2020 MIDTERM EXAMINATIONS(Part II)

CRIMINAL LAW I

INSTRUCTIONS

1. This Questionnaire contains Eight (8) pages including these

Instructions pages. Check the number of pages and the page numbers at
the upper right hand corner of each page of this Questionnaire and make
sure it has the correct number of pages and their proper numbers. There
are TWELVE (12) Roman Numerals with sub-questions.

2. Read each question very carefully and write your answers in your
Examination Notebook in the same order the questions are posed. Write
your answers only on the front, not the back, page of every sheet in your
Notebook. The allocated percentage points for each number, question, or
sub-question is 3.5%. In your answers, use the numbering system in the
questionnaire. If the sheets provided in your Examination Notebook are
not sufficient for your answers, use the back page of every sheet of your
Examination Notebook, starting at the back page of the first sheet and the
back of the succeeding sheets thereafter.

3. Answer the Essay questions legibly, clearly, and concisely. Start each
number on a separate page. An answer to a sub-question under the same
number may be written continuously on the same page and the
immediately succeeding pages until completed.

4. Your answer should demonstrate your ability to analyze the facts

presented by the question, to select the material from the immaterial
facts, and to discern the points upon which the question turns. It should
show your knowledge and understanding of the pertinent principles and
theories of law involved and their qualifications and limitations. It should
demonstrate your ability to apply the law to the given facts, and to reason
logically in a lawyer-like manner to a sound conclusion from the given
premises.

wä AA‡”‡Aò ‡•ó A‘”Aò N‘ó A▪•™‡”A™‹–Š‘—–A▪›A…‘””‡•’‘†‹‰A‡š’Ž ▪▪–‹‘A‘”A

discussion will not be given any credit. Thus, always briefly but fully
explain your answers although the question does not expressly ask for an
explanation. At the same time, remember that a complete explanation
does not require that you volunteer information or discuss legal doctrines
that are not necessary or pertinent to the solution to the problem. You do
not need to re-write or repeat the question in your Notebook.

5. Make sure you do not write names that are not in the given questions,
prayers, nor private notes to the Examiner. You can use the questionnaire
for notes you may wish/need to write during the examination.
6. Since this examination is done in the confines of your homes and
without a proctor, you are expected to observe utmost honesty in
answering the questions.

7. Digital Copy of Answer Notebooks. Submit your answer by taking a

photo of each page of your notebook with your answer. Make sure to
arrange it before su„‹––‹‰A –‘A –Š‡A ‡š▪‹‡”ï•A M‡••‡‰‡”A ……‘— –A
(Genesis M. Auza). You are given only 5 minutes allowable delay time in
the submission of your answer. Any examination notebook (digital copy)
not submitted on time will be expunged and will not be given credit.

There is no better investment than knowledge.

It pays the best interest in the proper time.

ATTY. GENESIS M. AUZA

Examiner
Criminal Law Review

A, an OFW, worked in Kuwait for several years as a chief accountant, religiously

sending to his wife, B, 80% of all his earnings. After his stint abroad, he was shocked
to know that B became the paramour of a married man, C, and that all the monies he
sent to B were given by her to C. To avenge his honor, A hired X, Y and Z and told
them to kidnap C and his wife, D, so that he can inflict injuries on C to make him
suffer, and humiliate him in front of his wife. X, Y and Z were paid P20,000.00 each
and were promised a reward of P50,000.00 each once the job is done.

At midnight, A, with the fully armed X, Y and Z, forcibly opened the door and
gained entrance to the house of C and D. C put up a struggle before he was subdued
by A's group. They boarded C and D in a van and brought the two to a small hut in
a farm outside Metro Manila. Both hands of C and D were tied. With the help of X,
Y and Z, A raped D in front of C. X, Y and Z then took turns in raping D, and
subjected C to torture until he was black and blue and bleeding profusely from
several stab wounds. A and his group set the hut on fire before leaving, killing both
C and D. X, Y and Z were paid their reward. Bothered by his conscience, A
surrendered the next day to the police, admitting the crimes he committed.

