5 CIRCUMSTANCES THAT AFFECT THE CRIMINAL LIABILITY OF AN 5.

Any person who acts in the fulfillment of a duty or in the lawful

ACCUSED: exercise of a right or office.

JUSTIFYING CIRCUMSTANCES First. The accused must have acted in the performance of a duty or in
Article 11. Justifying circumstances. - The following do not incur any the lawful exercise of a right or office; and
criminal liability: Second. The injury caused or the offense committed should have been
the necessary consequence of due performance of duty or lawful
1. Anyone who acts in defense of his person or rights, provided that the exercise of right or office.
following circumstances concur;
6. Any person who acts in obedience to an order issued by a superior
First. Unlawful aggression. for some lawful purpose.
Second. Reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or
repel it. First. Order has been issues by a superior.
Third. Lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person Second. Such order must be for some lawful purpose; and
defending himself. Third. Means used by subordinate to carry out such order is lawful.

2. Any one who acts in defense of the person or rights of his spouse,
ascendants, descendants, or legitimate, natural or adopted brothers or
sisters, or his relatives by affinity in the same degrees and those
consanguinity within the fourth civil degree, provided that the first and
second requisites prescribed in the next preceding circumstance are
present, and the further requisite, in case the revocation was given by
the person attacked, that the one making defense had no part therein.

3. Anyone who acts in defense of the person or rights of a stranger,

provided that the first and second requisites mentioned in the first
circumstance of this Article are present and that the person defending
be not induced by revenge, resentment, or other evil motive.

4. Any person who, in order to avoid an evil or injury, does not act
which causes damage to another, provided that the following requisites
are present;

First. That the evil sought to be avoided actually exists;

Second. That the injury feared be greater than that done to avoid it;
Third. That there be no other practical and less harmful means of
preventing it.
 EXEMPTING CIRCUMSTANCES (4) without any fault or intention of causing it.
Article 12. Circumstances which exempt from criminal liability. - the
following are exempt from criminal liability: 5. Any person who act under the compulsion of irresistible force.
(a) a third person compels the accused through force to commit crime;
1. An imbecile or an insane person, unless the latter has acted during a and
lucid interval. (b) the force used must be irresistible.

When the imbecile or an insane person has committed an act which the law 6. Any person who acts under the impulse of an uncontrollable fear of
defines as a felony (delito), the court shall order his confinement in one of the an equal or greater injury.
hospitals or asylums established for persons thus afflicted, which he shall not (a) existence of an uncontrollable fear of an injury;
be permitted to leave without first obtaining the permission of the same court. (b) the fear of an injury must be real and imminent; and
(c) the fear of an injury is greater than or at least equal to that
First. The offender is insane committed.
Second. The offender has not acted during a lucid interval
7. Any person who fails to perform an act required by law, when
2 & 3. (Repealed by Sec. 6 of RA No. 9344) prevented by some lawful insuperable cause.
SEC. 6. Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility. - A child fifteen (15) years
of age or under at the time of the commission of the offense shall be
exempt from criminal liability. However, the child shall be subjected to
an intervention program pursuant to Section 20 of this Act.

A child above fifteen (15) years but below eighteen (18) years of age
shall likewise be exempt from criminal liability and be subjected to an
intervention program, unless he/she has acted with discernment, in
which case, such child shall be subjected to the appropriate
proceedings in accordance with this Act.

The exemption from criminal liability herein established does not

include exemption from civil liability, which shall be enforced in
accordance with existing laws.

4. Any person who, while performing a lawful act with due care, causes
an injury by mere accident without fault or intention of causing it.
(1) a person is performing a lawful act;
(2) with due care;
(3) he causes an injury to another by mere accident; and
 MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES To appreciate the mitigating circumstance of vindication of grave offense, the
following requisites must be present:
Article 13. Mitigating circumstances. - The following are mitigating (1) victim committed grave offense;
circumstances; (2) the grave offense was committed against the offender or his spouse,
ascendants, descendants, legitimate, illegitimate or adopted brothers
1. Those mentioned in the preceding chapter, when all the requisites or sisters, or his relatives by affinity within the same degrees; and
necessary to justify or to exempt from criminal liability in the respective (3) the offender committed the crime in proximate vindication of such
cases are not attendant. grave offense.

