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CHAPTER V
SOME PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY
SEC. 8. Indwidual Criminal Responsibility. — (a) In
addition to existing provisions im Philippine law on principles
of criminal responsibility, a person shall be criminally liable
as principal for a crime defined and penalized in this Act if
he/she:
(1) Commits such a crime, whether as an mdividual,
jointly with another or through another person, regardless of
whether that other person is crimmally responsible;
(2) Orders, sohcits or induces the commission of such a
crime which in fact occurs or is attempted;
(3) In any other way contributes to the commission or
attempted commission of such a crime by a group of person
acting with a common purpose. Such contribution shall be
intentional and shall either:
G) be made with the aim of furthering the criminal
activity or criminal purpose of the group, where such activity
or purpose involves the commussion of a crime defined in this
Act; or
(ii) be made in the knowledge of the intention of the
group to commit the crime.
(b) A person shall be criminally liable as accomplice for
facilitating the commission of a crime defined and penalized
tm this Act if he/she aids, abets or otherwise assists in its
commission or attempted commission, meluding providing the
means for its commission.
(c) A person shall be crimmally liable for a crime defined
and penalized in this Act if he/she attempts to commit such
‘a crime by taking action that commences its execution by
means of a substantial step, but the crime does not occur
because of circumstances independent of the person’s intention.
However, a person who abandons the effort to commit the
crime or otherwise prevents the completion of the crime shall
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not be liable for punishment under this Act for the attempt
to commit the same if he/she completely and voluntarily gave
up the criminal purpose.
Sec. 9. irrelevance of Official Capacity. ~ This Act shall
apply equally to all persons without any distinction based on
official capacity. In particular, official capacity as a head of
state or government, a memberof a government or parliament,
an elected representative or a governmentofficial shall in no
case exempt a person from criminal responsibility under this
Act, nor shall it, in and of itself, constitute a ground for
reduction of sentence. However:
(a) Immunities or special procedural rules that may be
attached to the official capacity of a person under Philippine
law other than the established constitutional immunity from
suit of the Philippine President during his/her tenure, shall
not bar the court from exercising its jurisdiction over such
a person; and
(b) Immunities that may be attached to the official
capacity of a person under international law may limit the
application of this Act, but only within the bounds established
under international law.
SEC. 10. Responsibility of Superiors. — In addition to
other grounds of criminal responsibility for crimes defined and
penalized under this Act, a superior shall be criminally
responsible as a principal for such crimes committed by
subordinates under his/her effective command and control, or
effective authority and control as the case may be, as a result
of his/her failure to properly exercise control over such
subordinates, where:
(a) That superior either knew or, owing to the
circumstances at the lime, should have known that the
subordinates were committing or about to commit such
erimes; ~
(b) That superior failed to take all necessary and
reasonable measures within his/her power to prevent or repress
their commission or to submit the matter to the competent
authorities for investigation and prosecution.