As the RTC judge, decide what crime or crimes were committed by A, X, Y and Z,
and what mitigating and aggravating circumstances will be applied in imposing the
penalty. Explain. (5%)
2
Procopio, a call center agent assigned at a graveyard shift, went home earlier
than usual. He proceeded immediately to their bedroom to change his clothes.
To his surprise, he found his wife Bionci in bed making love to another woman
Magna. Enraged, Procopio grabbed a knife nearby and stabbed Bionci, who
died.
a) Is Art. 247 (death or physical injuries inflicted under exceptional
circumstances) of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) applicable in this case
given that the paramour was of the same gender as the erring spouse?
(2.5%)

b) Assuming that Procopio and Bionci were common-law spouses,

will your answer be the same? Explain. (1.5%)
c) Is Bionci liable for the crime of adultery for having sexual relations with
Magna? (1%)
3
Dion and Talia were spouses. Dion always came home drunk since he lost his
job a couple of months ago. Talia had gotten used to the verbal abuse from
Dion. One night, in addition to the usual verbal abuse, Dion beat up Talia. The
next morning, Dion saw the injury that he had inflicted upon Talia and
promised her that he would stop drinking and never beat her again. However,
Dion did not make good on his promise. Just after one week, he started drinking
again. Talia once more endured the usual verbal abuse. Afraid that he might
beat her up again, Talia stabbed Dion with a kitchen knife while he was passed
out from imbibing too much alcohol. Talia was charged with the crime of
parricide.

a) May Talia invoke the defense of Battered Woman Syndrome to

free herself from criminal liability? Explain the concept of “ cycle of
violence ” .(2.5%)

b) Will your answer be the same, assuming that Talia killed Dion
after being beaten up after a second time? Explain. (2.5%)
4
A typhoon destroyed the houses of many of the inhabitants of X Municipality.
Thereafter, X Municipality operated a shelter assistance program whereby
construction materials were provided to the calamity victims, and the
beneficiaries provided the labor. The construction was partially done when the
beneficiaries stopped helping with the construction for the reason that they
needed to earn income to provide food for their families. When informed of
the situation, Mayor Maawain approved the withdrawal of ten boxes of food
from X Municipality's feeding program, which were given to the families of
the beneficiaries of the shelter assistance program. The appropriations for the
funds pertaining to the shelter assistance program and those for the feeding
program were separate items on X Municipality's annual budget.
 a) What crime did Mayor Maawain commit? Explain. (2.5%)

b) May Mayor Maawain invoke the defense of good faith and that
he had no evil intent when he approved the transfer of the boxes
of food from the feeding program to the shelter assistance
program? Explain. (2.5%)
5
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) had intelligence reports
about the drug pushing activities of Rado, but could not arrest him for lack of
concrete evidence. SP03 Relio, a PDEA team leader, approached Emilo and
requested him to act as poseur-buyer of shabu and transact with Rado. Emilo
refused, saying that he had completely been rehabilitated and did not want to
have anything to do with drugs anymore. But he was prevailed upon to help
when SP03 Relio explained that only he could help capture Rado because he
used to be his customer. SP03 Relio then gave Emilo the marked money to be
used in buying shabu from Rado. The operation proceeded. After Emilo handed
the marked money to Rado in exchange for the sachets of shabu weighing 50
grams, and upon receiving the pre-arranged signal from Ernilo, SP03 Relio and
his team members barged in and arrested Rado and Ernilo, who were both charged
with violation of R.A. 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous
Drugs Act of2002.

a) What defense, if any, may Ernilo invoke to free himself from

criminal liability? Explain. (2.5%)

b) May Rado adopt as his own Emilo's defense? Explain. (2.5%)

6
Honesto and Wilma were married but had been living separately due to
irreconcilable differences. Honesto later met Celia and fell in love with her.
Thinking that he could marry Celia if Wilma were to die, Honesto decided to kill
Wilma. He secretly followed Wilma for weeks to learn her daily routine. He
decided to kill her at night on her way home. On the night he was to kill Wilma,
Honesto wore dark clothes so that he would not be easily seen. He waited in the
dark alley for Wilma to pass by. He saw someone whom he thought looked like
Wilma and shot her with a revolver. The bullet passed through the person's head
and grazed another passerby's arm. Some bystanders who heard the shot were
able to stop Honesto.

