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 Art. 15. Their concept. — Alternative circumstances arethose which must be taken into consideration as aggravatingor mitigating according to the nature and effects of thecrime and the other conditions attending its commission.They are the relationship, intoxication and the degree of instruction and education of the offender.The alternative circumstance of relationship shall be taken

into consideration when the offended party in the spouse,ascendant, descendant, legitimate, natural, or adopted

 brother or sister, or relative by affinity in the same degreesof the offender.The intoxication of the offender shall be taken intoconsideration as a mitigating circumstances when theoffender has committed a felony in a state of intoxication, if the same is not habitual or subsequent to the plan to commitsaid felony but when the intoxication is habitual orintentional, it shall be considered as an aggravatingcircumstance. 

 Alternative circumstances1. Relationship

o Shall be taken into consideration when offended party is the

• Spouse•  Ascendant/descendant(stepmother/stepfather/stepson/stepdaughter,adopter + adoptee included here)• Legitimate/natural/adopted sibling• Relative by affinity in the same degree of the

offender• Uncle + niece NOT covered

o Relationship is mitigating in crimes against property (robbery, usurpation, fraudulent insolvency, arson)o Only civil liability shall result from theft, swindling ormalicious mischief caused mutually by spouses,ascendants/descendants, relatives by affinity in the sameline, siblings and siblings in law IF LIVING TOGETHER o Relationship is exempting in theft, swindling/estafa,malicious mischief o Relationship is aggravating in crimes against persons

in cases where the offended party is a relative of a higher

than or equal degree as the offender (killing a half- brother, killing a brother)o Killing a brother-in law: aggravating or not? Except when accused admits that the victim is his brother-in-law,relationship by affinity is presumed not to aggravate thecrime unless sufficient evidence is shown.o Physical injuries

• Serious physical injuries: aggravating• Slight physical injuries: mitigating if victim isrelative of lower degree than accused, aggravating if higher degree

o Relationship is mitigating in trespass to dwellingo Relationship is neither mitigating nor aggravating when relationship is an element of the offense (parricide,adultery, concubinage)o Relationship is always aggravating in crimes againstchastity (lasciviousness, rape)

•  WHY? Note the nature and effect of the crimes!Not shocking to hear of father injuring daughter, but very shocking to hear of father raping daughter.

2. Intoxicationo Mitigating if accidental (not habitual nor intentional,not subsequent to the plan to commit the crime)o  Aggravating if habitual or intentional

• Habitual drunkard: one given to intoxication by use of intoxicating drinks

habit must be ACTUAL andCONFIRMED Not necessary that it is continuous or adaily occurrence

• Intentional drunkenness: Before killing B, A drank a glass of wine. When he was drunk, A killedB.

o Offender's mental faculties MUST be affected by drunkenness

• Must diminish the agent's capacity to know theinjustice of his acts and his will to act accordingly • The amount of wine taken must be of suchquantity as to blur the offender's reason and deprivehim of self-control

o Proper evidence must be shown for intoxication to beaggravating

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o  Accused's state of intoxication must be proved todetermine whether it is aggravating or mitigatingo  Why is intoxication an alternative circumstance?

• Intoxication, mitigating: will power is impairedunder the influence of liquor• Intoxication, aggravating

Intentional: the offender resorted to it to be courageous enough to commit a crime Habitual: constant use of intoxicatingliquor lessens individual resistance to evilthoughts and undermines will power, makinghim a potential evildoer against whom society has the right to penalize

o Intoxication is presumed accidental unless provenotherwiseo Non-habitual intoxication, lack of instruction andobfuscation are not to be taken separately 

• Nonhabitual intoxication = disturbance of offender's reasoning, therefore lack of instruction will not have any influence over him• Obfuscation has the same effect as nonhabitualintoxication

2. Degree of instruction and education of the offendero Generally mitigating: low degree or lack of instructionand education

• Illiteracy  To invoke the benefit of illiteracy as analternative circumstance of lack of instruction,lack of sufficient intelligence must also beconsidered Just because you cannot read/write doesnot mean you cannot understand what you aredoing

o Exceptions: lack of instruction is not mitigating in Crimes against property (estafa, theft,robbery, arson) Crimes against chastity (rape, adultery)

• No one is so ignorant as not toknow that rape is wrong

Murder

• To kill is forbidden by naturallaw which every rational being issupposed to know and feel• Exception: Premeditatedmurder, but the accused were "ignorantpeople living in a barrio almost 20 KMaway from civilization" (People v Mantala)

• Lack of instruction must be proven by thedefense• Lack of instruction must be first raised in trialcourt. It cannot be raised for the first time inappellate court• Treason

Not mitigating, love for country should be a natural feeling of every citizen, regardlessof education Mitigating in other cases, if theaccused's schooling is extremely confined

ο  Aggravating: high degree of instruction and education, when offender uses his learning to commit a crime

• Example: a lawyer commits estafa, a doctoruses poison to kill his victim in order to avoiddetection• Exception: education as a lawyer does notaggravate physical injuries (so long as you don't usethat education to physically injure someone)