1.

Why was mistake of fact as a

defense not recognized in the
case of Oanis?
Mistake of fact wasnt a defense
recognized in the case of Oanis because
the two police officers, Antionio Z. Oanis
and Alberto Galanta, were at fault when
they negligently shot the alleged escape
convict while sleeping without first
ascertaining if it was Anselmo Balagtas or
not. And in light with Art 5 sec 11 (b) of
the Revised Penal Code, It is only when
the fugitive is determined to fight the
officers of law trying to catch him that
killing the former would be justified.
2. In the case of Medado, was
mistake fact defense applied? Explain
your answer.
No. Medado may have at first operated
under an honest mistake of fact when he
signed the attendance record at the PICC
entrance which he thought was the roll of
Attorneys. However, the moment he
realized that what he had signed wasnt
the roll of Attorney and yet continued to
practice law does not make his mistake of
fact as a defense anymore.
3. In
felonies
committed
by
means of culpa, what does the
law seek to punish?
In felonies committed by means of culpa,
the law seeks to punish is the inexcusable
lack of precaution on the part of the
person performing or failing to perform an
act thus causing injury to another.
4. What
is
the
purpose
of
determining
the
proximate
cause of a felony? What is the
effect of the presence of an
efficient intervening cause?
The purpose of determining the
proximate cause of a felony is to be
able to discern the direct, natural and

logical consequence of the wrong done

by the offender to the aggrieved party.
An efficient intervening cause breaks
the direct connection between the
defendant's actions and an injury or
loss to another person, which in effect,
may relieve the defendant of liability
for the injury or the loss
5. Why is it in the case of Gona
that error in personae was not
appreciated unlike in the case
of Oanis?
Error in personae in the case of Gona
was not appreciated because Mansaca
Dunca, the person that Gona was
assaulting from the start, and Mansaca
Mapudul, the one he accidentally
inflicted the mortal wound with, was
both present at the time of the
commission of the Felony.
6. Is aberratio ictus a defense in
the commission of a felony?
Explain.
No. Aberration ictus cannot be a defense
in the commission of a felony because the
intention of inflicting injury is present and
according to law, these are considered
circumstances that do not arise from
Criminal negligence.
7. In the case of Cagoco what
concept in incurring criminal
liability was applied and why?
The concept of Article 4, paragraph 1
is applied here in the case of Cagoco
because the criminal liability was
incurred by the accused despite having
committed the felony differently and
from which he intended.

8. What is the concept of an

impossible crime under the

RPC and what are the ways of

committing it? Give examples
of each.
The concept of impossible crime is the
inherent impossibility of accomplishing the
crime or the inherent impossibility of the
means employed to bring about the crime.
9. Why were the Toling twins
made liable for the deaths and
injuries in the train?
The Toling twins were liable for the deaths
and injuries in the train because according
to law: if a man creates in another
persons mind an immediate sense of
danger, which causes such person to try
to escape, and, in doing so, the latter
injures himself, the man who creates such
a state of mind is responsible for the
resulting injuries.
10.What is the subjective phase of
an offense?
The subjective phase of an offense are the
portions of the acts constituting a crime,
starting from the point where the offender
begins the commission of the crime to the
point where he still has control over his
actions.
11.Distinguish
between
a
frustrated
and
attempted
felony and give an example for
each.
In frustrated felony, all acts of execution
are finished but crime sought to be
committed is not achieved due to
intervening causes independent of the will
of the perpetrator. An example of which is
the case of People v. Listerio wherein the
attackers of Brothers Jeonito and Marlon,
fled from the scene after thinking that
they were both dead due to being stabbed
and clubbed twice in the head. While in
attempted felony, over acts of execution
are started but not all acts of execution
are present due to reasons other than the

spontaneous
desistance
of
the
perpetrator. For example: A robber trying
to drill up the lock of a safe but fled due to
hearing footsteps from the other room.
12.Name one offense that does
not have a frustrated stage
and explain why?
One offense that does not have a
frustrated stage is Rape because once
there is penetration, no matter how slight
it is, the offense is consummated.
13.How does the Supreme Court
explain why there can be no
frustrated stage in the crime of
theft?
According
to
the
Supreme
Court,
Disposition of the stolen goods is not an
element of theft under the RPC. Once
there is unlawful taking, theft is
consummated, or even in situation where
the thing was taken or not.
14.What are formal crimes and
material crimes? Give examples
for each.
Formal crimes are Crimes which
consummated in one instance.

are

Example: ILLEGAL EXACTION under Art.

213 Mere demanding of an amount
different from what the law authorizes him
to collect will already consummate a
crime, whether the taxpayer pays the
amount being demanded or not. While
material crimes are crimes that have three
stages of execution
Thus, in determining the stage of some
crimes, the manner of execution becomes
pivotal in determining the end of the
subjective phase, i.e. once the offender
performs the act in the manner provided
for in the law, HE IS ALREADY DEEMED TO
HAVE PERFORMED EVERY ACT FOR ITS
EXECUTION.

15.What is an impossible crime?

