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A. For Grave and Less Grave Felonies they are the principals, accomplices and accessories. For light felonies they are
the principals and accomplices only. Accessories are not liable.
B. The classification into principals, accomplices and accessories is based on the Degree of Participation in the
commission of a crime where at least two persons participated.
1. This classification does not apply to violations of special laws where the violators are referred to plainly as
offenders, violators, culprits or criminals.
2. The classification into the three major classes does not apply if the several offenders acted in conspiracy as all will
be considered as principals.
3. The purposes of the classification is to determine the proper penalty to be imposed upon the accused. This is one of
the factors in determining the proper penalty to be actually imposed.
II. Principles of Criminal Liability
A. To be guilty of a crime, one must commit the crime himself (principal) or if committed by another, he must, in some
manner, participate either in its commission (accomplice) or in the fruits thereof (accessory).
B. As a rule only natural persons who are alive can be held criminally liable. The reasons are: (i) The element of mens
rea can only be found in natural persons: malice in intentional felonies and indifference in culpable felonies are
attributes of natural persons (ii) juridical persons cannot be arrested (iii) the principal penalties consisting of
deprivation of life or of liberty, restriction of liberty, deprivation of rights, and the accessory penalties of disqualification,
cannot be served by juridical persons.
C. When may a juridical entity be held criminally liable? A juridical entity may be prosecuted and held liable if the
offense is punishable by a fine.
D. For what acts may a juridical person be held liable?
1. For acts committed by its responsible officers, policy makers or those having charge of the management and
operation of the entity.
2. A corporation also incurs criminal liability for the acts of its employees or agents if (i) the employee or agent
committed the offense while acting within the scope of his employment and (ii) the offense was committed with at least
an intent to benefit the employer ( PP. vs. Chowderry, 235 SCRA 572)
E. Who are liable if the violation was made by a juridical entity? Per Ching vs. Secretary of Justice (Feb. 06, 2006) the
principles maybe summarized as follows
1. The juridical entity itself where the penalty is one which can properly be imposed on it, such as fine or revocation of
license
2. The officers, employees or agents who actually executed the prohibited act or incurred the omission
Example: LLamado vs. CA ( 270 SCRA 423) it was held that even if the officer of the corporation had no involvement
in the negotiation of the transaction for which he, as treasurer of the corporation, issued a postdated check which
bounced, he is liable for Violation of B.P. 22
those who actually perform the act which brings about the crime. They may be only one person or more. Whenever
there are two or more involved in a crime, it becomes necessary to find out those who actually executed the act so that
all may be held equally liable.
B. To hold two or more persons as principals by direct participation, it must be shown that there exists a conspiracy
between and among them. This is not the conspiracy punished as a crime but the conspiracy as a mode or manner of
incurring criminally or that legal relationship whereby, in the eyes of the law, it may be said that the act of any one is
the act of all.
II. For conspiracy to exist, there be an intentional felony, not a culpable felony, and it must be proved that all those to
be considered as PDPs performed the following:
A. ( Unity of Intention) They participated, agreed, or concurred in the criminal design, intent or purposes or resolution.
1. This participation may be prior to the actual execution of the acts which produced the crime (Anterior Conspiracy) or
it may be at the very moment the acts are actually being executed and carried out (Instant Conspiracy).
2. Hence it is not necessary to prove that before the commission of the crime, the several accused actually came and
met together to plan or discuss the commission of the crime.
3. Spontaneous agreement or active cooperation by all perpetrators at the moment of the commission of the crime is
sufficient to create a joint criminal responsibility (Sim Jr. vs. CA, 428 SCRA 459)
B. (Unity of Action ). All participated in the execution or carrying out of the common intent, design, purpose or objective
by acts intended to bring about the common objective.
1. Each must have performed an act, no matter how small or insignificant so long as it was intended to contribute to
the realization of the crime conspired upon. This requires that the principal by direct participation must be at the crime
scene, except in the following instances:
a). When he is the mastermind
b). When he orchestrates or directs the actions of the others from some other place
c). His participation or contribution was already accomplished prior to the actual carrying out of the crime conspired
such: his role was to conduct surveillance or to obtain data or information about the place or the victims; to purchase
the tools or weapons, or the get away vehicle, or to find a safe house
d). His role/participation is to be executed simultaneously but elsewhere, such as by crating a diversion or in setting up
a blocking force
e). His role/participation is after the execution of the main acts such as guarding the victim; looking for a buyer of the
loot; laundering the proceeds of the crime
III. Participation in both ( Intention and Action) is necessary because:
A. Mere knowledge, acquiescence or agreement to cooperate, is not enough to constitute one as a party to a
conspiracy, absent any active participation in the commission of the crime, with a view to the furtherance of the
criminal design and purpose. Conspiracy transcends companionship
B. He who commits the same or similar acts on the victim but is a stranger to the conspiracy is separately liable.
Simultaneous acts by several persons do not automatically give rise to conspiracy.
