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LAW 1 REVIEWER
PAR. 1: BY DEATH OF THE CONVICT
I. Reason:
One of the juridical conditions of penalty is that its personal.
II. Criminal And Civil Liability Is Extinguished When The Offender Dies
Before Final Judgment
People v. Castillo When the accused died while the
judgment of conviction against him was pending, his civil and
criminal liability was extinguished by his death.
A. Criminal Liability Is Extinguished By Death At Any Stage Of The
Proceeding
Nobody will be there to serve the penalty.
B. Civil Liability Is Extinguished Only When Death Occurs Before Final
Judgment
Reason: civil liability exists only when the accused is convicted
by final judgment
The civil liability extinguished by death before final judgment
includes duty to restitute the proceeds of the crime (People v.
Bayotas).
III. Definition Of Final Judgment
As employed in the Revised Penal Code, this means judgment
beyond recall.
As long as the judgment has not become executory, it cannot
be truthfully said that defendant is definitely guilty of the
felony.
Judgment also becomes final:
o After the lapse of the 15-day period of perfecting
appeal
o When the sentence is partially or fully served.
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IV. Effect Of The Death Of The Accused Pending Appeal On His
Criminal And Civil Liability
General Rule: Death of the accused pending appeal of his
conviction extinguishes his the criminal liability and the civil
liability based solely on the offense committed.
Exception: The claim for civil liability survives if the same may
also be predicated on a source of obligation other than delict
such as law, contracts, quasi-contracts and quasi-delict.
Examples:
o Civil liability for the offense of physical injuries is
entirely separate from the criminal action.
Right of the offended party to file separate civil action not lost
by prescription when accused dies pending appeal.
o In such case, the statute of limitations on the civil
liability is deemed interrupted during the pendency of
the criminal case, conformably with provisions of
Article 1155 of the Civil Code.
V. When Civil Liability Survives
Action to recover damages from the same act or omission
complained of must be filed as a separate civil action.
It must be predicated not on the criminal liability previously
charged, but on other sources of obligation.
Other sources of obligation:
o If the same act or omission complained of also arises
from quasi-delict or may, by provision of law, result in
an injury to person or property civil action must be
filed against the executor or administrator of the estate
of the accused. (Sec.1, Rule 87, Rules of Court).
VII. When Death Does Not Extinguish Criminal Liability
The offense committed in a crime is against the state.
PAR. 2: BY SERVICE OF SENTENCE
I. Extinguishes Criminal Liability But NOT Civil Liability
Crime is a debut incurred by the offender as a consequence of
his wrongful act and the penalty is but the amount of his debt,
which is extinguished once paid.
Period during which convict was not inside prison walls cannot
be regarded as service of sentence. Service of sentence must
be in a penal institution.
PAR. 3: BY AMNESTY
I. Amnesty Defined
An act of the sovereign power granting oblivion or general
pardon for a past offense.
o A public act that must be concurred to by the Congress.
Rarely exercised in favor of a single individual, and usually in
behalf of certain classes of persons who are subject to trial but
have not been convicted (e.g. political offenders).
II. Amnesty Completely Extinguishes The Penalty And All Its Effects
Act of grace, relieves the offender not only from suffering the
penalty but obliterates the effects of the conviction as if the act
were not criminal.
But the amnesty does not include any crime not covered by the
proclamation itself. The latter must specify the crimes to which
amnesty is extended.
III. Amnesty May Be Granted After Conviction
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IV. Civil Liability Not Extinguished By Amnesty
Amnesty wipes out all traces and vestiges of the crime, but
does not extinguish civil liability.
PAR. 4: BY ABSOLUTE PARDON
I. Pardon Defined
It is an act of grace proceeding from the power entrusted with
the execution of the laws, which exempts the individual on
whom it is bestowed from the punishment the law inflicts for
the crime he has committed.
Kinds: (1) absolute pardon and (2) conditional pardon.
Delivery is an indispensable requisite. Until accepted, all that
may have been done is a matter of intended favor and may be
cancelled.
II. Who Gives Pardon
A. Pardon By The Offended Party Does Not Extinguish Criminal
Liability
Article 266-C (valid marriage between offender and victim in
rape)
o Article 266-C: VALID marriage between offender and
offended party in rape or sexual assault will extinguish
criminal liability and even the penalty already imposed.
So even if the convict is already serving sentence,
marriage with the victim will extinguish his criminal
liability.
Marriage must be valid. If it is void, there will
be no extinguishment of criminal liability.
(Upon declaration of the court that it was void,
does the accused go back to prison?)
B. Pardon By The President
Private act of the President and must be proved by the
accused.
Must be done after final judgment.
Does not extend to cases of impeachment.