Can there be an attempted or
frustrated impossible crime?
Explain.
ARTICLE 4 par. 2- An act which would be
an offense against persons or property
were it not for the inherent impossibility of
its accomplishment on or account of the
employment of inadequate or ineffectual
means. There can be no attempted or
frustrated impossible crime because the in
the former, accomplishment is prevented
by the intervention of certain cause or
accident in which the offender had no part
while the in the latter, intent cannot be
accomplished
because
the
means
employed by the offender is inadequate or
ineffectual thus making it inherently
impossible to be done.
16.What are the two concepts of
conspiracy under the RPC?
According to the RPC, there are 2
concepts: Conspiracy as a crime the
mere conspiracy is the crime itself. This is
only true when the law expressly punishes
the mere conspiracy, otherwise, the
conspiracy does not bring about the
commission
of
the
crime
because
conspiracy is not an overt act but a mere
preparatory act. Conspiracy as a basis of
incurring criminal liability when the
conspiracy is only a basis of incurring
criminal liability, there must be an overt
act done before the co-conspirators
become criminally liable.
17.What are the circumstances
that affect criminal liability?
JUSTIFYING CIRCUMSTANCES, EXEMPTING
CIRCUMSTANCES,
MITIGATING
CIRCUMSTANCES,
AGGRAVATING
CIRCUMSTANCES,
ALTERNATIVE
CIRCUMSTANCES
18.Distinguish between justifying
and mitigating circumstances?

Justifying Circumstances those where the

act of a person is said to be in accordance
with law, so that such person is deemed
not to have transgressed the law and is
free from both criminal and civil liability.
There is no civil liability except in par. 4,
Art. 11, where the civil liability is borne by
the persons benefited by the act. While
Mitigating
circumstances
or
causas
attenuates are those which, if present in
the commission of the crime, do not
entirely free the actor from criminal
liability, but serve only to reduce the
penalty.
19.What are the elements of selfdefense. Explain each.
Unlawful aggression
(1) Equivalent to an actual physical
assault; OR threatened assault of an
immediate and imminent kind which is
offensive and positively strong, showing
the wrongful intent to cause harm.
(2) The aggression must constitute a
violation of the law. When the aggression
ceased to exist, there is no longer a
necessity to defend ones self. EXCEPT:
when the aggressor retreats to obtain a
more advantageous position to ensure the
success of the initial attack, unlawful
aggression is deemed to continue.
(3) Must come from the person attacked
by the accused.
(4) Unlawful aggression must also be a
continuing circumstance or must have
been existing at the time the defense is
made. Once the unlawful aggression is
found to have ceased, the one making the
defense of a stranger would likewise cease
to have any justification for killing, or even
just wounding, the former aggressor.
[People vs. Dijan (2002)]
Reasonable necessity of means employed
to prevent or repel it.

Test of reasonableness
employed depends upon:

The

means

(1) nature and quality of the weapon used

by the aggressor
(2)
aggressors
physical
condition,
character, size, and other circumstances
(3) and those of the person defending
himself
(4) the place and occasion of the assault.
c. Lack of sufficient provocation on part of
defender
(1) In case there was a provocation on the
part of the person attacked, the attack
should not immediately precede the
provocation for defense to be valid.
(2) Never confuse unlawful aggression
with provocation.
(3) Mere provocation is not enough. It
must be real and imminent. Unlawful
aggression is an indispensable requisite.
(4) If there is unlawful aggression but one
of the other requisites is lacking, it is
considered an incomplete self-defense
which mitigates liability.
(5) Self-defense includes the defense of
ones rights, that is, those rights the
enjoyment of which is protected by law.
(6) Retaliation is different from an act of
self-defense.
20.
Which
is
an
indispensable
element for self-defense to be
appreciated and why?
An indispensable element for self-defense
is unlawful aggression since it is an attack
or a threatened attach which produces an
imminent danger to the life and limb of
the one resorting to self-defense.

21.When is complete self-defense

still appreciated even in the
absence
of
actual
unlawful
aggression?
Even in the absence of actual unlawful
aggression,
self-defense
can
be
appreciated when it is done considering
the reasonable necessity of the means
employed to prevent or repeal the actions
of the aggressor.
22. What is the effect if a deed is not
wholly excusable due to the lack of
some conditions required to justify or
to exempt the same from criminal
liability in some cases under Art. 11
and 12, so long s majority of such
conditions are present?
If the effect of a deed is not wholly
excusable due to the lack of some
conditions then a burden of proof should
be shown. The circumstances in Art. 11 of
the RPC are matters of defense and it is
incumbent upon the accused, in order to
avoid criminal liability, to prove the
justifying circumstance claimed by him to
the satisfaction of the court.
23. If only unlawful aggression is
attendant in the commission of an
offense is the accused still entitled to
a reduction of the penalty and how
much?
The reduction of penalty in this case shall
be based on age of the offender at the
time of the commission of the crime not
the age when sentence is imposed.
24.
What
is
the
test
of
reasonableness
of
the
means
employed in self-defense?
Test of reasonableness
employed depends upon:

The

means

(1) nature and quality of the weapon used

by the aggressor

(2)
aggressors
physical
condition,
character, size, and other circumstances
(3) and those of the person defending
himself
(4) the place and occasion of the assault.
25. What is the battered woman
syndrome and what are the requisites
for it to be a valid defense?
Battered Woman Syndrome refers to a
scientifically
defined
pattern
of
psychological and behavioral symptoms

found in women living in battering

relationships as a result of cumulative
abuse. This shall be a valid defense as
long as the essential requisites in Art. 11
of the RPC which is unlawful aggression,
reasonable necessity of the means
employed to prevent or repel it and lack of
sufficient provocation on the part of the
person defending herself & if only the
woman has undergone 3 phases to
establish the violence. One must pass 2
cycles, each with 3 phases. (3 phases:
Tension building, Acute battering incident
and Tranquil loving phase)