RPC INTRODUCTION 7 LEGALITY FILIPINO EDITION

This video outlines the *constitutional framework and primary principles* governing Philippine penal law, emphasizing the *Principle of Legality**, which dictates that no act is a crime without a pre-existing statute. This legal bedrock prevents the State from **punishing acts retroactively* or using judicial interpretation to create new offenses by analogy. Highlighting the *personal nature of criminal liability**, the texts explain that individuals and corporate officers cannot be held responsible for the crimes of others without proof of direct participation. Furthermore, the documents clarify that **constitutional challenges based on vagueness or overbreadth* are strictly reserved for free speech cases and cannot be used to facially invalidate ordinary criminal laws. In the digital realm, recent jurisprudence confirms that *cyber libel is not a new crime* but a new method of commission, strictly subject to a one-year prescriptive period starting from the date of discovery. Ultimately, these materials illustrate how the judiciary maintains a *strict construction of penal statutes* to protect individual liberty against the arbitrary exercise of State power.