Dear Atty. Chris,

I was out with my friends at a bar when one of my guy friends had a fight with another man. According to my friend, he didn’t think he’d bump with the other man while walking until they did. He apologized but the man didn’t accept his apology.

Our friend has a background in martial arts, so we cheered him to knock out his opponent. He did, and his enemy fell asleep.

The next day, his enemy filed a complaint against our friend and everyone who cheered for him (including me). Are we criminally liable?

Thank you, Atty.

Gelo

***

Dear Gelo,

To answer your inquiry, no, you are not criminally liable for cheering for your friend. The Revised Penal Code of the Philippines enumerates the individuals who are liable for felonies, it provides as follows:

“Article 16. Who are criminally liable. — The following are criminally liable for grave and less grave felonies: principals, accomplices, accessories.

“The following are criminally liable for light felonies: Principals, accomplices.

“Article 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.

“Article 18. Accomplices. — Accomplices are the persons who, not being included in Article 17, cooperate in the execution of the offense by previous or simultaneous acts.

“Article 19. Accessories. — Accessories are those who, having knowledge of the commission of the crime and without having participated therein, either as principals or accomplices, take part subsequent to its commission in any of the following manners:

“1. By profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the crime;

“2. By concealing or destroying the body of the crime, or the effects or instruments thereof, in order to prevent its discovery;

“3. By harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the principal of the crime, provided the accessory acts with abuse of his public functions or whenever the author of the crime is guilty of treason, parricide, murder, or an attempt to take the life of the Chief Executive, or is known to be habitually guilty of some other crime.”

Cheering for one of the contending parties in a bar fight doesn’t appear to falls under in any of the above-enumerated persons who are criminally liable for committing a crime. Thus, you are not criminally liable for cheering for your friend during an altercation.

Hope this helps.

Atty. Chris Liquigan