Fundamental Principles

I. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

ARTICLE 1. Time When Act Takes Effect. — This Code shall take effect on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and thirty-two.

ARTICLE 2. Application of Its Provisions. — Except as provided in the treaties and laws of preferential application, the provisions of this Code shall be enforced not only within the Philippine Archipelago, including its atmosphere, its interior waters and maritime zone, but also outside of its jurisdiction, against those who:

1. Should commit an offense while on a Philippine ship or airship;

2. Should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of the Philippine Islands or obligations and securities issued by the Government of the Philippine Islands;

3. Should be liable for acts connected with the introduction into these islands of the obligations and securities mentioned in the preceding number;

4. While being public officers or employees, should commit an offense in the exercise of their functions; or

5. Should commit any of the crimes against national security and the law of nations, defined in Title One of Book Two of this Code.

DEFINITION OF CRIMINAL LAW

CRIMINAL LAW is a branch of municipal law which defines crimes, treats of their nature, and provides for their punishment. (1958, 1965, and 1967 Bar exams)

“NULLUM CRIMEN, NULLA POENA SINE LEGE”

There is no crime where there is no law punishing it.

2 THEORIES IN CRIMINAL LAW

1. CLASSICAL THEORY – the basis of criminal liability is human free will

2. POSITIVIST THEORY – states that the basis for criminal liability is the sum total of the social and economic phenomena to which the offense is expressed

CONSTRUCTION OF PENAL LAWS

1. Pro Reo – “In dubio pro reo” means “when in doubt, for the accused.” When the court is faced with two possible interpretations of penal statute – one that is prejudicial to the accused and another that is favorable to him; the rule calls for the adoption of an interpretation which is more lenient to the accused

2. Spanish Text – In interpreting the provisions of the RPC, the Spanish text of the said Code is controlling as this was the text approved by the Legislature. Spanish jurisprudence may also aid the court in interpreting the provisions of the RPC.

3. TITLE AND BODY OF PENAL PROVISION – The titles to the Articles of the RPC were not intended to be used as anything more than catchwords conveniently suggesting in a general way the subject matter of each article; they cannot in any event have the effect of modifying the words of the text

4. TECHNICAL MEANING OF A WORD – if words have a technical meaning under the law and/or jurisprudence, the legislature is deemed to have adopted the technical concept of such words in crafting a particular statute

APPLICATION OF THE REVISED PENAL CODE

GR: Offenses punishable under special laws are not subject to the provisions of Book One of the RPC

XPN:

(1) If the special laws expressly say so; or

(2) In a supplementary manner

2 REQUISITES TO SUPPLEMENTARILY APPLY TO PROVISIONS OF THE RPC TO OFFENSES UNDER SPECIAL LAWS

1. The special law is deficient on the rule needed to resolve a particular issue;

2. The special law does not specifically prohibit the application of the provisions of the RPC

MALA IN SE AND MALA PROHIBITA

MALA IN SE	MALA PROHIBITA
Inherently wrong or immoral	Not inherently wrong; they are only wrong because they are prohibited by law
Good faith or lack of criminal intent is a defense	Good faith is not a defense
Punishable under the RPC and special laws where the acts punishable therein are wrong in nature	Punishable under special laws
Modifying circumstances can be appreciated in unless the special laws that punish them have not adopted the technical nomenclature of the penalty of the RPC	Modificatory circumstances are not appreciated unless the special laws that punish them have adopted the technical nomenclature of the penalties of the RPC

CHARACTERISTIC OF CRIMINAL LAW

Art. 14. Penal laws and those of public security and safety shall be obligatory upon all who live or sojourn in the Philippine territory, subject to the principles of public international law and to treaty stipulations. (New Civil Code)

1. GENERALITY

GR: Penal laws shall be obligatory upon all who live or sojourn in the Philippine territory

XPNs:

(1) Principles of International Law – Penal laws are not obligatory to persons entitled to criminal immunity because of PIL

ex.:

*Consul -> can invoke criminal immunity as long as function related

*Diplomat -> absolute immunity

(2) Laws of Preferential Application

ex. Marriages under Muslim Law are not covered by the law of Bigamy

(3) Case Law – Pena laws are not obligatory to the President because of presidential immunity recognized by case law

· Conditions for Presidential Immunity

i. The immunity has been asserted;

ii. During the period of his incumbency and tenure; and

iii. The act constituting the crime is committed in the performance of his duties

2. TERRITORIALITY

ARTICLE I, 1987 Philippine Constitution

National Territory

The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas. The waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines.

