c. The crime committed by the principal is either:
i. Treason ii. Parricide iii. Murder
iv. Attempt against the life of the President
v. That the principal is known to be habitually guilty of some other crime.
Q: Can an accessory be held criminally liable without the principal being found guilty?
A:
GR: The accessory cannot be held criminally liable without the principal being found guilty of any such crime.
XPN: When the principal was not held liable because of an exempting circumstance under Art. 12.
Ratio: A person does not become criminally liable by merely harboring or assisting in the escape of an innocent man.
Note: Correlate this Article with the provisions of the
Anti‐Fencing Law (P.D. 1612) and Obstruction of Justice (P.D. 1829). Both laws will be discussed under Special Penal Laws. ACCESSORIES EXEMPT FROM CRIMINAL LIABILITY (Art. 20) Q: What is the criminal liability of an accessory? A:
GR: An accessory is exempt from criminal liability, when the principal is his:
1. Spouse 2. Ascendant 3. Descendant
4. Legitimate, natural, or adopted brother, sister or relative by affinity within the same degree.
XPN: Not so exempt even if the principal is related to him, if such accessory:
1. Profited by the effects of the crime; or 2. Assisted the offender to profit from the
effects of the crime.
Ratio: Such acts are prompted not by affection
but by greed.
Note: The exemption provided for in this article is
based on the ties of blood and the preservation of one’s name, which compels on to conceal the crimes committed by relatives so near as those mentioned in this article.
Nephew and niece are not included.
Public officer contemplated under par.3 of Art. 19 is exempt by reason of relationship to the principal, even if such public officer acted with abuse of his public functions. The benefits of the exception in Art. 20 do not apply to P.D. 1829 (Obstruction of Justice). A. Decree Penalizing Obstruction of Apprehension and Prosecution of Criminal Offenders (P.D. 1829) 1. Punishable acts Q: What are the acts punished under P.D. 1829? A: Any person, who knowingly or willfully obstructs, impedes, frustrates or delays the apprehension of suspects and the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases by committing any of the following acts:
1. Preventing witnesses from testifying in any criminal proceeding or from reporting the commission of any offense or the identity of any offender/s by means of bribery, misrepresentation, deceit, intimidation, force or threats
2. Altering, destroying, suppressing or concealing any paper, record, document, or object, with intent to impair its verity, authenticity, legibility, availability, or admissibility as evidence in any investigation of or official proceedings in, criminal cases, or to be used in the investigation of, or official proceedings in, criminal cases
3. Harboring or concealing, or facilitating the escape of, any person he knows, or has reasonable ground to believe or suspect, has committed any offense under existing penal laws in order to prevent his arrest, prosecution and conviction
4. Publicly using a fictitious name for the purpose of concealing a crime, evading prosecution or the execution of a judgment, or concealing his true name and other personal circumstances for the same purpose or purposes
5. Delaying the prosecution of criminal cases by obstructing the service of process or court orders or disturbing proceedings in the fiscal's offices, in Tanodbayan, or in the courts
6. Making, presenting or using any record, document, paper or object with knowledge of its falsity and with intent to affect the course or outcome of the investigation of, or official proceedings in, criminal cases
7. Soliciting, accepting, or agreeing to accept any benefit in consideration of abstaining from, discounting, or impeding the prosecution of a criminal offender
8. Threatening directly or indirectly another with the infliction of any wrong upon his person, honor or property or that of any immediate member or members of his family in order to prevent such person from appearing in the investigation of, or official proceedings in, criminal cases, or imposing a condition, whether lawful or unlawful, in order to prevent a person from appearing in the investigation of or in official proceedings in, criminal cases
9. Giving of false or fabricated information to mislead or prevent the law enforcement agencies from apprehending the offender or from protecting the life or property of the victim; or fabricating information from the data gathered in confidence by investigating authorities for purposes of background information and not for publication and publishing or disseminating the same to mislead the investigator or the court. (Sec. 1)
2. Compare with Article 20, RPC (accessories exempt from criminal liability)
Note: Article 20, RPC is applicable with PD 1829
because it is beneficial to the accused. It is to be interpreted in favor of the accused because in an absolutory cause, the offender is not criminally liable by reason of public policy. Because the reason is public policy, it should apply to both the RPC and special laws.
