Incidencia de la apelación en las costas de la instancia

Robbery

The law on robbery in the Philippines can be found on the following articles of the Revised Penal Code:

Article 293

Who are guilty of robbery?

Any person who, with intent to gain, shall take any personal property belonging to another, by means of violence or intimidation of any person, or using force upon anything shall be guilty of robbery.

Elements of Robbery:

1. Unlawful taking of personal property 2. The property must belong to another

3. The taking is done with violence against an intimidation of any person of force upon things 4. The taking is with intent to gain

Note the following:

 Article 294 – Robbery with violence or intimidation of persons

 Article 295 – Robbery with physical injuries committed in an uninhabited place and by

 band or the use of firearm on a street.

 Article 297 – Attempted and frustrated robbery committed under certain circumstances.

 Article 298 – Execution of deeds by means of violence or intimidation

 Article 299 – Robbery in an inhabited house or public building or edifice devoted to worship – Any armed person who shall commit robbery in an inhabited house or public building or edifice devoted to religious worship – and if:

(a) The malefactors shall enter the house or building in which the robbery was committed, by any of the following means:

1. Through an opening not intended for entrance or egress

2. By breaking any wall, roof or floor or breaking any door or window 3. By using false key, padlocks or similar tools

4. By using fictitious name or pretending the exercise of public authority or if – (b) The robbery be committed under any of the following circumstances:

1. By the breaking of doors, wardrobes, closets, or any other kind of locked or sealed furniture or receptacle.

2. By taking such furniture or objects away to be broken or forced open outside the place of the robbery.

 Article 302 – Robbery in an uninhabited place or in a private building

 Article 303 – Robbery of cereals, fruits or firewood in uninhabited place or private building.

Anti-Piracy and Anti-Highway Robbery Law of 1974 (Presidential Decree 532)

Piracy – Any attack upon or seizure of any vessel, or taking away of the whole or part thereof of its cargo, equipment or the personal belonging of its complement or passengers, irrespective of value thereof, by means of violence against or intimidation of person or foce upon things, committed by any person, including a passenger or member of the complements of said vessel in Philippine waters, shall be considered as piracy. The offender shall be considered as pirates.

Highway Robbery/Brigandage – The seizure of any person for ransom, extortion or other unlawful purposes, or the taking away of the property of another by means of violence against or intimidation of persons or force upon things of other unlawful means committed by any person or any Philippine highway.

Aiding Pirates or Highway Robbers/ Brigands or Abetting Piracy or Highway Robbers/Brigands – Any person who knowingly and in any manner aids or protects pirates or highway robbers/brigands, such as giving them information about the movement of police or other peace officers of the government or acquire or receives property taken by such pirates or brigands or indirectly abets the commission of piracy or highway robbery or brigandage, shall be considered as an accomplice of the principal offender.

Anti-Cattle Rustling Law of 1974 (Presidential Decree 533)

Cattle Rustling – Is the taking away by any means, methods or scheme, without the consent of the owner/raiser, of any of the above animals (cow, carabao, horse, mule or other domesticated member of the bovine family) whether or not for profit or gain, or whether committed with or without violence against or intimidation of any person or force upon things. It includes the killing of large cattle, or taking its meat or hide without the consent of owner/raiser.

Anti-Fencing Law of 1979 (Presidential Decree 1612)

Fencing is the act of any person; who, with intent to gain, for himself or for another shall buy, posses, keep, acquire, conceal, sell or in any other deal on any articles, items, objects or anything of value which he knows to have been derived form the proceeds of crime or robbery or theft.

Fence – include any person, firm, organization, association, or corporation or partnership and other organization who which commits the act of fencing.

The Targets in Robberies

The selection of a victim and the place of the robbery are two basic keys to developing a pattern which will furnish clues to a robbers identity. Data usually are correlated in the following areas:

1. Victim:

a. alone

b. in the company of two or three c. in the company of four or more persons 2. Residence:

a. one family b. multi family

c. motel – hotel (robbery of guest)

d. garage ( or other residence – occupancy shed or structure) 3. Street and highways

a. sidewalk b. roadway c. alley

d. publicly accessible area ( parks, parking lot, entranceway) e. over and under pass

f. highways 4. Commercial (nonresidence)

a. bank

b. business office or off-street retail sales outlet (loan companies, pawnshops, jewelry store, etc.) c. markets

d. liquor stores e. other retail outlets

f. motel-hotel (robbery of manager/owner) g. taverns (restaurants, bars, cafes) h. delivery services (chicken, pizza, etc.) i. drive-ins

j. service stations 5. Vehicles

a. taxis b. bus c. trailer

d. passenger jeepney e. victims personal car 6. Vessels:

a. inter island (passenger) b. cargo

c. ferry d. tugboats

Style and Tactics in Robbery Cases

The identification in an armed robbery case often relates to the tactics and style of the robbery. Robbery has been categorized as having three styles:

(1) The ambush – is the least planned of all and is based on the element of surprise

(2) The selective raid – involves a minimum of planning but some casing of the robbery scene

(3) The planned operation – is carefully structured and the robbery group examines all aspects of the situation, plans for all foreseeable constingencies.

