Incomplete justifying or exempting circumstances, A13(1) Revised Penal Code

1. Concept

Incomplete justifying or to exempting circumstances – refers to the mitigating circumstance under the Revised Penal Code wherein not all of the requisites necessary to justify or exempt from criminal liability are present.

a. Legal basis

Article 13. Mitigating circumstances. - The following are mitigating circumstances;

1. Those mentioned in the preceding chapter, when all the requisites necessary to justify or to exempt from criminal liability in the respective cases are not attendant.

(Revised Penal Code)

2. Incomplete justifying or to exempting circumstances

For the mitigating circumstance of incomplete justifying or exempting circumstances, the accused is invoking, by way of a defense, a justifying or exempting circumstance; however, not all of the elements or requisites are present.

a. Incomplete justifying circumstances

Read more: Justifying circumstances, A11 Revised Penal Code

1) Incomplete self-defense

For this to apply, one of the essential requisites below is missing.

Essential requisites of self-defense:

1) Unlawful aggression on the part of the victim;

2) Reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel such aggression; and

3) Lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person resorting to self-defense. (Belbis, Jr. v. Brucales, G.R. No. 181052, November 14, 2012, Per Peralta, J.)

Incomplete self-defense is not considered as a justifying act, but merely a mitigating circumstance; henc...