Article 14 of the Revised Penal Code: Aggravating circumstances
Status: Amended
Amended
This provision has been amended. The text below is the current version.
- Amended by: Republic Act No. 5438 (Item 20 as amended by this law.)
What does Article 14 say?
The following are aggravating circumstances:
1. That advantage be taken by the offender of his public position.
2. That the crime be committed in contempt of or with insult to the public authorities.
3. That the act be committed with insult or in disregard of the respect due the offended party on account of his rank, age, or sex, or that it be committed in the dwelling of the offended party, if the latter has not given provocation.
4. That the act be committed with abuse of confidence or obvious ungratefulness.
5. That the crime be committed in the palace of the Chief Executive, or in his presence, or where public authorities are engaged in the discharge of their duties, or in a place dedicated to religious worship.
6. That the crime be committed in the night time, or in an uninhabited place, or by a band, whenever such circumstances may facilitate the commission of the offense.
Whenever more than three armed malefactors shall have acted together in the commission of an offense it shall be deemed to have been committed by a band.
7. That the crime be committed on the occasion of a conflagration, shipwreck, earthquake, epidemic or other calamity or misfortune.
8. That the crime be committed with the aid of armed men or persons who insure or afford impunity.
9. That the accused is a recidivist.
A recidivist is one who, at the time of his trial for one crime, shall have been previously convicted by final judgment of another crime embraced in the same title of this Code.
10. That the offender has been previously punished for an offense to which the law attaches an equal or greater penalty or for two or more crimes to which it attaches a lighter penalty.
11. That the crime be committed in consideration of a price, reward, or promise.
12. That the crime be committed by means of inundation, fire, poison, explosion, stranding of a vessel or intentional damage thereto, derailment of a locomotive, or by the use of any other artifice involving great waste and ruin.
13. That the act be committed with evident premeditation.
14. That craft, fraud, or disguise be employed.
15. That advantage be taken of superior strength, or means be employed to weaken the defense.
16. That the act be committed with treachery (alevosia).
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.
17. That means be employed or circumstances brought about which add ignominy to the natural effects of the act.
18. That the crime be committed after an unlawful entry. There is an unlawful entry when an entrance is effected by a way not intended for the purpose.
19. That as a means to the commission of a crime a wall, roof, floor, door, or window be broken.
20. That the crime be committed with the aid of persons under fifteen years of age or by means of motor vehicles, motorized water craft, airships, or other similar means.
21. That the Wrong done in the commission of the crime be deliberately augmented by causing other wrong not necessary for its commission.
What does it mean in plain language?
Article 14 lists twenty-one aggravating circumstances. These are facts about how, where, when or by whom a crime was committed that make the offender's liability heavier. Examples are treachery, evident premeditation, committing the crime at night or in the victim's home, and being a recidivist. When one is proven, the court can impose a heavier penalty within the range the law sets for the crime.
The article opens:
The following are aggravating circumstances:
The list is long, and some items carry their own definitions. The text comes from the 1930 Code, with item 20 as amended by Republic Act No. 5438 (1968).
How does it work in real life?
Rommel: a band at night
Rommel and four armed companions rob a house in a remote area at night. If the court finds that they acted together and that the night and the place helped them, item 6 (nighttime, uninhabited place, band) may be considered.
Liza: a second conviction
Liza was convicted by final judgment of theft. She is later tried for estafa, which is in the same title of the Code (crimes against property). She may be considered a recidivist under item 9.
Victor: the victim's home
Victor goes to his neighbor's house and assaults him inside, without any provocation from the neighbor. The crime being committed in the dwelling of the offended party is one of the circumstances in item 3.
What does this mean in practice?
- Must be proven. Whether a circumstance applies is decided by the court on the evidence, and it changes the period of the penalty, not the crime itself (unless the law uses it as a qualifying circumstance).
- Damages. For the damages courts award in killing cases, see damages for death in a criminal case.
- [Bail](/law/glossary/bail). For crimes punished by reclusion perpetua, see is murder bailable?.
- Alternative circumstances. Relationship, intoxication and education can aggravate or mitigate. See Article 15.
- Meaning in one line. See the glossary entry aggravating circumstance.
