Short answer. In a fixed order. Article 110 makes principals, accomplices, and accessories each liable within their own class, and sets the sequence of subsidiary liability: enforced first against the property of the principals, next against that of the accomplices, and lastly against that of the accessories. The victim is paid down that ladder.
What the law says
The subsidiary liability shall be enforced, first against the property of the principals; next, against that of the accomplices, and, lastly, against that of the accessories.
Revised Penal Code, Article 110 — Several And Subsidiary Civil Liability, And Order Of Payment. Read the full provision →
Each class is solidary within itself
The Code first groups the offenders by the role they played. Article 110 provides that the principals, accomplices, and accessories, each within their respective class, shall be liable severally (in solidum) among themselves for their quotas, and subsidiarily for those of the other persons liable. So within a single class — say, two principals — each is solidarily liable for that class's share, meaning the victim may collect the whole of that share from either of them, leaving the two to sort out their contributions between themselves. This makes recovery easier for the victim, who does not have to chase each convict for a separate fraction.
The order of payment across the classes
Between the classes, the article sets a strict sequence. It states that the subsidiary liability shall be enforced, first against the property of the principals; next, against that of the accomplices, and, lastly, against that of the accessories. The principals, being most responsible, are reached first; only when their property cannot cover the liability does it fall on the accomplices, and only then, if still unsatisfied, on the accessories. This ladder mirrors the degrees of participation in the crime. It ensures those who bore the greatest share of guilt are made to answer before those whose involvement was more remote.
Whoever pays can seek reimbursement
The scheme is not meant to leave one convict permanently carrying another's share. The article provides that whenever the liability in solidum or the subsidiary liability has been enforced, the person by whom payment has been made shall have a right of action against the others for the amount of their respective shares. So a principal who pays more than his own quota, or a co-offender reached because someone else could not pay, may turn around and recover from those who were ultimately liable for their portions. The victim is paid first; the internal balancing among the offenders happens afterward, among themselves.
What the ordering does not change
The sequence governs whose property is tapped first, not how much the victim can recover. The victim is entitled to the full civil liability arising from the crime, and the ranking of principals, accomplices, and accessories is simply the route by which that liability is collected. Nor does the order let a principal escape by pointing to an accomplice; principals are the first, not the last, to be reached. And because the classes answer subsidiarily for one another, the inability of one class to pay does not extinguish the debt — it shifts the burden down the ladder to the next class until the victim is satisfied or the offenders' property is exhausted.