2. That the offender is under eighteen year of age or over seventy

years. In the case of the minor, he shall be proceeded against in 6. That of having acted upon an impulse so powerful as naturally to
accordance with the provisions of Art. 80. have produced passion or obfuscation.

3. That the offender had no intention to commit so grave a wrong as PASSION AND OBFUSCATION
that committed. The mitigating circumstance of passion and obfuscation will be appreciated if
the following requisites are present:
4. That sufficient provocation or threat on the part of the offended party (1) the victim perpetrated unlawful or unjust act, which produced
immediately preceded the act. passion or obfuscation;
(2) passion must arise from lawful sentiment of the offender and not
PROVOCATION from spirit of lawlessness or revenge;
The provocation to be considered as mitigating circumstance requires that: (3) by reason of the passion or obfuscation, the offender lost control
(1) there must be provocation on the part of the offended party; and reason; and
(2) the provocation must be sufficient; and (4) the length of time between the perpetration of the act that produced
(3) provocation must immediately precede the criminal act committed passion and the commission of the crime must not be considerable
by the offender. enough for the accused to recover his normal equanimity.

THREAT
That sufficient threat on the part of the offended party which immediately
preceded the act is an ordinary mitigating circumstance. 7. That the offender had voluntarily surrendered himself to a person in
Threat, which is not constitutive of unlawful aggression, may be considered authority or his agents, or that he had voluntarily confessed his guilt
as mitigating circumstance if the following conditions are present: before the court prior to the presentation of the evidence for the
(1) there must be a threat on the part of the offended party; prosecution;
(2) the threat must be sufficient; and
(3) the threat must immediately precede the commission of crime. VOLUNTARY SURRENDER
To benefit an accused, the following elements must be proven, namely:
5. That the act was committed in the immediate vindication of a grave (1) the offender has not actually been arrested;
offense to the one committing the felony (delito), his spouse, (2) the offender surrendered himself to a person in authority or the
ascendants, or relatives by affinity within the same degrees. latter's agent; and
(3) the surrender was voluntary.
VINDICATION OF GRAVE OFFENSE
VOLUNTARY CONFESSION
To appreciate voluntary confession as a mitigating circum-stance, the
following requisites must concur:
(1) the accused spontaneously confessed his guilt;
(2) the confession of guilt was made in open court;
(3) the confession was made before a competent court trying the case;
and
(4) the confession of guilt was made prior to the presentation of
evidence by the prosecution.

8. That the offender is deaf and dumb, blind or otherwise suffering

some physical defect which thus restricts his means of action, defense,
or communications with his fellow beings.

PHYSICAL DEFECT
To appreciate physical defect as a mitigating circumstance, the following
requisites must be present:
(1) the accused is deaf and dumb, blind or suffering from physical
defect; and
(2) the physical defect of the accused restricts his means of action,
defense, or communication with his fellow beings.

9. Such illness of the offender as would diminish the exercise of the

will-power of the offender without however depriving him of the
consciousness of his acts.

ILLNESS
To appreciate illness as mitigating circumstance, the following requisites
must be present:
(1) the offender is suffering from illness; and
(2) such illness must diminish the exercise of the will-power of the
offender.

