TITLE 3 PENALTIES Social defense and exemplarity justify the penalty of death

Penalty under RPC has 3-fold purpose

CHAPTER 1 a. Retribution - penalty commensurate with gravity of

PENALTIES IN GENERAL offense

b. Reformation - shown by rules regulating execution
of penalties
Penalty suffering inflicted by State for transgressing law
c. Social defense inflexibility with recidivists and
Concept of Penalty signifies pain suffering undergone by
habitual delinquents
one who commits crime
Constitutional restriction on penalties
Different juridical conditions of pain
a. Excessive fines shall not be imposed nor cruel and
a. Productive of suffering
unusual punishment inflicted
b. Commensurate with offence
c. Personal
Article 21. Penalties that may be imposed.
d. Legal
No felony shall be punishable by any penalty not
e. Certain
prescribed by law prior to its commission.
f. Equal
Art. 21 simply announces the policy of State as regards
g. Correctional
punishing crimes
Purpose of State in punishing crime Secure justice Art. 21 can only be invoked when a person is being tried for
act or omission for which no penalty has been prescribed by
Theories justifying penalty
law
a. Prevention prevent or supress danger to State Not a penal provision
No person shall be criminally prosecuted for his act until
arising from criminal acts of offender
after the State has defined the crime and has fixed a penalty
b. Self-defense protect society from threat and wrong therefor
Reason for Art. 21
by criminal
o No crime when theres no law punishing it.
c. Reformation correct and reform offender Subsidiary penalty for a crime cannot be imposed, if it was
not prescribed by law prior to its commission. (US v
d. Exemplarity serve as example
Macasaet)
e. Justice punish based on retributive justice

Article 22. Retroactive effect of penal laws.
Penal Laws shall have a retroactive effect insofar as they favor the
persons guilty of a felony, who is not a habitual criminal, as this term
is defined in Rule 5 of Article 62 of this Code, although at the time of
the publication of such laws a final sentence has been pronounced
and the convict is serving the same.
Art. 22 is not applicable to the RPC provisions
It relate to
o Penal laws prior RPC which have less penalty than
RPC
o Laws enacted subsequent to RPC in which penalty is
more favorable.
GR: Criminal laws prospectively applied
EXC: - Retroactive if favourable to accused. (not habitual
delinquent)
New law expressly made inapplicable
(exception applies to a law dealing with the prescription of
crime)
Reason for Exception sovereign in enacting subsequent
law more favourable to the accused has recognized greater
severity of former law.
New law specifically provide against its retroactivity.
RPC was not given retroactive effect (People v Carballo)
Giving a law retroactive effect, if unfavourable to accused,
will violate constitutional inhibition as to ex post facto laws
Art. 22 shall have retroactive effect insofar as they favor the
person guilty of felony is applicable even if accused is
already serving sentence
o Favourable effect of a new law may find the
defendant in one of these 3 situations:
Crime committed and prosecution begins
Sentence has been passed but service have not
yet started
Sentence is being carried out
Who is a habitual delinquent/ criminal?
o He is not entitled to benefit from new favorable
statute
No retroactivity even if favourable to accused as to civil
liability.
But a new law increasing civil liability cannot be given
retroactive effect.
Both laws (Old law and new law) must refer to the same
deed or omission, having the same end.
Retroactivity principle applies special laws
RA 9346 (prohibition on imposition of death penalty) given
retroactive effect
Art. 22 and Art. 366 compared
o These 2 mean that while felonies and misdemeanors
committed prior effectivity of RPC shall be punished
under acts or codes in force at time of commission,
the same should not be the case if such codes or acts
are unfavourable to guilty party, for the general
principle on retroactivity of favourable penal laws,
recognized before art 22, should apply.
Criminal liability under former law is obliterated when
repeal is absolute
Criminal liability under the repealed law subsists when:
o Provisions of former law are re-enacted
o Repeal in implied
o There is saving clause
The right to punish offenses committed under the old penal
law subsists if the offenses are still punished under the
repealing penal law
The repeal of old penal law which impliedly repealed an old
penal law revives the old law.
No retroactive effect of penal laws as regards jurisdiction of
court
o The jurisdiction of court to try a criminal action is to
be determined by the law in force at the time of
instituting the action not at the time of the
commission of the crime
 o Jurisdiction of courts in criminal cases is determined mention pardon as one of the causes of totally extinguishing
by allegations in the complaint or information. criminal liability.
What law may be imposed for the commission of a felony? Civil liability as to the interest of injured party is
o Penalty prescribed by law prior to commission of extinguished by his express waiver.
felony
o Felonies are punishable under the laws in force at
time of their commission
o But the penalty prescribed by a law enacted after the
commission of felony may be imposed if favourable
to offender

Article 23. Effect of pardon by the offended party.

A pardon of the offended party does not extinguish criminal

action except as provided in Article 344 of this Code; but civil
liability with regard to the interest of the injured party is
extinguished by his express waiver.

Pardon by offended party does not extinguish criminal

action
Compromise does not extinguish criminal liability (estafa)
Pardon may be express in criminal prosecution of adultery
and concubinage if offended consented or pardoned
offenders. Or pardon may also be implied like continued
inaction of the offended party after learning of offense. Both
offenders must be pardoned by offended.
In seduction, abduction, rape or acts of lasciviousness, no
criminal prosecution if offender has been expressly
pardoned by offended party or her parents, grandparents or
guardian. Pardon must be express
Pardon under art. 344 must be made before institution of
criminal prosecution
Pardon under art. 344 is only a bar to criminal prosecution
but it does not extinguish criminal liability. Art. 89,
providing total extinction of criminal liability, does not