Article 12Act No. 3815, Sec./Art. 12

Circumstances which exempt from criminal liability.-The following are exempt from criminal liability:

1. An imbecile or an insane person, unless the latter has acted during a lucid interval.

When the imbecile or an insane person has committed an act which the law defines as a felony (delito), the court shall order his confinement in one of the hospitals or asylums established for persons thus afflicted, which he shall not be permitted to leave without first obtaining the permission of the same court.

2. A person under nine years of age.

3. A person over nine years of age and under fifteen, unless he has acted with discernment, in which case, such minor shall be proceeded against in accordance with the provisions of article 80 of this Code.

When such minor is adjudged to be criminally irresponsbile, the court, in conformity with the provisions of this and the preceding paragraph, shall commit him to the care and custody of his family who shall be charged with his surveillance and education; otherwise, he shall be committed to the care of some institution or person mentioned in said article 80.

4. Any person who, while performing a lawful act with due care, causes an injury by mere accident without fault or intention of causing it.

5. Any person who acts under the compulsion of an irresistible force.

6. Any person who acts under the impulse of an uncontrollable fear of an equal or greater injury.

7. Any person who fails to perform an act required by law, when prevented by some lawful or insuperable cause.

CHAPTER THREE

CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH MITIGATE CRIMINAL LIABILITY

REVISED PENAL CODE TEXT AND SPECIAL PENAL LAWS

are

included

by

the

law

in

defining

a

crime

and

prescribing the penalty therefor shall not be taken into

account for the purpose of increasing the penalty.

1(a). When in the commission of the crime, advantage

was taken by the offender of his public position, the

penalty to be imposed shall be in its maximum regardless

of mitigating circumstances.

The maximum penalty shall be imposed if the offense

was

committed

by

any

person who belongs to an

organized/syndicated crime group.

An organized/syndicated crime group means a group of

two or more persons collaborating, confederating or

mutually helping one another for purposes of gain in the

commission of any crime.

2.

The

same

rule

shall

apply

with

respect

to

any

aggravating circumstances inherent in the crime to such

a

degree

that it must of necessity accompany the

commission thereof.

3. Aggravating or mitigating circumstances which arise

from the moral attributes of the offender, or from his

private relations with the offended party, or from any

other personal cause, shall only serve to aggravate or

mitigate the liability of the principals, accomplices and

accessories

as

to

whom

such

circumstances

are

attendant.

4.

The

circumstances which consist in the material

execution of the act, or in the means employed to

accomplish it, shall serve to aggravate or mitigate the

liability of those persons only who had knowledge of

them at the time of the execution of the act or their

cooperation therein.

5. Habitual delinquency shall have the following effects :

(a) Upon a third conviction the culprit shall be sentenced

to the penalty provided by law for the last crime of which

he be found guilty and to the additional penalty of prision

correccional in its medium and maximum periods;

(b)

Upon

a

fourth

conviction,

the

culprit

shall

be

sentenced to the penalty provided for the last crime of

which he be found guilty and to the additional penalty of

prision mayor in its minimum and medium periods; and

(c) Upon a fifth or additional conviction, the culprit shall

be sentenced to the penalty provided for the last crime of

which he be found guilty and to the additional penalty of

prision

mayor

in

its

maximum

period

to

reclusion

temporal in its minimum period.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this article, the total of

the two penalties to be imposed upon the offender, in

conformity herewith, shall in no case exceed 30 years.

For the purpose of this article, a person shall be deemed

to be habitual delinquent, if within a period of ten years

from the date of his release or last conviction of the

crimes of serious or less serious physical injuries, robo,

hurto, estafa or falsification, he is found guilty of any of

said crimes a third time or oftener.

(as amended by Republic Act No. 7659, [December 13,

1993])

Article

63.

Rules

for

the

application

of

indivisible

penalties. - In all cases in which the law prescribes a

single indivisible penalty, it shall be applied by the courts

regardless

of

any

mitigating

or

aggravating

circumstances that may have attended the commission

of the deed.

In

all

cases

in

which the law prescribes a penalty

composed of two indivisible penalties, the following rules

shall be observed in the application thereof:

1. When in the commission of the deed there is present

only one aggravating circumstance, the greater penalty

shall be applied.

2. When there are neither mitigating nor aggravating

circumstances and there is no aggravating circumstance,

the lesser penalty shall be applied.

3. When the commission of the act is attended by some

mitigating circumstances and there is no aggravating

circumstance, the lesser penalty shall be applied.

4. When both mitigating and aggravating circumstances

attended the commission of the act, the court shall

reasonably

allow

them

to

offset

one

another

in

consideration of their number and importance, for the

purpose of applying the penalty in accordance with the

preceding

rules,

according

to

the

result

of

such

compensation.

Article 64. Rules for the application of penalties which

contain three periods. - In cases in which the penalties

prescribed by law contain three periods, whether it be a

single divisible penalty or composed of three different

penalties, each one of which forms a period in accordance

with the provisions of Articles 76 and 77, the court shall

observe for the application of the penalty the following

rules,

according

to

whether

there

are

or

are

not

mitigating or aggravating circumstances:

1. When there are neither aggravating nor mitigating

circumstances, they shall impose the penalty prescribed

by law in its medium period.

2. When only a mitigating circumstances is present in the

commission of the act, they shall impose the penalty in its

minimum period.

3. When an aggravating circumstance is present in the

commission of the act, they shall impose the penalty in its

maximum period.

4. When both mitigating and aggravating circumstances

are present, the court shall reasonably offset those of one

class against the other according to their relative weight.

5. When there are two or more mitigating circumstances

and no aggravating circumstances are present, the court

shall impose the penalty next lower to that prescribed by

law, in the period that it may deem applicable, according

to the number and nature of such circumstances.

6. Whatever may be the number and nature of the

aggravating circumstances, the courts shall not impose a

greater

penalty

than

that

prescribed

by

law, in its

maximum period.

7. Within the limits of each period, the court shall

determine the extent of the penalty according to the

number and nature of the aggravating and mitigating

circumstances and the greater and lesser extent of the

evil produced by the crime.

Article 65. Rule in cases in which the penalty is not

composed of three periods. - In cases in which the

penalty prescribed by law is not composed of three

periods, the courts shall apply the rules contained in the

foregoing articles, dividing into three equal portions of

time included in the penalty prescribed, and forming one

period of each of the three portions.

Article 66. Imposition of fines. - In imposing fines the

courts may fix any amount within the limits established

by law; in fixing the amount in each case attention shall

be given, not only to the mitigating and aggravating

circumstances, but more particularly to the wealth or

means of the culprit.

Article 67. Penalty to be imposed when not all the

requisites of exemption of the fourth circumstance of

Article 12 are present. - When all the conditions required

in circumstances Number 4 of Article 12 of this Code to

exempt from criminal liability are not present, the penalty

of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision

correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed

upon the culprit if he shall have been guilty of a grave

felony, and arresto mayor in its minimum and medium

periods, if of a less grave felony.

Article 68. Penalty to be imposed upon a person under

eighteen years of age. - When the offender is a minor

under eighteen years and his case is one coming under

the provisions of the paragraphs next to the last of Article

80 of this Code, the following rules shall be observed:

© Compiled By RGL

12 of 201