II.C. PERSONS CRIMINALLY LIABLE AND DEGREE OF PARTICIPATION

Question 1

Who are persons criminally liable?

Answer 1

RPC Article 16. Who are criminally liable. - The following are criminally liable for grave and less grave felonies:

1. Principals.
2. Accomplices.
3. Accessories.

The following are criminally liable for light felonies:

1. Principals
2. Accomplices.

Question 2

Who are principals?

Answer 2

Article 17. Principals. - The following are considered principals:

1. Those who take a direct part in the execution of the act;
2. Those who directly force or induce others to commit it;
3. Those who cooperate in the commission of the offense by another act without which it would not have been accomplished.

Question 3

Who are considered as principals by direct participation?

Answer 3

Principals by direct participation are those that take a direct part in the execution of the act. It includes the chief actor and conspirator(s).

Question 4

Who is a principal by inducement?

Answer 4

A principal by inducement is one who directly force or induce others to commit a crime.

Question 5

What are acts considered in furtherance of conspiracy?

Answer 5

The overt act in furtherance of conspiracy may consist of:
1. active participation
2. moral assistance
3. moral ascendancy

Question 6

How is one considered a principal by inducement?

Answer 6

One may be a principal by inducement by forcing or inducing another to commit a crime.

1. Directly Forcing another - Compels another by using irresistable force or by causing uncontrollable fear to commit a crime (may be basis for exempting circumstance on chief actor);
2. By inducement using consideration - Induces another to commit a crime by means of a consideration, command, or by any similar act which costitutes the real and moving cause of the crime; The inducement must be made to procure the commission of the crime.

Question 7

If one commits a crime because of an irresistible force, is he liable as a principal?

Answer 7

No, this is an exempting circumstnace

Question 8

Wha is the character of consideration to hold the person a principal by inducement?

Answer 8

Consideration - valuable consideration for commission of the crime; may be basis for aggravating circumstance of reward, promise, or considration; may also be qualifying circumstance ofr murder;

Question 9

Can one be considered a principal by inducement based on command?

Answer 9

YES.

Word of command.- elements: (1) indurcer must have ascendancy over chief actor; (2) word of command must be so direct, so efficacious and so powerful amounting to physical or moral coercion; (3) must be uttered before the commission of the crime; and (4) the chief actor has no personal reason to commit the crime

Question 10

Who is a principal by indespensable cooperation?

Answer 10

A principal by indispensable cooperation is one who commits an act without which, the crime would not have been accomplished.

NOTE: no need for conspiracy; just community of design

Community of desinge = knowledge + concurrence of criminal design

Question 11

Who is an accomplice?

Answer 11

Article 18. Accomplices. - Accomplices are those persons who, not being included in Article 17, cooperate in the execution of the offense by previous or simultaneous acts.

Question 12

What are the requisites to hold a person liable as a n accomplice?

Answer 12

Elements:
1. Community o design, which means that the accused knows of and concurs with the criminal design of the principal by direct participation;
2. The performance by the accomplice of previous or simultaneous acts that ARE NOT INDISPENSABLE to the commission of the crime
3. jThere be a relation between the acts done by the principal and those attributed to the person charted as an accomplice.

Question 13

Differentiate conspirator from accomplice

Answer 13

Conspirators are liable as principals regardless of extent of participation and time of participation;

Question 14

What are the effects of doubt, and of lack of knowledge in holding a person liable as an accomplice?

Answer 14

In case of doubt w/n accomplice or principal –> the accused is an accomplice;

In case of lack of knowledge on the accused –> cannot be held liable as accomplice or conspirator because there is no community of design. To be held liable as a naccomplice, it is important that h knows and concurs in the criminal design of the principal and participates before or during the commission of the crime by supplying moral or material aid in an efficacious way.

Question 15

What is the extent of participation of an accomplice?

Answer 15

Extent of participation - The accomplice must perform the previous or simultaneous acts to supply material or moral aid in the execution of the crime in an efficacious way.

Material aid - the aid of the accused must be material in helping the chief actor accomplish the crime

Moral aid - moral aid serves to encourage the chief actor or to increase the odds agaisnt hte victim

NOTE: One cannot be held liable as a principal by indispensable cooperation merely by supplying moral aid because moral aid is not indisppensable to the commission of a crime. However, one may be held as a principal by direct participation through conspiracy when he or she supplies moral aid.

