TITLE ONE- CRIMES AGAINST NATIONAL SECURITY AND LAWS OF THE
From the nature of the act itself; or
NATION
SECTION 1- Treason and Espionage
1. Article 114- Treason
A. Elements:
1. That the offender is a Filipino citizen or an alien residing in the
Philippines;
2. That there is war in which the Philippines is involved;
3. That the offender either –
a. Levies war against the government, or
b. Adheres to the enemies by giving them aid or comfort.
✓ Treason- breach of allegiance to a government, committed by a
person owing allegiance to it.
✓ Levies war- concurrence of two things:
1. That there be actual assembling of men; and
2. for the purpose of executing a treasonable design by force.
✓ The war must be directed against the government. It is necessary that
the purpose of levying war is to deliver the country in whole or in part
to the enemy. It must be in collaboration with a foreign enemy.
✓ When killings and other common crimes are charged as overt acts of
treason, they cannot be regarded as separate crimes or as complexed
with treason.
✓ Treason by a Filipino citizen can be committed in the Philippines or
elsewhere; treason by an alien must be committed in the Philippines.
B. Ways of proving treason
1. Testimony of two witnesses, at least, to the same overt act;
or
2. Confession of the accused in open court.
✓ An overt act- physical activity, that deed that constitutes the
rendering of aid and comfort.
✓ It is not required that their testimony be identical. The defendant
should be acquitted if only of the two witnesses is believed by the
court. The rule is not affected by the minor discrepancies in details of
the testimony.
C. Adherence may be proved:
1. By one witness;
2.
3. From the circumstances surrounding the act.
✓ Confession means confession of guilt; it is not only an admission of
facts made by the accused after a plea of not guilty.
2. Article 115- Conspiracy and proposal to commit treason
A. Conspiracy to commit treason is committed when in time of war,
two or more persons come to an agreement to levy war against
the government or to adhere to the enemies by giving them aid
or comfort, and decides to commit it.
B. Proposal to commit treason is committed when in time of war, a
person who has decided to levy war against the government or
adhere to the enemies by giving them aid or comfort, proposes
its execution to other person or persons.
✓ The two-witness rule does not apply to conspiracy or proposal to
commit treason.
3. Article 116- Misprision of treason
A. Elements
1. That the offender must be owing allegiance to the
Government and not a foreigner;
2. That he has knowledge of any conspiracy to commit treason
against the government;
3. That he conceals or does not disclose or make known the
same as soon as possible to the governor or fiscal of the
province or the mayor or fiscal of the city where he resides.
✓ This is an exception to the rule that mere silence does not make a
person criminally liable.
4. Article 117- Espionage
A. Two ways of committing espionage:
1. By entering, without therefor, a warship, fort, or naval or
military establishment or reservation to obtain any
information, plans, photographs or other data of a
confidential nature relative to the defense of the
Philippines.
Elements:
 a. That the offender enters a warship, fort, naval or
military establishment or reservation;
b. That he has no authority therefor;
c. That his purpose (intent) is to obtain information,
plans, photographs, or other data of confidential
nature relative to the defense of the Philippines.
2. By disclosing to the representative of a foreign nation the
contents of the articles, data or information referred to
in paragraph no. 1 which he had in possession by reason
of the public office he holds.
Elements:
a. That the offender is a public officer;
b. That he has in his possession the articles, data or
information referred to in paragraph no. 1, by reason
of the public office he holds.
c. That he discloses their content to e representative of
a foreign nation.
✓ Espionage distinguished from treason
a. Espionage is a crime not conditioned by the citizenship of the
offender. Same with treason.
b. Treason is committed only in time of war, espionage may be
committed both in time of peace and in time of war.
c. Treason is limited in two ways of committing the crime; levying
war and adhering to the enemy giving them aid or comfort; while
espionage may be committed in many ways.
SECTION 2- Provoking war and disloyalty in case of war.
1. Article 118- Inciting to war or giving motives for reprisals
Elements
1. That the offender performs unlawful or unauthorized acts;
SECTION 3- Piracy and mutiny on the high seas or in Philippine waters
2. That such acts provoke or give occasion for a war involving or
liable to involve the Philippines or expose Filipino citizens to
reprisals in their persons or property.
✓ The intention of the offender is immaterial.
✓ It is committed in time of peace.
2. Article 119- Violation of neutrality
Elements
1. That there be war in which Philippine is not involved;
2. That there is a regulation issued by competent authority for the
purpose of enforcing neutrality;
3. That the offender violates such regulation.
3. Article 120- Correspondence with hostile country
Elements
1. That it is in time of war in which the Philippines in involved;
2. That the offender makes correspondence with an enemy country
or territory occupied by enemy troops;
3. That the correspondence is either –
a. Prohibited by the government, or
b. Carried by ciphers or conventional signs, or
c. Containing notice or information which might be useful to
the enemy.
4. Article 121- Flight to enemy’s country
Elements
1. That there is a war in which the Philippines is involved;
2. That the offender must be owing allegiance to the government;
3. That the offender attempts to flee or go to enemy country;
4. That going to enemy country is prohibited by competent
authority.
✓ An alien resident may be guilty of flight to enemy country.
✓ Must be implemented by the government; if going or fleeing to an
enemy country is not prohibited by competent authority, the crime
in Article 121 cannot be committed.
1. Article 122- Piracy in general and mutiny on the high seas or
Philippine waters
A. Two ways or modes of committing piracy
1. By attacking or seizing a vessel on high seas or in Philippine
waters;
 2. By seizing in the vessel while on the high seas or in Philippines
waters the whole or part of its cargo, its equipment or
personal belongings of its complement or passengers.
B. Elements
1. That a vessel is on high seas or in Philippine waters;
2. That the offenders are not members of its complement or
passengers of the vessel;
3. That the offenders (a) attack or seize that vessel, or (b) seize
the whole or part of the cargo of said vessel, its equipment
or personal belongings of its complement or passengers.
C. Mutiny- unlawful resistance to a superior officer, or the raising of
commotions and disturbances on board a ship against the
authority of its commander; usually committed by the other
members of the complement and may be committed by the
passengers of the vessel.
D. Piracy distinguished from mutiny
In piracy, the persons who attack a vessel or seize its cargo are
strangers to said vessels; while in mutiny, they are members of
the crew or passengers.
3. Vessel- any vessel or watercraft used for transport of
passengers and cargo from one place to another through
Philippine waters.
2. Article 123- Qualified piracy
A. Piracy or mutiny is qualified if any of the following circumstances
is present:
1. Whenever the offenders have seized the vessel by boarding
or firing upon the same; (refers to piracy only)
2. Whenever the pirates have abandoned their victims without
means of saving themselves; (specifically refers to pirates
only)
or
3. Whenever the crime is accompanied by murder, homicide,
physical injuries, or rape.
B. Qualified piracy is a special complex crime punishable by
reclusion Perpetua to death, regardless of the number of victims.
C. Any person who aids or protects pirates or abets the commission
of piracy shall be considered as an accomplice.

Intent to gain is essential in piracy; in mutiny, the offenders may

only intent to ignore the ship’s officers or they may be prompted
by a desire to commit plunder.

E. Definitions
1. High seas- any waters on the sea coast which are without the
boundaries of low-water mark, although such waters may be
in the jurisdictional limits of a foreign country. (It does not
matter that the crime was committed within the
jurisdictional three-mile limit of a foreign state. People v. Lol-
lo, et. al.)
2. Philippines waters- all bodies of water around, between and
connecting each of the islands of the Philippine archipelago,
an all other waters belonging to the Philippines by historic or
legal title over which Philippines has sovereignty or
jurisdiction.