ART 8 Conspiracy and proposal to commit felony – Conspiracy and

proposal to commit felony are punishable only in the cases in

which the law specially provides a penalty therefor.

A conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an

agreement concerning the commission of a felony and decide to
commit it.

There is proposal when the person who has decided to

commit a felony proposes its execution to some other person
or persons.

- Conspiracy to commit felony and proposal to commit felony are two

different felonies

CONSPIRACY: when two or more persons come to an agreement

concerning the commission of a felony and decide to commit it

INDICATIONS OF CONSPIRACY:
Acts of defendants must show a common design:
1. Unity in purpose
2. Unity in execution of unlawful objective

- Period of time to afford opportunity for mediation and reflection, not

required in conspiracy; conspiracy arises on the very instant
plotters agree (expressly or impliedly) to commit the felony
GENERAL RULE: Not punishable
EXCEPTION: Punishable only in cases in which the law provides
a penalty: treason (Art 115) rebellion (Art 136),
sedition (Art 141), terrorism (Special Penal Law)
REASON: Only preparatory acts and law regards them as
innocent or permissible except in rare and
exceptional cases
Involves security of State or economic security

IN CASE OF TREASON, REBELLION, OR SEDITION:

- Not consummated: punishable; liable for conspiracy
- Consummated: punishable; liable for treason, rebellion or sedition;
conspiracy considered as a manner of incurring criminal liability

OTHER FELONIES:
- Not consummate: not punishable
- Consummated: punishable; conspiracy considered as a manner of
incurring criminal liability

REQUISITES OF CONSPIRACY:
1. Two or more persons came to an agreement
2. The agreement concerned the commission of a felony
3. The execution of the felony be decided upon

REQUISITES OF PROPOSAL
1. A person has decided to commit a felony
2. He proposes its execution to some other person or persons
There is NO CRIMINAL PROPOSAL when:
1. The person who proposes is not determined to commit the felony
2. There is no decided, concrete, and formal proposal
3. It is not the execution of a felony that is proposed

- MERE SUGGESTION is different from PROPOSAL

- Agreement of person to whom proposal is made: NOT NECESSARY
- Attempted Bribery = Proposal = Overt Act of Corruption of Public
Officer
ART 9 Grave felonies, less grave felonies, and light felonies – Grave
felonies are those to which the law attaches the capital
punishment or penalties which in any of their periods are afflictive,
in accordance with Article 25 of this Code.

Less grave felonies are those which the law punishes with
penalties which in their maximum period are correctional, in
accordance with the afore-mentioned article.

Light felonies are those infractions of law for the commission of

which the penalty of arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200
pesos, or both, is provided.

3 KINDS OF FELONIES ACCORDING TO SEVERITY:

Reclusion
20Y to 40Y
Perpetua
Grave Afflictive Reclusion
12Y 1D to 20Y
Temporal
Prision Mayor 6Y 1D to 12Y
Prision
Correccional
Less 6M 1D to 6Y ≥ 200
Correctional Suspension or
Grave
Destierro ≤ 6000
Arresto Mayor 1M 1D to 6M
Light Light Arresto Menor 1D to 30D ≤ 200
ART 10 Offenses not subject to the provisions of this Code –
Offenses which are or in the future may be punishable under
special laws are not subject to the provisions of this Code. This
Code shall be supplementary to such laws, unless the latter
should specially provide the contrary.

