Text of the provision
Art. 17. Principals. -The following are considered principals: 1. Those who take a direct part in the execution of the act; 2. Those who directly force or induce others to commit it; 3. Those who cooperate in the commission of the offense by another act without which it would not have been accomplished.
Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, Act No. 3815, as amended. Reproduced in full from the official enactment and verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings.
What this article means
Three kinds of people are treated as principals: those who take a direct part in carrying out the act, those who directly force or induce others to commit it, and those who cooperate by another act without which the crime could not have been accomplished. All three bear the same rank of liability, even though only one may have physically done the deed.
Questions about this provision
- I never laid a hand on the victim — can I still be convicted as a principal?
- I only drove the car — does that make me a principal by indispensable cooperation?
- The person who actually did the act was forced into it by me — which of us is the principal?
Related provisions
- Article 16 — Who Are Criminally Liable.
- Article 25 — Scale Of Penalties.
On this text. This article is reproduced as the Revised Penal Code enacted it, verified word-for-word against two independent sources. Republic Act No. 10951 (2017) revised the penalty amounts in many other articles of this Code; where an amount appears below it is the figure this article itself carries.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.