Art. 16. Who are criminally liable. The
following are criminally liable for grave and less
grave felonies:
1. Principals.
2. Accomplices.
3. Accessories.
The following are criminally liable for light
felonies:
1. Principals
2. Accomplices
Art. 17. Principals. The following are
considered principals:
1. Those who take a direct part in the execution
of the act;
2. Those who directly force or induce others to
commit it;
3. Those who cooperate in the commission of the
offense by another act without which it would
not have been accomplished.
1. Principal by direct participation (the one who actually executed
the crime)
2. Principal by induction or inducement (directly force or induce
another to commit a crime; MAY OR MAY NOT BE PRESENT AT THE SOTC)
a) The inducement is made directly to procure the commission of the
crime; and
b) The inducement is the primary reason [determining cause] of the
commission of the crime by the principal by direct participation.
3. Principal by indispensable cooperation (must perform another act without
which the crime would not have been accomplished)
Art. 18. Accomplices. Accomplices are those persons who, not being included
in Art. 17, cooperate in the execution of the offense by previous or simultaneous
acts.
Requisites to be an accomplice:
a) There must be community of design;
After the principals have [formed] the criminal design, the accomplice
had been informed of the criminal design of the offender and having
been informed, he concurs with the said criminal design. He is not part
of the conspiracy but he knows and concurs with the design because he
was informed of the same only after the principal had come up with
agreement.
b) That he performs the acts previous or simultaneous to the commission
of the crime; and
c) That the acts performed by the principal is related to the acts
performed by the accomplice.
Art. 19. Accessories. Accessories are those who, having knowledge of the
commission of the crime, and without having participated therein, either as
principals or accomplices, take part subsequent to its commission in any of the
following manners:
1. By profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the
crime;
2. By concealing or destroying the body of the crime, or the effects or
instruments thereof, in order to prevent its discovery.
3. By harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the principals of the
crime, provided the accessory acts with abuse of his public functions or
whenever the author of the crime is guilty of treason, parricide, murder, or an
attempt to take the life of the Chief Executive, or is known to be habitually guilty
of some other.
1st: By profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of
the crime;
ANTI-FENCING LAW, PD 1612
a) That the crime of robbery or theft has been committed;
b) That the said person was found in possession of the said article or
items which are the proceeds of the crime;
c) That there was on the part of such person, the intent to gain either for
himself or for another;
d) That the said person knows or should have known that the article is the
product of robbery or theft.
2nd: By concealing or destroying the body of the crime, or the effects or
instruments thereof, in order to prevent its discovery.
Elements corpus delicti:
a) Proof of occurrence of a certain event;
b) Proof of a persons criminal liability.
Art. 20. Accessories who are exempt from criminal liability. The penalties
prescribed for accessories shall not be imposed upon those who are such with
respect to their spouses, ascendants, descendants, legitimate, natural, and
adopted brothers and sisters, or relatives by affinity within the same degrees,
with the single exception of accessories falling within the provisions of
paragraph 1 of the next preceding article.