Short answer. Under Article 55 of the Revised Penal Code, an accessory to a frustrated felony receives the penalty two degrees lower than the penalty prescribed for the frustrated crime itself. Because the frustrated stage already carries a reduced penalty compared to the consummated offense, the accessory's penalty is substantially lighter than what a principal would face.
What the law says
The penalty lower by two degrees than that prescribed by law for the frustrated felony shall be imposed upon the accessories to the commission of a frustrated felony.
Revised Penal Code, Article 55 — Accessories To Frustrated Crime. Read the full provision →
The rule for accessories to frustrated crimes
Article 55 of the Revised Penal Code follows the same structural logic as the rules for accessories to consummated and attempted crimes: the accessory receives the penalty two degrees lower than the penalty for the stage of the crime they aided after the fact. For a frustrated felony, the starting point is the penalty for the frustrated offense — not the consummated one. From that already-reduced base, two more degrees are subtracted to arrive at the accessory's penalty. The three-level ladder of consummated, frustrated, and attempted penalties each serve as the baseline from which the accessory's reduction is measured.
Frustrated versus consummated: how the stage affects the calculation
A frustrated felony is one where the offender performs all the acts of execution that would produce the crime but the result does not follow because of causes independent of the offender's will. The frustrated stage generally carries a penalty one degree lower than the consummated crime. An accessory to the frustrated crime then receives two degrees below that, placing the accessory's penalty three degrees below the consummated offense in total. This cumulative reduction can significantly compress the accessory's sentence, particularly for serious crimes with heavy base penalties.
Accessories: post-facto participation
Accessories are distinguished by the timing of their involvement. They enter the picture after the crime is already complete — in this case, after the frustrated acts have been committed. They may profit from the crime's effects, conceal evidence, destroy the body or instruments of the offense to prevent discovery, or harbor and assist the escape of the principals. Because they did not contribute to making the crime happen, the Revised Penal Code treats them as the least culpable category of participants. The two-degree reduction in Article 55 reflects this judgment about relative culpability.
Family members and the exemption
The Revised Penal Code exempts certain accessories from criminal liability: close relatives — specifically parents, children, siblings, spouses, and ascendants and descendants within certain degrees — who conceal or assist the escape of a principal are generally not punishable as accessories, provided they did not profit from the crime. This exemption applies regardless of whether the underlying crime was consummated, frustrated, or attempted. When the exemption applies, the person escapes liability entirely; Article 55's penalty formula does not come into play. The exemption is personal and does not extend to friends, associates, or others outside the specified family relationship.