What are the 21 aggravating circumstances?
| No. | In plain words |
|---|---|
| 1 | The offender took advantage of his public position |
| 2 | The crime was committed in contempt of or with insult to the public authorities |
| 3 | Insult or disregard of the respect due to the offended party because of rank, age or sex, or the crime was committed in the offended party's dwelling without provocation from that party |
| 4 | Abuse of confidence or obvious ungratefulness |
| 5 | Committed in the palace of the Chief Executive or in his presence, where public authorities are discharging their duties, or in a place of religious worship |
| 6 | Nighttime, an uninhabited place or a band, when these help the commission of the crime |
| 7 | On the occasion of a fire, shipwreck, earthquake, epidemic or other calamity |
| 8 | With the aid of armed men or persons who insure or afford impunity |
| 9 | The accused is a recidivist |
| 10 | The offender was previously punished for an offense with an equal or greater penalty, or for two or more crimes with a lighter penalty |
| 11 | In consideration of a price, reward or promise |
| 12 | By means of flooding, fire, poison, explosion, stranding of or damage to a vessel, derailment of a locomotive, or other means involving great waste and ruin |
| 13 | Evident premeditation |
| 14 | Craft, fraud or disguise |
| 15 | Taking advantage of superior strength, or means used to weaken the defense |
| 16 | Treachery (alevosia) |
| 17 | Means or circumstances that add ignominy to the natural effects of the act |
| 18 | After an unlawful entry |
| 19 | Breaking a wall, roof, floor, door or window to commit the crime |
| 20 | With the aid of persons under fifteen, or by means of motor vehicles, motorized water craft, airships or similar means |
| 21 | The wrong was deliberately made worse by causing other wrong not necessary for the crime |
What is treachery?
Treachery is the circumstance most often discussed in killing cases. Article 14 defines it:
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.
Treachery applies only to crimes against the person. It is also one of the circumstances listed in Article 248 that turn a killing into murder. See homicide vs murder.
Who is a recidivist, and what is a band?
The article defines both:
A recidivist is one who, at the time of his trial for one crime, shall have been previously convicted by final judgment of another crime embraced in the same title of this Code.
Whenever more than three armed malefactors shall have acted together in the commission of an offense it shall be deemed to have been committed by a band.
So a recidivist must already have a final conviction for a crime in the same title of the Code (for example, two crimes against property). A band needs more than three armed offenders acting together, which means at least four.
Item 18 also defines unlawful entry: "an entrance is effected by a way not intended for the purpose", such as climbing in through a window.
How does an aggravating circumstance change the penalty?
The rules are in Articles 62 to 64:
- Three-period penalties. Article 64 says that when only an aggravating circumstance is present, the court imposes the penalty "in its maximum period". With neither aggravating nor mitigating circumstances, it imposes the medium period.
- A ceiling. "Whatever may be the number and nature of the aggravating circumstances", the court cannot impose a greater penalty than the one prescribed by law, in its maximum period (Article 64, rule 6).
- Offsetting. When both mitigating and aggravating circumstances are present, the court offsets them according to their relative weight (Article 64, rule 4).
- Indivisible penalties. A single indivisible penalty, such as reclusion perpetua, is applied regardless of mitigating or aggravating circumstances (Article 63).
- No double counting. Article 62 says a circumstance that the law includes in defining a crime and prescribing its penalty is not used again to increase the penalty, nor one so inherent in the crime that it must accompany it.
Mitigating circumstances are the other side. They are listed in Article 13 and lower the penalty; this page does not cover them.
What is a qualifying circumstance?
Some items in Article 14 also appear in the definition of a crime. Treachery, evident premeditation, superior strength, a price or reward, and fire or poison are listed in Article 248. There they "qualify" a killing into murder, a different crime with a heavier penalty than homicide under Article 249. When a circumstance is used that way, Article 62 keeps it from also being counted as a generic aggravating circumstance.
Frequently asked questions
How many aggravating circumstances are there in the Revised Penal Code?
Article 14 lists twenty-one. They include taking advantage of a public position, dwelling, nighttime, a band, recidivism, evident premeditation, treachery, superior strength and unlawful entry.
What is treachery?
Article 14 says there is treachery when the offender commits a crime against the person using means, methods or forms that tend directly and specially to insure its execution, without risk to himself arising from the defense the offended party might make.
Who is a recidivist?
Under Article 14, a recidivist is one who, at the time of his trial for one crime, has already been convicted by final judgment of another crime embraced in the same title of the Code.
What does an aggravating circumstance do to the penalty?
For a penalty with three periods, Article 64 says that when only an aggravating circumstance is present, the court imposes the penalty in its maximum period. The court can never go above the maximum period of the penalty prescribed by law.
Can the same circumstance aggravate and also define the crime?
No. Article 62 says an aggravating circumstance that the law already includes in defining a crime and prescribing its penalty is not taken into account to increase the penalty. Treachery, for example, can turn a killing into murder under Article 248.
General information, not legal advice. For your case, ask a lawyer, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or the agency.
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