I

What are the limitations upon the power of Congress to enact penal laws?

II
What is the Doctrine of Pro Reo? How does it relate to Article 48 of the Revised Penal Code?

III
Rodolfo, a policeman, was cleaning his service pistol inside his house when it fell from his hand and fired. The
bullet hit a neighbor on the stomach and a second neighbor on the leg. The injuries sustained by the two
neighbors required thirty-five (35) days and nine (9) days of medical attendance, respectively. The
investigating fiscal later filed an information for frustrated homicide and slight physical injuries through
reckless imprudence against Rodolfo. Is the charge correct? Explain.

IV
Harry, an overseas contract worker, arrived from Saudi Arabia with considerable savings. Knowing him to be
“loaded”, his friends Jason, Manuel and Dave invited him to poker session at a rented beach cottage. When he
was losing almost all his money which to him was his savings of a lifetime, he discovered that he was being
cheated by his friends. Angered by the betrayal, he decided to take revenge on the three cheats.
Harry ordered several bottles of Tanduay Rhum and gave them to his companions to drink, as they did, until
they all fell asleep. When Harry saw his companions already sound asleep, he hacked them all to death. Then
he remembered his losses, he rifled through the pockets of his victims and got back all the money he lost. He
then ran away but not before burning the cottage to hide his misdeed. The following day, police investigators
found among the debris the charred bodies of Jason, Manuel, Dave and the caretaker of the resort. The
Provincial Prosecutor charged Harry with the complex crime of arson with quadruple homicide and robbery.
Was Harry properly charged? Discuss.

V
What is a privileged mitigating circumstance? Distinguish a privileged mitigating circumstance from an
ordinary mitigating circumstance as to reduction of penalty and offsetting against aggravating circumstance/s.

VI
After killing the victim, the accused absconded. He succeeded in eluding the police until he surfaced and
surrendered to the authorities about two years later. Charged with murder, he pleaded not guilty but, after
the prosecution had presented two witnesses implicating him to the crime, he changed his plea to that of
guilty. Should the mitigating circumstances of voluntary surrender and plea of guilty be considered in favor of
the accused?
 VII
Ponciano borrowed Ruben’s gun, saying that he would use it to kill Freddie. Because Ruben also resented
Freddie, he readily lent his gun, but told Ponciano: "O, pagkabaril mo kay Freddie, isauli mo kaagad, ha." Later,
Ponciano killed Freddie, but used a knife because he did not want Freddie’s neighbors to hear the gunshot.
a. What, if any, is the liability of Ruben? Explain.
b. Would your answer be the same if, instead of Freddie, it was Manuel, a relative of Ruben, who was
killed by Ponciano using Ruben’s gun?

VIII
Who is an accomplice?

IX
B imitated the signature of A, registered owner of a lot, in a special power of attorney naming him (B) as his
attorney-in-fact of A. On February 13, 1964, B mortgaged the lot to a bank using the special power of attorney
to obtain a loan. On the same day, both the special power of attorney and the mortgage contract were duly
registered in the Registry of Deeds. Because of B’s failure to pay, the bank foreclosed the mortgage and the lot
was sold to X in whose name a new title was issued. In March, 1974, A discovered that the property was
already registered in the name of X because of an ejectment case filed against him by X. If you were the
counsel of B, what would be your defense? Discuss.

X
On January 1990, while 5-year old Albert was urinating at the back of their house, he heard a strange noise
coming from the kitchen of their neighbor and playmate, Ara. When he peeped inside, he saw Mina, Ara’s
stepmother, very angry and strangling the 5-year old Ara to death. Albert saw Mina carry the dead body of
Ara, place it inside the trunk of her car and drive away. The dead body of Ara was never found. Mina spread
the news in the neighborhood that Ara went to live with her grandparents in Ormoc. For fear of his life, Albert
did not tell anyone, even his parents and relatives. 20 and ½ years after the incident, and right after his
graduation in Criminology, Albert reported the crime to NBI authorities. The crime of homicide prescribes in
20 years. Can the State still prosecute Mina for the death of Ara despite the lapse of 20 and ½ years? Explain.

XI
A, a teacher at Mapa High School, having gotten mad at X, one of his pupils, because of the latter’s throwing
paper clips at his classmates, twisted his right ear. X went out of the classroom crying and proceeded home
located at the back of the school. He reported to his parents, Y and Z, what A had done to him, Y and Z
immediately proceeded to the school building and because they were running and talking in loud voices, they
were seen by the barangay chairman, B, who followed them as he suspected that an untoward incident might
happen. Upon seeing A inside the classroom, X pointed him out to his father, Y, who administered a fist blow
on A, causing him to fall down. When Y was about to kick A, B rushed towards Y and pinned both of the latter’s
arms. Seeing his father being held by B, X went near and punched B on the face, which caused him to lose his
grip on Y. Throughout this incident, Z shouted words of encouragement at Y, her husband, and also
threatened to slap A. Security guards of the school arrived, intervened and surrounded X, Y and Z so that they
could be investigated in the principal’s office. Before leaving, Z passed near A and threw a small flower pot at
him but it was deflected by B.
a. What, if any, are the respective criminal liability of X, Y and Z?
b. Would your answer be the same if B were a barangay tanod only?