It turned out that Wilma did not report for work on that day, and the one who was
shot in the head was Melba, who died. The passerby whose arm was grazed by
the bullet required medical attendance for two days.

a) What crime(s) did Honesto commit? Explain. (2.5%)

 b) Will your answer be the same, assuming that the other passerby
was hit in the left eye which caused his/her blindness? Explain.
(2.5%)
7
Nel learned that Elgar, the owner of the biggest house in the place, would be out
of town for three days with no one left to watch the house. He called his friends
Ben, Ardo and Gorio and they planned to take the valuables in the house while
Elgar was away. Nel and Ben would go inside the house, Ardo would serve as the
lookout, while Gorio would stay in the getaway car. When Elgar left, they carried
out their plan to the letter. Nel and Ben went inside the house through the
backdoor which was left unlocked. None of the rooms and drawers inside were
locked. They took the money, jewelry and other valuables therefrom and
immediately left using the getaway car.

After driving for about one kilometer, Nel realized he left his bag and wallet
with IDs in the house and so he instructed Gorio to drive back to the house.
Nel just went in thinking that the house was still empty. But to his surprise,
Nel found Fermin seated on a bench with Nel's bag and wallet beside him and
appeared to be texting using his smart phone.

Nel took a golf club near him and hit Fermin with it. Fermin shouted for help,
but Nel kept hitting him until he stopped making noise. The noise alerted the
neighbor who called the police. Nel, Ben, Ardo and Gorio were caught. Fermin
died. What is the criminal liability of Nel, Ben, Ardo and Gorio? Explain. (5%)

8
Ando, an Indonesian national who just visited the Philippines, purchased a
ticket for a passenger vessel bound for Hong Kong. While on board the vessel,
he saw his mortal enemy Iason, also an Indonesian national, seated at the back
portion of the cabin and who was busy reading a newspaper. Ando stealthily
approached Iason and when he was near him, Ando stabbed and killed Iason.
The vessel is registered in Malaysia. The killing happened just a few moments
after the vessel left the port of Manila. Operatives from the PNP Maritime
Command arrested Ando. Presented for the killing of Iason, Ando contended
that he did not incur criminal liability because both he and the victim were
Indonesians. He likewise argued that he could not be prosecuted in Manila
because the vessel is a Malaysian-registered ship. Discuss the merits of Ando's
contentions. (5%)
9
Lito, a minor, was bullied by Brutus, his classmate. Having had enough, Lito got
the key to the safe where his father kept his licensed pistol and took the weapon.
Knowing that Brutus usually hung out at a nearby abandoned building after class,
Lito went ahead and hid while waiting for Brutus. When Lito was convinced that
Brutus was alone, he shot Brutus, who died on the spot. Lito then hid the gun in
one of the empty containers. At the time of the shooting, Lito was fifteen years
and one month old. What is Lito's criminal liability? Explain. (5%)

10
Senio planned to burn Bal' s house. One evening, during a drinking spree at his
house, Senio told his friends what he intended to do and even showed them the
gasoline in cans that he would use for the purpose. Carlo, a common friend of
Senio and Bal, was present at the drinking spree. He was still sober when Senio
told them his plans.

Before going home, Carlo warned Bal that Senio would burn his house and had
already bought gasoline that would be used for the purpose. Bal reported the
matter to the police authorities. Meanwhile, Senio went to Bal' s house and
proceeded to pour gasoline around the walls of the house and it was at that
point when he was caught by the police. What crime did Senio commit, if any?
Explain. (5%)

11
Filipino citizens Hector and Wendy were married in New York, and have been
living happily in Manila for the last three years. Hector was removing junk
from his basement when he came across an unlabeled recordable ed. He put it
in his computer's DVD drive to check its contents. To his surprise, he saw a
video of Wendy and another man Ariel, in the act of sexual intercourse in the
master's bedroom of his house. Angered by what he saw, he filed a complaint
for adultery against Wendy and Ariel. During the course of the trial, and again
to the surprise of Hector, it was proved that Wendy was born male and
underwent sex reassignment later in life.

a) May Hector's charge of adultery against Wendy and Ariel

prosper? Explain. (3%)

b) What is an impossible crime? Can there be an impossible crime

of adultery? (2%)

12

Pedro is married to Tessie. Juan is the first cousin of Tessie. While in the market,
Pedro saw a man stabbing Juan. Seeing the attack on Juan, Pedro picked up a spade
nearby and hit the attacker on his head which caused the latter's death. Can Pedro be
absolved of the killing on the ground that it is in defense of a relative? Explain. (5%)
 13
The Regional Trial Court (RTC) found Tiburcio guilty of frustrated homicide
and sentenced him to an indeterminate penalty of four years and one day of
prision correccional as minimum, to eight years of prision mayor as aximum,
and ordered him to pay actual damages in the amount of P125,000.00.

