negligence.

An artificial or juridical person

Article 16
Who are criminally liable

b)

cannot commit a crime which a willful

The following are criminally liable for grave and less grave
felonies:
1.
2.
3.

c)

Principles
Accomplices
Accessories

LIABLE
-

Criminal responsibility on offenses rests upon the nature

of their participation in the commission of the crime

When a crime is committed by many, without being

of

liberty, like

individuals

Officers of the corporation are criminally liable

but not the corporation itself

Only the officers of the corporation who
participated either as principals by direct
participation or principals by induction or by
cooperation,

or

as

accomplices

in

the

commission of an act punishable by law are

is imposed upon each and every one of them.

WHY ARE ACCESSORIES NOT LIABLE FOR LIGHT FELONIES?

liable
General Rule:

A director or other officer of a

corporation is criminally liable for

The social wrong as well as individual prejudice is so

his acts, though in his official

small that penal sanction is deemed not necessary for

capacity, if he participated in the

accessories

unlawful act either directly or as

an aider, abettor or accessory, /

RULES TO LIGHT FELONIES

but is not criminally liable for the

1)

Light felonies are punishable only when they have been

2)

consummated (Article 7)
When light felonies are committed against persons or property,

corporate acts performed by other

they are punishable even if they are only in the attempted or

3)

frustrated stage of execution (Article 7)

Only principals and accomplices are liable for light felonies

4)

(Article 16)
Accessories are not liable for light felonies, even if they are

officers or agents thereof. /

However, Juridical entities, like corporations, are

criminally liable under certain special laws like:

committed against persons or property (Article 16)

TWO PARTIES IN CRIMES

Active subject (Criminal)
Only a natural person can be the subject of a
crime because of the personal nature of criminal

deprivation

equally shared by all, a different degree of responsibility

responsibility
He alone by his act can set in motion a cause or
by

for

destierro, can be executed only against

Principles
Accomplices

imprisonment)

the accused
Other penalties consisting in imprisonment
and other

THREEFOLD (TREBLE) DIVISION OF PERSONS CRIMINALLY

1)

(subsidiary

pecuniary penalties in case of insolvency of

The following are criminally liable for light felonies:

purpose or malicious intent is required.

There is substitution of deprivation of
liberty

d)

1)
2)

cannot act with malice or intelligence

A juridical person, like a corporation,

his

inaction

can

make

possible

the

Corporation

Philippines
Public Service Law
Securities Law
Elections Code

Code

of

the

Manager of partnership is liable even if there is

no

2)

evidence

of

his

participation

in

the

commission of the offense

Passive subject (injured party)
Holder of the injured right
The man, the juristic person, the group and the
-

state
While a corporation or partnership cannot be

completion of a developing modification in the

the active subject, it can be a passive subject of a

external world
Why is it that only natural persons can be the

crime
A corpse or animal cannot be passive subject

offender?
a)

The code requires that the culprit should

have

acted

with

personal

malice

or

because they have no rights that can be injured

The dead however, the crime of defamation may
be committed if the imputation tends to blacken
the memory of one who is dead (Libel/Slander)