Generic,

Aggravating Integral element of, Does not

Specific, Not inherent in Circumstances Cannot exist
Circumstance Requisites or Important points or Inherent in Aggravates the crime of aggravate the
Qualifying, the crime of absorbed with
(AC) crimes of crime of
or Inherent

• Crimes committed
1. Advantage by public officers

In taking advantage of his public position, the

be taken by Bribery

offender must use his influence, prestige or •

the offender of Generic Malversation

ascendency which his office gives him to execute •

his public • Falsification 

the crime.
position of documents

• Accessories
Requisites:
1. The public authority is engaged in the exercise
of his functions

2. In contempt
2. He is not the person against whom the crime is
or with insult
Generic committed

to public
3. The offender knows him to be a public
authorities
authority

4. His presence has not prevented the offender

from committing the criminal act

Rank: refers to social standing or position in civil,

military or social life. There must be a difference in
social condition.

Age: refers to old and tender age

3. With insult Sex:

Sex: refers to the female sex

or disregard of • Parricide
Sex:
one’s sex, age, Specific • Abduction
• Passion or
or rank; • Applicable to crimes against persons or honor • Rape
obfuscation
only

dwelling • Seduction
• There must be evidence that the accused
deliberately intended to offend the offended
party or manifest disrespect on account of OP’s
age, sex or rank.

• The crime must be committed at the dwelling of • Robbery with violence

the offended party. It remains aggravating if the against or intimidation
offender shot the victim from the outside or the • Robbery in an of persons
• Rape (when
crime began at the dwelling even if the killing inhabited house
• Robbery with homicide
the accused
occured outside.
• Robbery by use of • Abduction or illegal and victim live
3. Dwelling Generic Treachery
• Provocation must not be given by the owner. The force upon things
detention
In the same
following must not be present:
• Trespass to • Adultery (provided the house)

- Provocation given by owner

dwelling paramour does not lived
- Immediate to the commission of the crime
in the same house as
- sufficient the accused)

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 • Abuse of confidence (taking advantage of the
OP’s belief that the OF will not abuse their
confidence) of the OF to the OP must be used as • Malversation

a means to facilitate the commission of the • Qualified theft

4. Abuse of
crime.
• Estafa by
confidence or
Generic • Confidence between OF and OP must be conversion or
obvious
immediate and personal; special relation of misappropriation

ungratefulness
confidence
• Qualified
• Confidence must still be present in the seduction
commission of the crime

• Ungratefulness must be obvious

• Offender must have the intention to commit a

crime when he entered the place.

5. Palace of
• Unlike contempt or with insult to public
Chief
authorities (par. 2), the same may be the OF in
Executive or
this circumstance

place where • Homicide

• They must be in their office.

public Generic • Murder

• It does not matter if State, official, or religious

authorities are • Unjust vexation
functions are being held.

engaged in the
• It is still aggravating even if the Chief Executive is
discharge of
not in the palace or not engaged in his official
their functions
duties. However, other public authorities must be
engaged in their duties.

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 • It is aggravating when it:

- Facilitated the commission of the crime

• Crime can be perpetuated unmolested

• Interference can be avoided

• Greater certainty in attaining the ends of the

offender

- Especially sought for by the offender to

insure the commission of the crime

- Offender took advantage thereof

• For the purpose of impunity

- Prevent being recognized

• More successful consummation of plans

By band:
By band:
• Taking
Nighttime advantage of
6. Night time, • Crimes against property
By band:

• The commission of the crime must begin and By band: superior

uninhabited • Crimes against persons
• Crimes
Generic end at night time.
strength

place, or by • Brigandage • Illegal detention

against
• The OF must actually be committing the crime • Use of
band • Treason
chastity
in the darkness of the night
firearms

• Robbery with homicide

• Not aggravating is nighttime was not deliberately • Aid of armed
availed of or merely incidental
men

Uninhabited place
• Determining factor is not the distance of the
nearest house but that the victim must have no
reasonable possibility of receiving help.
• Solitude must be deliberately sought to better
attain the criminal purpose

By band:
At least four armed malefactors shall have acted
together in the commission of the offense

7. On
occassion of a
• The offender must take advantage of the
conflagration, Earthquake,
calamity or misfortune

shipwreck, epidemic and other

• “Or other calamity or misfortune” means similar
earthquake, calamity
to those enumerated. Chaotic conditions after
epidemic, or • Murder
liberation is not included.
other calamity
or misfortune

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 Requisites:
1. The armed men or persons must take part in
the commission of the crime, directly or
indirectly

2. The accused availed himself of or relied upon

them when the crime was committed

8. With the aid

Exceptions: • Parricide

of armed men
• Robbery with rape

or of persons 1. Accused as well as those who cooperated with • Murder

• Kidnapping and serious
who insure or him acted under the same plan and purpose

illegal detention
afford impunity 2. Both the attacking and attacked are equally
armed.

