Art. 248. Penalty for complex crimes. - When a single act constitutes two or more grave or less grave felonies, or when an offense is a necessary means for committing the other, the penalty for the most serious crime shall be imposed, the same to be applied in its maximum period. (Revised Penal Code)

In a complex crime, two or more crimes are actually committed, however, in the eyes of the law and in the conscience of the offender they constitute only one crime, thus, only one penalty is imposed. There are two kinds of complex crime. The first is known as a compound crime, or when a single act constitutes two or more grave or less grave felonies while the other is known as a complex crime proper, or when an offense is a necessary means for committing the other (People v. Jugueta, G.R. No. 202124, April 5, 2016).


Two kinds of complex crime:

1. Compound Crime - when a single act constitutes 2 or more grave or less grave felonies

Requisites:
  1. one single act is performed by the offender
  2. the single act produces 
    • 2 or more grave felonies
    • 2 or more less grave felonies
    • 1 or more grave and 1 or more less grave felonies

2. Complex Crime Proper -  when an offense is a necessary means for committing another

Requisites:
  1. at least 2 offenses are committed
  2. one or some of the offenses must be necessary to commit the other
  3. both or all the offenses must be punished under the same statute

No complex crime if one offense is light

● Applying article 48, it follows that if one offense is light. there is no complex crime. The resulting offenses may be treated as a separate or the light felony may be absorbed by the grave felony. Thus, the light felonies of damage to property and slight physical injuries, both resulting from a single act of imprudence, do not constitute a complex crime. They cannot be charged in one information. They are separate offenses subject to distinct penalties.

Where the single act of imprudence resulted in double less serious physical injuries, damage to property amounting to P10,000 and slight physical injuries, a chief of police did not err in filing a separate complaint for the slight physical injuries and another complaint for the lesiones menos graves and damage to property.

A chief of police likewise did not err in filing separate complaints for slight physical injuries and grave oral defamation committed on the same occasion by one person against the same victim (Lontok v. Gorgonio, G.R. No. L-37396 April 30, 1979)


What is the underlying philosophy of complex crimes? 

The underlying philosophy of complex crimes in the Revised Penal Code, which follows the pro reo principle, is intended to favor the accused by imposing a single penalty irrespective of the crimes committed. The rationale being, that the accused who commits two crimes with single criminal impulse demonstrates lesser perversity than when the crimes are committed by different acts and several criminal resolutions (People v. Gaffud, G.R. No. 168050, September 19, 2008)


What court has jurisdiction over a complex crime?

Jurisdiction over the whole complex crime must logically be lodged with the trial court having jurisdiction to impose the maximum and most serious penalty imposable on an offense forming part of the complex crime. A complex crime must be prosecuted integrally, as it were, and not split into its component offenses and the latter made the subject of multiple informations possibly brought in different courts. This is the thrust of our case law on the matter (Cuyos v. Garcia, G.R. No. L-46934 April 15, 1988)


What is the penalty for complex crime?

Article 48 of the RPC  provides that the penalty for the most serious crime shall be imposed, the same to be applied in its maximum period.


Monetary award in compound and complex crimes

● When it comes to compound and complex crimes, although the single act done by the offender caused several crimes, the fact that those were the result of a single design, the amount of civil indemnity and moral damages will depend on the penalty and the number of victims. For each of the victims, the heirs should be properly compensated. If it is multiple murder without any ordinary aggravating circumstance but merely a qualifying aggravating circumstance, but the penalty imposed is death because of Art. 48 of the RPC wherein the maximum penalty shall be imposed, then, for every victim who dies, the heirs shall be indemnified with ₱100,000.00 as civil indemnity, ₱100,000.00 as moral damages and ₱100,000.00 as exemplary damages (People v. Jugueta, G.R. No. 202124, April 5, 2016)

●As for the monetary award, People v. Jugueta teaches that civil indemnity, moral damages, and exemplary damages must be awarded for each component of the complex crime. Prevailing jurisprudence sets the award of P100,000.00 as civil indemnity, P100,000.00 as moral damages, and P100,000.00 as exemplary damages in murder cases where the imposable penalty is death but due to the prohibition to impose the same, the actual penalty imposed is reclusion perpetua. An award of P50,000.00 as temperate damages is likewise proper. With respect to the crime of attempted murder, an award of P25,000.00 as civil indemnity, P25,000.00 as moral damages, and P25,000.00 as exemplary damages is fitting (People v. Bendencio, G.R. No. 235016, September 08, 2020)


There is no complex crime:

1. In case of continuing crimes
2. When one offense is committed to conceal the other
3. When the other crime is an indispensable part or an element of the other offenses as defined
4. Where one of the offenses is penalized by a special law
5. When the law provides one single penalty for special complex crime:
      a. Robbery with Homicide
      b. Robbery with Rape
      c. Rape with Homicide
      d. Kidnapping with Serious Physical Injuries
      e. Kidnapping with Homicide