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III. NOT ACCUSED, BUT OTHERS, DID “AMASS, ACCUMULATE OR ACQUIRE” ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH UNDER SUB-PARAGRAPH (A) & (C) OF THE INFORMATION.
Alleged co-conspirators who collected the money not included in Information
As defined in Sec. 2 of R.A. 7080, the constitutive acts of the crime of Plunder are the acts of “AMASSING, ACCUMULATING OR ACQUIRING” ill-gotten wealth.
The various acts described in Section 1(d), which must constitute a “combination or series of overt or criminal acts” are but the means through which the constitutive acts of plunder, that of “AMASSING, ACCUMULATING OR ACQUIRING” ill-gotten wealth, are committed.
As the accused has described in his “Memorandum” ?
What then are the elements of “plunder” as defined in Republic Act No. 7080? As best as we are able, how the “common world” will understand R.A. No. 7080, the elements of the offense are the following:
a. The offender must be a public officer as defined in Section 1(a).
Note: This is clear enough. No dispute may arise as to the element. That this element is met is conceded.
b. He amasses, accumulates or acquires “ill-gotten wealth.”
Note: These are the principal “act” requirements. The accused must “amass, accumulate, or acquire” the wealth. Mere showing that the accused has “wealth” does not meet this requirement. The objective “act” requirements of the offense are the acts of “amassing, accumulating or acquiring” the wealth.
Acquire Acquired
Acquiring
1 : to get* as one's own: a : to come into possession or control* of often by unspecified means b : to come to have as a new or added characteristic, trait, or ability (as by sustained effort or natural selection) acquire fluency in French> <bacteria that acquire tolerance to antibiotics>
2 : to locate and hold (a desired object) in a detector <acquire a target by radar>Accumulate : to gather or pile up* especially little by little* : AMASS <accumulate a fortune> : to increase gradually in quantity or number
Amasses 1 : to collect* for oneself : ACCUMULATE <amass a great fortune> 2 : to collect into a mass : GATHER <must select rather than simply amass details> intransitive verb: to come together: ASSEMBLE
In the context of their use in R.A. No. 7080, taking account especially the “mens rea” requirement, the accused must be shown to have committed the acts of acquisition, i.e., to “get,” to “gather,” to “collect,” deliberately and intentionally.
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