10. And, finally, any other circumstances of a similar nature and

analogous to those above mentioned.
 AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES 1. That advantage be taken by the offender of his public position. -
Aggravating Circumstances SPECIAL, GENERIC
-​ Those which, if attendant in the commission of the crime, it serve to -​ If the PUBLIC OFFICER used the influence, prestige, or
increase the penalty without however, exceeding the maximum of the ascendancy which such office gives him to facilitate the
penalty provided by law commission of the crime.
-​ Those which if present, are not automatically offset by mitigating -​ There should be deliberate intent to use the influence, prestige
circumstance or ascendancy
2. That the crime be committed in contempt or with insult to the public
Article 14. Aggravating circumstances. - The following are aggravating authorities.- GENERIC
circumstances:
CONTEMPT OR INSULT TO PUBLIC AUTHORITIES- GENERIC
Classification: To appreciate contempt or insult to public authorities as ordinary aggravating
1. Generic – those that generally apply to all crimes, eg. Recidivism, Aid circumstance, the following requisites must be present:
of Minors, Advantage taken by Public Position, etc (1) the public authority is engaged in the exercise of public function;
2. Specific – those that apply to particular crimes, eg. Ignominy, and
Treachery (2) offender committed a crime despite his presence showing lack of
3. Qualifying – Those that change the nature of the crime, eg. Treachery, respect for public authorities.
Evident Premeditation, Cruelty, etc. (3) Public authority is not the victim of the crime
4. Inherent – refer to those factors that are inseparable from the (4) Offender knows him to be a public authority
commission of a crime. These circumstances are considered part of the 3. That the act be committed with insult or in disregard of the respect
crime itself and naturally contribute to the aggravation of the offense., eg. due the offended party on account of his rank, age, or sex, or that is be
sex is inherent in crimes against chastity committed in the dwelling of the offended party, if the latter has not
5.Special - special aggravating circumstances are those factors that, when given provocation.- GENERIC
present in the commission of a crime, increase the penalty and make the DISREGARD OF RANK - GENERIC
offense more serious To appreciate disregard of rank, the following requisites must be present:
(1) there must be a difference in the social condition of offender and
Difference between Generic and Qualifying victim; and
(2) offender must commit a crime with insult of or in disregard of the
GENERIC QUALIFYING
respect due to victim on account of rank.

- can be offset by an ordinary - cannot be offset by an ordinary DISREGARD OF AGE- GENERIC

mitigating circumstance mitigating circumstance -​ there must be a considerable age gap between the offender and
victim, who is a minor or senior.
- the legal effect is to increase the - give the crime its proper and DISREGARD OF SEX- GENERIC
penalty to the maximum exclusive -​ In disregard of sex, the offender must be male while the victim is
without exceeding the limit name female.
- those that generally apply to all DWELLING- GENERIC
crimes - it changes the nature of the To appreciate dwelling, the following requisites must be present:
crime (1) offender committed crime in the dwelling of the offended party;
(2) the offended has not given provocation; and
(3) offender committed the crime in disregard of the respect which the (2) the darkness or the silence of the night facilitated the commission of
dwelling is entitled. the crime or insured impunity; and
(3) offender intended to capitalize nighttime in committing the crime.
4. That the act be committed with abuse of confidence or obvious
ungratefulness. GENERIC UNINHABITED PLACE- QUALIFYING
ABUSE OF CONFIDENCE- GENERIC (1) crime is committed in an uninhabited place;
(1) there is special, immediate and personal relation between the victim (2) the uninhabited place facilitated the commission of the crime or
and offender; ensured impunity; and
(2) Victim reposed confidence on the offender because of such (3) offender took advantage of the uninhabited place in committing the
relationship; crime.
(3) the accused deliberately abused such confidence as a means to
facilitate the commission of crime. BAND- QUALIFYING
Band will be appreciated as aggravating circumstance if the following
requisites are present:
UNGRATEFULNESS- GENERIC (1) crime must be committed by a band;
(1) accused owed the victim gratitude because of the generosity that (2) band facilitated the commission of the crime or insured impunity;
former received from the latter; and
(2) the offender instead of being grateful to the generosity given by the (3) offender intended to take advantage of being part of a band in
victim committed a crime against the latter. committing the crime.

