Art. 14: aggravating circumstances Flashcards
(108 cards)
What are the aggravating circumstances?
- Advantage of public position
o 2. In contempt of or with insult to public authorities
o 3. With insult or disregard of rank, age, or sex, or in the dwelling of the offended party, if the latter did not provoke
o 4. Abuse of confidence or obvious ungratefulness
o 5. Committed in the palace of the Chief Executive, or in his presence, or where public authorities are discharging their duties, or in a place of religious worship
o 6. Nighttime, or in an uninhabited place, or by a band
o 7. Committed during a conflagration, shipwreck, earthquake, epidemic, or calamity
o 8. With aid of armed men or persons who insure/afford impunity
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o 9. Recidivism
o 10. Reiteracion
o 11. Price, reward, or promise
o 12. By means of inundation, fire, poison, explosion, stranding of a vessel, derailment of locomotive, use of any artifice involving waste and ruin
o 13. Evident premeditation
o 14. Craft, fraud, or disguise
o 15. Superior strength or means employed to weaken the defense
o 16. Treachery
o 17. Ignominy
o 18. Committed after unlawful entry
o 19. Committed after breaking through a wall, roof, floor, door, or window
o 20. With aid of persons under 15 years old, or motor vehicles
o 21. Cruelty
What is necessary for Aggravating Circumstances to be considered?
Aggravating circumstances must be alleged in the information
What are the types of aggravating circumstances?
- Generic
- Qualifying
- Special
- Inherent
What are Generic Circumstances
a. Apply generally to all crimes
b. Can be offset by ordinary mitigating circumstances
c. Increases penalty to maximum period
What are Qualifying Circumstances?
a. Cannot be offset by any mitigating circumstance
b. Changes nature of crime
c. Must be alleged in the Information as such new offense
d. No need to increase the penalty because the change in the crime itself has changed the penalty as well to a higher one
What are Inherent Aggravating Circumstances?
Those already integral to the crime and thus cannot aggravate the penalty
Give an example of a Special Aggravating Circumstance
Committed by an organized/syndicated group – impose maximum penalty if the offense was committed by any person belonging to an organized or syndicated crime group (2 or more persons collaborating or mutually helping one another for purposes of gain in the commission of the crime)
when is advantage of public position present?
When the public official uses the influence, prestige, and ascendancy of his office to realize the purpose.
What is the test of advantage of public position?
- Offense is in relation to his office
2. He cannot commit the offense without holding such public office
When does advantage of public position not apply?
Does not apply if the public position is a constituent element of the crime;
Two policemen were in the police car. They stopped and ordered a girl to enter the car. One policeman stole the watch and wallet of the girl. The policeman driving did not say anything. Both were held liable for robbery. Did the aggravating circumstance of taking advantage of public position apply even to the driver of the car?
Yes. He could have prevented the other policeman from robbing the siblings. But he did not. This was abuse of public position
Is the advantage of public position this a generic or special aggravating circumstance?
Special Aggravating The use of one’s public position in the commission of a crime is a special aggravating circumstance. (RA 7659, Sec. 23)
What are the requisites of contempt/insult of public authority?
- crime committed
- person in authority engaged in exercise of public position
- offender knew he was a person in authority
- victim is NOT a person in authority
A barangay captain was playing cards with some people. The accused shot him. Does contempt of public authority apply?
No. First, the person in authority must NOT be the victim per se, and second, he was not performing his duty at that time. He was playing cards.
What if the crime was only committed in the presence of an agent of a person in authority?
This contempt of public authority does not apply
Supposing a crime is committed in the presence of a professor while the latter was performing his duty?
This is not aggravated. A teacher or professor is only a person in authority under Art. 148 and 152 of the RPC (direct assault).
In the national penitentiary, sometimes the inmates feel bored and they kill each other. Is this aggravating?
Yes. Where the inmates killed another in the National Penitentiary, this was in contempt of public authority.
What is required for this aggravating circumstance insult to age, rank, sex to apply?
There must be deliberate intent to insult or show manifest disregard for the age, rank, sex. Not merely because the victim is a female or has a rank, this A.C. applies.
The accused was conversing with the barangay captain and the former killed the latter. May the A.C. of “rank” apply?
No. The mere fact that victim was a person with a rank, such as barangay captain does not necessarily mean it’s aggravating, absent evidence that the killing was deliberately intended to disregard or insult or threaten to insult the rank of the victim.
What are further considerations for circumstance of rank?
The charge must not include rank as an element. If the accused was charged with complex crime of direct assault of PIA with murder – then the AC cannot be appreciated because it is inherent
When is the A.C. of “sex” not applicable?
- If the accused acted with passion or obfuscation,
o 2. when there is an amorous relationship between the accused and the victim,
o 3. When there is a relationship of employer-employee,
o 4. When the sex of the victim is inherent in the crime
A 20-year-old man raped an 80-year-old woman. The victim was the teacher of the accused in grade 1. Key fact: victim was already retired! Does insult to rank apply?
Yes. The Fact that the offended party was already retired did not diminish the respect due her rank as his former teacher.
Do age rank and sex apply to crimes against property?
Not aggravating in crimes against property
Is insult to rank, age, sex absorbed by treachery?
No. The aggravating circumstances of age and sex cannot be absorbed by treachery. Treachery pertains to manner of commission. Insult to age, rank, sex refers to relationship