Question 16

What is the time of participation of an accomplice?

Answer 16

To be held liable as accomplice, the accused must perform acts which are previous or simultaneous to the crime but are not indispensalbe to the commission of the crime.

Question 17

Who are liable as accessories?

Answer 17

Article 19. Accessories. - Accessories are those who, having knowledge of the commission of the crime, and without having participated therein, either as principals or accomplices, take part subsequent to its commission in any of the following manners:

1. By profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the crime.
2. By concealing or destroying the body of the crime, or the effects or instruments thereof, in order to prevent its discovery.
3. By harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the principals of the crime, provided the accessory acts with abuse of his public functions or whenever the author of the crime is guilty of treason, parricide, murder, or an attempt to take the life of the Chief Executive, or is known to be habitually guilty of some other crime.

Question 18

Who are exempt from liability as accessories?

Answer 18

Article 20. Accessories who are exempt from criminal liability. - The penalties prescribed for accessories shall not be imposed upon those who are such with respect to their spouses, ascendants, descendants, legitimate, natural, and adopted brothers and sisters, or relatives by affinity within the same degrees, with the single exception of accessories falling within the provisions of paragraph 1 of the next preceding article.

Question 19

Explain the independent responsibility principle

Answer 19

Independent responsibility principle
The corresponsding responsibilities of the principal, accomplice, nad accessory are distinct from each other. As long as the commission of the offense can be duly established in evidence, the determination of the liability of the accomplice or accessory can proceed independently of that of the principal.

Hence, one can be convicted as an accessory to a felony although the principal was not convicted because the latter is at lare, unidentified, or died.

Question 20

What is the nature of participation of an accomplice?

Answer 20

The accomplice either profits, destroys the corpus delicti, or helps the principal escape.

Profit - 2 views; material benefit or mere gain

Corpus delicti - accomplice destroys the body of the crime to prevent its discovery; makes it seem as if no crime was committed;

Assists the principal escape - crime committed: treason, parricide, murder, or an attempt on the life of the Chief Executive; or cimre is committed by: a habitual delinquent, or where the accssory acts with abuse of his public functions; does not contemplate mere non-reporting, it should be a positive act

Question 21

When is there a conspiracy?

Answer 21

A conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the commission of a felony and decide to commit it.

Question 22

What is a proposal?

Answer 22

There is proposal when the person who has decided to commit a felony proposes its execution to some other person or persons.

Question 23

Differentiate conspiracy as a felony and conspiracy as a mode of incurring criminal liability.

Answer 23

Conspiracy is a felony itself only when the law specially provides. RPC Art. 8: Conspiracy and proposal to commit felony are punishable only in the cases in which the law specially provides a penalty therefor.

On the other hand, conspiracy is a mode of incurring criminal liability. The existence of conspiracy will qualify other actors of the crime as principals by direct participation. Conspiracy in this sense may either be express or implied.

Question 24

Differentiate express and implied conspiracy

Answer 24

Express conspiracy - direct evidence; However, direct proof of conspiracy is rarely found as criminals do not write down their lawless plans and plots.

Implied conspiracy - conspiracy which may be stablished by circumstantial evidence –> proven through: collective acts of the accused before, during, and after the commission of a felony

Question 25

May concurrence in conspiracy be during or after the commission of a crime?

Answer 25

No. Conspiracy must be hatched before the commission of the crime. If a person acquires knowledge of or concurs inthe criminal design of the chief actor while the commissio of the crime is in progress, there is no conspiracy.

Conpirators, like accomplices, have both knowledge and concurrence of criminal design. IOW, there is community of design.

Conspirators are part of the deciding on whether to commit the crime. As opposed to accomplices who do not take part in the decisions to comit the crime.

NOTE however that even if there is no conspiracy, an accused who exhibits indispensable cooperation may still be held as principal by indispensable cooperation.

Question 26

Who is a recidivist?

Answer 26

A recidivist is one who, at the time of his trial for one crime, shall have been previously convicted by final judgment of another crime embraced in the same title of this Code.

Question 27

What is the effect of recidivism?

Answer 27

Recidivism is an ordinary aggravating circumstance under Article 14. Hence, the penalty for the offense shall be applied in its maximum period, unless offset by ordinary mitigating circumstance

Question 28

What is habituality or reiteracion?