V. PENALTIES A. GENERAL PRINCIPLES (Arts. 21‐24) Q: What are penalties? A: Penalties are the punishment imposed by lawful authority upon a person who commits a deliberate or negligent act which is against the law. Q: What are the judicial conditions of penalty? A:
1. Productive of suffering, without however affecting the integrity of human personality.
2. Commensurate with the offense.
3. Personal – no one should be punished with the crime of another. 4. Legal – it is a consequence of a judgment according to law. 5. Certain – no one may escape its effects. 6. Equal to all. 7. Correctional. Q: What are the penalties that may be imposed? A: A felony shall be punishable only by the penalty prescribed by law at the time of its commission. It is a guaranty to the citizen of this country that no act of his will be considered criminal until the government has made it so by law and has provided a penalty
Ratio: A law cannot be rationally obeyed unless it is first shown and a man cannot be expected to obey an order that has not been given.
Q: What are the classes of injuries caused by a crime? A: SOCIAL INJURY PERSONAL INJURY Produced by the disturbance and alarm which are the outcome of the offense. Caused to the victim of the crime who suffered damage either to his person, property, honor or chastity. Repaired though the imposition of the corresponding penalty. Repaired through indemnity. The State has an interest in this class or injury. The State has no reason to insist in its payment. Offended party cannot pardon the offender so as to relieve him of the penalty. It can be waived by the offended party.
Q: What are the measures of prevention that are not considered as penalty?
A:
1. The arrest and temporary detention of accused persons (preventive imprisonment) as well as their detention by reason of insanity or imbecility or illness requiring their confinement in a hospital.
2. The commitment of a minor to a reformatory institution.
3. Suspension from the employment or public office during the trial or in order to institute proceedings.
4. Fines and other corrective measures which, in the exercise of their administrative disciplinary powers, superior officials may impose upon their subordinates.
5. Deprivation of rights and reparations which the civil law may establish in penal form. (Art. 24) E.g. Parents who are deprived of their parental authority if found guilty of the crime of corruption of their minor children, in accordance with Art. 342 of the Civil Code.
Q: Why are the measures above‐mentioned not considered as penalties?
A:
1. They are not imposed as a result of judicial proceedings. Those mentioned in par. 1, 3 and 4 are merely preventive measures before conviction of offenders.
2. The offender is not subjected to or made to suffer these measures in expiation of or as punishment for a crime.
Note:
1. Par. 1 refers to accused persons who are detained “by reason of insanity or imbecility. It does not refer to the confinement of an insane or imbecile who has not been arrested for a crime.
2. Pars. 3 and 4 refer to administrative suspension and administrative fines and not to suspension or fine as penalties for violations of the RPC. Fines in par. 4 do not constitute as penalties because they are not imposed by the court.
3. Where a minor offender was committed to a reformatory pursuant to Art. 80 (now P.D. 603), and while thus detained he commits a crime therein, he cannot be considered a quasi‐recidivist since his detention was only a preventive measure, whereas a quasi‐ recidivism presupposes the commission of a crime during the service of the penalty for a previous crime.
4. Commitment of a minor is not a penalty because it is not imposed by the court in a judgment. The imposition of the sentence in such a case is suspended.
B. PURPOSES
Q: What are the purposes for the imposition of penalty under the RPC?
A:
1. Retribution or expiation – penalty is commensurate with the gravity of the offense.
2. Correction or reformation – as shown by the rules which regulate the execution of the penalties consisting in deprivation of liberty.
3. Social defense – shown by its inflexible severity to recidivists and habitual delinquents.
C. CLASSIFICATION OF PENALTIES