Absolute pardon by the President restores all civil rights,
EXCEPT:
o Right to suffrage
o Right to hold public office
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Offended Party
Cant pardon, except in Article
266-C and Article 344.
Before institution of criminal
action
Doesnt extinguish but can be
waived by offended party.
President
Any crime, including
private crimes.
After final judgment
Civil
Doesnt extinguish civil
Liability
liability.
III. Amnesty v. Pardon
Amnesty
Pardon
Both do not extinguish civil liability
Blanket pardon to classes or Includes any crime, and exercised
persons guilty of political offenses. individually by the President
May be exercised even before trial Exercised after conviction.
or investigation.
Looks backward and abolishes the Looks forward and relives
offense itself. It is as though the offender from the consequences
person did not commit any of the crime to which he is
offense in the first place.
convicted. It does not work to
restore rights.
Amnesty makes an ex-convict no Pardon does not alter the fact that
longer a recidivist as it obliterates the accused is a recidivist as it
the crime
only extinguishes the personal
effects.
Needs concurrence of Congress
No concurrence of Congress
Public act the courts should Private Act Must be proved by
take judicial notice.
the person pardoned.
IV. Situations
PAR. 5&6: BY PRESCRIPTION OF THE CRIME AND BY PRESCRIPTION OF
THE PENALTY
I. Definitions:
Prescription of crime forfeiture or loss of the right of the
State to prosecute the offender after the lapse of a certain
time.
Prescription of penalty loss or forfeiture of the right of the
Government to execute the final sentence after lapse of time.
II. Conditions necessary:
That there be final judgment
That the period of time prescribed by law for its enforcement
has elapsed.
PAR. 7: BY THE MARRIAGE OF THE OFFENDED WOMAN
I. Reason:
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Article 90. Prescription of crime.
Crimes punishable by death, reclusion perpetua or reclusion temporal
shall prescribe in twenty years.
Crimes punishable by other afflictive penalties shall prescribe in
fifteen years.
Those punishable by a correctional penalty shall prescribe in ten
years; with the exception of those punishable by arresto mayor,
which shall prescribe in five years.
The crime of libel or other similar offenses shall prescribe in one year.
The crime of oral defamation and slander by deed shall prescribe in
six months.
Light offenses prescribe in two months.
When the penalty fixed by law is a compound one, the highest
penalty shall be made the basis of the application of the rules
contained in the first, second and third paragraphs of this article. (As
amended by Republic Act No. 4661, approved June 19, 1966).
POINTS
I. General Points
A. Implication Of Prescription Of Crime
The state loses its right to prosecute.
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IV. Defense Of Prescription May Be Raised During The Trial Or During
The Appeal
If the accused failed to move to quash before pleading, he is
deemed to have waived all objections, and thus cannot apply
for the defense of prescription (which under Article 89
extinguishes criminal liability).
Prescription although not invoked during trial may be invoked
during appeal.
V. The Accused Cannot Be Convicted Of An Offense Lesser Than That
Charged If The Lesser Offense Had Already Prescribed At The Time The
Information Was Filed.
VI. Prescription Does Not Divest Court Of Jurisdiction; It Is A Ground
For Acquittal Of The Accused
When there is a plea of prescription by the defense and the
same appears from the allegation of the information or is
established the court must jurisdiction holding the action to
have prescribed and acquit the accused.
Article 91. Computation of prescription of offenses.
The period of prescription shall commence to run from the day on
which the crime is discovered by the offended party, the authorities,
or their agents, and shall be interrupted by the filing of the complaint
or information, and shall commence to run again when such
proceedings terminate without the accused being convicted or
acquitted, or are unjustifiably stopped for any reason not imputable
to him.
The term of prescription shall not run when the offender is absent
from the Philippine Archipelago.
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C. Period Of Prescription Of Continuing Crime Never Runs
General Rule: Prescription period for continuing crime cannot
begin to run because there could be no termination of
continuity and the crime does not end.
o Arches v. Bellasillo
Facts: Accused was charged with violation of
municipal ordinance for having constructed
dikes without authorization. The dikes were
built in 1939, and the case filed in 1947.
Held: There was nor prescription.
Exception: If the information alleged that the continuing crime
only existed until a specific time (e.g. dikes were an obstruction
until a specific date only), then the crime ended on that
moment and prescription can be computed.
D. Term Of Prescription Does Not Run When The Offender Is Absent
From The Philippines
Facts: A committed libel and immediately flew to Hong Kong
after, where he stayed for three years.