GR: The provisions of the RPC shall be enforced within the Philippine territory only

SCOPE:

· Territorial Waters - refers to all waters seaward to a line 12 nautical miles distant from the archipelagic baseline over which the Philippine exercises jurisdiction

· 3 Fundamental rules in International Law regarding crimes committed aboard a foreign merchant vessel, if the same is within the 12-mile territorial waters of the Philippines:

i. French Rule (Flag State Principle)(nationality principle) - crimes committed aboard a foreign merchant vessel within the territorial water of the Philippines are subject to the jurisdiction of the flag state unless their commission affects the peace and security of our country

ii. English Rule (Coastal State Principle)(territorial principle) - crimes committed aboard a foreign merchant vessel within the territorial water of the Philippines are subject to the jurisdiction of the Philippines unless their commission does not affect the peace and security of our country, or has no pernicious effect therein

iii. Convention of the Law of the Sea

GR: The flag state of foreign merchant vessel passing through the territorial sea of the Philippines has jurisdiction over crimes committed therein

XPN: However, the Philippines can exercise jurisdiction to arrest any person or to conduct any investigation in connection with any crime committed on board the ship during its passage in the following cases:

ü If the consequences of the crime extend to the Philippines;

ü If the crime is of a kind to disturb the peace of the Philippines or the good order of the territorial sea thereof;

ü If the assistance of the local authorities has been requested by the master of the ship of by a diplomatic agent or consular officer of the flag State; or

ü If such measures are necessary for the suppression of illicit traffic in narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances

· 200 Miles Exclusive Economic Zone

- Philippines has no sovereignty over the 200 miles EEZ

- Under CLOS, the Philippines has sovereign right to fish and exploit the nature resources in the zone. This sovereign right is not equivalent to sovereignty.

- Foreign States have the freedom of navigation and overflight over the EEZ of the Philippines

- Philippines has limited jurisdiction over crimes committed with the EEZ

XPN:

Ø Extraterritoriality Principle – the Philippines has jurisdiction over these crimes even if they are committed outside its territory

· Flag State Rule – a vessel REGISTERED in the Philippines is considered an extension of the Philippines

· Forgery – Under the protective principle, criminal laws shall be enforced outside the jurisdiction of Philippines against persons who should forge or counterfeit Philippine coin or currency note or obligations and securities or who should introduce forged currency note or securities and obligations into the Philippines

· Function-related Crime – those committed by public officers under the RPC and special criminal law; principle of public accountability

· National Security – those crimes under Title I of Book II of the RPC

· Universal Crime – (hostes humani generis) crime not against any particular state but against all mankind

(1) Piracy

(2) Qualified piracy

(3) mutiny

Ø Special Laws

· Trafficking in Persons – The State shall exercise jurisdiction over trafficking in person even if committed outside the Philippines, the crime being a continuing offense subject to the following conditions:

(1) The trafficking in persons has been commenced in the Philippines and other elements have been committed in another country;

(2) The suspect or accused:

(a) Filipino citizen; or

(b) Permanent resident of the Philippines

(3) A foreign government has not prosecuted or is prosecuting a person for trafficking in person except when there is an approval of the Secretary of Justice

· Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (RA 11479)

Sec. 49. Extraterritorial Application – Subject to the provision of an treaty of which the Philippines is a signatory and to any contrary provision of any law of preferential application, the provisions of this Act shall apply:

(a) To a Filipino citizen or national who commits any of the acts defined and penalized under Secs. 4 [Terrorism], 5[Threat to Commit Terrorism], 6 [Planning, Training, Preparing and Facilitating the Commission of Terrorism], 7[Conspiracy to Commit Terrorism], 8[Proposal to Commit Terrorism], 9[Inciting to Commit Terrorism], 10[Recruitment to and Membership in a Terrorist Organization], 11[Foreign Terrorist] and 12[Providing Material Support to Terrorists] of this Act outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Philippines;

(b) To individual persons who, although physically outside the territorial limits of the Philippines, commit any of the said crimes mention in Paragraph (a) hereof on board Philippine ship or Philippine airship;

(c) To individual persons who, although physically outside the territorial limits of the Philippines, commit any of the said crimes mentioned in Paragraph (a) hereof on board Philippine ship or Philippine airship;

(d) To individual persons who commit any of said crimes mentioned in Paragraph (a) hereof within any embassy, consulate, or diplomatic premises belonging to or occupied by the Philippine government in an official capacity;

(e) To individual persons who, although physically outside the territorial limits of the Philippines, commit and crimes mentioned in Paragraph (a) hereof against Philippine descent, where their citizenship or ethnicity was a factor in the commission of the crime; and

(f) To individual persons who, although physically outside the territorial limits of the Philippines, commit said crimes directly against the Philippine government.