SPECIAL LAWS: penal laws which punishes acts not defined and
penalized by the Penal Code

- When penalties under SPL are different from RPC: RPC not
supplementary
- Offenses under SPL: not subject to provisions of RPC relating to
attempted or frustrated crimes
ACT 11 Justifying circumstances – The following do not incur any
criminal liability:
1. Anyone who acts in defense of his person or rights, provided
that the following circumstances concur:
a. Unlawful aggression
b. Reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent
or repel it
c. Lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person
defending himself
2. Anyone who acts in defense of the person or rights of his
[family or relatives]
3. Anyone who acts in defense of the person or rights of a
[stranger]
4. Any person who, in order to avoid an evil or injury, does an
act which causes damage to another, provided that the
following requisites are present:
a. That the evil sought to be avoided actually exists;
b. That the injury feared be greater than that done to avoid
it
c. That there be no other practical and less harmful means
of preventing it
5. Any persons who acts in the fulfillment of a duty or in the
lawful exercise of a right or office
6. Any person who acts in obedience to an order issued by a
superior for some lawful purpose
IMPUTABILITY – the quality by which an act may be ascribed to a person
as its author or owner
- It implies that the act committed has been freely and consciously
done

RESPONSIBILITY – obligation of suffering the consequences of crime

- Obligation of taking the penal and civil consequences of the crime

GUILT – element of responsibility

- Man cannot be made to be responsible for a crime unless he is guilty

JUSTIFYING CIRCUMSTANCES – act of a person is said to be in

accordance with the law
- No transgressions to law; person free from both criminal and civil
liability
- Such persons are not criminals because there was no crime
committed

BURDEN of PROOF is with the accused to prove the justifying

circumstance claimed by him.

ELEMENTS OF UNLAWFUL AGGRESSION

1. Physical or material attack or assault
Actual Physical Force or Actual use of Weapon
+ Fist blows
+ Slap on the face (serious personal attack to one’s dignity)
 + Strong retaliation upon provocation
- light push on head with hand
- friendly foot-kick greeting
- intimidating or threatening attitude
- insulting words without physical assault
- agreement to fight
+ agreement to fight; aggression done ahead of stipulated time and
place
- voluntarily joining a fight
+ aiming a revolver at another with intention to shoot
+ retreating two steps and placing hands inside pocket as if getting
a weapon
+ opening knife and making a motion as if to attack
+ picking up a weapon (with precedent indicating intention to attack)

2. Attack or assault must be actual or at least imminent

ACTUAL – danger must be present or actually in existence
IMMINENT – danger is on the point of happening; not required for
the act to have already begun

3. Attack or assault must be unlawful

Lawful
Unlawful – indispensable requisite of self-defense
- peril to one’s life, limb or right is either actual or imminent
RETALIATION is NOT SELF-DEFENSE
- Attack of the deceased and accused must be simultaneous
- When aggressor flees, unlawful aggression no longer exists, unless it
was done to retreat to more advantageous position

REASONABLE NECESSITY TO THE MEANS EMPLOYED TO PREVENT

OR REPEL IT
- Rational equality or rational equivalence
- Just because aggressor used a bolo, doesn’t mean person defending
must also use a bolo

FACTORS OF REASONABLE NECESSITY

1. Nature and the number of the weapon used by the aggressor
2. Physical condition, size, weight, and other personal
circumstances of the aggressor versus that of the person
defending himself
3. Place and location of the assault

THE FOLLOWING MAY BELIE THE CLAIM OF SELF-DEFENSE

1. Nature, character, location, and extent of wound of the accused
(allegedly inflicted by injured party)
2. Nature, character, location, and extent of wound of the deceased
3. Improbability of the deceased being the aggressor
4. Denial of accused to give statement to police
DEFENSE OF A RELATIVE
1. Unlawful aggression
2. Reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel it
3. In case provocation was given by the person attacked, the one making
the defense had no part therein

Relatives that can be defended

a. Spouse
b. Ascendants
c. Descendants
d. Legitimate, natural or adopted brothers and sisters, or relatives by
affinity (in-laws) in the same degrees
e. Relatives by consanguinity within the fourth degree (first cousins)

DEFENSE OF A STRANGER
1. Unlawful aggression
2. Reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel it
3. The person defending be not induced by revenge, resentment, or
motive

STATE OF NECESSITY
- Exempt from criminal liability but not civil liability
o That the evil sought to be avoided actually exists;
o That the injury feared be greater than that done to avoid it
o That there be no other practical and less harmful means of
preventing it