Held: If A returns, he can still be prosecuted for libel as it
prescription period did not begin to run
IV. Interruption Of Running Of Prescriptive Period: Filing Of Complaint
Period of prescription was interrupted when preliminary
examination was made by municipal mayor but the accused
could not be arrested because he was in hiding. The
proceedings in this case were stopped for reasons imputable to
the accused, that is, they fled to an unknown place making it
difficult to arrest them for further proceedings. Thus, the
prescriptive period does not resume to run.
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V. When Of Running Of Prescriptive Period Resumes
A. Proceedings Terminate Without The Accused Being Convicted Or
Acquitted
As such, the period of prescription commenced to run again.
Termination of a criminal case contemplated in Article 91 on
prescription of crimes refers to a termination that is final as to
amount to jeopardy that would bar a subsequence prosecution.
B. Or Are Unjustifiably Stopped For Any Reason Not Imputable To
Him
If the proceedings are stopped for a reason imputable to the
accused, the period of prescription does not commence to run
again.
Example: When the accused evaded arrest and the case has to
be archived by the court, the proceedings are stopped because
of the fault of the accused.
VI. Special Penal Laws
A. Act No. 3326 Applies
Section 1. Violations penalized by special acts shall, unless otherwise
provided in such acts, prescribe in accordance with the following
rules: (a) after a year for offenses punished only by a fine or by
imprisonment for not more than one month, or both; (b) after four
years for those punished by imprisonment for more than one month,
but less than two years; (c) after eight years for those punished by
imprisonment for two years or more, but less than six years; and (d)
after twelve years for any other offense punished by imprisonment
for six years or more, except the crime of treason, which shall
prescribe after twenty years. Violations penalized by municipal
ordinances shall prescribe after two months.
Section 2. Prescription shall begin to run from the day of the
commission of the violation of the law, and if the same be not known
at the time, from the discovery thereof and the institution of judicial
proceeding for its investigation and punishment.
The prescription shall be interrupted when proceedings are instituted
against the guilty person, and shall begin to run again if the
proceedings are dismissed for reasons not constituting jeopardy.
B. Article 91 May Apply When A Special Law (While Providing A
Prescriptive Period) Does Not Prescribe Any Rule For The Application
Of That Period.
In Act 3326, what does proceedings mean?
o It includes judicial proceedings, and
o It also includes executive proceedings. This means
investigation by the executive department.
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B. Some Laws Provide Their Own Prescriptive Periods
Omnibus Election Code - 5 years
Genocide Law (Republic Act No. 9851) - never prescribes
Human Security Act (Republic Act No. 9372) - Revised Penal
Code has suppletory application.
C. Article 91 May Apply When A Special Law (While Providing A
Prescriptive Period) Does Not Prescribe Any Rule For The Application
Of That Period.
Facts: Accused was prosecuted for violation of Usury Law.
Held: The rules of Article 91 regarding the commencement of
the prescriptive period either from the day the offense was
committed (if known) or the day it was discovered can apply.
Exception: In cases of SPL and the accused is not in the
Philippines, the prescriptive period keeps running (Romualdez
v. Marcelo).
Supposing a real estate document is executed (like a REM, deed
of sale) and it is falsified. When does the period run? For
documents required to be filed with the Register of Deeds, the
period begins to run upon filing with the Register of Deeds.
Why? Because Presidential Decree No. 1529 says that filing
V. Prescription Of Certain Offenses
A. Prescription Of Election Offenses (1) If Discovery Of Offense Is
Incidental To Judicial Proceedings, Prescription Beings When Such
Proceeding Terminates; Otherwise (2) From Date Of Commission.
Thus, if falsification committed by inspectors in connection with
counting the votes was known to the protestants and their
election watchers BEFORE FILING of the election protests, the
period of prescription began from the DATE OF COMMISSION
of the offense (People v. Cario).
B. Prescription Of The Offense Of False Testimony From Time
Principal Case Is Finally Decided
The act of testifying falsely against the defendant does not
constitute an actionable offense until the principal case is
finally decided. And before an act becomes a punishable
offense, it cannot possibly be discovered as such by the
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Article 93. Computation of the prescription of penalties.
The period of prescription of penalties shall commence to run from
the date when the culprit should evade the service of his sentence,
and it shall be interrupted if the defendant should give himself up, be
captured, should go to some foreign country with which this
Government has no extradition treaty, or should commit another
crime before the expiration of the period of prescription.
POINTS
I. Outline Of The Provisions
1. The period of prescription of penalties commences to run from
the date when the culprit ended the service of his sentence.
2. It is interrupted if the convict:
a. Gives himself up
b. Be captured
c. Goes to a foreign country with which we have no
extradition treaty
d. Commits another crime before the expiration of the
period of prescription.
Note: The period of prescription of penalties shall commence to
run again when the convict escapes again, after having been
captured and returned to prison.
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