In case of an individual who is neither a citizen or a national of the Philippines who commits any of the crimes mentioned in Paragraph (a) hereof outside the territorial limits of the Philippines, the Philippines shall exercise jurisdiction only when such individual enters or is inside the territory of the Philippines: Provided, That, in the absence of any request for extradition from the state where the crime was committed or the state where the individual is a citizen or national, or the denial thereof, the ATC shall refer the case to the BI for deportation or to the DOJ for prosecution in the same manner as if the act constituting the offense had been committed in the Philippines.

3. PROSPECTIVITY

- Criminal law merely punishes crimes committed on or after its effectivity

- Presupposes that criminal laws are prejudicial to the accused

ARTICLE 21. Penalties that May Be Imposed. — No felony shall be punishable by any penalty not prescribed by law prior to its commission.

GR: Penal laws shall have prospective application lest they acquire the character of an ex post facto law

XPN: Laws shall be given retroactive effect if:

(1) The law is favorable to the accused, who is not a habitual delinquent;

ARTICLE 22. Retroactive Effect of Penal Laws. — Penal laws shall have a retroactive effect in so far as they favor the person 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.

Two requisites to apply the law retroactively:

i. The law is favorable to the accused; and

ii. The accused is not a habitual delinquent

But even if the law is favorable to the accused, it shall be given prospective effect if:

i. If he is a habitual delinquent; or

ii. If the law expressly provides prospectivity

(2) The law decriminalizes an act;

3 Kinds of Repeal of criminal law:

i. Absolute Repeal, which includes repeal without reenactment

ü Repeal of a penal law deprives the courts of jurisdiction to punish persons charged with a violation of the old penal law prior to its repeal

ü The intention of the new law in totally repealing the old law is to decriminalize an act punishable under the latter

ü The retroactive effect of a decriminalizing law shall benefit a person who is already convicted

ii. Partial Repeal or repeal with reenactment

ü Repeal with reenactment of a penal provision of the old law does not deprive the courts of jurisdiction to punish persons charged with a violation of the old penal law prior to its repeal

ü Such repeal even without a saving clause will not destroy criminal liability of the accused

ü The intention of the new law, which contains provision on repeal and reenactment, is not to decriminalize an act punishable under the old law but merely to provide new rule

ü If the new law, which repealed an old law with reenactment of its penal provision, is favorable to the accused, who is not a habitual delinquent, it shall be given retroactive effect. Otherwise, its application is prospective

Effects of Absolute Repeal v. Partial Repeal

Absolute Repeal	Partial Repeal
It will extinguish the criminal liability of the offender	It will not extinguish the criminal liability of the offender
If there is already a pending case, it will cause the dismissal of such case for lack of jurisdiction to try and punish the accused	If there is already a pending case, the court’s jurisdiction to try and punish the accused will be retained
If the offender is already serving sentence, it will cause his release, or the remission of the imposed penalty	If the offender is already serving sentence, the accused will continue to serve his sentence

iii. General repeal

ü A general repeal is a repeal of any laws or its provisions, which are inconsistent with the new law

ü The effect of the general repeal will depend on the intention of the new law

(3) If the law expressly provides retroactivity

- Congress in passing a law can insert a provision on retroactivity subject to the constitutional prohibition on ex post facto law

- If the law expressly provides retroactivity, the court must give retroactive effect to this law even if the accused is a habitual delinquent

CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITATIONS ON POWER OF CONGRESS TO ENACT PENAL LAWS

1. Equal Protection

- The equal protection clause simply means that the law must treat equally persons or properties similarly situated with respect to the conferment of rights or imposition of obligations

2. Due Process

- Simply means basic fairness and adequate justice

- Embodiment of the sporting idea of fair play

- Requires that the law, in depriving a person his life, liberty, or property must be fair and reasonable and that a person, whose life, liberty, or property is at stake of being deprived in a case, must be given the opportunity to be hear and afforded all rights to which he is entitled

3. Non-imposition of cruel and unusual punishment or excessive fine

4. Bill of attainder

- A legislation that inflicts punishment on an individual without a judicial trial

- In passing a bill of attainder, legislature in effect exercises judicial power in disregard of the doctrine of separation of power

5. Ex post facto law

- A law which retroactively affects the right or condition of an accused who committed a crime prior to its effectivity

Cassie Lost in Lawst School

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