7. That the crime be committed on the occasion of a conflagration,

5. That the crime be committed in the palace of the Chief Executive or shipwreck, earthquake, epidemic or other calamity or
in his presence, or where public authorities are engaged in the misfortune.QUALIFYING
discharge of their duties, or in a place dedicated to religious
worship.ORDINARY OCCASION OF CALAMITY- QUALIFYING
To appreciate on occasion of calamity as aggravating circumstance, the
(1) The offender committed the crime in a place where public following requisites must be present:
authorities are engaged in the discharge of their duties; and (1) the offender committed the crime on occasion of calamity or
(2) offender disregarded the respect due to the said place. misfortune; and
(2) the offender took advantage of the disastrous condition to facilitate
6. That the crime be committed in the night time, or in an uninhabited the commission of the crime or to insure impunity.
place, or by a band, whenever such circumstances may facilitate the
commission of the offense. QUALIFYING
8. That the crime be committed with the aid of armed men or persons
Whenever more than three armed malefactors shall have acted together who insure or afford impunity. QUALIFYING
in the commission of an offense, it shall be deemed to have been
committed by a band. AID OF ARMED MEN- QUALIFYING
NIGHTTIME To appreciate aid of armed men, the following requisites must be present:
(1) offender committed the crime in the darkness or silence of the night;
(1) armed men or persons took part in the commission of the crime, derailment of a locomotive, or by the use of any other artifice involving
directly or indirectly by giving material aid to the principal by direct great waste and ruin.
participation;
(2) the offender availed himself of their aid or relied upon them when 13. That the act be committed with evidence premeditation.
the crime was committed. QUALIFYING
EVIDENCE PREMEDITATION
To appreciate evident premeditation, the following requisites must be
present:
9. That the accused is a recidivist.- GENERIC (1) the time when the accused determined to commit the crime,
(2) an act manifestly indicating that the accused has clung to that
A recidivist is one who, at the time of his trial for one crime, shall have determination, and
been previously convicted by final judgment of another crime (3) a lapse of time between the determination and the execution
embraced in the same title of this Code. sufficient to allow the accused to reflect upon the consequences of the
act.
RECIDIVISM- GENERIC
To appreciate recidivism, the following requisites must be present:
1. that the offender is on trial for an offense 14. That craft, fraud or disguise be employed. QUALIFYING
2. that he was previously convicted by final judgment of another crime CRAFT – involves intellectual trickery and cunning on the part of accused
3. that both the first and the second offense are embraced in the same FRAUD – insidious words or machinations used to induce the victim
title of the RPC DISGUISE – resorting to any device to conceal identity
4. that the offender is convicted of the new offense
15. That advantage be taken of superior strength, or means be
employed to weaken the defense.
10. That the offender has been previously punished by an offense to ABUSE OF STRENGTH- QUALIFYING
which the law attaches an equal or greater penalty or for two or more To appreciate abuse of superior strength, the following requisites must
crimes to which it attaches a lighter penalty. GENERIC concur:
REITERACION- GENERIC (1) the strength of the offender is superior to that of the victim; and
To appreciate ordinary aggravating circumstance of reiteracion (or (2) the offender takes advantage of said superior strength.
habituality), the following requisites must be present:
(1) that the accused is on trial for an offense
(2) that he previously served sentence for another offense to which the
law attaches an equal or greater penalty or for 2 or more crimes to
which it attaches a lighter penalty than that for the new offense
(3) that he is convicted of the new offense

11. That the crime be committed in consideration of a price, reward, or

promise. QUALIFYING

12. That the crime be committed by means of inundation, fire, poison,

explosion, stranding of a vessel or international damage thereto,
16. That the act be committed with treachery (alevosia).INHERENT IN 19. That as a means to the commission of a crime a wall, roof, floor,
MURDER, QUALIFYING, SPECIFIC door, or window be broken. QUALIFYING