Answer 28

Reiteracion or habituality RPC Art 14(10). That the offender has been previously punished by an offense to which the law attaches an equal or greater penalty or for two or more crimes to which it attaches a lighter penalty.

Question 29

What is quasi-rescidivism?

Answer 29

Quasi-recidivism - any person, who shall commit a felony after having been convicted by final judgment, before beginning to serve such sentence, or while serving the same.

It is an extra-orindary aggravating circumstnace which cannot be offset by an ordinary mitigating circumstance. Hence, its presence will require the application of the penalty for the present crime in its maximum period regardless of the presence of a mitigating circumstance (NO OFFSET).

Question 30

What is habitual delinquency?

Answer 30

A habitual delinquent is a person who, within 10 years from the date of his release or last conviction of the crimes of serious or less serious physical injuries, robbery, theft, estafa, or falsification, is found guilty of any of the said crimes a third time or oftener. (RPC Art 62)

Effect: the law imposes an additional penalty based on the criminal propensity of the accused apart from that provided by law for the last crime for which he is found guilty.

NOTE: Habitual delinquency is not a crime in itself, it is only a factor in determining the penalty.

Question 31

Differentiate as to crime: recidivism, habituality/reiteracion, quasi-recidivism, and habitual delinquency

Answer 31

In recidivism, the preivious crime and the present crime are embraced under the same title of the RPC.

In quasi-recidivism, the nature of the previous crime and present crime is not material.

In habituality/reiteracion, the penalty for the previous crime is equal to or greater than that for the present crime or the penalty for the two previous crimes is lighter than that for the present crime.

In habitual delinquency, the previous, subsequent, and present crimes msut be serious or less serious physical injuries, theft, robbery, estafa, or falsification of a document.

Question 32

Differentiate as to period: recidivism, habituality/reiteracion, quasi-recidivism, and habitual delinquency

Answer 32

In quasi-recidivism and reiteracion (habituality), what is important is the date of commission of the crime.

In quasi-recidivism, the accused committed the present crime before beginning to serve or while servicing his sentence for the previous crime. In reiteracion, the accused committed the present crime after serving his sentence for previous crime/s.

In recidivism, what is important is the DATE OF THE TRIAL of the present crimein relation to the DATE OF CONVICTION of this previous crime. In recidivism, the accused was being tried for the present crime when he was convicted of the previous crime by final judgment.

In habitual delinquency, what is important is the DATE OF CONVICTION of the subsequent or present crime in relation to the DATE OF HIS LAST RELEASE OR CONVICTION. In habitual delinquency, the accused was convicted (found guilty) of the second crime within 10 years after conviction or release of the first crime; then, he is convicted of the third crime within 10 years after conviction or rlease of the seoncd crime; and so on.

Question 33

Differentiate as to number of crimes committed: recidivism, habituality/reiteracion, quasi-recidivism, and habitual delinquency

Answer 33

In recidivism, and quasi-recidivism, there must be at least two crimes. In reiteracion, there must be at least two crime;s but if the penalty for hte previous crimes is lighter that that for the present crime, there must be at least three crimes. In habitual delinquency, there must be at least three crimes.

Question 34

Differentiate as to effects of penalty: recidivism, habituality/reiteracion, quasi-recidivism, and habitual delinquency

Answer 34

Recidivism and reiteracion are ordinary aggravating circumstances, the presence of any of which will require the application of the penalty for the present crime in its maximum period unless it is offset by a mitigating circumstnace.

Quasi-recidivism is a special aggravating circumstnace, the presence of which will require the applicaiton of the pantly for the present crime in its maximum period regardless of the presence of a mitigating circumstnace.

Habitual delinquency is an extraordinary or special aggravating circumstance, the presence of which will require the imposition of a penalty in addition to the principal penalty for hte present crime. NO OFFSET as well.

Question 35

May quasi-recidivism be appreciated even if the previous crime is punished by a special law?

Answer 35

Yes. Quasi-recidivism will be appreciated regardless of whether the previous crime, for which an accused is serving a sentence at the time of the commisison of hte crime charged, falls under the RPC or special law.

BUT the present crime must be a felony punishable under the RPC or an offense punishable under a special law, which adopts the technical nomenclature of the RPC.