Unlike band, it is not neccessary that the armed

men acted together. This circumstance is still
present even if one of the offenders merely relied
on their aid.
Requisites:
1. The offender is on trial for an offense (on trial -
everything done in the course of a trial)

2. He has been previously convicted by final

judgement of another crime

3. His first and second offense are embraced in

the same Title.

9. Recidivist Generic 4. He is convicted of the new offense.

Rule 120, Sec. 7 of Criminal Procedure: A

judgement becomes final when:

1. Lapse of period for perfecting appeal

2. Sentence has been partially or totally served

3. Accused waived his right to appeal

4. Accused applied for probation

Requisites:
1. The offender is on trial for an offense (on trial -
everything done in the course of a trial)

2. That he previously served sentence for another

another offense to which the law attaches an
equal or greater penalty, OR for two or more
10. Habituality Generic
crimes to which it attaches lighter penalty than
that for the new offense

3. He is convicted of the new offense.

It is the penalty attached to the offense, not the

penalty imposed, that is taken into account.

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11. Qualifying
• Concurrence of two or more offenders
• Evident
Consideration (alleged)
(principals)

premeditation
of price, • Price, reward or promise must be for the purpose • Murder (only to the
reward or Generic
of performing the deed. It must be the primary
inductor)
promise (not alleged) consideration in committing the crime.
12. By means
of inundation,
fire, poison,
explosion,
shipwreck,
stranding of a Qualifying

vessel, (if no other 


• Murder

derailment or AC qualifies
• Arson

assault upon a the crime)

When the means are used with the intent to kill
• Crimes involving
street car or a person, the crime is murder. If it already
destruction

locomotive, fall qualifies the murder, this aggravating circumstance

• Damage and
of an airship, Generic
is no longer considered to increase the penalty.
obstruction to the
by means of (presence
means of
motor of qualifying
communication
vehicles, or AC such as
with the use of relationship)
any other
means
involving great
waste and
ruin.

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 The commission of the crime was premediated and
reflected upon, and preceeded by cool thought
and reflection, with the resolution to carry out the
criminal plan during the span of time sufficient to
arrive at the hour of judgement.

Requisites:
1. The offender is determined to commit the
crime

2. The act manifestly indicating that the offender

clung to his determination

3. Sufficient lapse of time between determination

and execution, to allow him (1) to reflect upon
Murder

the consequences of his act, and (2) to allow •

• Theft

his conscience to overcome the resolution of • Robbery with homicide

• Robbery

13. Evident his will.

(if shown that
Qualifying • Estafa

premeditation premeditation included

• Adultery

• It must be shown that not only that the accused the killing of the victim)
Concubinage

made a decision to commit the crime prior to the •

• Treason
moment of execution, but also that his decision
was the result of meditation, calculation or
reflection or persistent attempt.

• When conspiracy is directly established, evident

premeditation is set aside, unless the former is
implied.

• Can co-exist with promise, reward, etc.

• It is not necessary that there is a plan to kill a

particular person

• Mere threats, unsupported by other evidence

which would disclose criminal intent, is not AC.

• Sufficient lapse of time: 3 hours up!

Craft: Use of intellectual trickery or cunning on the
part of the accused. It is not attendant when the
accused was in a stupor. Moreover, the acts of the
accused were done in order not to arose
14. Craft, fraud suspicion.

Generic
or disguise
Fraud: Direct inducement by insidious words or
machinations.

Disguise: Any device to conceal identity.

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 • To use purposely excessive force out of
• Coercion or forcible
proportion to the means of defense available to
abduction

the person attacked.

• Murder
• Illegal detention

15. Advantage Specific

• Depends on the age, size, and strength of the
• Parricide against • Robbery with homicide Passion or
or superior parties.
By band
wife
(by 3 men)
obfuscation
strength Qualified • There must be evidence of a marked difference
• Treason • Robbery with rape (by 5
of physical strength between OF and OP.

armed men)

• OF must cooperated together to weaken the

• Multiple rape (4 men)
defense
15. Means
• Crimes against
used to
persons

weaken the
• Murder
defense

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 There is treachery when the offender commits any
of the crimes against the person, employing
means, methods, or forms in the execution thereof
which tend directly and specially to insure its
execution, without risk to himself arising from the
defense which the offended party might make.

• Applicable only to crimes against persons

• Means, methods or forms are employed to insure

the execution of the crime, not for its
accomplishment

• The mode of attack must be consciously

adopted (inferred from circumstances)

- The accused must make some preparation to

kill in such a manner as to insure the
execution of the crime, or to make it
impossible or hard for the person attacked to
defend himself.
• Aid of armed
- The mode of attack must be thought of by the men

offender.
• Abuse of
• Treachery must be proven by clear and superior
convincing evidence. Particulars as to the strength

manner in which the aggression was made or • Disregard of

Specific
• Passion or
how the act resulted to death began and • Murder
age or sex

16. Treachery obfuscation

developed must be established.

• Treason • Means used
Qualifying • Dwelling
• Intent to kill is not necessary in murder with to weaken

treachery
• By band

• Mere fact that the attack is sudden does not

show treachery, unless there is evidence that Conditional:
such form of attack was purposely adopted by • Nighttime

the accused.
• Craft
• Requisites:
- That at the time of the attack, the victim was
not in a position to defend himself

- That the offender consciously adopted the

form of attack employed by him

• Treachery may exist even if the attack was frontal

so long as it was not preceeded by a dispute and
the OP was unable to defend himself

• Presence of treachery:
- continuous aggression - treachery must be
present in the beginning of the assault.
- not continuous (w/ interruption) - it is
sufficient that treachery was present at the
moment the fatal blow was given
• Treachery is considered against all persons who
had knowledge on the employement of treachery

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 • Pertains to moral order, which adds disgrace and
obloquy to the material injury caused by the
crime
• Murder

• In rape of wife, if it was done without the • Grave coercion

knowledge / presence / after the husband was • Light coercion

killed, no ignominy
• Less serious physical
17. Ignominy Specific • The means employed must make the crime more injuries

humiliating or put the OP in shame.

• Crimes against chastity

• No ignominy if the means were employed when • Robbery with homicide

the OP is dead (e.g. dismembering the body)
(rape)

• No ignominy if husband is killed in front of the

wife

• This refers to moral suffering

• Robbery in an • Rape

inhabited house
• Murder

• There is unlawful entry where an entrance is

18. Unlawful • Robbery with • Robbery with violence
Generic effected by a way not intended for the purpose
Dwelling
entry force upon things
or intimidation of
• To effect entrance, not for escape
• Trespass to persons

dwelling • Theft
19. Entrance • It is not necessary that the offender should have
of a crime a entered the building. What aggravates the liability • Robbery in an
wall, roof, is the breaking of a part of the building as a inhabited house
• Theft

Generic
door, or means to the commission of the crime.
• Robbery with • Murder
window be • To effect entrance only
force upon things
broken • Tent is considered

• This refers to criminals who takes advantage of

the irresponsibility of minors

• The second refers to motorized vehicles or other

efficient means of transportation similar to an
automobile or airplane, used for any of the Motor vehicles:
Motor vehicles:
following:
• Forcible abduction

- In going to the place of the crime

• Theft

20. Aid of • Robbery with homicide

- In carrying the effects

• Estafa by
minors, or by • Homicide
means of
means of - In facilitating the escape, it must also be used • Murder
deceit or by
vehicles in committing the crime.
• Theft (from scene of abuse of
• It is not aggravating if it was only used for one’s theft to place it will be
confidence
escape or if it is incidental
sold)
• It must be shown that the motor vehicle was
purposely used to facilitate the commission of
the crime OR that without it, the offense charged
could not have been committed.

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 • There is cruelty when the culprit enjoys and
delights in making his victim suffer slowly and
gradually, causing him unnecessary pain in the
consummation of the criminal act.

• There must be proof that the OF deliberately

intended to prolong the suffering of the victim.

• Requisites:

1. That the injury caused be deliberately

increased by causing other wrong
• Rape

2. That the other wrong be unnecessary for • Robbery

21. Cruelty Specific the execution of the purpose of the • Murder • Robbery with homicide

offender
• Murder (rape)
• Cruelty must be done while the victim is still alive

• This refers to physical suffering

• The mere fact of inflicting various successive

wounds upon a person in order to cause his
death, no appreciable time intervening between
the infliction of one wound and that of another to
show that the offender wanted to prolong the
suffering of his victim, is not sufficient for taking
this aggravating circumstance into consideration.

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