C. Examples:
1. X joined in the planning of the crime but was unable to join his companions on the day of the crime because he was
hospitalized. He is not liable.
2. X is the common enemy of A and B who are strangers to one another. Both A and B chanced upon X. A stabbed X
while B shot him. A and B will have individual liabilities.
D. Exception: When a person joins a conspiracy after its formation, he thereby adopts the previous acts of the
conspirators which are admissible against him. This is under the Principle of Conspiracy by Adoption.
IV. Proof of Conspiracy
A. Direct proof of conspiracy is not necessary. The existence thereof maybe inferred under the Doctrine of Implied
Conspiracy which directs that if two or more persons:
(i). Aimed by their acts towards the accomplishment of the same unlawful object
(ii). Each doing a part so that their acts, though apparently independent, were in fact connected and cooperative
(iii). Indicating a closeness of personal association and a concurrence of sentiment
(iv).A conspiracy maybe inferred though no actual meeting among them to concert is proved.
V. Effect of Conspiracy. There will be a joint or common or collective criminal liability, otherwise each will be liable only
to the extent of the act done by him.
VI. For what crime will the co-conspirators be liable?
A. For the crime actually committed if it was the crime agreed upon
B. For any other crime even if not agreed upon, provided it was the direct, natural, logical consequence of, or related
to, or was necessary to effect, the crime agreed upon. Otherwise only the person who committed the different crime
will be held liable.
VII. When is a co-conspirator freed from liability?
A. Only if he has performed an overt act either to:
1. Disassociate or detach himself from the plan
2. Prevent the commission of the second or different or related crime
B. Likewise, if for any reason not attributable to the law enforcement agents, he was not able to proceed to the crime
scene and/or execute an act to help realize the common objective, then he can not be held liable as a co-conspirator.
Thus he is not liable if he got sick, overslept, or forgot about it, but not when law agents took him into custody to
prevent him from doing his part of the agreement.
Thus in Robbery with Homicide, all who conspired in the robbery will be liable for the homicide unless one of the
conspirators proved he tried to prevent the homicide.
B. PRINCIPALS BY INDUCEMENT (PI)
I. Concept: Those who induce (PDP) to commit a crime either by: (a) force (b). inducement
conspiracy. The PIC knows or is aware of the intention or purpose of the PDP and he cooperates or concurs in its
realization by performing an act without which the offense would not have been accomplished.
II. The cooperation may be:
A. By moral cooperation such as (i) providing technical advise, expertise on how to execute the crime such as on how
to avoid security arrangements (ii) revealing the combination numbers of a bank vault, or the location of warning
devices (iii) revealing the whereabouts of a victim:
B. By Physical external acts such as:
1. Providing the weapon or tools, or the key to open the building
2. Providing the mode of transportation to enable the accused to reach the place of the scene of the crime
3. Dragging he victim to the place of execution
4. Leaving open the doors, giving the key to open the building
5. Holding on to a victim to preventing him victim from resisting or drawing a weapon
6. Holding back a person from going to the assistance of a victim
C. Through Negligent Acts such as
1. The bank employee who failed to ascertain the identity of the presenter of a check and who initials it
2. The guarantor who failed to ascertain the identity of the holder of a check presented for encashment
3. A security guard whose laxity enabled a killer to enter the compound and kill an occupant therein
ART. 18. ACCOMPLICES
I. Concept: Those persons who, not being included in article 17, cooperate in the execution of the offense by previous
or simultaneous acts They are also referred to as the Accessories Before the Fact.
II. There is no conspiracy between the accomplice and the PDP but there is community of design between them i.e the
accomplice knows and is aware of the intent, purpose or design of the PDP. He then concurs, or approves of the intent
of the PDP by cooperating in the accomplishment of the purpose through an assistance given the PDP.
III. The cooperation of the accomplice is not indispensable in that the crime would still be accomplished even without
his cooperation. His cooperation or assistance may facilitate or make easier the commission the crime but the crime
would still be accomplished anyway. The acts of the accomplice must however be related to the acts of the PDP but
they merely show that the accomplice agrees, approves or concurs with what the PDP intends to do or what he has
done.