Tiburcio appealed to the Court of Appeals which sustained his conviction as

well as the penalty imposed by the court a quo. After sixty days, the Court of
Appeals issued an Entry of Judgment and remanded the records of the case to
the RTC. Three days thereafter, Tiburcio died of heart attack. Atty. Abdul,
Tiburcio's counsel, filed before the RTC a Manifestation with Motion to
Dismiss, informing the court that Tiburcio died already, and claiming that his
criminal liability had been extinguished by his demise.

a) Should the RTC grant the Motion to Dismiss the case? Explain.
(2.5%)

b) Assuming that Tiburcio' s death occurred before the Court of

Appeals rendered its decision, will you give a different answer?
Explain. (2.5%)
14
Ofelia, engaged in the purchase and sale of jewelry, was charged with violation of
PD 1612, otherwise known as the Anti-Fencing Law, for having been found in
possession of recently stolen jewelry valued at Pl 00,000.00 at her jewelry shop. Her
defense is that she merely bought the same from Antonia and produced a receipt
covering the sale. She presented other receipts given to her by Antonia representing
previous transactions. Convicted of the charge, Ofelia appealed, arguing that her
acquisition of the jewelries resulted from a legal transaction and that the prosecution
failed to prove that she knew or should have known that the pieces of jewelry which
she bought from Antonia were proceeds of the crime of theft.

(a) What is a "fence" under PD 1612? (2.5%)

(b) Is Ofelia liable under the Anti-Fencing Law? Explain. (2.5%)

15
Angelino, a Filipino, is a transgender who underwent gender reassignment and had
implants in different parts of her body. She changed her name to Angelina and was
a finalist in the Miss Gay International. She came back to the Philippines and while
she was walking outside her home, she was abducted by Max and Razzy who took
her to a house in the province. She was then placed in a room and Razzy forced her
to have sex with him at knife's point. After the act, it dawned upon Razzy that
Angelina is actually a male. Incensed, Razzy called Max to help him beat Angelina.
The beatings that Angelina received eventually caused her death. What crime or
crimes, if any, were committed? Explain. (5%)

16
Aaron and Joseph decided to party and treat their “nubyas”. Aaron told Joseph
that he had no money. Joseph proposed to Aaron that they go to the former¶s
house and take some bills from Waldo¶s (Joseph¶s brother) pocket. Waldo
became furious when he noticed his money missing. Waldo learned about the
incident and decided to sue both Joseph and Aaron. Will they be held
criminally liable for theft? (5%)
17
Alung, a hardened criminal, has been very hot in the eyes of law enforcers. He is
considered very dangerous because he is a sharp shooter. PMaj Lespu Maabtik,
learned from intelligence report that Alung will be in Jaba Brown Night Club.

At around 9:00 in the evening, PMaj Lespu Maabtik went to the nightclub and
positively saw Alung who was drinking a bottle of beer and eating “lechon” in the
corner and was alone.
PMaj Lespu Maabtik immediately took his pistol and rammed towards Alung who
was shocked. “Get down or I will shoot you.”, shouted PMaj Maabtik.
Alung, took the knife in the table and stab PMaj Maabtik causing the latter¶s
instantaneous death.
Prosecuted for the crime of homicide, Alung raised self-defense in order to avoid
criminal liability. Will the case prosper? (5%)

18
SS, a College of Law student, had a long grudge with AA, a fellow student, because
the latter courted BB. SS decided to scare AA and took a toy gun and concealed the
same in his bag. SS saw AA together BB who were happily drinking Milktea in the
canteen. SS drew near to them and then grabbed the toy gun and pointed it to AA.
AA, astounded of the danger, picked the fork in the table and stabbed it right into
the neck of SS. AA then learned that the gun SS carried was fake. AA was charged
for killing SS. AA invoked that there was mistake of fact. Is this correct? (5%)

19
Pablo was charged of homicide. After the trial, it was proved that the killing was
done by the use of fire. If you were the judge, with what crime would you convict
Pablo? (5%)

20
Marcos and Jun agreed with each other to commit robbery in the Rural Bank of
Loon, Bohol. They prepared and written the plan on how to execute the robbery. The
plot of robbery however reached the police. Two (2) days before the robbery took
place, police tracked down Marcos and Jun and arrested them. The police charged
Marcos and Jun as principals with attempted robbery. Will the case prosper? (5%)