Article 3.
Definition – Acts and omissions punishable
by law are felonies. Crimes that cannot be committed through
negligence or imprudence: (With Intent lagi)
Felonies are committed not only by means of deceit 1. Murder
but also by means of fault. 2. Treason
3. Robbery
There is deceit when the act is performed with 4. Malicious Mischief
deliberate intent; and there is fault when the wrongful
act results from imprudence, negligence, lack of Imprudence Negligence
foresight, or lack of skill. Indicates deficiency of Indicates deficiency of
action perception
Felonies – are acts and omissions punishable by the It is when a person fails It is when a person fails
Revised Penal Code. to take the necessary to pay proper attention
precaution to avoid and to use due diligence
Elements of Felonies: injury to person or in foreseeing the injury
1. That there must be an act or omission; damage to property or damage impending to
2. That the act or omission must be punishable be caused.
by the Revised Penal Code; and Involves lack of skill Involves lack of skill
3. That the act is performed or the omission is
incurred by means of dolo or culpa. In felonies, the acts or omissions are voluntary.
1. The Revised Penal Code continues to be
Act – bodily movement tending to produce some effect based on the Classical Theory, according to
in the external world, it being unnecessary that the which the basis of criminal liability is human
same be actually produced, as the possibility of its free will.
production is sufficient. 2. Acts or omissions punished by law are always
deemed voluntary, since man is a rational
The act must be external because internal acts are being. One must prove that his case falls
beyond the sphere of penal law. Hence, a criminal under Art. 12 to show that his act or omission
thought or a mere intention, no matter how immoral or is not voluntary.
improper it may be, will never constitute a felony. 3. In felonies by dolo, the act is performed with
deliberate intent which must necessarily be
Omission – failure to perform a positive duty which voluntary; and in felonies by culpa, the
one is bound to do. There must be a law requiring the imprudence consists in voluntarily, but without
doing or performance of an act and the person malice, doing or failing to do an act from which
required to do the act fails to perform it. material injury results.
“Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege” – there is no Therefore, in felonies committed by means of dolo, as
crime where there is no law punishing it. well as in those committed by means of culpa, the act
performed or the omission incurred by the offender is
“Dolo” – equivalent to malice – the intent to do an voluntary, but the intent or malice in intentional felonies
injury to another. is replaced by imprudence, negligence, lack of
foresight or lack of skill in culpable felonies.
Felonies Crime/Offense
Acts or omissions Infractions of the law Requisites of Intentional Felonies:
punishable by the punished by special (1) He must have FREEDOM while doing an act
Revised Penal Code statutes
or omitting to do an act;
Classification of Felonies according to the means (2) He must have INTELLIGENCE while doing the
by which they are committed: act or omitting to do the act;
Intentional Felonies Culpable Felonies (3) He must have INTENT while doing the act or
The act or omission of The act or omission is omitting to do the act.
the offender is not malicious.
malicious. 1. Freedom. When a person acts without freedom,
The act or omission is The injury caused is he is no longer a human being but a tool; his
performed with unintentional, it being
deliberate intent or with simply the incident of liability is as much as that of the knife that wounds,
malice another act performed or of the torch that sets fire, or of the key that
without malice opens a door, or of the ladder that is placed
In performing the act, It results from against the wall of a house in committing robbery.
the offender has the imprudence, negligence, Thus, a person who acts under the compulsion of
intention to cause an lack of foresight or lack an irresistible force is exempt from criminal liability.
injury to another of skill
2. Intelligence. Without this power, necessary to An honest mistake of fact destroys the
determine the morality of human acts, no crime presumption of criminal intent which arises upon the
can exist. Thus, the imbecile or the insane, and the commission of a felonious act. (People vs. Oanis)
infant under nine years of age as, well as the
“Ignoratia legis non excusat” – Ignorance of the law
minor over nine but less than fifteen years old and excuses no one from compliance therewith
acting without discernment, have no criminal
liability, because they act without intelligence. (Art. “Ignoratia facti excusat” – Ignorance or mistake of fact
12, pars. 1, 2 and 3) relieves the accused from criminal liability.
3. Intent. Intent to commit the act with malice, being Error in personae – mistake in the identity of the
purely a mental process, is presumed and the victim
presumption arises from the proof of the
That the accused made a mistake in killing one
commission of an unlawful act. man instead of another cannot relieve him from
criminal responsibility, he having acted maliciously
“A voluntary act is free, intelligent and intentional act” and wilfully.
(US v. Ah Chong)
Requisites of Culpable Felonies:
(1) He must have FREEDOM while doing an act
One who acts without freedom necessarily has no
or omitting to do an act;
intent to do an injury to another. One who acts without (2) He must have INTELLIGENCE while doing the
intelligence has no such intent. act or omitting to do the act;
(3) He is imprudent, negligent or lacks foresight or
But a person who acts with freedom and with skill while doing the act or omitting to do the
intelligence may not have the intent to do an injury to act.
another. Thus, a person who caused an injury by mere
Mala in se vs. Mala prohibita
accident had freedom and intelligence, but since he
Mala in se Mala prohibita
had no fault or intention of causing it, he is not
Wrongful from their Wrongful merely
criminally liable. (Art. 12, par. 4, Revised Penal Code) nature because prohibited by a
statute
“Actus non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea” – a crime is Criminal intent No criminal intent
not committed if the mind of the person performing to Felonies defined and Acts made criminal by
act complained be innocent. penalized by the special laws
Revised Penal Code
It is true that a presumption of criminal intent may
arise from proof of the commission of a criminal act; Intent vs. Motive
and the general rule is that if it is proved that the Intent Motive
accused committed the criminal act charged, it will be Purpose to use a Moving power which
presumed that the act was done with criminal intention particular means to impels one to action for
and that it is for the accused to rebut this presumption. effect such result a definite result.
But it must be borne in mind that the act from which Essential element of a NOT an essential
such presumption springs must be a criminal act. crime committed by element of a crime
means of dolo
Where the facts proven are accompanied by
other facts which show that the act complained of was
not unlawful, the presumption of criminal intent does
not arise.
MISTAKE OF FACT
1. That the act done would have been lawful had
the facts been as the accused believed them
to be.
2. That the intention of the accused in performing
the act should be lawful.
3. That the mistake must be without fault or
carelessness on the part of the accused.
Mistake of fact is a misapprehension of fact on the
part of the person who caused injury to another. He is
not criminally liable because he did not act with
criminal intent.