Crime Partnership in a Robbery Group

Crime partners in a robbery group form a loose partnership, providing the skills for the various task necessary to carry out different types of robberies. They participate in the planning of robberies as well as the basic decision as to whether or not a certain target can be successfully robbed.

Crime partners usually are associates from spontaneous play groups in the underworld. Investigators assigned a single robbery or series of robberies to investigate should search for “link-up” “connect-up” which will indicate the operations of a group.

Types of Robbers

1. Amateurs – motivated by greed, want, the desire for a thrill, or need for self-testing.

2. Professionals – are described as those persons who worked at robbery as a trade making it their living and having no other means of income.

Technique Commonly Employed by Robbers – Means of Entry

The means of entry differs in various burglaries and are related to the skill of a robber. The various known means of entry are:

1. The open door or window entry – the robber/s roams residence areas, apartments, and hotels looking for open doors or windows.

2. The jimmy entry – the robber/s forces a door or window with an iron tool such as a tire iron, screwdriver, or small crowbar or box opener.

3. The celluloid entry – the burglar forces open a door spring lock with a small piece of celluloid.

4. The stopover or human fly entry – the burglar is an aerialist, the stopover robber steps from a fire escape, balcony or other building to a nearby window. The “human fly” robber can progress upward or downward or the sides of a building to a selected point of entry.

5. Roof entry – the burglar breaks into a premises through a skylight or air conditioning duct or the roof or by cutting a hole in the roof of a building or residential home.

6. The hide –in entry – the burglar hides in a commercial premises until all employees have left and then breaks out with the stolen property.

7. The cut-in entry – the robber uses tools of various kinds to cut through the floor, ceiling, or wall of a store or office to another store or office.

8. Hit and run – the robber breaks a window of a ground floor store and takes property from a window or nearby portions of the premises, and flees before police can be alerted to the crime.

9. Key entry – the robber uses a key – the key may be given to him by an informant (finger-man) it may be stolen or the burglar may obtain a duplicate or master key by various means.\

Methods of safebreaking

1. Punching- In this manner of entry a sledge hammer and a drift punch are used to knock the combination dial from the safe and to drive the spindle back into the safe. This makes the release mechanism of the lock accessible and allows the safe to be opened.

2. Pulling – A device similar to a gear or wheel puller is used to pull the dial or spindle completely out of the safe door and thus allow the safe to be opened.

3. Peeling – This means of entry involves the prying off the outer surfaces of the safe door so that the locking mechanism of the safe is exposed and can be pried open, allowing entry to the safe.

4. Drilling – One or more holes are drilled in the door of the safe to expose the lock mechanism allowing the safe-breaker to align the lock tumblers manually and open the door of the safe.

5. Ripping – This is a battering of the top, bottom or sides of a safe with a chisel or other metal cutter, such as a ripping bar the hydraulic ramming device used in a body and fender shop.

6. Burning – Use of oxygen/acetylene torch.

7. Blasting – Use of explosives

b. closets – prints may be found in door and jambs c. door knobs

3. Clothings – sometimes the robbers exchange their own jacket with that one found

4. If a window was broken is effecting entry, glass particles may be present in the trouser cuffs and pockets of suspect. Samples of broken glass should be collected for possible future comparison in the event that a suspect is picked up.

5. Paint- If a crowbar has been used to force the window, paint may adhere to the tool. Paint samples should be taken for future comparison.

6. Tool marks 7. Tools

8. Some robbers are given to add behavior such as defecation on the floor, stealing fountain pen, eating candy or drinking excessively from bottles found on the premises. The peculiarity of the behavior would be noted and check in modus operandi index.

1. The investigator must initiate similar preliminary steps upon reaching the crime scene (discuss earlier or this note)

2. Determine the point of entrance and point of exit by the perpetrator.

3. Determine the value of stolen articles

4. The full and detailed description of the stolen articles.

5. Gather physical evidence.

6. Determine the modus operandi of the perpetrator as it would give leads in the identification and arrest of the suspect.