XII
Dancio, a member of a drug syndicate, was a detention prisoner in the provincial jail of X Province. Brusco,
another member of the syndicate, regularly visited Dancio. Edri, the guard in charge who had been receiving
gifts from Brusco everytime he visited Dancio, became friendly with him and became relaxed in the inspection
of his belongings during his jail visits. In one of Brusco's visits, he was able to smuggle in a pistol which Dancio
used to disarm the guards and destroy the padlock of the main gate of the jail, enabling Dancio to escape.
What crime(s) did Dancio, Brusco and Edri commit? Explain.

XIII
A, who is the private complainant in a murder case pending before a Regional Trial Court judge, gave a judge a
Christmas gift, consisting of big basket of assorted canned goods and bottles of expensive wines, easily worth
P10, 000.00. The judge accepted the gift knowing it came from A. What crime or crimes, if any, were
committed?

XIV
What is the crime of qualified bribery? May a judge be charged and prosecuted for such felony? How about a
public prosecutor? A police officer? Explain.

XV
Tommy saw Lino and Okito engaged in a street fight. Lino then suddenly drew his balisong and lunged at
Okito. In an effort to break up the fight, Tommy tried to snatch the balisong from Lino but not before the
latter had inflicted a wound on Okito. As Lino withdrew the weapon and attempted to stab Okito a second
time, Tommy tried to grab the weapon again. In so doing, his left forearm was slashed. As he succeeded in
snatching away the balisong with his right arm, it flew with such force, that it hit Nereo, a passerby who was
seriously injured. Explain your answers fully.
a. What is the criminal liability of Lino with respect to Okito, Tommy and Nereo?
b. In turn, is Tommy criminally liable to Nereo?

XVI
In a free-for-all brawl that ensued after some customers inside a nightclub became unruly, guns were fired by
a group, among them A and B, that finally put the customers back to their senses. Unfortunately, one
customer died. Subsequent investigation revealed that A’s gunshot had inflicted on the victim a slight wound
that did not cause the deceased’s death nor materially contribute to it. It was B’s gunshot that inflicted a fatal
 wound on the deceased. A contended that his liability should, if at all, be limited to slight physical injury.
Would you agree? Why?

XVII
Domingo is the caretaker of two (2) cows and two (2) horses owned by Hannibal. Hannibal told Domingo to
lend the cows to Tristan on the condition that the latter will give a goat to the former when the cows are
returned. Instead, Tristan sold the cows and pocketed the money. Due to the neglect of Domingo, one of the
horses was stolen. Knowing that he will be blamed for the loss, Domingo slaughtered the other horse, got the
meat, and sold it to Pastor. He later reported to Hannibal that the two horses were stolen.
a. What crime or crimes, if any, did Tristan commit? Explain.
b. What crime or crimes, if any, were committed by Domingo? Explain.

XVIII
a. What are the elements of fencing?
b. What is the difference between a fence and an accessory to theft or robbery? Explain.
c. Is there any similarity between them?

XIX
Pat. Buensuceso, posing as a buyer, approached Ronnie, a suspected drug pusher, and offered to buy P300.00
worth of shabu. Ronnie then left, came back five minutes later and handed the aluminum foil containing the
shabu to him. Before Pat. Buensuceso was able to deliver the marked money to Ronnie, the latter spotted a
policeman at a distance, whom Ronnie knew to be connected with the Narcotics Command of the Police.
Upon seeing the latter, Ronnie ran away but was arrested thirty minutes later by other policemen who
pursued him. Under the circumstances, would you consider the crime of sale of a prohibited drug already
consummated?

XX
Boyet Mar was charged with consented abduction by a 17-year old complainant. The accused made wedding
arrangements with the girl, but her parents insisted on the prosecution of the case. To avoid further
embarrassment of a court trial for him and the girl, the accused entered a plea of guilty. He then filed a
petition for probation before serving sentence, but the court denied the petition on the ground that “it would
be better for the accused to serve sentence so that he would reform himself and avoid the scandal in the
community that would be caused by the grant of the petition. The accused serve sentence but he brought the
matter to the Supreme Court in a petition for certiorari. Did the trial court act correctly in denying the petition
for probation?