Robbery In General

I. Concept: the taking, with intent to gain, of personal property belonging to

another, by means of violence against or intimidation of persons, or by
using force upon things.

A. The two major classifications are based on the manner by which the robbery
was committed. The first is commonly called hold-up while the second is
robbery by breaking in

B. If none of these two methods are used, the taking will constitute theft.

C. If both methods were used, the result is complex a crime i.e. robbery with
Force Upon things complexed with Robbery with Violence.

D. In robbery with violence, the violence need not be present at the start of the
taking so long as it was resorted to before the taking was complete.

II. Elements Common to Robbery and Theft

A. The subject matter must be a personal property

1. These include licit as well as illicit articles such as drugs and unlicensed
firearms as well as stolen articles

2. The term Personal Property does not follow the meaning provided for by the
Civil Code. It means such property, whether tangibles or those with physical
appearance and form or intangibles, as long as they maybe subject of
appropriation and may be carried away without altering its nature.

a. Thus this includes those considered as Real Property by Immobilization or

destination or those attached to the soil or building for so long as they were
detached there from and carried away. Such as trees, machineries, statutes,
soil, stones and rocks

b. Accessories of real properties such as fruits of trees, fishes, paintings

3. In theft the article must have a value because the penalty, and jurisdiction
over the offense, is based on the value of the article taken

a. The value must be proved as courts will not take judicial notice thereof. If no
value is proved, the court uses the lowest value in the law value as basis
B. The property must belong to another

1. This means the property does not belong to the accused. Hence there is no
robbery or theft of ones own property. The offenses are either Grave Coercion
instead of robbery and Impossible Crime of Theft instead of the ordinary crime
of theft.

2. The victim need not be the owner. He may be a mere possessor or even a
robber or thief himself. Thus robbery or theft may be committed against another
criminal robber or thief. It is enough that the accused is not the owner of the
property.

C. There must be an act of taking or apoderamiento, which is the physical act

of divesting another of the possession of a thing, or to separate and remove the
property from the actual or constructive possession or custody or control of the
victim

1. The accused must hold the thing in a manner sufficient to enable him to
dispose of it had he wanted to

2. The possession may be permanent, temporary or transitory

D. There must Animus Lucrandi or intent of gain

1. The gain need not be in terms of financial or material gain as this includes:
intent to obtain some utility, enjoyment, satisfaction, or pleasure. Example: X
boxed Y so that Y will hand over the magazine for X to see the nude pictures. X
returned the magazine thereafter.

2. If there is no animus lucrandi but force was used to get an object, the crime
is coercion.

3. Robbery and theft maybe a continuous offense as in the case of robbery of

several persons. The accused entered a classroom and robbed the 20 students
of their money at the point of a gun. Or, when the several robberies are
component parts of a general plan to rob within a specific place or area.
Example: Robbery of several houses in subdivision or robbery of the various
stalls in side the shopping mall.

Robbery with Homicide

A. This is committed When by reason or on the occasion of robbery, the crime
of homicide shall have been committed. This phrase requires that there is a
causal connection between the robbery and the death, had it not been for the
robbery, there would have been no death.

B. Both the robbery and the homicide should be consummated to be penalized

by Reclusion Perpetua to Death.

1. If it was the Robbery which was not consummated, but there was a killing, it
is still a special complex crime of Attempted or Frustrated Robbery with
Homicide but the penalty is as provided for under Article 297

2. If both the robbery and the killing are either attempted or frustrated, the
result is either a complex crime of Attempted/Frustrated Robbery with
Attempted/Frustrated Homicide under Article 48, or as separate crimes
depending on the circumstances

3. If the Robbery is consummated but the homicide is attempted or frustrated,

they may be ordinary complex crimes or separate crimes depending on the
circumstances

C. The term Homicide is used in its generic sense and it includes any kind of
killing whether it be murder, parricide or infanticide, and irrespective of how
many killings were there. The following are not proper terms:

1. Robbery with Murder: if there is any qualifying circumstance which was

present, such as treachery, it will be considered as an ordinary aggravating
circumstance

2. Robbery with Double, Triple or Multiple Homicide:

D. The killing may be intentional, or accidental. The killing may be by the acts of
the robber, or by the act of the victim, or act of a third person. The person killed
may be the victim of the robbery or his friend, or family member. The person
killed may even be one of the robbers themselves, or a person wanting to assist
or even a total stranger.

E. The following will constitute robbery with homicide:

1. The robber fired his gun upwards to frighten the victim but the bullet killed a
person who was hiding in the ceiling

2. The victim drew a gun to defend but his aim was deflected and instead hit his
companion

3. It was a responding policeman who was killed by a robber.

4. The responding policeman fired a shot but missed and killed the victim of
robbery

5. The several robbers fought over the loot and one killed another, even if this
took place after the taking had taken place and the robbers had fled the scene
of robbery

6. One of the victims suffered a stroke due to the tension and dies

7. The gun of a robber accidentally fell and killed a person outside the house

F. The killing may be before, during, or immediately after the taking provided
that the original intent of the robbers must have been to rob and not to kill,
which need not be the sole motive either.

Example: X pointed a knife at Y and divested him of his cell phone. X turned and
ran whereupon Y chased him so that X stabbed and killed Y.

G. If the original intention was to kill and the idea of taking came only
thereafter, there results two separate crimes of theft and murder or homicide.
Example: The accused shot to death his enemy. Then he decided to take the
victims necklace.

H. All those who conspired in the robbery will be liable for the death unless he
proved he endeavored to prevent the killing. Physical absence in the place
where the killing took place is not a defense, or that the accused was not
aware his co-accused would resort to a killing.

Example: A, B, C and D conspired to rob a housel with D acting as look-out at

the road. Jose, an occupant refused to give money so A leveled his gun at him.
B shielded Jose with his body as he did not like any killing A pushed B aside
and shot Jose. C was then at the rooms ransacking it. A, C and D will be liable
for Robbery with Homicide, but not B, who tried to prevent it.
Robbery with Violence

A. The penalties are determined and based on the extent or gravity of the
violence employed, its degree of intensity, and the resulting injury or harm

B. There are several special complex crimes ( also known as Composite Crimes
or Special Indivisible Crimes) involving consummated robbery, which according
to the order of severity are as follows:

1. Robbery with Homicide

2. Robbery with Rape

3. Robbery with Intentional Mutilations

4. Robbery with Arson

5. Robbery with Physical Injuries

6. Robbery with Unnecessary Violence

C. In cases where there was death, rape, or physical injuries inflicted, the
foregoing Order of Severity must be followed in giving the name of the crime.
There will only be one crime and one specific penalty but the rape and lesser
injuries will be utilized as aggravating circumstances.

Robbery with Rape

When the robbery shall have been accompanied by rape

A. The rape maybe committed before, during, or after the robbery so long as it
was contemporaneous with the robbery and so long as the original intention
was to rob.

B. If the original intention is to rape and not to rob so that if the taking came
only after the rape because the opportunity presented itself, the taking is theft.

C. The victim of the rape may be any person including one of the robbers

D. Both the robbery and rape must be consummated other wise the there are
two separate offenses.
E. If there are two or more rapes, the others will be considered as aggravating
circumstances of ignominy.

F. Illustrations:

1. If the girl is robbed, raped and then killed, the crime is Robbery with
Homicide aggravated by rape

2. If the girl is raped, then robbed and then killed the crimes are (i) Rape with
Homicide and (ii) Robbery

3. If the girl is raped and then a personal property is taken the crimes are (i)
Homicide and (ii) Theft