There is treachery when the offender commits any of the crimes against 20. That the crime be committed with the aid of persons under fifteen
the person, employing means, methods, or forms in the execution years of age or by means of motor vehicles, airships, or other similar
thereof which tend directly and specially to insure its execution, means. GENERIC
without risk to himself arising from the defense which the offended
party might make. 21. That the Wrong done in the commission of the crime be deliberately
augmented by causing other wrong not necessary for its commission.
TREACHERY- SPECIFIC & QUALIFYING QUALIFYING
There are two requisites of treachery: CRUELTY- QUALIFYING (PHYSICAL SUFFERING PROLONGED)
(1) at the time of the attack the victim was not in the position to defend The requisites of cruelty as qualifying or aggravating circumstance for killing
himself; a person are:
(2) the offender consciously adopted the manner of attack to make the (1) the cruel act is not necessary to commission of the crime;
victim defenseless or took advantage of the defenseless condition of (2) the cruel act is done with intent to prolong the physical pain of the
the victim. victim; and
(3) the offender perpetrated a cruel act when the victim was still alive.
TESTS in TREACHERY.
1. Is the attack sudden and unexpected? YES
2. Was the victim given an opportunity for defense? YES
3. Was the means employed deliberate and consciously adopted? YES (3rd
test is the most important.) if 3 is lacking- no treachery

17. That means be employed or circumstances brought about which

add ignominy to the natural effects of the act. QUALIFYING
IGNOMINY- QUALIFYING (MORAL SUFFERING)
For purposes of appreciating ignominy as modifying circumstance in
homicide or murder, its elements are:
(1) the ignominious act put the victim in a humiliating condition;
(2) the ignominious act is done with intent to augment the moral pain of
the victim; and
(3) the offender perpetrated ignominious act when the victim was still
alive.

18. That the crime be committed after an unlawful entry. There is an

unlawful entry when an entrance is effected by a way not intended for
the purpose. QUALIFYING
 ALTERNATIVE CIRCUMSTANCES (1) the consumption of alcoholic drinks was in such quantity as to blur
the offender's reason and deprive him of certain degree of control; and
Article 15. Their concept. - Alternative circumstances are those which must (2) intoxication must be non-habitual (or accidental) and unintentional.
be taken into consideration as aggravating or mitigating according to the
nature and effects of the crime and the other conditions attending its Intoxication as an Aggravating Circumstance
commission. They are the relationship, intoxication and the degree of There are two requisites to make intoxication an aggravating circumstance,
instruction and education of the offender. to wit:
(1) intoxication must be either habitual or intentional; and
The alternative circumstance of relationship shall be taken into consideration (2) intoxication must have been the source of bravado or courage that
when the offended party in the spouse, ascendant, descendant, legitimate, propelled the accused to commit the crime.
natural, or adopted brother or sister, or relative by affinity in the same
degrees of the offender. (3) DEGREE OF INSTRUCTION AND EDUCATION OF OFFENDER
●​ MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCE if the offender for being ignorant
The intoxication of the offender shall be taken into consideration as a failed to fully discern the consequence of his criminality.
mitigating circumstances when the offender has committed a felony in a state ●​ High degree of instruction and education is an AGGRAVATING
of intoxication, if the same is not habitual or subsequent to the plan to commit CIRCUMSTANCE if the offender took advantage of it in
said felony but when the intoxication is habitual or intentional, it shall be committing the crime.
considered as an aggravating circumstance.

(1) RELATIONSHIP

• EXEMPTING in crimes of theft, swindling, or malicious mischief if the

offender and offended live together
• AGGRAVATING in crimes against persons when the offended is a relative
of higher degree than the offender or when the offender and offended are
parties of the same level
• If the offended is a relative of lower degree, in the crime of less serious and
slight physical injuries, relationship is MITIGATING
• If the offended is a relative of higher degree, in the same crimes,
relationship is AGGRAVATING
• When the crime is homicide or murder, which resulted to the death of the
victim, the relationship is AGGRAVATING, regardless of degree.
• In crimes against chastity, relationship is ALWAYS aggravating

(2) INTOXICATION
Intoxication as a Mitigating Circumstance
●​ Intoxication is a mitigating circumstance if the following requisites are
present: