Miscellaneous

Corpus Delicti (2001)

At a birthday party in Bogo, Cebu, A got intoxicated and started quarrelling with B and
C. At the height of their arguments, A left and took a bolo from his house, after which he
returned to the party and threatened to stab everybody. B got scared and ran towards the
seashore, with A chasing him, B ran up a steep incline along the shore and was cornered
on top of a cliff. Out of fear, B jumped from the cliff into the sea, A returned to the scene
of their confrontation and seeing that nobody was there, went home to sleep. The next
day, B's wife reported to the police station that her husband had not yet come home. A
search was conducted by the residents of the barangay but after almost two days, B or his
body could not be located and his disappearance continued for the next few days. Based
on the testimony of C and other guests, who had seen A and B on top of the cliff, A was
arrested and charged with Murder. In his defense, he claimed that since B's body has not
been found, there was no evidence of "corpus delicti' and therefore, he should be
acquitted. Is the defense of A tenable or not? State the reason(s) for your answer. (5%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
The defense of A is not tenable. "Corpus delicti" does not refer to the body of the
purported victim which had not been found. Even without the body of the purported
victim being found, the offender can be convicted when the facts and circumstances of a
crime, the body of the crime or "corpus delicti" is established.
In other words, the non-recovery of the body of the victim is not a bar to the prosecution
of A for Murder, but the fact of death and identity of the victim must be established
beyond reasonable doubt.
Corpus Delicti; Definition & Elements (2000)
a) Define "corpus delicti". (2%) b) What are the elements of "corpus delicti"? (3%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
Corpus Delicti literally means "the body or substance of the crime" or the fact that a
crime has been committed, but does not include the identity of the person who committed
it. (People vs. Pascual 44 OG 2789).
Elements of corpus delicti:
The actual commission by someone of the particular crime charged. It is a compound fact
made up of two things:
The existence of a certain act or result forming the basis of the criminal charge; and
The existence of a criminal agency as the cause of the act or result
The identity of the offender is not a necessary element of corpus delicti

Entrapment vs. Instigation (1995)

Distinguished entrapment from Instigation.
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
In INSTIGATION, the instigator practically induces the prospective accused into
commission of the offense and himself becomes co-principal. In ENTRAPMENT, ways
and means are resorted to for the purpose of trapping and capturing the lawbreaker while
executing his criminal plan.
Instigation (1995) Suspecting that Juan was a drug pusher, SPO2 Mercado, leader of the
Narcom team, gave Juan a Pl00-bill and asked him to buy some marijuana cigarettes.
Desirous of pleasing SPO2 Mercado, Juan went inside the shopping mall while the
officer waited at the corner of the mall. After fifteen minutes, Juan returned with ten
sticks of marijuana cigarettes which he gave to SPO2 Mercado who thereupon placed
Juan under arrest and charged him with violation of The Dangerous Drugs Law by selling
marijuana cigarettes. Is Juan guilty of any offense punishable under The Dangerous
Drugs Act? Discuss fully.
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
Juan cannot be charged of any offense punishable under The Dangerous Drugs Act.
Although Juan is a suspected drug pusher, he cannot be charged on the basis of a mere
suspicion. By providing the money with which to buy marijuana cigarettes, SPO2
Mercado practically induced and prodded Juan to commit the offense of illegal
possession of marijuana. Set against the facts instigation is a valid defense available to
Juan.
Entrapment vs. Instigation (2003)
Distinguish fully between entrapment and instigation in Criminal Law, Exemplify each.
4%
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
In ENTRAPMENT -
the criminal design originates from and is already in the mind of the lawbreaker even
before entrapment;
the law enforcers resort to ways and means for the purpose of capturing the lawbreaker in
flagrante delicto- and
this circumstance is no bar to prosecution and conviction of the lawbreaker.

In INSTIGATION-
the idea and design to bring about the commission of the crime originated and developed
in the mind of the law enforcers;
the law enforcers induce, lure, or incite a person who is not minded to commit a crime
and would not otherwise commit it, into committing the crime; and
this circumstance absolves the accused from criminal liability (People v. Dante Marcos,
185 SCRA

154. [1990]).
Example of Entrapment:
A, an anti-narcotic agent of the Government acted as a poseur buyer of shabu and
negotiated with B, a suspected drug pusher who is unaware that A is a police officer. A
then issued marked money to B who handed a sachet of shabu to B. Thereupon, A
signaled his anti-narcotic team to close-in and arrest B. This is a case of entrapment
because the criminal mind is in B already when A transacted with him.
Example of Instigation:
Because the members of an anti-narcotic team are already known to drug pushers. A, the
team leader, approached and persuaded B to act as a buyer of shabu and transact with C,
the suspected drug pusher. For the purpose, A gave B marked money to be used in buying
shabu from
C. After C handed the sachet of shabu to B and the latter handed the marked money to C,
the team closed-in and placed B and C under arrest. Under the facts, B is not criminally
liable for his participation in the transaction because he was acting only under instigation
by the law enforcers.