7. Full and detailed description of a get-away vehicle if any, or vessel, boat in cases of piracy.

8. Coordinate with other law enforcement agencies 9. Exploit investigative leads (discuss earlier on this note) 10. Written testimony of the complainant witnesses.

11. Accumulate clues and traces at the scene of a crime which will serve to identify the offender.

12. Develop informants in the local underworld who are aware of the activity of robbery, particularly the activity of the semi-skilled and amateur groups (usually the addict robber)

13. Conduct a surveillance of likely fences and uncover and trace back stolen property from its receiver to the robber.

14. Conduct surveillance of known burglars to ascertain if they are presently committing robbery

15. Accumulate information on various types of robber, the known and newcomers, whether they are in or out of prison, whether they are active

16. Be alert on a modified modus operandi

17. In cases homicide is committed; follow the pattern of homicide investigation.

KIDNAPPING

Kidnapping - a word derived from kid, meaning child and nap (nab) meaning snatch, recorded since 1673, was originally used as a term for the practice of stealing children for use as servants or laborers in the American Colonies .It has come to mean any illegal capture or detention of a person or people against their will, regardless of age. Since 1768 the term abduction has also been used in this sense.

Kidnapping for Ransom - Philippine jurisprudence defines kidnapping for ransom as “the unlawful taking and carrying away of a person by force or fraud or against his will, or in any manner depriving him of his liberty for the purpose of extorting ransom as payment for his/her release.”

This is punishable under the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines which provides that any individual who shall kidnap or detain another, or in any manner deprive him of his liberty, shall suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death, if:

1. the kidnapping or detention shall have lasted more than five (5) days;

2. if it shall have been committed simulating public authority;

3. if any serious physical injuries shall have been inflicted upon the person kidnapped or detained, or if threats to kill him shall have been made; and

4. if the victim shall be minor, female or public officer.

Modus Operandi in Kidnapping

Kidnapping activity varies with the capability and resources of kidnappers to do surveillance, safekeeping and negotiation with their target group. One common thing all KFRGs, however is that they have a well planned strategy of abduction process

Kidnappers usually start their activity in surveying trough an informer or sputter whose work is to locate targets for the group. To facilitate the operation, a gang member is sometimes made to seek employment such as driver or household help or have a business transaction to gain access and control of the victim. KFRG conducts a thorough study of background of their victims, such as capability to pay and daily movements’ activities. Surveillance to establish routes is extensively carried out.

Perpetrators of kidnapping have some peculiar operational style that distinguishes one group from the other.

Some groups are contented with money given immediately by the victims' families/relatives while others are capable of prolonged negotiations for a bigger ransom. Some groups are crude in executing their plan while others do it with precision and finesse

However, most cases of kidnapping particularly those undertaken by criminal groups, revealed the following stages:

1. Spotting. The first step in planning a kidnapping operation is to come up with a shopping list of three to four possible targets that are capable of paying a huge amount of ransom. Targets are usually businessmen of Chinese descent.

2. Surveillance. Targets are then subjected to a thorough surveillance and investigation. The investigation focused on the financial capability, home address and place of work, phone numbers, complete description of the vehicle being used, travel routes, identities of household helpers, drivers and employees, and personal security of potential targets

3. Risk analysis and target selection. After a thorough investigation, the group selects one of the targets, which present a lower risk and difficulty in ransom negotiation. In some cases, the group selects the one whom the group had gathered the information first. In order to enhance precision in their operation, some group send out members of the syndicate to apply as drivers, employees, and household helps to gain further access on the target

4. Seizing of victim. The time allotted for forcibly taking the victim is usually two to three hours. The victim is usually forcibly taken on his/her way to place of work or while going home after work. Most of the victims are successfully intercepted while crossing road intersections or traveling along highly traveled streets.

5. Negotiation. Ransom demand may range from PhP1 million to PhP100 million, depending on the paying capacity of the victim and the operational capability of the group. The weakest member of the victim's family is usually selected by the syndicate to act as negotiator, warning the latter not to report the incident to the concerned police authorities.

6. Collection of ransom. After the ransom has been negotiated, the group will design a pay-off procedure. The ransom is usually brought to a predesignated site. In some pay-off situations however, the ransom courier is usually instructed to bring along a cellular phone for ease of communication during the actual pay-off. There were instances where couriers were given a round-the-bush before reaching the final pay-off venue.

Professional groups normally release the victims after the pay-off had been secured.

Even with the “no ransom policy” of the government, it was noted that the victims' family easily give in to the demands of the kidnappers, with minimum negotiations. Usually, kidnapping victims are released in 3 to 6 days, after ransom money has been paid

For investigation of special crimes, please refer to SPECIAL CRIMES noted under the area on Criminal Jurisprudence.

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