IV. The cooperation may be in the following forms:
A. Moral as in word of encouragement or advises
B. Through external acts which are either previous or simultaneous to the execution of the criminal acts, such as :
1. Giving of additional weapons or ammunition or a faster mode of transportation, or food to the accused
ART. 19 ACCESSORIES
I. Introduction:
A. They are referred to as the Accessories Proper or the Accessories- After- the-Fact. This is because their
participation in the crime comes only after the crime has been committed by others. It is only then that they enter into
the picture.
B. Requirement of Scienter: All 3 kinds of accessories require that they must have knowledge of the commission of the
crime otherwise they are not liable even if they did an act described in Article 19.
II. The First Kind: By profiting themselves or assisting the offender profit by the effects of the crime.
A. The effects of the crime includes the property taken as well as the price, promise or reward given as the
determining cause of the crime.
B. Profiting themselves include any act of dealing with the property including accepting as a gift, donation, security or
purchasing it a lower price. The transaction involving the property however must be mutual and voluntary with
whosoever the accessory dealt with otherwise he is liable as the principal in theft or robbery.
Example: X pick-pocketed the money stolen by Z from another. X is not an accessory even if he profited himself but is
liable for theft. Or if X poked a gun at Z and took the money, he would be liable for robbery. If Z dropped some of the
money he stole which X picked up, X is liable for theft not as an accessory.
C. Assisting the offender profit includes acts of looking for a buyer, though no commission is received, or of secreting
it away or joining in its disposal.
D. Relation to Pres. Decree No. 1612 or The Anti Fencing Law
1. If the crimes involve theft or robbery, the acts may be punished as FENCING i.e. the act of any person who, with
intent to gain for himself or for another, shall buy, receive, possess, etc. or in any manner deal in any article, item,
object, or anything of value which he knows or should be known to him, to have been derived from the proceeds of
robbery or theft
2. The knowledge (scienter) may be actual or constructive
3. The venue is where the property is found
4. The prior conviction of the thief/robber is not required to convict the fence. But it be proved the property came from
robbery/theft, not any other offense such as estafa, malversation, kidnapping.
5. An accessory cannot again be prosecuted for fencing and vise-versa
E. If the property was the proceeds of Highway Robbery or Piracy, the dealer is not liable as an accessory but for
Violation of P.D. 532 for the crime of Aiding/Abetting Brigands or Pirates
III. The Second Act: By concealing or destroying the body of the crime or the effects or instruments in order to prevent
its discovery.
A. To conceal or destroy the body of the crime includes all manner of interfering with, or altering the original conditions
of the crime scene, or of anything therein which may be considered as evidence, prior to a completion of the evidence
gathering by the law enforcers. Examples:
C. Once the principal is later tried but the case against the accessory has not yet been terminated, the trial against the
accessory must be suspended to await the out come of the trial against the principal. However the two cases maybe
consolidated and tried jointly, if proper.
VI. If the principal is acquitted, should the accessory be also acquitted?
A. If the principal was acquitted by reason of a justifying circumstance, then the accessory must also be acquitted.
B. If the principal was acquitted due to an exempting circumstance, the accessory may still be convicted.
C. If the ground is that the guilt was not proven beyond reasonable doubt, the accessory may still be convicted if his
acts fall under either paragraph (a) or (b)
VII. If the principal dies, may the accessory still be prosecuted?
A. Yes, if the act is under either paragraph (a) or (b)
B. But if his act falls under paragraph there are two views on the matter. The first view holds that he cannot be
prosecuted for in legal contemplation there was no principal whom he assisted. The second view holds that the
accessory may still be prosecuted because the death merely extinguished the liability of the principal but the crime
remains and the participation of the accessory in it may still be proved.
ART. 20. ACCESSORIES EXCEPT FROM CRIMINAL LIABILITY
1. Who are exempt:
A. Those who are accessories under paragraph (b) and (c) if the principal is a relative. This is in recognition of the ties
of blood and is an absolutory cause. The relatives are the same as those under Article 15 (Relatives by consanguinity
within the 4th civil degree are excluded)
Note: A person is not liable for defending his blood relatives within the 4th civil degree. But he is liable if he helps them
escape or if he destroys the evidence against them.
B. Those under paragraph (a) are not exempt because it is presumed what motivated them is greed, rather than ties of
blood.
C. Accessories to a light offense
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