midterm

• Forgery


  The falsification and counterfeiting of treasury/banknotes or any instruments payable to bearer or order
• Falsification


  The commission of any of the 8 acts mentioned in Article 171 on legislative, public or official, commercial, or private documents, or wireless, or telegraph messages
• One who is found in possession of, and who has used, a forged document is the presumed author of the forgery
• If a person had in his/her possession of a falsified document and he/she made sure of it, taking advantage and profiting, the clear presumption is that he/she is the material author of the falsification
• Forgery under Article 169

  Falsification and counterfeiting of treasury/banknotes or any instruments payable to bearer or order
• Falsification under Article 171

  Commission of any of the 8 acts mentioned on legislative, public or official, commercial, or private documents, or wireless, or telegraph messages
• Public Document


  • Documents created, executed, or issued by a public official to the exigencies of the public service, or in the execution of a public official intervened
  • Official Documents - documents in the execution which public officers take part in by virtue of office/any document which has become a part of the public records
  • Private documents punished as public documents - When acknowledged before a notary public
  • Private documents punished as public documents - Intended to be a part of the public/official record
• Private Document


  • Deeds/instruments executed by private persons without intervention of a notary public/other person legally authorized by which a document some disposition or agreement is proved, evidence or set forth
• Commercial Document


  • Documents used by merchants/businesspersons to promote or facilitate trade/credit transactions
• 5 classes of falsification

  • Falsification of legislative documents
  • Falsification of a document by a public officer, employee or notary public; or ecclesiastical minister
  • Falsification of a public official, or commercial document by a private individual
  • Falsification of a private document by any persons
  • Falsification of wireless, telegraph, and telephone messages
• Falsification by a public officer, employee, notary or ecclesiastical minister


  • Offender is a public officer, employee, notary public, or ecclesiastical minster
  • He/she takes advantage of his position
  • Offender falsifies a document
• A public officer who commits falsification but did not take advantage of his official position will be criminally liable but punished under Article 172 instead, because he will be considered a private person
• Heads of offices as final approving authority are not liable for falsifications due to their reliance on good faith for people who prepare the documents, unless there is clear evidence of conspiracy
• A private person is guilty of falsification by a public officer when there is conspiracy and incurs the same liability and penalty as the public officer
• Falsification of a public document need not be made on an official form, it is sufficient that the document is given the appearance of, or made to appear similar to, the official form
• Depends on the mode of falsification, in some cases there must be a genuine document that is falsified, in others falsification may be committed by simulating or fabricating a document
• Different modes of falsifying a document under Article 171

  • Counterfeiting/imitating any handwriting, signature, or rubric
  • Causing it to appear that persons have participated in any act/proceeding when they did not in fact participate
  • Attributing to persons who have participated in an act/proceeding statements other than those in fact made them
  • Making untruthful statements in a narration of facts
  • Altering true dates
  • Making any alterations/intercalation in a genuine document which changes its meanings
  • Issuing in an authenticated form a document purporting to be a copy of an original document when no such original exists, or including a copy of a statement contrary to, or different from the genuine original
  • Intercalating any instrument/note relative to the issuance in a protocol, registry, or official book
• Alteration which speaks the truth is not falsification, the idea of deception is inherent in the word alteration
• Falsification by Private Individuals and use of Falsified Documents


  • Falsification of public, official or commercial document by private individual
  • Falsification of private document by any person
  • Use of falsified documents
• There is no complex crime of estafa through falsification of a private document, falsification of a document as a means to commit estafa is falsification, estafa is committed without the necessity of falsifying a document
• The essential difference between falsification of private documents and public/official documents is that falsification of private document primarily takes into account the prejudice to a third party, while falsification of public/official document punishes the violation of public faith and the perversion of truth
• Falsification of wireless, cable, telegraph, and telephone, messages and use of falsified messages

  1. Uttering fictitious wireless, telegraph or telephone messages

  2. Falsifying wireless, telegraph, or telephone messages

  3. Using falsified messages
• False Medical Certificates/Merit/Service, etc.


  • Physician/surgeon who, in connection with the practice of profession, issued a false certificate
  • Public officer who issued a false certificate of merit/service, good conduct or similar circumstances
  • Private individual who falsified a certificate failing in the classes mentioned in nos. 1 and 2
• Using false Certificates


  1. A physician/surgeon had issued a false medical certificate or a public officer or private person had falsified certificate of merit, or service, good conduct, or similar circumstances

  2. Offender knew that the certificate was false
• wireless, cable, telegraph or telephone message was falsified by any person specific in Article 173
• The accused used falsified dispatch
• The use of falsified dispatch resulted in the prejudice of a third party, or the use was with the intent to cause such prejudice
• Persons liable for false Medical Certificates/Merit/Service, etc. are: physician/surgeon who, in connection with the practice of profession, issued a false certificate, Public officer who issued a false certificate of merit/service, good conduct or similar circumstances, Private individual who falsified a certificate failing in the classes mentioned in nos. 1 and 2
• Elements of Using false Certificates: A physician/surgeon had issued a false medical certificate or a public officer or private person had falsified certificate of merit, or service, good conduct, or similar circumstances, Offender knew that the certificate was false, he/she used the same
• When any of the false certificates mentioned in Article 174 is used in judicial proceeding, article 172 does not apply
• Punishable Acts under Manufacturing and possession of instruments/implements for falsification: making/introducing into the Philippines any stamps, dies, marks, or other instruments/implements for counterfeiting, Possessing with intent to use the instruments/implements for counterfeiting/falsification made/introduced into the Philippines by another person
• Two ways of committing the crime of Usurpation of Authority or Official Functions: By knowingly misrepresenting oneself to be an officer, agent, representative of any department/agency of the Philippine or foreign government, By performing any act pertaining to a person in authority/public officer of the government under the pretense of official position and without being lawfully entitled to do so
• A fictitious name is any other name which a person publicly applies to him/herself without authority of law
• Elements of Illegal use of Uniforms or Insignia: Offender makes use of insignia, uniform, or dress, The the aforementioned pertains to an office not held by the offender or to a class of person which he is not a member, That the aforementioned is used publicly and improperly
• False Testimony is committed by any person who, being under oath and required to testify to the truth of a certain matter at a hearing before a competent authority, shall deny the truth or say something contrary to it
• Elements of False testimony against Defendant: There be a criminal proceeding, Offender testified falsely under oath against the defendant, Offender gives false testimony knowing that it is false, The defendant against whom the false testimony is given is either acquitted or convicted in a final judgment
• Elements of False testimony favorable to the defendant: There be a criminal proceeding, Testifies falsely under oath in favor to the defendant, Offender knows it is false
• Elements of False Testimony in Civil Cases: Testimony must be given in civil cases, Must relate to the issues presented in said case, Testimony = false, False testimony = given by the defendant knowing it to be false, Testimony must be malicious and given with an intent to affect the issues presented in case
• Two ways of committing perjury: Falsely testifying under oath, Making a false affidavit
• Elements of Perjury: Accused made a statement under oath/executed an affidavit upon a material matter, The statement/affidavit was made before a competent officer authorized to receive and administer oath, In that statement/affidavit, the accused made a willful and deliberate assertion of falsehood, The sword statement/affidavit containing the falsity is required by law/made for a legal purpose